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We report the basic spectroscopic properties of a home-made holmium-aluminum-germanium co-doped silica fiber, designed for laser applications. We present the ground-state and excited-state absorpti...

Transverse acoustic mode resonances enable a high accuracy determination of Poisson’s ratio and elastic properties of optical fibers. An all-optical pump and probe technique is used for efficient excitation and accurate characterization of both, radial and torsional-radial acoustic resonances of optical fibers. Simple and precise algebraic expressions for the frequencies of high order acoustic resonances are derived, enabling a rigorous analysis of the experimental data using standard least squares fitting. Following this approach, the determination of Poisson’s ratio does not require the measurement of any physical length, but only frequency measurements are required. An accuracy better than 1 ‰ is achieved. The dependence of the fiber Poisson’s ratio with temperature is also determined experimentally.

A simple and inexpensive method to measure vibrations in mechanical structures is presented by means of Fabry-Perot interferometry and Doppler effect. The sensor consists of a transparent hydrogel sphere attached to an single-mode optical fiber from a 50:50 fiber coupler, laser light with a wavelength of 658 nm, and a photodetector which is connected to an oscilloscope. The vibrometric sensor works in the time domain by detecting the number of interference fringes. The tip of the prototype is composed of mechanical couplings that join the fiber with the hydrogel sphere. The sensor allows knowing the vibration frequency at which a mechanical part is oscillating. The analysis presented in this work shows several advantages over conventional methods, such as low cost, real-time measurement, and simplification in experimental setup. The sensor system is capable of capturing vibrations of up to 5000 Hz.

We report on a novel device to measure relative humidity. Materials used in the measurement of relative humidity are of different kinds. The sensor is based on surface diffraction gratings made of gelatin. This material swells and shrinks according to the content of water vapor in air. By sending a light beam to the grating, diffracted orders appear. Due to the gelatin swelling or shrinking, first order intensity changes according to the relative humidity. Calibration curves relating intensity versus relative humidity have been found. The fabrication process of diffraction gratings and the testing of the prototype sensing devices are described.

The research on photonic biosensors is a scientific hot topic at the moment, with a significant potential impact on industry and medicine. Label-free, miniaturized, inexpensive and low-loss biosensors are developed based on optical fiber technology. Our approach is based on a Bio-Bragg-Grating (BBG) patterned on the surface of a microfiber. We present the design, fabrication and proof of concept of our device, as well as its multiplexing and tunability perspectives [1] .

Polarization modulation instability (PMI) is a nonlinear effect in which two pump photons with identical polarization propagating in a nonlinear medium give rise to two new photons of different frequency and orthogonal polarization with respect to the pump photons [1] . In this work, we report the experimental demonstration of broad spectral tuning of PMI generated in solid-core microstructured optical fibers (MOF) that were previously infiltrated with heavy water (D 2 O). MOFs were designed and fabricated with the appropriate dispersion characteristics to produce widely spaced PMI spectral bands when they were filled with D 2 O and pumped at 1064 nm. Heavy water was chosen due to suitable refractive index, large thermo-optic coefficient (~6.6×10 –5 K −1 ) and relatively low absorption in the near-IR. Tuning effect was achieved by exploiting the strong dependence of the PMI frequency shift on the fiber dispersion and birefringence [2] .

We report the experimental observation of the polarization modulation instability (PMI) effect in all-normal dispersion (ANDi) microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) with quasi-continuous pumping. The small unintentional birefringence (~10-5), that any realistic non-polarization maintaining MOF exhibits, contributes to this nonlinear effect. PMI can produce two sidebands whose polarization state is orthogonal to the polarization of the pump. In this work, only one type of PMI process is observed, i.e., when the pump is polarized along the slow axis of the fiber and sidebands are generated in the fast axis mode. This PMI process was studied experimentally in two ANDi fibers with different dispersion features and pumped with long (700 ps) pump pulses at 1064 nm. Experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations, with reasonably good agreement.

Generation of widely spaced polarization modulation instability (PMI) sidebands in a wide collection of photonic crystal fibers (PCF), including liquid-filled PCFs, is reported. The contribution of chromatic dispersion and birefringence to the net linear phase mismatch of PMI is investigated in all-normal dispersion PCFs and in PCFs with one (or two) zero dispersion wavelengths. Large frequency shift sidebands are demonstrated experimentally. Suitable fabrication parameters for air-filled and liquid-filled PCFs are proposed as guidelines for the development of dual-wavelength light sources based on PMI.

