Quasi-distributed and wavelength selective addressing of optical micro-resonators based on long period fiber gratings.

A novel all-in-fiber method for coupling light to high-Q silica whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical micro-resonators is presented, which is based on a pair of long period fiber gratings (LPGs) written in the same silica fiber, along with a thick fiber taper (15-18 µm in waist) in between the LPGs. The proposed coupling structure is robust and can be replicated many times along the same fiber simply cascading LPGs with different bands. Typical Q-factors of the order of 10(8) and total coupling efficiency up to 60% were measured collecting the resonances of microspheres or microbubbles at the fiber end. This approach uniquely allows quasi-distributed and wavelength selective addressing of different micro-resonators along the same fiber.

Long period grating-based fiber coupler to whispering gallery mode resonators.

We present a new method for coupling light to high-Q silica whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMs) that is based on long period fiber gratings (LPGs) written in silica fibers. An LPG allows selective excitation of high-order azimuthally symmetric cladding modes in a fiber. Coupling of these cladding modes to WGMs in silica resonators is possible when partial tapering of the fiber is also implemented in order to reduce the optical field size and increase its external evanescent portion. Importantly, the taper size is about one order of magnitude larger than that of a standard fiber taper coupler. The suggested approach is therefore much more robust and useful especially for practical applications. We demonstrate coupling to high-Q silica microspheres and microbubbles detecting the transmission dip at the fiber output when crossing a resonance. An additional feature of this approach is that by cascading LPGs with different periods, a wavelength selective addressing of different resonators along the same fiber is also possible.

Optical frequency conversion in silica-whispering-gallery-mode microspherical resonators.

High quality factor whispering-gallery-mode microresonators are ideally suited for nonlinear optical interactions. We analyze, experimentally and theoretically, a variety of χ((3)) nonlinear interactions in silica microspheres, consisting of third harmonic generation and Raman assisted third order sum-frequency generation in the visible. A tunable, room temperature, cw multicolor emission in silica microspherical whispering-gallery-mode microresonators has been achieved by controlling the cavity mode dispersion and exciting nonequatorial modes for efficient frequency conversion.

Mid-range structure of niobium-sodium-phosphate electro-optic glasses.

The mid-range structure of glasses of the glass-forming system xNb(2)O(5)-(60 - x)P(2)O(5)-40Na(2)O, with x varying from 0 to 40, has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy and electro-optical Kerr measurements. It was found that the mid-range inhomogeneities in the glasses under study vary with x and their compositions and structures dramatically differ from the gross glass composition. It is shown that inhomogeneities with the 8NaNbO(3) + (Nb(2)O(5)·P(2)O(5)) composition are responsible for the electro-optical sensitivity of the glasses. The electro-optical structural elements of the inhomogeneities of this type are assumed to be fragments of the quasicubic lattice of crystalline NaNbO(3) demonstrating a rather high electro-optic Kerr coefficient. The obtained results are discussed in terms of the concepts of constant stoichiometric groupings and crystal motifs.

High Q silica microbubble resonators fabricated by arc discharge.

Microbubble resonators combine the unique properties of whispering gallery mode resonators with the intrinsic capability of integrated microfluidics. Here an improved fabrication method of microbubble resonators is presented, based on the heating of a slightly pressurized capillary by a rotating arc discharge. Rotation of the electrodes, moved out of a fiber splicer, ensures a homogeneous distribution of the heat all over the capillary surface. The demonstrated microbubble resonators have Q factors up to 6×10(7) at 1550 nm. Microbubbles were filled with water and aqueous solutions of ethanol in order to test the refractive index sensing capabilities of such resonators, which also show a good temporal stability. The limit of detection of our microbubble resonator sensor is 10(-6) RIU.

Planar coupling to high-Q lithium niobate disk resonators.

We demonstrate optical coupling to high-Q lithium niobate disks from an integrated lithium niobate waveguide. The waveguides are made by proton exchange in X-cut lithium niobate substrate. The disks with diameter of 4.7 mm and thickness of 1 mm are made from commercial Z-cut lithium niobate wafers by polishing the edges into a spheroidal profile. Both resonance linewidth and cavity ringdown measurements were performed to calculate the Q factor of the resonator, which is in excess of 10(8). Planar coupling represents the most promising technique for practical applications of whispering gallery mode resonators.

High-Q polymer-coated microspheres for immunosensing applications.

Homogeneous polymeric thin layers have been used as functionalizing agents on silica microspherical resonators in view of the implementation of an immunosensor. We have characterized the microspheres functionalized with poly-L-lactic acid and Eudragit L100, as an alternative to the commonly used 3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. It is shown that polymeric functionalization does not affect the high quality factor (Q greater than 10(7)) of the silica microspheres, and that the Q factor is about 3 x 10(5) after chemical activation and covalent binding of immunogammaglobulin (IgG). This functionalizing process of the microresonator constitutes a promising step towards the achievement of an ultra sensitive immunosensor.

