Walter Johnstone

Surface plasmon polaritons in thin metal films and their role in fiber optic polarizing devices

The polarization-selective evanescent field coupling of an optical wave in a 1.3- mu m, fiber to surface, plasmon polaritons supported by a thin aluminium film was investigated theoretically and experimentally. Good agreement was observed between the theoretically predicted conditions for efficient coupling and the experimentally determined conditions for high TM/TE extinction ratio of the optical field. The use of silver and chrome in place of aluminum was investigated experimentally at 1.3 mu m, and 0.63- mu m devices using aluminium were also studied. The results led to the realization of readily manufacturable, high-extinction-ratio (>50 dB) low-loss ( >

Tunable Diode-Laser Spectroscopy With Wavelength Modulation: A Calibration-Free Approach to the Recovery of Absolute Gas Absorption Line Shapes

The principles and implementation of an alternative approach to tunable diode-laser spectroscopy with wavelength modulation are described. This new technique uses the inherent phase shift between diode-laser power modulation and frequency modulation to separate the residual amplitude modulation and the first derivative signals recovered at the fundamental modulation frequency. The technique, through analysis of the residual-amplitude-modulation signal, is absolute, yielding gas-absorption-line-shape functions, concentrations, and pressures without the need for calibration under certain defined operating conditions. It offers the simplicity of signal analysis of direct detection while providing all the advantages of phase-sensitive electronic detection. Measurements of the 1650.96-nm rotation/vibration-absorption-line-shape function for 1% and 10% methane in nitrogen at various pressures are compared to theoretical predictions derived from HITRAN data, and the excellent agreement confirms the validity of the new technique. Further measurements of concentration and pressure confirm the efficacy of the technique for determining concentration in industrial-process environments where the pressure may be unknown and changing. An analysis of signal strength demonstrates that sensitivity comparable to that of conventional approaches is achievable. The new approach is simpler and more robust in coping with unknown pressure variations and drift in instrumentation parameters (such as laser characteristics) than the conventional approach. As such, it is better suited to stand-alone instrumentation for online deployment in industrial processes and is particularly useful in high-temperature applications, where the background infrared is strong.

Optical fibre instrumentation for environmental monitoring applications

We report our research on the development of optical fibre trace gas sensors for environmental applications. We describe the operation of a 64-point fibre-optic methane sensor, which has been installed on a landfill site in Glasgow, UK, where methane is used for power generation as part of the current trend for renewable energy programmes. Although the environmental conditions are harsh, the sensor has performed satisfactorily, detecting methane in the range of ~50 ppm to 100% methane. Another area of our current research is the application of erbium-doped fibre lasers and amplifiers in gas spectroscopy. One system under investigation consists of an all-fibre cavity ring-down loop employing a fibre amplifier for the compensation of loop loss. We have been able to obtain ring-down times as long as 0.2 ms, corresponding to ~1100 pulses in the loop, producing an effective increase in a gas cell length from 5 cm to 55 m. The mode-locked operation of fibre lasers is also under investigation and, using dispersion effects, we demonstrate fine tuning of the wavelength which is important for absorption line scanning, with a typical tuning rate of ~0.014 nm kHz−1 at the third harmonic, closely matching the theoretical predictions. Techniques for extending fibre laser systems to form multi-point, multi-species gas sensors are explored.

Wavelength tunability of components based on the evanescent coupling from a side-polished fiber to a high-index-overlay waveguide

A number of in-line components utilizing the evanescent coupling between a side-polished fiber and a high-index slab overlay have recently been demonstrated. The wavelength response of the structure shows a series of resonances, the position of which must be precisely controlled for practical applications. We present experimental and theoretical results for the tuning of the resonance position through variation of the superstrate parameters.

Fiber-optic refractometer that utilizes multimode waveguide overlay devices

The evanescent field coupling resonances between a single-mode optical fiber and a multimode planar waveguide overlay are sensitive in position to the refractive index of the superstrate material in contact with the top surface of the overlay. By using lithium niobate and zinc selenide in the role of the overlay and Cargille refractive-index oil as the superstrate, this principle has been investigated for use in refractometry. The ability to resolve index changes of <1 × 10−5 has been clearly demonstrated for an open-loop mode of operation by using intensity modulation, and a method of closed-loop operation is proposed by using active materials such as lithium niobate in the role of the overlay to provide independent feedback control of the resonance position.