[EN] Discovering nanoscale phenomena to sense biorecognition events introduces new perspectives to exploit nano science and nanotechnology for bioanalytical purposes. Here we present Bio Bragg Gratings (BBGs), a novel biosensing approach that consists of diffractive structures of protein bioreceptors patterned on the surface of optical waveguides, and tailored to transduce the magnitude of biorecognition assays into the intensity of single peaks in the reflection spectrum. This work addresses the design, fabrication, and optimization of this system by both theoretical and experimental studies to explore the fundamental physicochemical parameters involved. Functional biomolecular gratings are fabricated by microcontact printing on the surface of tapered optical microfibers, and their structural features were characterized. The transduction principle is experimentally demonstrated, and its quantitative bioanalytical prospects are assessed in a representative immunoassay, based on patterned protein probes and selective IgG targets, in label-free conditions. This biosensing system involves appealing perspectives to avoid unwanted signal contributions from non-specific binding, herein investigated in human serum samples. The work also proves how the optical response of the system can be easily tuned, and it provides insights into the relevance of this feature to conceive multiplexed BBG systems capable to perform multiple label-free biorecognition assays in a single device., Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CTQ2016-75749-R and TEC2016-80385-P), Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (PID2019-110877 GB-I00 and PDI2019-104276RB-I00) and Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2019/048 and PROMETEO/2017/103). A.J.-D. acknowledges the FPI-UPV 2017 grant program, M.A.-O acknowledges the APSOSTD/2019 program of the GVA.

Optical fiber characterization using whispering gallery mode resonances of the fiber itself has been demonstrated to be a powerful technique. In this work, we exploit the thermal sensitivity of whispering gallery mode resonances to characterize the pump-induced temperature increment in holmium doped and holmium-ytterbium codoped optical fibers. The technique relies on the measurement of the resonances’ wavelength shift due to temperature variation as a function of the pump power. Holmium doped fibers were pumped to the second excited level 5I6 of the Ho3+ ion using a laser diode at 1125 nm and ytterbium-holmium codoped fibers to the 2F5/2 level of the Yb3+ ion by a laser diode at 975 nm. Our results demonstrate that pumping ytterbium-holmium codoped fibers at 975 nm results in dramatic thermal effects, producing a temperature increment two orders higher than that observed in holmium doped fibers pumped with a 1125 nm laser diode.

In this work, we present the numerical and experimental investigation of the polarization dynamics in a free birefringence mode-locked fiber laser. The laser includes a double-pass Erbium-doped fiber amplifier and 20-m long bi-twisted fiber at a twist rate of ± 6 turns m−1 to mitigate both, linear and circular birefringence effects. We found ellipticity changes due to nonlinear birefringence in the 20-m long fiber during pulse formation and propagation. In contrast with previously reported works, the inclusion of bi-twisted fiber allows investigate the nonlinear effects independently from the linear ones. The experimental behavior was confirmed by numerical simulations based on split step Fourier method showing that the polarization changes are generated since the vector soliton formation process.

In the present paper, we show the experimental measurement of the growth of a microbubble created on the tip of a single mode optical fiber, in which zinc nanoparticles were photodeposited on its core by using a single laser source to carry out both the generation of the microbubble by photothermal effect and the monitoring of the microbubble diameter. The photodeposition technique, as well as the formation of the microbubble, was carried out by using a single-mode pigtailed laser diode with emission at a wavelength of 658 nm. The microbubble’s growth was analyzed in the time domain by the analysis of the Fabry–Perot cavity, whose diameter was calculated with the number of interference fringes visualized in an oscilloscope. The results obtained with this technique were compared with images obtained from a CCD camera, in order to verify the diameter of the microbubble. Therefore, by counting the interference fringes, it was possible to quantify the temporal evolution of the microbubble. As a practical demonstration, we proposed a vibrometer sensor using microbubbles with sizes of 83 and 175 m as a Fabry–Perot cavity; through the time period of a full oscillation cycle of an interferogram observed in the oscilloscope, it was possible to know the frequency vibration (500 and 1500 Hz) for a cuvette where the microbubble was created. CONACyT (FOINS) Grant No. 2319 Fondo Sectorial de Investigación para la Educación Grant No. A1-S-28440.

