Tailoring Optical Fibers With Application-Specific ... - OSA Publishing

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These fibers can be tailored for application-specific performance with ... starting form, it will be shown that the fiber characteristics specifically important to ... stress/strain sensing being exemplars) can be fully tailored and custom-configured.
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Advanced Photonics Congress 2016 (IPR, NOMA, Sensors, Networks, SPPCom, SOF) © OSA 2016

Tailoring Optical Fibers With Application-Specific Physical Properties for Sensing Systems P.D. Dragic,1 C. Ryan,2 C.J. Kucera,2 M. Cavillon,2 M. Tuggle,2 M. Jones,2 T.W. Hawkins,2 R. Stolen,2 and J. Ballato2 1

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 306 N. Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801 2 Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies, Clemson University, 91 Technology Dr., Clemson, SC 29625. [email protected]

Abstract: With a willingness to use less conventional materials, optical fibers with remarkable properties can be realized. These fibers can be tailored for application-specific performance with the potential to greatly enhance the sensing systems using them. OCIS codes: (060.0060) Fiber optics and optical communications; (280.0280) Remote sensing and sensors; (060.2290) Fiber materials; (060.2370) Fiber optics sensors.

1. Introduction Recently [1], it was shown that with careful attention to the composition of glass, and the use of less conventional materials, optical fibers with novel performance attributes can be realized. Utilizing the molten core method of fiber fabrication, coupled with careful modeling, zero-Brillouin-gain fibers were predicted, and nearly 20dB of suppression was realized [2]. Moreover, glass optical fibers that enable truly athermal Brillouin-scattering-based distributed sensing systems were discovered and are currently at various stages of development and optimization [3]. In continuance of the work in [3], it will be shown that fibers optimized for atensic (sensing systems that are immune to fiber strain) Brillouin-based sensing are just around the corner. More importantly, though, is that the richness of the Periodic Table and its resulting compounds (e.g. oxides or fluorides) can be used to enhance a much wider range of fiber properties and therefore sensor systems, and not only those for, or based on, Brillouin scattering. This includes laser-based, luminescence- or spectroscopy-based, and fiber grating-based sensors, among others. 2. Modeling and Properties Our modeling methodologies for multicomponent glasses are based on those of Winkelmann-Schott [1]. The model, in its most basic form, is N

G = ∑ i =1 gi xi

(1)

where x is the additivity parameter of constituent i (e.g. SiO2 or P2O5), g is the physical property to be added (e.g. density, refractive index, thermo-optic coefficient, etc.), and G is the value for the aggregate. Using this basic starting form, it will be shown that the fiber characteristics specifically important to sensor applications (with temperature and stress/strain sensing being exemplars) can be fully tailored and custom-configured. Some of these properties include, for example, the thermo-, strain-, and stress-optic coefficients, and the bulk modulus, all of which utilize a unique, and in some cases corrected, form of Eqn. 1. Requirements of each of these parameters will be discussed in the context of specific sensor systems (e.g. athermal fiber grating sensors), but the focus will be on the design and fabrication of the optical fiber. Interestingly, fiber geometry also plays a significant role in the observed characteristics of an optical fiber. Corecladding coefficient of thermal expansion or elastic moduli mismatches can lead to very unique functions not possible with bulk glass. These and other design considerations will also be discussed. The presentation will cover a wide range of the Periodic Table, include both oxide and fluoride materials, and new and unpublished data from a wide and very rich range of fabricated optical fibers will be shown. 3. References [1] J. Ballato and P. Dragic, “Rethinking Optical Fiber: New Demands, Old Glasses,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 96, 2675 – 2692 (2013). [2] P. Dragic, T. Hawkins, P. Foy, S. Morris, and J. Ballato, “Sapphire-derived all-glass optical fibres,” Nat. Photonics 6, 627 – 633 (2012). [3] P.D. Dragic, C. Ryan, C.J. Kucera, M. Cavillon, M. Tuggle, M. Jones, T.W. Hawkins, A.D. Yablon, R. Stolen, and J. Ballato, “Single- and few-moded lithium aluminosilicate optical fiber for athermal Brillouin strain sensing,” Opt. Lett. 40, 5030 - 5033 (2015).