Tunable in-line fiber-optic bandpass filter

An in-line fiber-optic bandpass wavelength filter has been demonstrated based on a single-mode fiber, side polished into the core, in evanescent contact with a high-index multimode overlay waveguide. Passband linewidths down to 5.2 nm were observed, while spacing between transmission peaks was seen to range from 45 to 256 nm for variation of the overlay waveguide parameters. Additionally, rejection ratios of >20 dB and insertion losses as low as 0.5 dB were observed.

Continuous-fiber modulator with high-bandwidth coplanar strip electrodes

Operation of a continuous-fiber modulator based on coupling from a fiber side-polished beyond cut-off to a multimode planar waveguide has been demonstrated for the first time at gigahertz frequencies. The bandwidth of the modulator electrode structure was /spl sim/4 GHz while the optical insertion loss was measured at <0.5 dB. The device was used to produce mode-locked pulse trains in an erbium fiber laser at repetition rates of /spl sim/3 GHz.

Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy With Wavelength Modulation: A Phasor Decomposition Method for Calibration-Free Measurements of Gas Concentration and Pressure

The principles and implementation of a phasor decomposition method for analyzing signals in tunable diode laser spectroscopy with wavelength modulation are described. This new technique enables recovery of the isolated and normalized residual amplitude modulation (RAM) signal from measured first harmonic signals at any chosen fundamental modulation frequency. Like the previously reported RAM technique, this new approach is absolute, yielding gas absorption line shape functions, concentrations and pressures without the need for calibration, under certain defined operating conditions. It represents an advancement of the RAM technique in that it obviates the need to operate at a specific high frequency to achieve phase quadrature between the RAM and derivative signals: the signals may be recovered at their maximum levels at any frequency. Measurements of the 1650.96 nm and the 1666.2 nm rotation/vibration absorption line shape functions for 1% and 10% methane in nitrogen at various pressures are compared to theoretical predictions derived from HITRAN data. The excellent agreement confirms the validity of the new technique. Further measurements of concentration and pressure confirm the efficacy of the technique for determining concentration in industrial process environments where the pressure may be unknown and changing. With the above features this new method is particularly suited to stand alone instrumentation for on-line deployment in industrial processes where the calibration factors in the conventional approach would present significant difficulties.

Recovery of Absolute Gas Absorption Line Shapes Using Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy With Wavelength Modulation—Part I: Theoretical Analysis

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy is extremely important for gas detection in a wide variety of industrial, safety and environmental monitoring applications. Of particular interest is the development of calibration-free, stand-alone systems and instrumentation which can operate in high-temperature or high-pressure environments (such as in fuel cells, or gas turbine engines) where continuous and simultaneous monitoring of pressure, temperature and concentration of gases may be required. Here, in Part 1 of this two-part paper, we present the full theoretical basis and range of techniques for calibration-free line-shape recovery to allow simultaneous measurements of concentration and pressure/temperature for a wide range of potential applications. Firstly, on the basis of Fourier analysis, we present the general signal components that arise with both intensity and frequency modulation of diode lasers and identify the issues and difficulties associated with accurate line-shape recovery in conventional wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS). We then show how line-shape recovery may be effectively performed using first harmonic signals and, by use of a general correction function from Fourier coefficients, we extend the techniques previously reported to include arbitrary large modulation indices, different line-shape profiles and high gas concentration with non-linear absorption. Previous approximate techniques based on Taylor series expansions are included as a special case of the Fourier analysis for low modulation indices. We also show that the signal amplitudes obtained in this way can be comparable to, or even exceed, that of conventional WMS by appropriate choice of the modulation index and frequency.

Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy for Industrial Process Applications: System Characterization in Conventional and New Approaches

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) can only be successfully implemented if a number of system characterization procedures and critical parameter measurements can be made accurately. These include: application of a wavelength/frequency scale to the signals recovered in time; measurement of the frequency dither applied to the laser; measurement of the relative phase between the laser power modulation and frequency modulation; determination of the background amplitude modulation for normalization purposes and measurement of required cross broadening coefficients for the host/target gas mixtures. Easy to implement, accurate and low-cost systems and procedures for achieving these are described and validated below. They were developed for two new approaches to TDLS measurements, viz the residual amplitude modulation (RAM) technique and the phasor decomposition (PD) method, but are equally applicable to all forms of TDLS. Following full system characterization using the new techniques, measurements of the absolute transmission function of the 1650.96 nm absorption line of methane over a wide range of concentration and pressure were made using the RAM technique. The close agreement with theoretical traces derived from HITRAN data validated the entire approach taken, including the system characterization procedures. In addition, measurements of a wide range of gas concentration and pressure were made by curve fitting theoretical traces to the measured transmission functions obtained using a variety of operating conditions. Again, the low errors confirmed the validity of the new methods and the system characterization/measurement procedures described here.