We investigate the mechanisms underlying a mode suppression effect observed in polymer microcavities containing graphene oxide (GO) aiming at the development of on-chip integrable photonic devices. The GO-doped microcavities (cavity loaded Q-factor of 20000 at 1550 nm) are fabricated by means of two-photon polymerization via direct laser writing. The saturable absorption and optically induced thermal lens effects prompted by GO are investigated through nonlinear measurements using both the ultrafast and continuous-wave Z-scan technique and our preliminary results suggest that optically induced thermal lens may be playing a major role in the mode suppression observed in the GO-doped polymer microcavities.

We demonstrate that a cone pierced in a fiber tip can stabilize microbubles photothermally generated in liquids. Bubbles can stand and monitor pressure shocks over 3.3 bar with a sensitivity below 7 mbar.

We report on the experimental analysis of parametrical optomechanical oscillations and nonlinear frequency generation in hollow phoxonic whispering gallery mode resonators. Both phenomena can be enchanced or suppressed and showed chaotic behavior.

We report the results of an experimental study of an ytterbium-doped fiber laser with low Q-factor cavity. We demonstrate that the laser operates in two randomly alternating sub-regimes, quasi-CW (QCW) and self-Q-switching (SQS), the latter ignited by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). We show that probability of each sub-regime depends on pump power: QCW dominates slightly above the laser threshold while SQS pulsing prevails at higher pump powers. We also discuss the featuring details of QCW sub-regime and its role in instabilities (jittering) of SBS-boosted SQS pulsing as well as the statistical properties of the latter.

The wideband tuning of strong bands generated through polarization modulation instability (PMI) in microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) is reported. Tunability is achieved by exploiting the dependence of the phase-matching condition on the fiber’s chromatic dispersion and birefringence, which is particularly sensitive when the fiber is pumped near the zero-dispersion wavelength. MOFs designed to accomplish PMI phase-matching when they are infiltrated with ethanol and pumped at 1064 nm were designed and fabricated. Taking advantage of the large thermo-optic coefficient of ethanol, both chromatic dispersion and birefringence were varied through temperature. Wavelength shifts from 937 nm to 863 nm (anti-Stokes) and from 1231 nm to 1387 nm (Stokes) are demonstrated. Such a tuning range corresponds to a frequency shift between the pump and a PMI sideband ranging from 1274 c m − 1 to 2189 c m − 1 .

The generation of photon-pairs with controllable spectral correlations is crucial in quantum photonics. Here we present the design of a photonic crystal fiber to generate widely-spaced four-wave mixing bands with spectral correlations that can be tuned through the thermo-optic effect after being infiltrated with heavy water. We present a theoretical study of the purity of the signal (idler) photon generated as a function of temperature, pump spectral linewidth and the length of the fiber. 511-6/18-8876 CIIC155/2019 APN-624 TEC2016- 76664-C2-1-R PROMETEO/2019/048

The strategy to incorporate graphene oxide (GO) in a composite material offers significant opportunities to realize compact photonic devices, such as saturable absorbers and polarization selective devices. However, the processing of GO-based composites by direct laser writing, which would afford vast patterning and material flexibility in a single step process, has been little addressed. In this work, we investigated the mechanisms underlying a mode cleaning effect in polymeric whispering gallery mode microresonators containing GO, aiming at the development of on-chip integrable photonic devices. We fabricated the microresonators (cavity loaded Q-factor of 20 000 at 1550 nm) in a single step of femtosecond laser writing via two-photon polymerization. By calculating the resonance response to damping mechanisms in the microresonators, we showed that additional losses introduced by GO play a major role in reducing the visibility of a number of resonances up to the point of effectively filtering a set of modes out. Interestingly, although the presence of GO leads to extra losses in the microresonator, it does not change the order of magnitude of the Q-factor of the highest extinction ratio resonances. Overall, this work offers interesting physical insights that can be useful for the design and fabrication of GO-based photonic micro/nanodevices. PIRSES-GA-2013- 612267 FAPESP 2018/ 11283-7 FAPESP 2015/22392-3 CAPES 88882.328716/2018-01

We report the measurement of the refractive index modulation in optical fibers generated by electrostrictively driven acoustic waves through the change in transmission in a long period fiber grating.

