A Mach-Zehnder interferometer was created from a cavity milled in the taper region next to a microfiber knot resonator. A focused ion beam was used to mill the cavity with 47.8 μm in length. The microfiber knot resonator was created from an 11 μm diameter taper, produced using a filament fusion splicer. After milling the cavity, the microfiber knot resonator spectrum is still visible. The final response of the presented sensor is a microfiber knot resonator spectrum modulated by the Mach-Zehnder interference spectrum. A preliminary result of -8935 ± 108 nm/RIU was obtained for the refractive index sensitivity of the cavity component in a refractive index range of n = 1.333 to 1.341. Simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature using this combined structure is a future goal.
The small dimensions of optical fiber sensors are of interest to biological applications, given the ability to penetrate relatively inaccessible regions. However, conventional optical fibers are larger than biological material such as cells, and thus there is a need for further miniaturization. Here we present the fabrication of ultra-small Fabry-Perot cavities written into optical micro-fibers using focused ion beam (FIB) milling. We have fabricated cavities as small as 2.8 μm and demonstrated their use for measuring refractive index. In order to achieve sensitive measurements we interrogate at visible wavelengths, thereby reducing the free spectral range of the interferometer (relative to infra-red interrogation), increasing the number of interference fringes, and allowing for the implementation of the Fourier shift method.
Focused ion beam technology is combined with dynamic chemical etching to create microcavities in tapered optical fiber tips, resulting in fiber probes for temperature and refractive index sensing. Dynamic chemical etching uses hydrofluoric acid and a syringe pump to etch standard optical fibers into cone structures called tapered fiber tips where the length, shape, and cone angle can be precisely controlled. On these tips, focused ion beam is used to mill several different types of Fabry-Perot microcavities. Two main cavity types are initially compared and then combined to form a third, complex cavity structure. In the first case, a gap is milled on the tapered fiber tip which allows the external medium to penetrate the light guiding region and thus presents sensitivity to external refractive index changes. In the second, two slots that function as mirrors are milled on the tip creating a silica cavity that is only sensitive to temperature changes. Finally, both cavities are combined on a single tapered fiber tip, resulting in a multi-cavity structure capable of discriminating between temperature and refractive index variations. This dual characterization is performed with the aid of a fast Fourier transform method to separate the contributions of each cavity and thus of temperature and refractive index. Ultimately, a tapered optical fiber tip probe with sub-standard dimensions containing a multi-cavity structure is projected, fabricated, characterized and applied as a sensing element for simultaneous temperature and refractive index discrimination.
Fiber probe structures composed of two physical microcavities were created using focused ion beam technology. These
structures have a tip-like shape as they were milled in preciously etched tapered fiber tips. The microprobes are then
characterized for temperature and refractive index sensing using a signal filtering technique to discriminate signals from
distinct microcavities. Using fast Fourier transforms combined with band-pass filters, it is possible to reconstruct the
spectra of each cavity independently and thus measure their individual spectral shifts.
Optical fibers are promising tools for performing biological and biomedical sensing due to their small cross section and potential for multiplexing. In particular, fabricating ultra-small sensing devices is of increasing interest for measuring biological material such as cells. A promising direction is the use of interferometric techniques combined with optical fiber post-processing. In this work we present recent progress in the development of Fabry-Perot micro-cavities written into optical fiber tapers using focused ion beam (FIB) milling. We first demonstrate that FIB milled optical fiber microcavities are sensitive enough to measure polyelectrolyte layer deposition. We then present new results on the fabrication and optical characterization of serially-multiplexed dual cavity micro-sensors. Two cavities were written serially along the fiber with two different cavity lengths, producing a total of four reflecting surfaces and thus six possible interferometric pairs/cavities. By using fast Fourier transform it is possible to obtain de-multiplexed measurements for each cavity. This will be particularly important for bioassays where positive and negative controls are required to be measured within close spatial proximity.
Focused ion beam milling is used on chemically etched tapered fiber tips to create fiber Bragg gratings. These fiber Bragg gratings are based on a modulation of silica and external medium. This leads to a wide and structured spectrum obtained due to imperfections and the inherent structure of the tip. The fiber Bragg gratings presented are very short and have a length of 27 μm and 43 μm and are milled on the tapered fiber tip. They are characterized in the high temperature range 350-850ºC and a sensitivity of 14.4 pm/K is determined.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Head, Liquids, Microfluidics, Micro optical fluidics, Signal processing, Single mode fibers, Structured optical fibers, Ion beams, Signal detection
A new microstructured optical fiber is demonstrated to detect acetone evaporation by observing the time response of the reflected signal at 1550nm. The sensor consists on a caterpillar-like fiber, with a transversal microfluidic channel created with a Focused Ion Beam technique, spliced to a single-mode fiber. Different stages were visible between the dipping and the evaporation of acetone and of a mixture of water and acetone. It was also possible to detect the presence of water vapor.