Characterization of a highly photorefractive RF-sputtered SiO2-GeO2 waveguide.

We present the characterization of highly photorefractive Er3+/Yb3+-doped 75SiO2-25GeO2 planar waveguides, single mode at 1550 nm, deposited by radio-frequency-magnetron-sputtering (RFMS) technique. Details of the deposition process are reported. The material presents an intense absorption band (alpha approximately 10;3/10;4 cm;-1) in the UV region. Irradiations by a KrF excimer laser source at lambda = 248 nm have produced large positive (up to 310-3) refractive index changes, without the need of particular sensitization procedures. Direct measurements of UV photo-induced volume densification demonstrates that glass compaction accounts for large part of the refractive index change. Highly efficient photo-induced phase gratings have thus been fabricated in the waveguide.

Inversion of low-angle elastic light-scattering data with a new method devised by modification of the Chahine algorithm.

A new inversion method, devised by modification of the nonlinear iterative method originally proposed by Chahine [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 58, 1634 (1968)] is applied to the inversion of low-angle elastic light-scattering data. The algorithm was tested by computer simulations carried out within the wave-vector range 2.5 x 10(2) -2.5 x 10(4) cm(-1). The particle-size distributions were recovered in the 0.70-77-mum range of radii. Compared with the original method of Chahine, this algorithm is much more stable and reliable with respect to random noise, improves the overall reliability of the fitting, and allows both number and weight particle-size distributions to be retrieved accurately. When the performances of the method are investigated with respect to the noise, the results of the simulations show that the particle-size distributions can be recovered accurately up to noise levels of several rms percent.

Direct measurement of birefringence in ion-exchanged planar waveguides.

A direct measurement of the birefringence of a planar waveguide obtained by Na(+) -K(+) ion exchange was performed with a double Lloyd interferometer. The results are compared with those obtained by a roundrobin test involving the same sample. Birefringence of as much as Deltan = (2.0 +/- 0.2) x 10(-3) was measured.

Diffuse nonlinearity with a thermal gradient in waveguide prism coupling.

Prism coupling of radiation inside a linear film over a nonlinear substrate is studied with a numerical method, showing that the change of coupling as a function of the input power in the case of a quasi-continuous operation (thermal nonlinearity) is influenced by a thermal gradient generated in the linear film. A comparison with experimental data confirms these calculations.

GRIN'91: gradient-index optical systems.

The Ninth Topical Meeting on Gradient-Index Optical Systems was held in Monterey, Calif., 8-9 April 1991. In this Introduction we define the scope of the contributions published in this feature issue.

Nonlinear coupling in a planar waveguide.

The thermal nonlinear response of a waveguide produced by sputtering a Corning 7059 glass film over a nonlinear substrate(Corning CS2-61) is studied with a pump-probe technique in a quasi-cw regime. The coupling efficiency is found to beafunction of pump power and chopping frequency. The coupling zone is scanned with a probe beam to examine the spatial dependence of the coupling efficiency.

Design of optical-waveguide homogeneous refracting lenses.

A class of multielement homogeneous refracting lenses for optical waveguides is presented, and their design procedure is described. These lenses appear to be particularly suitable for use in integrated optical processors, as they can be fabricated by fully planar photolithography and reliable diffusion processes either in glass or in lithium niobate; their optical characteristics can be very good. For example, the design of an f/3.3 waveguide optical system, constituted by five elements, with no field curvature and very well corrected up to a 20 degrees total field of view, is presented.

A computer system for timing and acoustical analysis of crackles: a study in cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis.

A system for recording and processing lung crackles is described. These are detected by a microphone on the chest wall and recorded simultaneously with flow rate, tidal volume and oesophageal pressure on a four-channel tape recorder. The sound signal is subsequently digitized by an analog-to-digital converter and processed by a minicomputer, using the Time Series Language and the fast Fourier transform algorithm. A preliminary study on seven patients with cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (CFA) confirms that crackles typically occur at the end of inspiration; timing seems to be well related to inspired volume and esophageal pressure. Inspiratory crackles of CFA have a well-defined waveform: it consists of a starting component and a damped oscillation, which probably depends on the resonant frequency of the lung. The crackle energy content is mainly concentrated in the frequency range between 100 and 2 000 Hz, the spectrum shape being determined by the energy distribution between the two components of the waveform. This recording and processing system gives more complete information about crackles than auscultation does, allowing their quantification and reproducibility. It may be used to compare crackles in different diseases, and may be simplified and standardized for routine clinical use as an additional noninvasive diagnostic technique.