A new technique, to the best of our knowledge, for the characterization of the effective refractive index modulation in optical fibers due to transverse acoustic mode resonances excited by electrostriction is reported. The resonances excited by an optical pulse are probed by a narrow bandwidth long-period grating (LPG) inscribed in the fiber, which is interrogated by a continuous wave (CW) beam. The LPG used in this experiment has a narrow bandwidth and high sensitivity to small mode index perturbations, allowing the measurement of index variations from below 10 − 9 to 10 − 6 . Radial and torsional-radial acoustic modes were characterized up to 1.1 GHz. The linewidth of resonances was found to be much shorter than in previous reports in which long fiber lengths are typically required, obtaining Q factors as high as 5000.

The strain-optic coefficients of PMMA are measured in a broad wavelength range from 800 to 2000 nm. The sensitivity of the azimuthal whispering gallery mode resonances to the strain is exploited to measure the strain-optic coefficients of PMMA micro-rods. The technique is based on measuring the wavelength shift of the resonances of both polarizations states, the TE and TM, when an axial strain is applied to the polymer rods. This method enables the determination of the strain-optic coefficients of the material in a broad wavelength range. In particular, in the near-infrared range, the PMMA exhibits negligible dispersion and anisotropy, and the strain-optic coefficients show constant values within the experimental error: p11 = 0.298 ± 0.010 and p12 = 0.294 ± 0.010.

Broadband tuning of polarization modulation instability in microstructured optical fibers is reported. Tunability is achieved by simultaneous birefringence-dispersion changes through thermal heating. 906 cm-1 frequency tunability range is attained.

We report an experimental study of photon noise in a CW double-clad pumped YDFL with Fabry-Perot cavity. Photon noise statistics and its impact on laser line broadening via self-phase modulation are discussed.

We report a 2.07-μm Holmium-doped all-fiber laser (HDFL) pumped by a 1.13-μm Ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL). Home-made alumino–germano–silicate holmium-doped fiber (HDF) served here as an active medium, optimized in terms of chemical composition and co-dopants’ concentrations. Laser action at 2.07 μm was assessed in simple Fabry–Perot cavity, formed by a couple of home-made fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), inscribed directly in the HDF; this allowed notable diminishing of intracavity loss of the 2.07-μm laser. HDF was in-core pumped by the 1.13-μm double-clad YDFL with a power of ∼12.5 W, in turn pumped in-clad by a laser diode (LD) operated at 0.97 μm with ∼24.5-W output. Using optimal length (∼5.0…5.5 m) of the HDF and employing FBG couplers with reflections of ∼99% and ∼33%, the HDFL provided ∼5.0-W output at 2.07 μm. At these conditions, maximal absolute (slope) efficiencies at 2.07 μm of 39% (42%) and 20% (22%) were measured with respect to 1.13-μm (YDFL) and 0.97-μm (LD) pumps, respectively. Moreover, the record slope efficiency (48%) was obtained for the powers ratio of 2.07-μm output (HDFL) to launched 1.13-μm input (YDFL), which is only slightly less than theoretical quantum efficiency limit (53%) for this kind of pump schemes.

The experimental demonstration of a gain-switched pulsed fiber laser with low repetition rate emission in the 2 µm wavelength region is presented. The laser cavity is based on the figure-9 shape, where the gain-switched operation of the laser is obtained by using a double-clad Tm-doped fiber (DCTDF) as gain medium and a commercial pulsed laser diode at 793-nm with configurable parameters as pump source. The pulse parameters of the pump source are optimized for efficient suppressing of unstable gain-switched laser oscillations. As a result, laser pulses with low repetition rate in a range from 10 to 20 kHz with laser emission at the wavelength of 1951 nm are obtained. The generated gain-switched pulses exhibit maximum duration and energy of 0.5 and 3.5 µJ, respectively. The delay time between the pump pulses and the gain-switched pulses is of ~ 0.5 µs.

