In this study, we present a fiber-tip Fabry-Perot interferometer operating in reflective mode, fabricated on the end faces of standard single-mode optical fibers using the Two-Photon Polymerization 3D nanoprinting method. Theoretical analysis highlights the primary challenge in accurately fitting the geometric dimensions of the cavity due to light beam divergence at the end of a single-mode fiber. Therefore, significant emphasis was placed on creating a compact structure with a high-reflection mirror formed on the printed tip. Various shapes of reflective surfaces were tested, including flat and concave. Additionally, to improve reflection we used the cathode sputtering method to get thin metal films on the printed surfaces. During conducted research, it has been demonstrated that the optimal solution is to cover only one surface of the resonator. This necessitated the development of a structure with a unique shape, enabling the deposition of a thin metallic layer solely on the top surface while simultaneously preventing deposition on the core.
In this study, experimental investigation of fiber-based Fabry-Perot is compared against the theoretical predictions of Fabry-Perot resonators. The special emphasis in this study was placed on testing the perspectives for resonance enhancement by coating the fiber facets by highly reflective surfaces and by replacing the flat surfaces by concave mirrors fabricated by the Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) 3D nano-printing method. Golden layers of varying thickness were deposited on both flat and concave mirrors of optical fiber Fabry-Perot resonators, which were constructed from simply two optical fiber tips carefully aligned parallel to each other. An improvement of extinction ratio by even 12.5 dB and higher finesse of the resonance signal was registered. The resonance spectra resulting from such modifications were measured and discussed in relation to the assumptions of the theory for free-space Fabry-Perot resonators. It was demonstrated that the most optimal reflectance (R) values of both mirrors for the standard Fabry-Perot cavities (R1 = R2) are not the most optimal in case of fiber Fabry-Perot cavities.
Photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) have been studied for over a decade as an emerging field of sensing and telecommunication devices. Exciting properties of liquid crystals (LCs) infiltrating photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) can be additionally tuned by doping with various materials that are sensitive to external influences, such as an electric field or temperature. Among them, metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are gathering a great interest, due to their potential applications. NPs can be used to highly influence material properties of LCs as dielectric anisotropy, elastic constants, and viscosity. This may lead to many desirable effects, such as a decrease of the Fredericks threshold voltage or reduction of LC switching times. In this paper we doped a nematic LC with 2-nm gold (Au) and 8-nm silver (Ag) NPs, and infiltrated the prepared mixtures into photonic crystal fibers. We examined the influence of this doping in two different electric field systems, one with two flat copper electrodes, and second with four copper microelectrodes. Our results indicate that metallic NP (both Au and Ag) doping enhances sensitivity of the PLCF-based sensors to an electric field and decreases the threshold voltage. Additionally, due to smaller distances between the electrodes, the proposed four microelectrode system requires lower voltages to effectively tune the PLCF.
Liquid crystals over the last two decades have been successfully used to infiltrate fiber-optic and photonic structures initially including hollow-core fibers and recently micro-structured photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). As a result photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) have been created as a new type of micro-structured fibers that benefit from a merge of “passive” PCF host structures with “active” LC guest materials and are responsible for diversity of new and uncommon spectral, propagation, and polarization properties. This combination has simultaneously boosted research activities in both fields of Liquid Crystals Photonics and Fiber Optics by demonstrating that optical fibers can be more “special” than previously thought. Simultaneously, photonic liquid crystal fibers create a new class of fiber-optic devices that utilize unique properties of the photonic crystal fibers and tunable properties of LCs. Compared to „classical” photonic crystal fibers, PLCFs can demonstrate greatly improved control over their optical properties. The paper discusses the latest advances in this field comprising PLCFs that are based on nanoparticles-doped LCs. Doping of LCs with nanoparticles has recently become a common method of improving their optical, magnetic, electrical, and physical properties. Such a combination of nanoparticles-based liquid crystals and photonic crystal fibers can be considered as a next milestone in developing a new class of fiber-based optofluidic systems.
