Mode Evolution in Fiber Based Devices for Optical Communication Systems

Space division multiplexing (SDM) is the most promising way of increasing the capacity of a single fiber. To enable the few mode fiber (FMF) or multi-mode fiber (MMF) transmission system, several major challenges have to be overcome. One is the urgent need of ideal mode multiplexer, the second is the perfect amplification for all spatial modes, another one is the modal delay spread (MDS) due to group velocity difference of spatial modes. The main subject of this dissertation is to model, fabricate and characterize the mode multiplexer for FMF transmission. First, we designed a novel resonant mode coupler (structured directional coupler pair). After that, we studied the adiabatic mode multiplexer (photonic lantern). 6-mode photonic lantern using graded-index (GI) MMFs is proposed and demonstrated, which alleviates the adiabatic require-ment and improves mode selectivity. Then, 10-mode photonic lantern is demonstrated using novel double cladding micro-structured drilling-hole preform, which alleviates the adiabatic requirement and demonstrate a feasible way to scale up the lantern modes. Also, multi-mode photonic lantern is studied for high order input modes. In addition, for the perfect amplification of the modes, cladding pump method is demonstrated. The mode selective lantern designed and fabricated can be used for the characterization of few mode amplifier with swept wavelength interferometer (SWI). Also, we demonstrated the application of the use of the few mode amplifier for the turbulence-resisted preamplified receiver. Besides, for the reduction of MDS, the long period grating for introducing strong mode mixing is demonstrated

Nova técnica para medida de temperatura em redes de sensores de grades de Bragg em fibras ópticas usando realimentação óptica

Orientador: Jose Antonio Siqueira DiasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de ComputaçãoResumo: O crescente interesse na utilização de Grades de Bragg (FBG) em sistemas sensores pode ser explicado por algumas de suas características, que são: imunidade à interferência eletromagnética (EMI), isolamento elétrico, baixo peso, flexibilidade, e transmissão de informações a longa distância. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova técnica de interrogação capaz de medir a temperatura de uma rede de sensores de grades de Bragg em fibras ópticas, onde um circuito eletrônico realiza rotinas de controle possibilitando a implementação de uma realimentação óptica. O esquema optoeletrônico empregado é capaz de realizar a interrogação de todos os sensores da rede de maneira quase instantânea, além de permitir que novos sensores possam ser facilmente acrescentados. Um protótipo contendo dois sensores foi construído e testado para validar a técnica obtendo-se uma alta resolução de ± 1 mºC na medida de temperatura em uma faixa de 72ºCAbstract: The increasing interest in the use of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) in sensing systems can be explained by some of its features, which are immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), electrical insulation, low weight, flexibility, and long distance data transmission capability. This work presents a new interrogation technique capable of measuring temperature of Bragg gratings sensor networks in optical fibers, where an electronic circuit, capable to perform control routines, allows the implementation of an optical feedback. The optoelectronic scheme used is capable of performing the interrogation of all the sensors of the network almost instantly, and allows new sensors to be easily added. A prototype containing two channels was built and tested to validate the technique achieving a high resolution of ± 1 mºC in temperature measurements in a range of 72º C.DoutoradoEletrônica, Microeletrônica e OptoeletrônicaDoutor em Engenharia Elétric

Recent developments in fibre optic shape sensing

This paper presents a comprehensive critical review of technologies used in the development of fibre optic shape sensors (FOSSs). Their operation is based on multi-dimensional bend measurements using a series of fibre optic sensors. Optical fibre sensors have experienced tremendous growth from simple bend sensors in 1980s to full three-dimensional FOSSs using multicore fibres in recent years. Following a short review of conventional contact-based shape sensor technologies, the evolution trend and sensing principles of FOSSs are presented. This paper identifies the major optical fibre technologies used for shape sensing and provides an account of the challenges and emerging applications of FOSSs in various industries such as medical robotics, industrial robotics, aerospace and mining industry

Demodulation and de-multiplexing of a fibre Bragg grating sensor array using volume holograms