A tunable dual-wavelength thulium doped fiber laser is demonstrated experimentally. For the first time for the 2- $\mu \text{m}$ wavelength band we propose the independent tuning of the generated laser lines based on fiber Bragg gratings and the use of a Hi-Bi fiber optic loop mirror for the fine adjustment of the cavity losses to obtain stable dual-wavelength operation. Dual-wavelength laser generation with the laser lines separation in the range from 0.3 to 6.5 nm is obtained. The laser emission exhibits an optical signal-to-noise ratio better than 56 dB. Improved stability with output power fluctuations less than 1 dB is observed in dual-wavelength generation with equal power of lines.

We investigated numerically the possibility of all normal dispersion fiber design for near-infrared supercontinuum generation based on a standard air-silica microstructure. The design procedure includes finding of target dispersion profile and subsequent finding of appropriate geometrical fiber design by inverse dispersion engineering. It was shown that the tailoring of dispersion profile could increase the spectral width of generated supercontinuum while maintaining perfect spectral flatness. Conditions necessary for wide and flat supercontinuum generation as well as restrictions imposed by chosen materials were discussed. As a result of design and optimization procedure, an air-silica design was found providing normal dispersion up to $\text{3}\;\mu {\text{m}}$ . Simulation results with 10 nJ, 100 fs pulses demonstrate supercontinuum generation up to 1.3 octave; whereas pumping with 30 nJ, 100 fs pulses could provide 1.8 octavse supercontinuum.

An all-fiber acousto-optic tunable bandpass filter based on a 1.185-mm long coreless core mode blocker is reported. Experimental results demonstrate a minimal insertion loss of 1.2 dB at the optical resonant wavelength of 1527.7 nm with 3-dB optical bandwidth of 0.83 nm. The optimization of the device takes into account the attenuation of the acoustic wave and leads to an asymmetric configuration in which the coupling section is shorter than the recoupling part. Under the effect of a standing flexural wave the device can be operated as a bandpass modulator. The device exhibits a maximum modulation depth of 28%, 4 dB of insertion loss and 0.97 nm of optical bandwidth at 4.774 MHz.

Fiber whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are surface waves that propagate azimuthally along the outer surface of the fiber cladding. Those waves that are in phase every turn give rise to narrow resonances defined by the resonant wavelength and a high Q factor. The actual values of the resonant wavelengths depend on the radius and the refractive index of the fiber cladding, enabling the development of several fiber characterization techniques. In addition, the typical high Q factor of these resonances (Q > 106) provides the characterization techniques with a low detection limit. Here, we report the development of a technique for measuring temperature profiles along the optical fiber, which enables the characterization of UV-induced absorption loss in photosensitive fibers, and a technique for the measurement of the elasto-optic coefficients and the anisotropy generated by the axial strain in standard fibers.

The advent of microstructured optical fiber (MOF) technology gave a significant boost to research in nonlinear optics. MOFs have the advantage of high nonlinearity and designable dispersion, which makes this type of fiber an excellent platform for efficient generation of nonlinear effects. In the last years, MOFs exhibiting normal dispersion at any guiding wavelength (ANDi fibers) aroused the interest because of the possibility of using them for the generation of coherent and recompressible supercontinuum (SC) light. In this contribution, we present our recent results regarding the generation of the polarization modulation instability (PMI) effect in ANDi MOFs in the quasi-CW pump regime at 1064 nm. The experimental observation of this nonlinear effect is reported, along with the theoretical analysis of it.

In fiber acousto-optics has been demonstrated to be a versatile, highly sensitive technique that allows characterizing different parameters of singlemode or few-mode fibers, such as dispersion curves, radius or core refractive index, in a broadband wavelength range. The working principle of the technique relies in the fact that a variation in a parameter of the fiber leads to a shift in the optical wavelength that fulfills the acousto-optic phase matching condition. Thus, by measuring this wavelength shift it is possible to evaluate the change in the parameter under study. The technique shows a low detection limit: for example, it is as low as 10-8 for the core refractive index, in singlemode fibers. In addition, short sections of fiber (~20 cm) are required to perform the measurements.To fabricate gratings in photosensitive fibers, the core refractive index is increased, typically, in 10-5 – 10-4. In this work we characterize the refractive index change induced by UV radiation in hydrogenated, telecom-fiber (SMF28 from Corning), by means of the acousto-optic tool. Broadband characterization is performed in one go, using only one section of irradiated fiber. We characterized the refractive index variation as a function of the UV energy delivered to the fiber, in the range 1 – 2 μm.