Photonic liquid crystal fiber has been intensively investigated in last few years. It has been proved that guiding properties of such fibers could be tuned with an electric field. In particular efficient tuning could be obtained if multi-electrode system allowing for dynamic change of not only intensity of the electric field, but also its direction. In this work we report a simple to build four electrode system, which is based on a precisely aligned four cylindrical microelectrodes. As an electrodes we use enameled copper wire with diameter adequate to the diameter of the fiber to be tuned. To ensure uniform and parallel alignment of the wires a special micro-profiles has been designed and then produced with filament 3D printer. The possibility of the dynamic change of the electric field direction in such scalable and cost effective electrode assembly has been experimentally confirmed.
The direction of liquid crystal (LC) arrangement can be changed by different techniques. Photo-alignment method
appears to be potentially the best technique to use in the case of micro–capillaries. Developing the photo-alignment
method of liquid crystal molecules in silica micro–capillaries allowed to work on obtaining periodic orientation. The
usage of amplitude masks in the irradiation allows to obtain a periodic alignment of molecules variable within a single
sample. In this paper, the experimental results of the periodic orientations achieved are presented.
In this paper we present the theoretical and experimental analysis of the micro-electrodes system for the for dynamic change of the electric field direction. The system consists of four micro-electrodes introduced into the micro-holes and one rectangular air hole in the center and can applied for electric field sensing with polymer-based micro-structured optical fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals.
In last few years a noticeable progress in the field of electrically tunable optical fibers was observed. Guiding properties of such fibers can be easily changed with transverse electric field. The efficiency of tuning could be improved if not only intensity of the electric field by also its direction could be adjusted. In this paper we present a new electrode assembly consisting six cylindrical microelectrodes surrounding the tunable optical fiber. In such configuration six different directions of the electric field can be easily obtained. Moreover by using more sophisticated nonsymmetrical steering the direction of the electric field can be arbitrarily defined.
Photonic liquid crystal fibers allow for dynamic modification of their guiding and polarization properties. In particular it is possible to dynamically tune phase delay between two orthogonal polarization of the guided mode. In this work an index-guiding photonic liquid crystal fiber with highly tunable retardation, reaching value of 15λ (or 30π in terms of phase difference) is presented. Electric tuning with two sets of electrodes is also discussed and demonstrated proving that photonic liquid crystal fibers can be utilized as a all-in-fiber polarization controllers.
In this paper we present the theoretical investigation of the phase birefringence in multi-component glasses photonic crystal fiber PCF14(6), selectively infiltrated with 5CB nematic liquid crystal (LC). The PCF14(6) used as a host in our numerical model is made of the PBG08 high-refractive index glass (~1.95). Refractive index of the fiber is much higher than then both ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices of the LC and as a result low-loss and index-guiding propagation is possible. In our calculations we assume that the host PCF is infiltrated with LC only in the center row of the air channels. Such selective infiltration induces initial phase birefringence in the fiber equal to 1.8 .10-5 when molecules are parallel to the fiber axis. The influence of the tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules alignment on the PLCF birefringence is presented. We show possibility to tune the phase birefringence up to 6.2 .10-5 or down to −2.4 .10-5 depending on the direction of electric field.
In this paper the photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with various solid core diameters are presented. The attenuation obtained in the photonic band gap (PBG) mechanism for 37 rods forming the core of PLCFs was 0.16 dB/cm, which is the lowest attenuation reported to date. Reducing the fiber core diameter causes the increase of light penetration in fiber holes, which results in increased losses. The solid core of PCFs structure used in experiment consisted of 1, 7, 19 and 37 rods. The attenuation of PLCFs was measured by using the cut-back technique.
Silica-based HB fibers have severe limitations due to their coating layers while embedded into a composite: the hard coating layer easily transmits radial stress to the sensing fiber and changes its birefringence. Two coating layers – hard and soft – attached to the HB fiber do not influence fiber birefringence since the second (soft) layer can easily absorb any lateral force. On the other hand, a soft coating does not provide any proper transmission of the longitudinal strain. Additionally, fused-silica fibers have an upper strain limit of approximately 2% strain. In highly loaded engineering structures structural monitoring strain is becoming increasingly important. Hence, soft polymer materials used in the manufacturing process of highly birefringent microstructured polymer optical fibers (mPOFs) can solve this limitation. In this paper we present interactions between a composite material and mPOFs during the manufacturing process. The lamination process can dramatically change the group birefringence of the mPOFs. Measurements for fiber embedded in composite materials and fiber in free space were made and compared. A simple explanation of these differences is presented at the end of the paper.
