Search

A supercontinuum laser source was designed for multiplex-coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy. This source was based on the use of a germanium-doped standard optical fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength at 1600 nm and pumped at 1064 nm. We analyzed the nonlinear spectro-temporal interrelations of a subnanosecond pulse propagating in a normal dispersion regime in the presence of a multiple Raman cascading process and strong conversion. The multiple Raman orders permitted the generation of a high-power flat spectrum with a specific nonlinear dynamics that can open the way to subnanosecond time-coded multiplex CARS systems.

Polarization images were obtained using a flexible optical fiber device. The endoscopic technique is based on the real-time compensation of the birefringence of the standard fiber by means of a miniaturized Faraday rotator. Based on a Jones formalism analysis, specific signal processing allows one to extract both the phase retardation and the degree of polarization of the light backscattered by a remote target.

Taking advantage of the combination of stimulated Raman scattering and nonlinear polarization rotation in a single-mode optical fiber, a temporal reshaping of subnanosecond pulses is achieved by means of both spectral and polarization filtering. Shortening of 650 ps down to 43 ps temporally and spectrally stable pulses is experimentally obtained. Numerical simulations supporting this new temporal filtering are presented.

We present a photosensitive three-hole microstructured optical fiber specifically designed to improve the refractive index sensitivity of a standard fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor photowritten in the suspended Ge-doped silica core. We describe the specific photowriting procedure used to realize gratings in such a fiber. We then determine their spectral sensitivity to the refractive index changes of material filling the holes surrounding the core. The sensitivity is compared with that of standard FBGs photowritten in a six-hole fiber with a larger core diameter. We demonstrate an improvement in the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude and reach a resolution of 3 x 10(-5) and 6 x 10(-6) around mean refractive index values of 1.33 and 1.40, respectively.

A simple self-referenced nondestructive method is proposed for measuring the cutoff wavelength of microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). It is based on the analysis of the time-dependent optical power transmitted through a bow-tie slit rotating in the far-field pattern of the fiber under test. As a first demonstration, the cutoff wavelength of a 2 m MOF sample is found to be close to that provided by numerical predictions (approximately 25 nm higher). Because of the high dynamics of the measurement, the uncertainty is limited to Dlambda= +/-10 nm.

Coherent combining is demonstrated in a clad-pumped Yb-doped double-core fiber laser. A slope efficiency of more than 70% is achieved with 96% of the total output power in the fundamental mode of one of the two cores. This high combining efficiency is obtained when both cores are coupled via a biconical fused taper in a Michelson interferometer configuration.

We report what is to our knowledge the first characterization at high temperatures of long-period fiber gratings written in Ge-free air-silica microstructure fiber. The gratings written with the electric-arc technique suffer a low shift of the resonance wavelengths when the temperature is increased from 20 degrees C to 1200 degrees C. This shift is studied and compared with that of a long-period fiber grating written in a standard single-mode fiber by the same technique. Good thermal stability of the grating and of the fiber after annealing at 1200 degrees C for 1 h is demonstrated.