Polarization modulation instability (PMI) is a form of modulation instability that can exist in weakly birefringent optical fibers [1]. Sidebands can be generated by this effect when a polarization mode of the birefringent fiber is excited with an intense optical pump. The polarization state of the sidebands is orthogonal to the polarization of the pump signal. PMI has been observed in microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). PMI was reported in a large-air-filling fraction MOF that was pumped in the normal dispersion regime with visible light [2]. The coherent degradation of femtosecond supercontinuum light generated in all-normal dispersion (ANDi) MOFs due to PMI was recently investigated [3]. Here, we report the experimental observation of PMI effect in ANDi MOFs with picosecond pumping at 1064 nm.

Whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMR) have attracted a great interest in the last decade. WGMR have been fabricated in different geometries, solid and hollow, spherical, toroidal, and bottled shaped. Hollow spherical WGMR or microbubble resonators (MBR) are the last arrived in the family of resonators. The approach used for their fabrication is based on surface tension driven plastic deformation on a pressurized capillary, similar to glassblowing. Using such technique we are able to fabricate large surface area and thin spherical shells with high quality factor (Q). MBR are efficient phoxonic cavities that can sustain both optical photons and acoustic phonons. It has been demonstrated that MBR can be used to study Turing comb patterns (Kerr modulation) and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS). Radiation pressure is another mechanism that also leads to excitation of acoustic phonons with lower frequencies, in the range of hundreds of kHz to tens of MHz in the case of silica MBR. The frequency of such oscillations occurs very close to the mechanical eigenfrequencies of the cavity. We have studied the temporal behavior of the cavity, the coexistence and the suppression of the oscillation while generating Turing comb patterns. The observed phenomenology can be explained by the geometrical characteristics of a MBR. MBRs are spheroidal WGM resonators with quite dense spectral characteristics. The total dispersion of MBR is anomalous and large, as expected for very large MBR. Thus, Kerr comb formation is allowed for all MBR used in this work.

We present a detailed experimental study of fourwave mixing tuning in photonic crystal fibers that were filled either with ethanol or with heavy water. It is demonstrated that wide tuning ranges can be achieved in both cases through the variable chromatic dispersion generated by thermo-optic effect. Tunability of the signal band from 745 nm to 919 nm, and of the idler band from 1260 nm to 1759 nm is demonstrated with a pump at 1064 nm. Numerical calculations were carried out and show good agreement with experimental measurements. We present a detailed experimental study of fourwave mixing tuning in photonic crystal fibers that were filled either with ethanol or with heavy water. It is demonstrated that wide tuning ranges can be achieved in both cases through the variable chromatic dispersion generated by thermo-optic effect. Tunability of the signal band from 745 nm to 919 nm, and of the idler band from 1260 nm to 1759 nm is demonstrated with a pump at 1064 nm. Numerical calculations were carried out and show good agreement with experimental measurements.

We report random noise pulsed regime of an ytterbium-doped fiber laser arranged in common Fabry-Perot configuration. We show that the laser output obeys the photon statistics inherent to narrowband amplified spontaneous emission and that the noise pulsing is properly addressed in terms of probability density and autocorrelation functions. Our novel approach reveals, in particular, that the regime’s coherence time dramatically shortens, from few ns to tens ps, with increasing laser power.

In this paper, we report a study of the features of polarized and unpolarized narrow-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in a low-doped erbium fiber at 976-nm pumping. We demonstrate that ASE noise can be treated as a train of Gaussian-like pulses with random magnitudes, widths, and inter-pulse intervals. ASE noise can also provide a statistical analysis of these three parameters. We also present the data that reveal ASE noise’s role in optical spectrum broadening through self-phase modulation of light propagating in a communication fiber. In particular, the data show that the ASE noise derivative defines the broadening’s spectral shape.

