Tapered GRIN fiber microsensor

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOThe sensitivity of an optical fiber microsensor based on inter-modal interference can be considerably improved by tapering a short extension of the multimode fiber. In the case of Graded Index fibers with a parabolic refractive index profile, a meridional ray exhibits a sinusoidal path. When these fibers are tapered, the period of the propagated beam decrease down-taper and increase up-taper. We take advantage of this modulation -along with the enhanced overlap between the evanescent field and the external medium- to substantially increase the sensitivity of these devices by tuning the sensor's maximum sensitivity wavelength. Moreover, the extension of this device is reduced by one order of magnitude, making it more propitious for reduced space applications. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate the success and feasibility of this approach.The sensitivity of an optical fiber microsensor based on inter-modal interference can be considerably improved by tapering a short extension of the multimode fiber. In the case of Graded Index fibers with a parabolic refractive index profile, a meridional ray exhibits a sinusoidal path. When these fibers are tapered, the period of the propagated beam decrease down-taper and increase up-taper. We take advantage of this modulation -along with the enhanced overlap between the evanescent field and the external medium- to substantially increase the sensitivity of these devices by tuning the sensor's maximum sensitivity wavelength. Moreover, the extension of this device is reduced by one order of magnitude, making it more propitious for reduced space applications. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate the success and feasibility of this approach.22253043230441FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO2011/01524-8Tam, H.Y., Liu, S.Y., Guan, B.O., Chung, W.H., Chan, T.H., Cheng, L.K., Fiber bragg grating sensors for structural and railway applications (2005) Advanced Sensor Systems and Applications II, 5634, pp. 85-97Villatoro, J., Monzón-Hernández, D., Mejía, E., Fabrication and modeling of uniform-waist single-mode tapered optical fiber sensors (2003) Appl. Opt., 42, pp. 2278-2283Kumar, A., Varshney, R.K., Sa, C., Sharma, P., Transmission characteristics of SMS fiber optic sensor structures (2003) Optics Communications, 219, pp. 215-219Tripathi, S.M., Kumar, A., Varshney, R.K., Kumar, Y.P., Marin, E., Meunier, J.-P., Strain and temperature sensing characteristics of single-mode-multimode-single-mode structures (2009) J. Lightwave Technol., 27, pp. 2348-2356Biazoli, C.R., Silva, S., Franco, M.A.R., Frazão, O., Cordeiro, C.M.B., Multimode interference tapered fiber refractive index sensors (2012) Appl. Opt., 51, pp. 5941-5945Beltrán-Mejía, F., Osório, J.H., Biazoli, C.R., Cordeiro, C.M.B., D-microfibers (2013) J. Lightwave Technol., 31, pp. 2756-2761Wang, P., Brambilla, G., Ding, M., Semenova, Y., Wu, Q., Farrell, G., Investigation of single-mode-multimode-single-mode and single-mode-tapered-multimode-single-mode fiber structures and their application for refractive index sensing (2011) J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 28, pp. 1180-1186Pillai, R.S., Lorenser, D., Sampson, D.D., Deep-tissue access with confocal fluorescence microendoscopy through hypodermic needles (2011) Opt. Express, 19, pp. 7213-7221Liu, Y., Wei, L., Low-cost high-sensitivity strain and temperature sensing using graded-index multimode fibers (2007) Appl. Opt., 46, pp. 2516-2519(2014) Comsol Multiphysics, , Burlington, MA, USA Version 4.4Ghatak, A., Thyagarajan, K., (1998) An Introduction to Fiber Optics, , Cambridge University Press, chap 9Shiraishi, K., Kuroo, S.-I., A new lensed-fiber configuration employing cascaded GI-fiber chips (2000) J. Lightwave Technol., 18, p. 787Guenther, R.D., (1990) Modern Optics, , Wiley, chap.9Kogelnik, H., On the propagation of gaussian beams of light through lenslike media including those with a loss or gain variation (1965) Appl. Opt, 4, pp. 1562-1569Birks, T., Li, Y., The shape of fiber tapers (1992) J. Lightwave Technol., 10, pp. 432-43

Three-dimensional quasi-conformal transformation optics through numerical optimization

In this paper we demonstrate the possibility to achieve 3-dimensional quasi-conformal transformation optics through parametrization and numerical optimization without using sliding boundary conditions. The proposed technique, which uses a quasi-Newton method, is validated in two cylindrical waveguide bends as design examples. Our results indicate an arbitrarily small average anisotropy can be achieved in 3D transformation optics as the number of degrees of freedom provided by the parametrization was increased. The waveguide simulations confirm modal preservation when the residual anisotropy is neglected24151646516470CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS - FINEPFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE MINAS GERAIS - FAPEMIGFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPnão temnão temnão temnão temnão te

Characterising the KMP-11 and HSP-70 recombinant antigens' humoral immune response profile in chagasic patients

11 pages, 6 figures.-- The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/9/186/pre pubBackground: Antigen specificity and IgG subclass could be significant in the natural history of Chagas' disease. The relationship between the different stages of human Chagas' disease and the profiles of total IgG and its subclasses were thus analysed here; they were directed against a crude T. cruzi extract and three recombinant antigens: the T. cruzi kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (rKMP-11), an internal fragment of the T. cruzi HSP-70 protein192-433, and the entire Trypanosoma rangeli HSP-70 protein. Methods: Seventeen Brazilian acute chagasic patients, 50 Colombian chronic chagasic patients (21 indeterminate and 29 cardiopathic patients) and 30 healthy individuals were included. Total IgG and its subtypes directed against the above-mentioned recombinant antigens were determined by ELISA tests. Results: The T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant proteins were able to distinguish both acute from chronic chagasic patients and infected people from healthy individuals. Specific antibodies to T. cruzi crude antigen in acute patients came from IgG3 and IgG4 subclasses whereas IgG1 and IgG3 were the prevalent isotypes in indeterminate and chronic chagasic patients. By contrast, the specific prominent antibodies in all disease stages against T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant antigens were the IgG1 subclass.This work was supported by Colciencias Research project No. 1203-333- 18692. IDF was supported by Colciencias and the Universidad Javeriana's Young Researcher 2008 Programme (Bogotá, Colombia). MCT and MCL were supported by P06-CTS-02242 Grant from PAI (Junta de Andalucia) and RICET-RD06/0021-0014, Spain. MS received financial support from the Brazilian agency - CNPq.Peer reviewe