Fibers

132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Development of Advanced Optical Fibers for Long-Wave Infrared Transmission

by Pierre Lucas, Catherine Boussard-Pledel, Allison Wilhelm, Sylvain Danto, Xiang-Hua Zhang, Patrick Houizot, Sebastien Maurugeon, Clément Conseil and Bruno Bureau

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 110-118; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030110 - 17 Dec 2013

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6751

Abstract

Long-wave infrared fibers are used in an increasing number of applications ranging from thermal imaging to bio-sensing. However, the design of optical fiber with low-loss in the far-infrared requires a combination of properties including good rheological characteristics for fiber drawing and low phonon [...] Read more.

Long-wave infrared fibers are used in an increasing number of applications ranging from thermal imaging to bio-sensing. However, the design of optical fiber with low-loss in the far-infrared requires a combination of properties including good rheological characteristics for fiber drawing and low phonon energy for wide optical transparency, which are often mutually exclusive and can only be achieved through fine materials engineering. This paper presents strategies for obtaining low loss fibers in the far-infrared based on telluride glasses. The composition of the glasses is systematically investigated to obtained fibers with minimal losses. The fiber attenuation is shown to depend strongly on extrinsic impurity but also on intrinsic charge carrier populations in these low band-gap amorphous semiconductor materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Optical Fibers)

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300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photodarkening of Infrared Irradiated Yb³⁺-Doped Alumino-Silicate Glasses: Effect on UV Absorption Bands and Fluorescence Spectra

by Hrvoje Gebavi, Daniel Milanese, Stefano Taccheo, David Mechin, Achille Monteville, Francesca S. Freyria, Barbara Bonelli and Thierry Robin

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 101-109; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030101 - 10 Dec 2013

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7100

Abstract

The photodarkening phenomenon in alumino-silicate glass preforms, doped with different ytterbium concentrations, was studied. The UV band, comprised between 180 and 350 nm, was examined before and after irradiation at 976 nm. The non-linear dependence of 240 nm band with concentration after infra-red [...] Read more.

The photodarkening phenomenon in alumino-silicate glass preforms, doped with different ytterbium concentrations, was studied. The UV band, comprised between 180 and 350 nm, was examined before and after irradiation at 976 nm. The non-linear dependence of 240 nm band with concentration after infra-red irradiation was demonstrated and ascribed predominantly to Yb³⁺ pair’s interaction. The emission spectrum after the excitation in UV spectral region showed increased intensity after photodarkening, probably due to Yb²⁺ ions creation. Phenomenological photodarkening model and the possible existence of several defect types are presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Optical Fibers)

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494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics and Laser Performance of Yb³⁺-Doped Silica Large Mode Area Fibers Prepared by Sol–Gel Method

by Shikai Wang, Fengguang Lou, Meng Wang, Chunlei Yu, Suya Feng, Qinling Zhou, Danping Chen and Lili Hu

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 93-100; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030093 - 10 Dec 2013

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7528

Abstract

Large-size 0.1 Yb₂O₃–1.0 Al₂O₃–98.9 SiO₂ (mol%) core glass was prepared by the sol–gel method. Its optical properties were evaluated. Both large mode area double cladding fiber (LMA DCF) with core diameter of 48 µm [...] Read more.

Large-size 0.1 Yb₂O₃–1.0 Al₂O₃–98.9 SiO₂ (mol%) core glass was prepared by the sol–gel method. Its optical properties were evaluated. Both large mode area double cladding fiber (LMA DCF) with core diameter of 48 µm and large mode area photonic crystal fiber (LMA PCF) with core diameter of 90 µm were prepared from this core glass. Transmission loss at 1200 nm is 0.41 dB/m. Refractive index fluctuation is less than 2 × 10⁻⁴. Pumped by 976 nm laser diode LD pigtailed with silica fiber (NA 0.22), the slope efficiency of 54% and “light-to-light” conversion efficiency of 51% were realized in large mode area double cladding fiber, and 81 W laser power with a slope efficiency of 70.8% was achieved in the corresponding large mode area photonic crystal fiber. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Optical Fibers)

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420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Heavily Tm³⁺-Doped Silicate Fiber for High-Gain Fiber Amplifiers

by Yin-Wen Lee, Han-Wei Chien, Che-Hung Cho, Ju-Zhe Chen, Juin-Shin Chang and Shibin Jiang

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 82-92; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030082 - 3 Dec 2013

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 9291

Abstract

We report on investigation the potential of a 7 wt% (8.35 × 10²⁰ Tm³⁺/cm³) doped silicate fibers for high-gain fiber amplifiers. Such a high ion concentration significantly reduces the required fiber length of high-power 2 μm fiber laser [...] Read more.

