Swee Chuan Tjin

Compact graphene mode-locked wavelength-tunable erbium-doped fiber lasers: from all anomalous dispersion to all normal dispersion

Soliton operation and soliton wavelength tuning of erbium-doped fiber lasers mode locked with atomic layer graphene was experimentally investigated under various cavity dispersion conditions. It was shown that not only wide range soliton wavelength tuning but also soliton pulse width variation could be obtained in the fiber lasers. Our results show that the graphene mode locked erbium-doped fiber lasers provide a compact, user friendly and low cost wavelength tunable ultrashort pulse source.

Ultrahigh Sensitivity Refractive Index Sensor Based on Optical Microfiber

We demonstrate a nonadiabatic microfiber sensor with a taper diameter of few micrometers. The modal interference caused by the abrupt taper results in a sinusoidal spectral response. The wavelength shift arising because of the changes in the external refractive index is found to be significant, achieving a maximum sensitivity of 18681.82 nm/RIU. The measured results show good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The high sensitivity and the simplicity offer the sensor the potential for many real applications.

Simultaneous strain and temperature measurement using a compact photonic crystal fiber inter-modal interferometer and a fiber Bragg grating.

An all-fiber sensor scheme for simultaneous strain and temperature measurement is presented. The sensing head is formed by serially connecting a polarization maintaining photonic-crystal-fiber-based inter-modal interferometer (IMI) with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The IMI, exhibiting an opposite strain response as compared to that of the FBG, is highly sensitive to strain, while it is insensitive to temperature. This has potential for improving the strain and temperature measurement resolutions. A sensor resolution of ±8.3 με in strain and ±2 °C in temperature are experimentally achieved within a strain range of 0-957.6 με and a temperature range of 24 °C-64 °C, respectively.

Refractive index sensing based on higher-order mode reflection of a microfiber Bragg grating

A fiber Bragg grating written in a photosensitive microfiber using KrF excimer laser via a uniform phase mask is demonstrated. We have successfully fabricated two Bragg gratings in microfibers having different diameters. In the reflection spectrum of a microfiber Bragg grating (MFBG), we observed two reflection peaks,which agrees with our numerical simulation results. Compared with the fundamental mode reflection, the higher-order reflection mode is more sensitive to the refractive index (RI) variation of the surrounding fluid due to its larger evanescent field. The measured maximum sensitivity is ~102 nm/RIU (RI unit) at an RI value of 1.378 in an MFBG with a diameter of 6 μm.

On-chip detection of myoglobin based on fluorescence

A disposable immunosensor cartridge was developed that allows antibodies to be immobilized on the surface for the detection of myoglobin, a marker for the early assessment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using fluorescence techniques. The anti-myoglobin antibody was immobilized on a polystyrene substrate based on covalent bonding via silanization. The immunosensor chip layers were fabricated from sheets by CO(2)-laser ablation. The functionalized polystyrene surfaces were characterized by contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). After the antigen-antibody reaction as a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody (HRP-anti-myoglobin), addition of fluorogenic substrate produced a fluorescent dye which was quantified on-chip using fluorescent technique. The immunosensor response was linear for myoglobin concentrations between 20 and 230 ng/ml (r=0.991, n=3). The detection limit was found to be 16 ng/ml, which is lower than the clinical cut-off value for myoglobin in healthy patients. This protocol could be extended to the detection of other important cardiac markers simultaneously in microchannels.

Sensitivity?stability-optimized surface plasmon resonance sensing with double metal layers

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, with a double-metal-layer (gold–silver) configuration that utilizes the sensitivity of the silver and the stability of the gold, was studied experimentally. Both theoretical simulations and experimental results are presented for this configuration. The measured FWHM of the reflectivity curve for the bimetallic-layer configuration is 4.8 times narrower than the single gold film configuration and its stability is better than that of the silver film configuration as well.

Active mode locking of tunable multi-wavelength fiber ring laser

We report an active mode-locked tunable multiple-wavelength fiber laser constructed using a unidirectional ring cavity combined with an amplitude modulator and a single sampled fiber Bragg grating (SFBG). Simultaneous generation of up to six-wavelength picosecond pulses with identical repetition rate and a wavelength spacing of about 1.6 nm (200 GHz) is demonstrated. The spectral width and side-mode suppression ratio are 0.01 nm and 40 dB for all the wavelengths. The average output power is 4.5 dBm and the supermode noise suppression is more than 40 dB. The equal-step wavelength tuning over a range of 1.6 nm for all the wavelengths has also been achieved by applying tension to the SFBG.

Thermally tunable narrow-bandpass filter based on a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating.

We propose a new method for the development of a tunable optical bandpass filter (TOBF) based on a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (LCFBG). A NiCr wire heater is used to heat the LCFBG at a small point to introduce a narrow passband within the stop band of the LCFBG. The central wavelength of the passband is tuned by scanning the wire heater along the LCFBG. As an example demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method, we demonstrate a TOBF with a very small 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 7 pm, a tuning range of 16.4 nm, and a rejection ratio of more than 25 dB. Compared with previously reported tunable-fiber-based bandpass filters, this method provides the advantages of a large tuning range, continuous tunability, a switchable passband, a simple tuning mechanism, low cost, and narrow bandwidth.

Electrically tunable dispersion compensator with fixed center wavelength using fiber Bragg grating

We present the design and development of a novel tunable dispersion compensator with fixed center wavelength that is based on the electrical adjustment of the chirp of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). Both temperature gradient and strain gradient are employed to adjust the chirp of the FBG jointly. The electrical current flowing through the taper on-fiber thin-film heater will introduce a temperature gradient on the FBG. The shrinkage of a negative thermal expansion coefficient (NTEC) ceramic due to the temperature rise will compress the tapered FBG mounted inside it, and this will introduce a strain gradient on the FBG. The center wavelength of the FBG will be kept fixed because the effect of temperature rise on the FBG and the effect of compression of the FBG will offset each other. Applying an electrical power of less than 0.68 W, we demonstrate a linearly chirped FBG whose dispersion can be continuously adjusted from -178 ps/nm to -302 ps/nm with a central wavelength shift of as small as 0.16 nm.

A Dual-Wavelength Fiber Laser Sensor System for Measurement of Temperature and Strain

A strain and temperature-sensing scheme based on a dual-wavelength fiber laser is demonstrated experimentally. By measuring the change in the wavelength separation of the two lasing wavelengths and the shift of any of two lasing wavelengths, the measured strain and temperature are very linear and have a strain sensitivity of 0.15 pm/muepsiv over a range of 0-2400 muepsiv and a temperature sensitivity of 14.3 pm/degC over a range of 22degC-230degC, respectively.