The demodulation of a Wavelength Division Multiplexed FBG sensor array by a matching array of holograms hosted within a Volume Holographic (VH) material is considered within this thesis. The FBG sensor elements possess separate quiescent wavelengths and operate within different wavelength ranges. The edge of the transfer function of the demodulating holographic element is aligned with the operating range of the matching sensor element. The holographic element then diffracts a fraction of the sensor signal depending on its instantaneous wavelength. The signals from each of the sensor elements are also diffracted through separate angles to matching detectors so de-multiplexing the sensor array. A scheme using narrow bandwidth holographic transfer functions to demodulate a two element strain sensor array fabricated 4nm apart is reported. The transfer functions and the hysteresis within the PZT actuator, applying the strain, are represented mathematically and used to process results. These are compared with a normalised saw-tooth voltage waveform applied to the PZT to achieve a high Pearson correlation factor of 0.9992. The holograms however possessed poor diffraction efficiency <1% so severely degrading strain resolution. The crosstalk between the sensors’ channels is measured as -8.3dB. The demodulation scheme is intensity based so is susceptible to fluctuations in source intensity and fibre bend losses. An intensity reference scheme is therefore demonstrated using two holograms to demodulate a single FBG strain sensor. The sensor’s signal is divided by the two holograms and the intensity of the respective parts recorded on matched photo-detectors. Ratiometric detection is then used to identify changes in applied strain while disregarding fluctuations in source intensity and fibre bend losses. The standard difference over sum equation for ratiometric detection however is modified to take account of the respective holographic transfer functions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Metamateriales sub-longitud de onda para microdispositivos fotónicos de altas prestaciones

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, leída el 28-04-2020Photonics has become of paramount importance in many areas of our everyday life owing to its inherent potential to develop not only telecom and datacom solutions, but also many other applications such as metrology [DeMiguel’18], energy generation and saving [Polman’12, Miller’17], spectrometry [Velasco’13a], sensing [Rodríguez-Barrios’10], medicine [Morgner’00] and industrial manufacturing [Malinauskas’16], to name a few. Particularly, integrated optics has attracted increasing industrial attention and scientific efforts to implement photonic integrated circuits (PICs) capable of tackling all abovementioned tasks in compact and efficient systems.Among all the available materials, silicon photonics leverages the maturity of the fabrication techniques reached by the microelectronics industry, enabling cost-effective mass production [Chen’18]. Different material platforms with a high refractive index contrast have been proposed for silicon photonics to achieve higher integration levels and perform more complex functions in a single chip, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and silicon nitride (Si3N4, commonly simplified to SiN). The increased integration capacity of silicon photonics has enabled to tackle one of our greatest technological challenges: global data traffic inside data centers. Besides short-range optical interconnects for telecom and datacom applications, the progress in silicon photonics also encompasses many other untapped applications that are being explored by academia and industry: absorption spectroscopy and bio-sensing [Herrero-Bermello’17, Wangüemert-Pérez’19], light detection and ranging (LIDAR) [Poulton’17a], quantum computing [Harris’16], microwave and terahertz photonics [Marpaung’19, Harter’18], nonlinear optics [Leuthold’10], and many others...La fotónica ha adquirido una importancia fundamental en muchos ámbitos de nuestra vida cotidiana debido a su potencial intrínseco para desarrollar soluciones no sólo en el campo de las telecomunicaciones y las interconexiones de corto alcance, sino también en otras muchas áreas como la metrología [DeMiguel’18], la generación de energía [Polman’12, Miller’17], la espectrometría [Velasco’13a], la detección [Rodríguez-Barrios’10], la medicina [Morgner’00] y la fabricación industrial [Malinauskas’16]. En particular, la óptica integrada ha atraído tanto la atención de la industria como los esfuerzos científicos para implementar circuitos fotónicos integrados (PICs, Photonic Integrated Circuits) capaces de abordar todas las tareas mencionadas anteriormente en sistemas compactos y eficientes. Entre todos los materiales disponibles, la fotónica de silicio aprovecha la madurez de las técnicas de fabricación alcanzadas por la industria de la microelectrónica, permitiendo una producción en masa rentable [Chen’18]. Para maximizar su densidad de integración y poder realizar funciones más complejas en un único chip, diferentes plataformas materiales con un alto contraste de índice de refracción se han propuesto, como por ejemplo las plataformas de silicio sobre aislante (SOI, Silicon-On-Insulator) y de nitruro de silicio (Si3N4, comúnmente simplificada a SiN, Silicon Nitride). Esta mayor densidad de integración ha permitido abordar uno de nuestros mayores desafíos tecnológicos hasta la fecha: el tráfico de datos global dentro de los centros de datos. Además de las interconexiones ópticas de corto alcance, el progreso de la fotónica de silicio también comprende muchas otras aplicaciones inexploradas que están siendo estudiadas en el ámbito académico e industrial como, por ejemplo, la espectroscopía de absorción y biodetección [Herrero-Bermello’17, Wangüemert-Pérez’19], LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) [Poulton’17a], computación cuántica [Harris’16], fotónica de microondas y terahercios [Marpaung’19, Harter’18], óptica no lineal [Leuthold’10], y muchas otras...Fac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEunpu

VCSEL Techniques for Wavelength-Multiplexed Optical Interconnects

The majority of global data communication is taking place within data centers where data is stored and processed and where the largest part of the power used for global networking is consumed. With the rapidly increasing use of Internet-based applications and services, data centers are equipped with a larger number of servers and switches requiring higher bandwidth connectivity. Optical interconnects (OIs) are used to provide the connectivity needed. Short-reach OIs are dominated by 850 nm GaAs-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) due to their low fabrication cost, low power consumption, high modulation speed, and circular output beam. With the need for even higher bandwidth connectivity, large efforts have been invested in the development of VCSEL-based OIs offering higher aggregate capacity. Until now, higher capacity has been achieved mostly through an increase of the lane rate by higher speed VCSELs and higher order modulation formats. Furthermore, spatial division multiplexing (SDM), using parallel fibers or multicore fibers, has proven effective for increasing the aggregate capacity. With these techniques, it is expected that the OI capacity will saturate at the 1 Tbit/s level.Capacity beyond the limits of current technologies is expected by also exploring the wavelength dimension, referred to as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). This calls for the development of high-speed VCSELs at multiple wavelengths. To also enable the very small footprint transceivers and high bandwidth density needed as transceivers move closer to the switch AISC, the multiple wavelength VCSELs should be in a monolithic array. This requires a VCSEL technology where the wavelength of individual VCSELs can be precisely set in a post-growth fabrication process. As an integration platform for multiplexing and fiber coupling we envision a photonic circuit on Si with Si3N4 waveguides and grating couplers for VCSEL integration. With such waveguides being single mode and the grating couplers being polarization sensitive, the VCSELs in the array should be single transverse and polarization mode, in addition to having a high modulation bandwidth.In this thesis, an intra-cavity phase tuning technique, based on an Ar ion-beam etching process with sub-nm precision, is demonstrated for setting the resonance wavelength of VCSEL resonators with &lt;2 nm precision in the wavelength range 1040-1070 nm. Single transverse and polarization mode VCSELs with a record output power of 6 mW are also demonstrated. Suppression of higher order transverse modes and the orthogonal polarization state is achieved by etching a shallow mode filter in the surface of the VCSEL

Optimization of multicore optical fibers with fiber Bragg gratings towards bend and shape sensing

A shape sensor based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in multicore fibers is a complex device with multiple factors which have to be accounted for a successful measure- ment system. In this dissertation, I considered several aspects of such shape and curvature sensors

Orbital angular momentum in optical fibers

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityInternet data traffic capacity is rapidly reaching limits imposed by nonlinear effects of single mode fibers currently used in optical communications. Having almost exhausted available degrees of freedom to orthogonally multiplex data in optical fibers, researchers are now exploring the possibility of using the spatial dimension of fibers, via multicore and multimode fibers, to address the forthcoming capacity crunch. While multicore fibers require complex manufacturing, conventional multimode fibers suffer from mode coupling, caused by random perturbations in fibers and modal (de)multiplexers. Methods that have been developed to address the problem of mode coupling so far, have been dependent on computationally intensive digital signal processing algorithms using adaptive optics feedback or complex multiple-input multiple-output algorithms. Here we study the possibility of using the orbital angular momentum (OAM), or helicity, of light, as a means of increasing capacity of future optical fiber communication links. We first introduce a class of specialty fibers designed to minimize mode coupling and show their potential for OAM mode generation in fibers using numerical analysis. We then experimentally confirm the existence of OAM states in these fibers using methods based on fiber gratings and spatial light modulators. In order to quantify the purity of created OAM states, we developed two methods based on mode-image analysis, showing purity of OAM states to be 90% after 1km in these fibers. Finally, in order to demonstrate data transmission using OAM states, we developed a 4-mode multiplexing and demultiplexing systems based on free-space optics and spatial light modulators. Using simple coherent detection methods, we successfully transmit data at 400Gbit/s using four OAM modes at a single wavelength, over 1.1 km of fiber. Furthermore, we achieve data transmission at 1.6Tbit/s using 10 wavelengths and two OAM modes. Our study indicates that OAM light can exist, and be long lived, in a special class of fibers and our data transmission demonstrations show that OAM could be considered an additional degree of freedom for data multiplexing in future optical fiber communication links. Our studies open the doors for other applications such as micro-endoscopy and nanoscale imaging which require fiber based remote delivery of OAM light