Properties of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) filled with nematic liquid crystals (LC) can be easily tuned by using an
external electric field. In this work we focus on electrical tuning of index-guiding photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCF)
based on fibers made from multi-component glasses with an enhanced value of the refractive index. The impact of an
electric field on light propagation in index guiding PLCFs has been carefully studied and the effective tuning of phase
birefringence has been observed experimentally. The dependence of time response on the modulation level will be
presented. In the end we will show polarization controller made with two pair of electrodes.
In great majority of the previous works devoted to photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) a photonic band-gap
propagation was investigated, since silica glass fibers' refractive index is lower than refractive indices of the most of
liquid crystals. In this work we focus on the electrical tuning of the index-guiding PLCFs based on host-fibers made from
multi-component glasses with enhanced value of refractive index. Impact of the electric field on the light propagation in
index-guiding PLCFs has been carefully studied and effective tuning of the phase birefringence, attenuation and
polarization dependent losses has been observed experimentally.
Photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) can be categorized in two principal groups: index guiding PLCFs and photonic
bandgap PLCFs. In this paper we focus on index guiding PLCFs in which effective refractive index of the
micro-structured cladding filled with liquid crystal is lower than refractive index of the fiber core. In such fibers
broadband propagation of light is observed and also effective tuning of guiding properties is possible (i.e. birefringence,
polarization dependent losses or attenuation tuning). Such fibers could be used for dynamic control of light in various
fiber optics systems, including optical fiber sensing setups.
Liquid Crystal Photonic Crystal Fibers (LC-PCFs) known also as Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers (PLCFs) are advanced
specialty fibers that benefit from a combination of "passive" photonic crystal fiber host microstructures infiltrated with
"active" liquid crystal guest materials and are responsible for a diversity of new and uncommon spectral, propagation,
and polarization properties. This combination has simultaneously reinvigorated research in both fields of Liquid Crystals
Photonics and Fiber Optics by demonstrating that optical fibers can be more "special" than previously thought.
Simultaneously, photonic liquid crystal fibers create a new class of optical waveguides that utilizes unique guiding
properties of the micro-structured photonic crystal fibers and attractive tunable properties of liquid crystals. Comparing
to the conventional photonic crystal fibers, the photonic liquid crystal fibers can demonstrate greatly improved control
over their optical properties.
The paper describes basic physics including guiding mechanisms, spectral properties, polarization phenomena, thermal,
electrical and optical controlling effects as well as innovative emerging technology behind these developments. Some
examples of novel LC-PCFs highly tunable photonic devices as: attenuators, broadband filters, polarizers, waveplates,
and phase shifters recently demonstrated at the Warsaw University of Technology are also presented. Current research
progress in the field indicates that a new class of emerging liquid crystals tunable photonics devices could be expected.
In this paper results of soft glass single mode photonic crystal fibers (PCF) fabrication are presented. Using "stack and
draw" technique a few kinds of PCFs (various core sizes and filling factors) made of multicomponent glasses has been
successfully fabricated. Two glasses, developed in-house at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME),
have been used. High refractive index (nD=1.94) lead-bismuth-gallate glass (PGB-08) and borosilicate glass (NC21A).
We have achieved attenuation 3.9 - 5.1dB/m (λ=806nm) for fibers made of NC21A glass and 15dB/m (λ=632.8nm) for
PBG08 glass. Glasses attenuation: NC21A - 3.2dB/m, PBG-08 - 14.5dB/m. Fibers have very regular photonic cladding
with filling factor in range 0.2 - 0.7.
In this work we present experimental results of the influence of hydrostatic pressure on polarization and propagation properties of the photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals. Two ranges of Photonic Band Gaps (PBGs) were observed and hydrostatic pressure was found to narrow the PBGs and also to introduce changes in the state of polarization The results obtained suggest great potential of the LC-infiltrated photonic crystal fibers for prospective constructions of fiber optics pressure sensors.