A combination of focused ion beam milling and chemical etching is proposed for the creation of Fabry-Pérot cavities in microwires. Both simple cavities and cantilevers are created on 15 μm-diameter microwires and characterized in temperature. The cantilever structure shows sensitivity to vibration and is capable of measuring frequencies in the range 1 Hz – 40 kHz.
Triangular nanowires that present a high birefringence and a very strong confinement were fabricated by tapering suspended-core fibers (SCFs) down to core diameters below 1000 nm. Each nanowire presented a high birefringence with an order of magnitude of 10 −3 . As the spectra of the SCF tapers inserted in fiber loop mirrors can be used to generate a sinusoidal interference pattern from the two main modes (fast and slow axis), a nanowire was employed as a sensing element in a Sagnac interferometer for measuring temperature. Temperature sensitivity was determined to be −56.2 pm/K using a triangular nanowire of 810 nm in-circle diameter when compared with that of a conventional untapered SCF whose temperature sensitivity is −2.1 pm/K .
A triangular nanowire is fabricated by tapering a suspended-core fiber and reducing the core size below one micrometer. The triangular nanowire has a high birefringence with an order of magnitude of 10-3 and when introduced in a fiber loop mirror presents a sinusoidal interference pattern generated by the fast and slow modes of the nanowire. The suspended nanowires were characterized in temperature and strain and enhanced sensitivities were found for both parameters when compared with untapered structures.
Small sections of suspended twin-core fiber are used in reflection configurations to create two parallel Fabry-Pérot cavities. Situations where both cores are excited and where only one core is excited are analyzed and compared. When both cores are excited, two parallel and equivalent cavities are formed and an interference pattern with higher visibility is obtained. The structure is also characterized with respect to temperature and a sensitivity of 12.4 pm/K is achieved.
A fiber loop mirror containing a section of high-birefringence suspended-core fiber is used for torsion sensing. The suspended-core fiber section has a triangular-shaped core with an in-circle diameter of approximately 1.8 μm. Due to its small dimensions and geometric structure, it presents high birefringence and intermodal interference simultaneously. A torsion sensitivity of 59.0 pm/deg is obtained in a very large linear range of 900 deg with a resolution of 1.2 deg.
In this work, an all-fiber loop mirror using a clover microstructured fiber for the simultaneous measurement of
temperature and strain is presented. The sensing head is formed by a short piece of clover microstructured fiber with 35
mm length. The geometry of the fiber allowed observing different interferences created by the microstructured fiber core
section. Different sensitivities to temperature and strain were obtained and, using a matrix method, it is possible to
discriminate both physical parameters. Resolutions of ±2ºC and ±11 με, for temperature and strain, respectively, were
attained.
Tapering single mode-multimode-single mode structures to enhance sensitivity is proposed and experimentally
demonstrated. 50 mm-long coreless MMF sections are spliced between SMFs and tapered. They are characterized in
strain and an increase in strain sensitivity is obtained with taper diameter reduction. Sensitivities as high as -23.69 pm/με
for the 15 μm taper are attained. A combination of an untapered and tapered SMS is proposed as a sensing system for the
simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature.
A spatial optical filter based on splice misalignment between optical fibers with different cladding dimensions is
proposed for gas refractometry. The sensing head is formed by a 2 mm-long optical fiber with 50 μm diameter spliced
with a strong misalignment between two single mode fibers (SMF28) and interrogated in transmission. This fiber
structure causes a Fabry-Pérot-behavior along the reduced-size fiber giving at its output end a well defined spatial
filtering selectivity. Depending on the misalignment position of the lead-out SMF28, it is possible to obtain two different
spectral responses, namely, bandpass or band-rejection filters. It is shown that this filter device is highly sensitive to
refractive index changes on a nitrogen (N2) environment by means of the gas pressure variation. A maximum sensitivity
of -1390 nm/RIU for the bandpass filter was achieved.
Suspended core fiber tapers with different cross sections (from 70μm to 120μm diameter) were produced by filament
heating. Before obtaining the taper, the spectral behavior of the suspended core fiber presents multimode interference.
When the taper is made an intermodal interference is observed. This effect is clearly visible for high taper reduction. The
spectral response of the microtaper inside the suspended core fiber is similar to a beat of two interferometers. The
microtaper was subjected to strain, and an increase of sensitivity with the reduction of the transverse area was observed.
When the taper was immersed in liquids with different refractive indices or subjected to temperature variations, no spectral change occurred.
In this work, a fibre loop mirror for the simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature is presented. The loop
mirror contains a section of a small core microstructured fibre characterized for strain and temperature sensing. Due to
the small core geometry and using a small section length, the structure presents high birefringence and also intermodal
interference. The spectral response of this configuration shows the presence of three interferometers. One of them
corresponds to the interference of light that propagates in the fast and slow axes (group birefringence) and the others are
associated with the interference of light in the two lowest order spatial modes in each of the fibre eigenaxis. These
interferometers present distinct sensitivities to strain and temperature for different wavelengths.
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