We report on investigation the potential of a 7 wt% (8.35 × 10²⁰ Tm³⁺/cm³) doped silicate fibers for high-gain fiber amplifiers. Such a high ion concentration significantly reduces the required fiber length of high-power 2 μm fiber laser systems and allows the high-repetition rate operation in 2 μm mode-locked fiber lasers. To evaluate the feasibility of extracting high gain-per-unit-length from this gain medium, we measure several key material properties of the silicate fiber, including the absorption/emission cross-sections, upper-state lifetime, fiber background loss, and photodarkening resistance. We show through numerical simulations that a signal gain-per-unit-length of 3.78 dB/cm at 1950 nm can be achieved in a watt-level core-pumped Tm³⁺-doped silicate fiber amplifier. In addition, an 18-dB 2013-nm amplifier is demonstrated in a 50-cm 7 wt% Tm³⁺-doped double-clad silicate fiber. Finally, we experimentally confirm that the reported silicate host exhibits no observable photodarkening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Optical Fibers)

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529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards Water-Free Tellurite Glass Fiber for 2–5 μm Nonlinear Applications

by Xian Feng, Jindan Shi, Martha Segura, Nicolas M. White, Pradeesh Kannan, Laurent Calvez, Xianghua Zhang, Laurent Brilland and Wei H. Loh

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 70-81; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030070 - 22 Nov 2013

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8241

Abstract

We report our recent progress on fabricating dehydrated tellurite glass fibers. Low OH content (1 ppm in weight) has been achieved in a new halogen-containing lead tellurite glass fiber. Low OH-induced attenuation of 10 dB/m has been confirmed in the range of 3–4 [...] Read more.

We report our recent progress on fabricating dehydrated tellurite glass fibers. Low OH content (1 ppm in weight) has been achieved in a new halogen-containing lead tellurite glass fiber. Low OH-induced attenuation of 10 dB/m has been confirmed in the range of 3–4 µm using three measurement methods. This shows the dehydrated halo-tellurite glass fiber is a promising candidate for nonlinear applications in a 2–5 µm region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Optical Fibers)

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655 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Evaluation of Physical and Structural Properties of Water Retted and Non-retted Flax Fibers

by Gopu Raveendran Nair, Ashutosh Singh, Malgorzata Zimniewska and Vijaya Raghavan

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 59-69; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030059 - 23 Oct 2013

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 8559

Abstract

Flax stems of Modran variety were subjected to water retting under laboratory conditions and its physical properties were compared with non-retted fibers. Physical properties including percentage of impurities, weighted average length, linear density, tenacity and elongation were analyzed and the results were compared. [...] Read more.

Flax stems of Modran variety were subjected to water retting under laboratory conditions and its physical properties were compared with non-retted fibers. Physical properties including percentage of impurities, weighted average length, linear density, tenacity and elongation were analyzed and the results were compared. The analysis of retted and non-retted flax fibers showed that retting is the most important step in the processing of flax fibers and it directly affects quality attributes like strength, fineness, and homogeneity. Scanning Electron microscope images of fibers were also analyzed and the retted fibers showed much cleaner surface when compared to decorticated non-retted fibers. Full article

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523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Reinforcement of Wool Fiber through Polyelectrolyte Complexation with Chitosan and Gellan Gum

by Khairul Anuar Mat Amin and Marc In het Panhuis

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 47-58; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030047 - 18 Oct 2013

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6436

Abstract

The formation of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) wool fibers formed by dipping chitosan or gellan gum-treated wool fibers into biopolymer solutions of opposite charge is reported. Treating wool fibers with chitosan (CH) and gellan gum (GG) solutions containing food dyes resulted in improved mechanical [...] Read more.

The formation of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) wool fibers formed by dipping chitosan or gellan gum-treated wool fibers into biopolymer solutions of opposite charge is reported. Treating wool fibers with chitosan (CH) and gellan gum (GG) solutions containing food dyes resulted in improved mechanical characteristics compared to wool fibers. In contrast, pH modification of the solutions resulted in the opposite effect. The mechanical characteristics of PEC-treated fibers were affected by the order of addition, i.e., dipping GG-treated fibers into chitosan resulted in mechanical reinforcement, whereas the reverse-order process did not. Full article

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475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Double Two-Dimensional Discrete Fast Fourier Transform for Determining of Geometrical Parameters of Fibers and Textiles

by Pavel Shlyakhtenko and Oleg Kofnov

Fibers 2013, 1(3), 36-46; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib1030036 - 15 Oct 2013

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6008

Abstract

We have developed a computing method to determine the geometrical parameters of fibers and the textile periodical structure. This method combines two two-dimensional discrete fast Fourier transforms to calculate a diffraction pattern from a diffraction pattern image of material under consideration. The result [...] Read more.

We have developed a computing method to determine the geometrical parameters of fibers and the textile periodical structure. This method combines two two-dimensional discrete fast Fourier transforms to calculate a diffraction pattern from a diffraction pattern image of material under consideration. The result is the same as that of observation of a diffraction pattern which is achieved by illuminating the diffraction pattern image of material by a beam of coherent monochromatic light. After the first transform we obtain the Fraunhofer diffraction picture with clearly visible elements of the periodical structure of material, but distances in this picture are reciprocally proportional to distances in the periodical structure of the source object so additional calculations are required. After the second transform we have a clear periodical structure of diffraction maximums where distances between them are equal to distances between repeating elements in the source material (fibers, knots, yarns, etc.). Full article

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Fibers, Volume 1, Issue 3 (December 2013) – 8 articles , Pages 36-118

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