Guiding properties of liquid crystal (LC) filled photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) can be easily tuned by using an external electric field. In this paper we discuss electric field distribution within the LC filled PCFs for three different electrodes configurations: two flat parallel electrodes, four electrodes arranged in the V-groove assembly, and finally two short parallel electrodes together with two conductive rods placed on both sides of the fiber. The last two configurations enable four different directions of the electric field depending on the applied voltage
This paper is a continuation of our earlier works on remote measurement tools for supporting the research on novel photonic materials. The scope of this particular work encompasses especially a brief review of present exemplary implementations of remote access methods to measurement equipment, followed by proposing a design for a system management web-based application and related databases, selection of optimal software technologies and their implementation. Case-study for a real-time working system has been developed and proposed, which utilizes apparatus available at three collaborating laboratories located at Warsaw University of Technology and dedicated to photonics research.
Photonic Crystal Fibers, optical fibers with regular structure of micro-holes running along the axial direction, have
ability to change their optical properties through inserting different materials into their holes. The paper presents our
latest experimental results of the influence of external electric field and hydrostatic pressure on propagation properties of
the photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals clearly indicating great potential for electric field and
hydrostatic pressure sensing applications. Operating range of both electric field and hydrostatic pressure sensors can be
tailored by different combination of a host photonic crystal fiber and a liquid crystal used for infiltration. Moreover, by
changing the operating wavelength different sensor responses can be obtained.
We present preliminary results of the tests performed by using a modular fiber-optic sensor for hydrostatic
pressure/temperature and also rotation measurements envisaged for refinery applications. Our prototype fiber optic
sensor for rotation measurements has been successfully installed and tested in the ORLEN Refinery in Plock, Poland.
During the initial tests, we used rotating machine to measure its rotor velocity. As a light source we used a pigtailed
laser diode (λ=635 nm) whereas the sensor head was connected to the light source and to a detector by a 100-meters-long
loop of the multimode optical fibers. The output characteristics of the modular sensing system have been optimized
in view of enhancing their measurement capabilities and in order to minimize disturbing environmental effects.
Photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) combine unique properties of photonic crystal fibers and liquid crystals (LCs).
Liquid crystal molecules orientation within the PLCFs has crucial impact on their optical properties since it determines
the radial refractive index profile of the LC-filled micro-holes. There are many techniques used for LC molecules
orientation control, but most of them are not suitable for application in microstructured fibers characterized by holes
with diameters in the order of few micrometers. It seems that the only method that could be applied in PLCFs is using of
thin photopolymer layers, in which surface anisotropy can be induced in the way of photochemical reactions. In this
paper we present preliminary experimental results of the photoinduced molecular alignment in the PLCF induced by a
thin polyvinylcinnamate (PVCi) film irradiated with the linearly polarized ultraviolet light.
Microstructured photonic crystal fibers have an ability to modify their spectral properties when different materials are
inserted into the holes. This paper presents our latest experimental results on spectral properties of photonic crystal
fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals. Three different types of photonic crystal fibers host-structures were filled with
nematic liquid crystals. The structures consisted of multi-core, isotropic or highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers.
The nematic liquid crystals mixtures used as guest materials are characterized by either extremely low or medium
material birefringence. This paper demonstrates a prototype multi-core photonic liquid crystal fiber showing strong
influence of fluctuations in the fiber's dimensions on the selective propagation bands. The paper discusses the influence
of temperature and of external electric field on the spectral properties of the photonic liquid crystal fibers and reports the
latest experimental results with highly birefringent Blazephotonicsphotonic crystal fibers also filled with the nematic
liquid crystal.
Liquid Crystal (LC) molecules orientation in Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers (PLCFs) has crucial impact on their optical properties. There are many techniques used for LC molecules orientation control, but most of them are not suitable for application in microstructured fibers, which holes have diameters in the order of one micron. It seems that the only method that could be applied in PLCFs is using of thin photopolymer layers, in which surface anisotropy can be induced in the way of photochemical reactions. In this work experimental results of photoinduced molecular alignment in PLCF with thin polyvinylcinnamate (PVCi) film irradiated with linearly polarized ultraviolet light.
