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A Microfiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MMZI) based on tapered seven-core fiber (SCF) for curvature measurement has been reported and demonstrated. The tapered SCF promoted the light coupling efficiency from the single-mode fiber (SMF) to the SCF, which results in the transmission spectrum with a low loss and high extinction ratio. In the process of curvature measurement, the sensitivity can reach up to 174.02957 nm/m−1, which is the highest curvature sensitivity in the MZI with SCF as best as we have known. Furthermore, the maximum temperature sensitivity is 0.00956 nm/°C when the temperature changes from 30 °C to 140 °C. It shows that this sensor is naturally insensitive to temperature, which has a good performance in avoiding the cross-sensitivity effect between the temperature and curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tunable all-fiber optical attenuator (AOA) based on microfiber with adjustable coupling angle is reported and demonstrated. The AOA is fabricated of a microfiber probe coupled to a tapered fiber on the waist region through van der Waals and electrostatic forces. The attenuation can be tuned by adjusting the coupling angle of the two microfibers. When the coupling is fabricated of angles adjust from 8 0 o to 1 0 o , the optical attenuation can be tuned in a large range from 5.7 dB to 40.1 dB with low insertion loss. The simulation and experimental show that the coupling length can be changed by increasing the coupling angle, which results in decreasing the attenuation of AOA. The attenuation of AOA is decreased linearly by increasing the coupling angle. It provides a feasible approach to achieve attenuators with miniature volume, low cost, and multiple functions in optical communication and fiber lasers. • The AOA is fabricated by a microfiber probe coupled to a tapered fiber on the waist region through van der Waals and electrostatic force. • The optical attenuation can be linearly tuned in a large range with low insertion loss by adjusting the coupling angles. • The all-fiber structure of AOA excludes a difficult alignment between end-faces of two fibers and includes an easy connection to SMFs. • The AOA has the advantages of miniature volume, low cost, and multiple functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]