We report the generation of short pulses at 1 μm using an all-polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber configuration. The pulses are provided by an all normal-dispersion Fabry-Perot Yb-doped cavity and are compressed with an anomalous polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM PCF). Opposed to standard configurations; here the filtering action is solely performed by the finite bandwidth of the gain medium. The laser generates 8 ps width sech 2 profile pulses at 1046.8 nm with a −10 dB bandwidth of 5.9 nm. After compression using the PM PCF, pulses with an FWHM of 3 ps were obtained, limited by the actual value of the available anomalous dispersion. We also report the changes in the output light pulses when both the net-normal dispersion of the cavity and the medium gain length were varied. We found that the lack of a specific filter within the cavity does not deteriorate the performance as compared with previous works. We report the generation of short pulses at 1 μm using an all-polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber configuration. The pulses are provided by an all normal-dispersion Fabry-Perot Yb-doped cavity and are compressed with an anomalous polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM PCF). Opposed to standard configurations; here the filtering action is solely performed by the finite bandwidth of the gain medium. The laser generates 8 ps width sech 2 profile pulses at 1046.8 nm with a −10 dB bandwidth of 5.9 nm. After compression using the PM PCF, pulses with an FWHM of 3 ps were obtained, limited by the actual value of the available anomalous dispersion. We also report the changes in the output light pulses when both the net-normal dispersion of the cavity and the medium gain length were varied. We found that the lack of a specific filter within the cavity does not deteriorate the performance as compared with previous works.

A long-cavity passively mode-locked thulium-doped all-fiber laser is reported incorporating a tapered acousto-optic tunable bandpass filter (AOTBF). The operation of the AOTBF relies on the intermodal coupling between core and cladding modes when a flexural acoustic wave propagates along an 80-microm tapered fiber. The filter works in transmission and exhibits a 3-dB bandwidth of 9.02 nm with an insertion loss of 3.4 dB. The laser supports ultrashort pulse generation at a low repetition rate of 784.93 kHz. Optical pulses with 2.43 nm of optical bandwidth and 2.1 ps pulse duration were obtained in a broad tuning range from 1824.77 to 1905.16 nm.

We propose the implementation of fiber Bragg gratings in tapered few-mode and multimode fibers to accomplish single-mode operation by reducing the core diameter, while preserving the core-cladding structure. The gratings present a single reflection band, and the device shows low insertion losses after the taper fabrication and the fiber Bragg gratings inscription. The excitation of high-order odd modes in the core of the fiber has been identified as the main loss mechanism; it can be prevented by means of symmetric illumination of the fibers. We also demonstrate the excitation of high-order cladding modes (cladding-air modes) along the taper transitions; these modes can be removed without a significant increment of the insertion loss.

In this work we report on the measurement, with record accuracy, of the absolute modal effective refraction index (phase index) of single-mode optical fibers by using Bragg gratings. We also demonstrate a new method to measure the group index of the fibers from the grating’s Bragg wavelength. We present as well the characterization of the thermo-optic and strain-optic coefficients as a function of the wavelength; the values we have obtained are the closest to those of pristine fiber measured with gratings technology so far. The phase index is measured with a set of gratings in the wavelength ranges from 1509 to 1563 nm, and the group index is obtained from the wavelength dependence of the phase index. Very weak gratings with reflectivity down to 1 0 − 3 have been used in order to minimize the perturbation of the pristine fiber. Results are presented at a temperature of 22°C and zero strain after preliminary calibration of the thermo-optic and strain-optic coefficients as a function of the wavelength. Accuracies better than 3 × 1 0 − 5 and 7 × 1 0 − 4 have been achieved for the phase and group indices, respectively. It is also shown that the main source of error relates to the uncertainty in pitch of the phase masks used for grating inscription. The technique is useful for testing different kinds of fibers including telecommunication, amplifying, and polarization maintaining.

In this work we present a simple polarization-maintaining wavelength-tunable passive mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) as a mode locker. The cavity includes a Sagnac interferometer-based fiber optical loop mirror (FOLM) as a wide wavelength-tunable filter. Tunable mode-locking was experimentally achieved in the range of 1543.2 nm to 1569.5 nm by thermally adjustment of FOLM wavelength reflection. The output pulses have a repetition rate of 11.16 MHz with pulse duration about 0.9 ps. The experimental results were confirmed by numerical simulations.