The paper discusses the influence of temperature and an external electric field on spectral properties of the microstructured optical fibers infiltrated with liquid crystals and also presents a multi-core microstructured liquid crystal fiber showing strong influence of fluctuations of the fiber's dimensions on selective propagation bands. Moreover, we also report the latest experimental results on highly birefringent (HB) photonic crystal fibers (PCF). By using the wavelength scanning method, we have estimated birefringence in an HB PCF without and with liquid crystal filling. Subsequently, the possibility of birefringence tuning in an HB photonic liquid crystal fiber under influence of temperature is demonstrated.
Partially temporary coherent light might be depolarized during propagation in birefringent media. The depolarization depends on coherency of light source DL, birefringence of medium Dn, and azimuth of light beam versus fast and slow axes of medium birefringence (Ex/Ey). Depolarization is caused by polarization mode dispersion, also responsible for spreading light pulses and lowering bandwidth in binary transmission in optical fibers. The depolarization of temporal coherent light is also known in liquid crystals. In this paper we present the results of investigation on depolarization of light in optical fiber structures infiltrated with a liquid crystal.
The paper presents a modular fiber optic sensing system to measure temperature, hydrostatic pressure and/or strain based on polarimetric highly birefringent fiber operating at infrared wavelengths. The main idea of such a system is a new replaceable fiber-optic head, which allows adjusting the measuring system both to the required range and type (strain, pressure or temperature) of the external measurand. The outputs of the modular sensing system characteristics have been optimized in view of enhancing their measurement capabilities and in order to minimize disturbing
environmental effects.
The paper analyzes polarization properties and presents the latest experimental results on polarization phenomena occurring in microstructrured photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) in which only selected micro holes or holes areas were filled with prototype nematic liquid crystal guest materials that are characterized by either extremely low (of the order ~ 0.05) or relatively high (of the order ~ 0.3) material birefringence. The photonic crystal fiber host structure was a commercially available highly birefringent PCF (Blazephotonics). The PLCFs under investigation have been powered by a tunable laser operating at infrared. Due to anisotropic properties of the microstructured PLCFs, switching between different guiding mechanisms as well as electrically and temperature-induced tuning of both light propagation and fiber birefringence has been demonstrated.
Microstructured optical fibers have ability to change their optical properties through inserting different materials into their holes. Filling the microstructured fibers with liquid crystals opens up a possibility of dynamic switching between different guiding mechanisms. In this paper we present the influence of electrical field on propagation properties of microstructured photonic crystal fibers filled with either low or highly birefringent nematic liquid crystals. Depending on the liquid crystal material introduced into the micro holes different propagation mechanism controlled by external electric field have been observed. This creates great potential in fiber optic sensing and optical processing application.
The paper presents our latest experimental results on influence of temperature on the propagation properties of photonic
liquid crystal fibers. We used solid-core photonic crystal fibers filled either with a low-birefringence prototype 1550
liquid crystal mixture or with PCB. It appeared that direction of temperature tuning in PLCFs is strongly dependent on
thermal characteristics of both refractive indices.
Spectral and polarization properties of microstructured photonic crystal fibers filled with nematic liquid crystals characterized by either extremely low (of the order ~ 0.05) or higher (of the order ~ 0.3) material birefringence have been investigated. The photonic crystal fiber used as a host material was manufactured in Lublin, Poland and the nematic liquid crystals were introduced into the micro holes of the photonic crystal fiber by the capillary effect. Due to anisotropic properties of the obtained microstructured photonic liquid-crystal fiber, switching between different guiding mechanisms as well as novel spectral and polarization phenomena have been observed.
The paper presents the latest experimental results on influence of temperature and external electrical fields on propagation properties of a photonic liquid-crystal fiber composed of a photonic crystal fiber infilled with a nematic liquid rystal characterized by either extremely low (of the order ~0.05) or relatively high (of the order ~0.3) material birefringence. The nematic liquid crystal was introduced into the micro holes of the photonic crystal fiber by the capillary effect. Due to anisotropic properties of the obtrained photonic liquid-crystal fiber, switching between different guiding mechanisms has also been demonstrated.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.