All-optical nonlinear pulse processing based on normal dispersion fiber-enhanced nonlinear optical loop mirror

A novel simple all-optical nonlinear pulse processing technique using loop mirror intensity filtering and nonlinear broadening in normal dispersion fiber is described. The pulse processor offers reamplification and cleaning up of the optical signals and phase margin improvement. The efficiency of the technique is demonstrated by application to 40-Gb/s return-to-zero optical data streams. © 2004 IEEE.

Bend sensors with direction recognition based on long-period gratings written in D-shaped fiber

The curvature- or bend-sensing response of long-period gratings (LPGs) UV inscribed in D-shaped fiber has been investigated experimentally. Strong fiber-orientation dependence of the spectral response when such LPGs are subjected to bending at different directions has been observed and is shown to form the basis for a new class of single-device sensor with vector-sensing capability. Potential applications utilizing the linear response and unique bend-orientation characteristics of the devices are discussed.

Optical chemsensor based on etched tilted Bragg grating structures in multimode fiber

We present a simple optical chemsensor device based on tilted Bragg grating structures ultraviolet-inscribed in conventional multimode fiber and sensitized by a hydrofluoric (HF)-etching treatment. The transition behaviors of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) from normal to tilted structures and their spectral evolution under HF-etching have been studied. The etched devices have been used to measure the concentrations of sugar solution, showing a potential capability of detecting concentration changes as small as 0.5%, which is an order of magnitude lower than that of previously reported FBG sensors in single-mode fiber.

In-fiber twist sensor based on a fiber Bragg grating with 81° tilted structure

We report a strong polarization dependent coupling behavior of fiber Bragg gratings with excessively tilted structures up to 81°. This unique property has been utilized to implement a novel twist sensor, showing high torsion sensitivity. The twist induced light coupling interchange between the two birefringence modes makes it possible to interrogate such a sensor using low-cost intensity demodulation technique. © 2006 IEEE.

Multiwavelength fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation

Multiwavelength fiber laser is a perfect light source for future wavelength-division-multiplexing optical communication systems. A multiwavelength fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation with up to 18 wavelengths has been proposed and demonstrated. The intensity- and wavelength-dependent loss induced by nonlinear polarization rotation effect is used to alleviate the mode competition in the homogeneous broadening gain medium of erbium-doped fiber. Instead of traditional filters, a polarization-maintaining fiber is inserted into the laser cavity, with which the polarization-dependent isolator composes an equivalent Lyot birefringent fiber filter. The in-line birefringence fiber filter is used to simplify the laser configuration, which benefits systematic integration. The effect of the 980 nm pump power on the multiwavelength generation is investigated. It is shown that the pump power contributes a lot to the evenness of the multiwavelength spectra due to the intensity dependence of nonlinear polarization rotation effect.

Two different operation regimes of fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation:passive mode-locking and multiwavelength emission

We have proposed and demonstrated a nonlinear polarization-rotation-based fiber laser with two different operation states: passive mode-locking and multiwavelength emission. The intensity-dependent transmission or loss induced by nonlinear polarization rotation accounts for the distinct operation regimes. Our experiment results indicate that both passively mode-locked pulses and continuous-wave multiwavelength can be generated from the same fiber laser just through adjusting polarizations. Another characteristic of the current multiwavelength laser is that the used periodic filter is a birefringence fiber filter, which facilitates all-fiber integration of the fiber laser, so it is a potential multifunction laser source with all-fiber configuration and convenient manipulation. © 2008 IEEE.

Multiwavelength fiber laser with fine adjustment, based on nonlinear polarization rotation and birefringence fiber filter

We have proposed and demonstrated a multiwavelength fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR). The mechanism for stable room-temperature multiwavelength operation contributes to the ability of the intensity-dependent loss in NPR to effectively alleviate mode competition. In addition, through tuning the birefringence fiber filter, the lasing wavelength can be accurately tuned in the free spectrum range of the in-line periodic filter.

Combined distributed temperature and strain sensor based on Brillouin loss in an optical fiber

We present a novel distributed sensor that utilizes the temperature and strain dependence of the frequency at which the Brillouin loss is maximized in the interaction between a cw laser and a pulsed laser. With a 22-km sensing length, a strain resolution of 20 µ? and a temperature resolution of 2°C have been achieved with a spatial resolution of 5 m.

Directional bend sensor based on an asymmetric modification of the fiber cladding by femtosecond laser

A femtosecond laser was used to modify a part of the cladding of a standard LPG bend sensor. The device produced wavelength shifts depending upon the direction of bend, thus making a shape sensor. © 2005 Optical Society of America.

Novel optical chemsonsor based on etched D-fiber bragg gratings

A novel optical chemsensor concept based on the cladding etched Bragg gratings in D-fiber is demonstrated. Two etched devices have been used to measure the concentrations of sugar solution, giving sensitivity as high as 0.02nm/%.

A novel tunable all-optical incoherent negative-tap fiber-optic transversal filter based on a DFB laser diode and fiber Bragg grating

We demonstrate experimentally a novel and simple tunable all-optical incoherent negative-tap fiber-optic transversal filter based on a distribution feedback laser diode and high reflection fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). In this filter, variable time delay is provided by cascaded high reflection fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), and the tuning of the filter is realized by tuning different FBG to match the fixed carrier wavelength, or adjusting the carrier wavelength to fit different FBG. The incoherent negative tapping is realized by using the carrier depletion effect in a distribution feedback laser diode.

All-fiber passively mode-locked Tm-doped NOLM-based oscillator operating at 2-μm in both soliton and noisy-pulse regimes

A self-starting all-fiber passively mode-locked Tm-doped fiber laser based on nonlinear loop mirror (NOLM) is demonstrated. Stable soliton pulses centered at 2017.33 nm with 1.56 nm FWHM were produced at a repetition rate of 1.514 MHz with pulse duration of 2.8 ps and pulse energy of 83.8 pJ. As increased pump power, the oscillator can also operate at noise-like (NL) regime. Stable NL pulses with coherence spike width of 341 fs and pulse energy of up to 249.32 nJ was achieved at a center wavelength of 2017.24 nm with 21.33 nm FWHM. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first 2 μm region NOLM-based mode-locked fiber laser operating at two regimes with the highest single pulse energy for NL pulses. © 2014 Optical Society of America.

All-Fiber erbium doped fiber laser based on an intracavity polarizing fiber grating

Using Aston-made special design polarizing grating, we have implemented a stretchpulse mode locked erbium fiber laser. The laser has a simple and efficient all-fiber configuration with 90 fs output pulse duration and1.68 nJ pulse energy. © OSA 2014