A novel optical fiber probe has been developed to provide mechanical stability to microbubbles generated in fluids, the tip of the fiber is etched with hydrofluoric acid to pierce a truncated horn that fastens the microbubbles to the fiber tip and prevents misalignment or detachment caused by convection currents, vibrations or shocks in the liquid. Microbubbles are photo-thermally generated on the etched fiber and used as Fabry-Perot cavity sensor. Two methods were used to interrogate the probe: the first one, in the wavelength domain, is suitable for calibration in static or quasi static situations; the second one, in the time domain, can be used in dynamic environments. Experimental results in the wavelength domain show that the microbubble size rises linearly with temperature and decreases with the inverse of pressure; the average slopes are 27.1 μm/°C and 88.3 μm/bar respectively. Dynamic variations of temperature have been measured in the time domain, temperature changes down to 0.007 °C have been detected at a readout rate of 10 s-−1. Bubbles have been subjected to pressure shocks of 2.4 bar at a speed of 25 bar/s, pressure changes of 3.4 mbar have been resolved in the time domain at a readout rate of 20,000 s−1.

A detailed experimental study of a simple and compact fiber optic sensor based on a fused biconical fiber coupler is presented, in which the sensitivity is improved by operating the coupler beyond the first coupling cycle. The sensor is demonstrated to perform high sensitivity measurements of refractive index changes by means of variation of sugar concentration in water. The device is operated to achieve a linear transmission response, allowing a linear relation between the sugar concentration and the output signal. The initial sensitivity was measured as 0.03 units of normalized transmission per unit of sugar concentration (g/100 mL), with a noise detection limit of a sugar concentration of 0.06 wt% of sugar concentration. Improvements in sensitivity were studied by operating the coupler beyond their first coupling cycles; achieving an improved sensitivity of 0.15 units of normalized transmission per unit of sugar concentration, and a minimum detection limit of 0.012 wt% of sugar concentration. From this result, the minimum detectable refractive index change is estimated as $2 \times 10^{-{5}}$ refractive index unit.

An erbium-doped (Er3+) fiber optic laser is proposed for sensing alternated magnetic fields by measuring the laser intensity modulation. The sensor is fabricated using two partially overlapped narrow-band fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and a section of doped fiber in a Fabry–Perot configuration. Laser power stability and bandwidth are studied while changing the overlap. A bulk rod of TbDyFe, a magnetostrictive material, is glued to both the FBGs and the laser wavelength and power are modulated according to the magnetic field. Acquisition and processing are done using virtual instrumentation. Results have shown the possibility of detecting 11.18 $\mu \text{T}_{\mathrm {{rms}}}/\surd $ Hz for an alternating magnetic field of 4.17 mT $_{\mathrm {{rms}}}$ .

We investigated the behavior of a fiber-ring polarization-maintaining passively modelocked ytterbium-doped laser in a broad range of dispersion values; i.e., from highly net-normal to net-anomalous, with a special emphasis near the zero of chromatic dispersion. Different lengths of an ad hoc polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber were used as intracavity dispersion compensator to shift the operation of this laser from net-normal to the net-anomalous regime. The laser generated the shortest light pulses around the zero of dispersion: 6 ps / 7ps for −0.023 ps2 / 0.045 ps2 ; in both cases, pulses were not transform-limited, being theoretically possible an out-of-cavity recompression down to 170 fs / 220 fs, respectively. In the net-normal regime, we obtained a stable, ultra-low frequency, emission at 1.19 MHz, with pulses with a FWHM of 162 ps and pulse energy of 115 pJ. This laser presents a somewhat symmetrical behavior at both sides of the zero of dispersion thanks to its simple filter-free configuration. The laser is also environmentally robust, insensitive against temperature variations and mechanical vibrations, due to its integrated all-polarization-maintaining design.

In this work a model was developed that allows to understand the behavior of a chirped fiber Bragg grating for the detection and characterization of cracks in materials. In addition to the amplitude response, we show that the group delay of the grating provides useful information for the characterization of the crack. The position of the crack can be determined thanks to the linear chirp of the grating that fixes a correlation between the spatial position and both, the wavelength and the group delay. However, our analysis shows that this simple approach has a source of error, which can be overcome if a controllable external strain can be applied to the embedded grating, additional to the strain generated by the embedding process. Thus, the width of the crack can be also estimated. The effect of the appearance of a crack on the grating generates simple o multiple transmission peaks that are analyzed considering the behavior of a Fabry–Perot fiber cavity. This simple model was experimentally tested and preliminary results were in good agreement with the simulations., Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas