We present the fs laser inscription of ring-shaped random structures using Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) in multimode GRIN fiber. The use of SLM allows one to modulate the phase of the fs radiation incident on it and to write various structures with complex geometries inside the static fiber core. We optimized the fs laser inscription parameters: pulse energy, SLM frame rate, overall length and distances along the fiber of the structures to enhance Rayleigh backscattering level at minimal insertion losses. In particular, scattering structures with random distances along the fiber were written using the Line-by-Line method in single mode fiber at the optimal inscription parameters (pulse energy of 3 μJ, SLM frame rate of 5 Hz, the overall of 2 mm and random distances along the fiber in the range of 5 μm). Further, we created the ring-shaped random structures in 100/140 μm GRIN multimode fiber with enhanced Rayleigh backscattering level by +66 dB/mm relative to the intrinsic fiber level. Owing to the variation of random distances along the fiber and ring’s diameters of structures in range of 0.5 μm and 20 μm, respectively, allows one to obtain a broadband reflection spectrum within 88 nm with a reflection coefficient of 0.01%. The low threshold generation with ring-shaped output beam of the Raman fiber laser with random distributed feedback based on the SLM-inscribed random structures in the multimode fiber is demonstrated for the first time.
An output dielectric mirror is deposited on the central part (~15 μm diameter) at the end face of a 1-km graded-index fiber and tested as output mirror of multimode Raman laser with highly-multimode (M2~34) 940-nm LD pumping. In the cavity with highly-reflective input FBG, Raman lasing of Stokes wave at 976 nm starts at the threshold pump power of ~80 W. The output beam quality factor measured near the threshold (~1W at 976 nm) M2~2 confirms mode selective properties of such output mirror. The power scaling capabilities at increased pump power together with a more detailed characterization of the output beam (spatial profile, spectrum and its stability) are performed and the obtained characteristics are compared with those for output coupling based on Fresnel reflection from the mirror-free fiber end face.
Femtosecond-pulse inscription of Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) in a Multicore Fiber (MCF) offers new opportunities of controlling the spatio-spectral properties of the generated beam in all-fiber scheme. With coupled cores, interference of partially reflected beams from individual FBGs in different cores becomes important. We present our recent results on the effect of narrowing/collapse of the laser spectrum generated in a cavity based on FBG array fs-inscribed in coupled cores of active (Yb-doped) MCF, which is shown to arise due to the supermodes formation and hybridisation. Output beam concentration in one core is observed at Raman tasing in passive MCF with FBG arrays and is potentially possible in Yb-doped MCFs. Applications and benefits of such all-fiber lasers will be discussed.
We present the results of direct laser-induced periodic surface structuring of semiconductors thin films (a-Si, a-Ge) deposited on glass substrate at different ambient environments (air, vacuum, nitrogen) resulting in regular gratings with the period of 600 nm to 900 nm at the laser wavelength of 1026 nm oriented either along (a-Si) or transverse (a-Ge) to the linear laser polarization direction. The processing speed has a different effect on morphology of obtained structures: on a-Si film, an increase of scanning speed leads to the reorientation of gratings and reduction of their period, while on a-Ge, the uniformity degradation and increase of the period are observed. Changing the ambient atmosphere from air to nitrogen and vacuum, when writing structures on a-Ge, helps to minimize the uniformity degradation and obtain highly regular nanogratings.
We report on the optimization of femtosecond-pulse inscribed arrays of short randomly spaced FBGs for Raman lasing in multimode GRIN fiber pumped by highly multimode (M2 ~34) 940-nm diodes. The fabricated 1D-3D FBG arrays used as a complex output mirror together with input highly reflective FBG provide random lasing of the Stokes beam at 976 nm with output power around 30 W. The optimization of array structure results in beam quality improvement to M2 ⪅2 and the linewidth narrowing to 0.1 nm to 0.2 nm that is better than that for long regular FBG of comparable reflection. Potential of such cavity structure for further parameter improvement and its practical applications are discussed.
Recently, highly regular thermochemical laser-induced periodic surface structures (TLIPSS) have become the subject of active studies. TLIPSS are formed in the interference maxima due to the local oxidation of the material irradiated with ultrashort laser pulses and are characterized by the elevation of the relief that forms parallel oxide protrusions. The gas surrounding is expected to affect the morphology and chemical composition of the resulting TLIPSS; however, such effects were rarely studied so far. Here we present the results of the TLIPSS fabrication on glass-supported Si-Ti bilayer films using an astigmatic Gaussian IR femtosecond beam both in air and a nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The formation of ordered TLIPSS with the period of ≈ 920 nm is observed at slow scanning speeds (∼1 μm/s) and low fluences in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Raman spectroscopy revealed the presence of TiO2 (rutile) peaks, as well as bands centered at 280 cm-1 and 320 cm-1, which can be related to TiN in amorphous and polycrystalline phase.
We report on the demonstration and characterization of Raman laser generating at the wavelength of ~1090 nm with total output power of up to 5 W based on the 7-core passive fiber with coupled cores. The Raman gain in all cores is provided by the pump laser connected to the FBG-free central core, whereas the laser cavity is formed by two sets of highly-reflective fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) inscribed by fs pulses in all peripherical cores at the both ends of the 7-core fiber. The output FBG set has got a random shift along the axis between individual FBGs thus forming a random array of FBGs. Along with the Stokes line narrowing reasoned by the reduction of spectral broadening via nonlinear effects due to the enlargement of effective mode area in the multicore fiber with coupled cores in comparison with a standard singlemode fiber Raman laser, the additional line narrowing effect induced by the multicore random FBG array has been also revealed. It results in the generation of single peak of <30 pm linewidth near the threshold, whereas the linewidth broadens to ~250 pm at maximum power. At that, the single peak generation at low powers is not stable in time converting at some moments to multiple 20- pm peaks with random spacing and amplitudes defined by the interference of beams reflected from individual output FBGs with random longitudinal shifts. The ways to stabilize the generated spectrum are discussed.
In this study, we assess the feasibility of highly dense fiber Bragg grating (FBG) arrays for real-time temperature measurement during Nanocomposites (NCs)-enhanced laser ablation (LA) of pancreas tissue. FBG arrays were fabricated with the femtosecond point-by-point writing technology. Each highly dense array contains 25 FBGs with a grating length of 0.9 mm and an edge-to-edge distance of 0.1 mm. As alternative fiber sensors, we used commercially available acrylatecoated FBG arrays containing 5 FBGs. Temperature measurements by the highly dense FBG array were compared to thermal camera readings during laser irradiation of water samples. The augmented thermal effect produced by special NC comprising of a polydopamine matrix embedded with gold and copper was evaluated during the irradiation of an ex vivo phantom. The phantom consisted of a blended porcine pancreas tissue mixed with the NC; tissue mixed with water was used for control. The results clearly demonstrate that the highly dense arrays better detect the peak temperature and temperature distribution. The NC presence increased the maximum temperature reached during LA from 48°C (control) to 90°C (NC) at 2 mm, and from 33 °C to 36°C at 4 mm distance from the laser tip. The low spatial resolution of the commercial arrays produced an underestimation of the peak temperature by 2°C (control), and by 1°C (NC) at 4 mm. These results highlight the importance of the proper selection of the measurement system characteristics, especially when high temperature gradient should be measured in biological tissues undergoing thermal ablation for cancer treatment.
The influence of β-radiation exposure (the total dose up to 41.1 MGy and dose rate of 2.5 kGy/s) on the spectral characteristics of high and low reflective FBGs inscribed using femtosecond laser radiation in Ge-doped and pure-silica core fibers with polyimide and metal coating is presented. The largest Bragg wavelength induced shift (BWS) of +55 pm is observed in the case of weak reflective FBG (type I) inscribed in Ge-doped fiber. A comparable red shift in wavelength of + 50 pm is observed in the case of high reflective FBG (type II), which is explained by an increase in the concentration of GeE’-centers and, accordingly, an increase in the effective refractive index. Moreover, a significantly smaller BWS of -10 pm was obtained in the case of high reflective FBGs inscribed in pure-silica core fibers.
We investigate possibilities of using a multicore fiber containing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in sensing applications. We use the advantages of the femtosecond point-by-point technique to inscribe FBGs in the selected cores of polyimidecoated 7-core fiber. Besides the results on 3D shape sensing we present new approaches for acoustic wave detection and environment refractive index sensing. In particular, we show that spatial division multiplexing with a multicore fiber allows one to create multipoint acoustic sensor based on a single laser source. In addition, to detect the change in environment refractive index by using point-by-point FBG, there is no need in fiber coating removal. Thus, durability of the fiber along with the FBG inscription approach is of great potential for fabrication of next generation multiple parameter sensors.
Output beam characteristics of a LD-pumped multimode graded-index fiber Raman laser with different cavity configurations are studied. It has been shown that specially designed 976-nm FBGs inscribed by femtosecond pulses enable selection of an individual transverse mode: fundamental LP01 mode is generated in case of FBG localized in the center of graded-index fiber core, whereas next-order LP11 mode is generated in case of FBG shifted by ~8 um from the center. Corresponding beam shapes and spectra are observed in the laser output. At that, output power at the same pumping is sufficiently higher in case of LP11 FBG. Optimization of output characteristics is also performed resulting in generation of ~50 W power at 976 nm with beam quality parameter M2≈2.
We present the results of high-ordered periodic surface structure formation by femtosecond laser pulses (λ = 1026 nm, τ = 232 fs) using an astigmatic Gaussian beam with a diameter of ≈100 μm on the surface of metal films (thickness of 15 nm and 150 nm) of Hf sputtered on the glass substrate. Continuous and uniform structures with a period of ≈700 nm are formed at a scanning speed up to 2000 μm/s on the film with a thickness of 15 nm. In addition, the formation of ablative periodic substructures with a period of about 160 nm oriented perpendicularly to the main ones was observed on the oxide protrusions. In the case of 150 nm thick film, defects, cracks and phase shifts accompanied a uniform structure with a period of ≈940 nm formed at a speed up to 500 μm/s.
We present the results on fabrication of 3D fiber Bragg grating (FBG) arrays in specialty 7-core optical fibers with straight or twisted (spun) cores. Femtosecond laser inscription technology allowed us to modify the fibers through the acrylate or polyimide protective coatings that significantly increases the durability of the FBG sensors as compared to conventional UV inscription approach, requiring the coating removal. Custom-made 7-core fiber with polyimide coating opens up new prospects for shape sensors operating in high-temperature environment. Twisted-core fiber makes it possible to measure not only the shape, but also the direction of fiber torsion that is essential for a free-standing sensors. A novel method enabling core-selective FBGs inscription in a 7-core spun optical fiber is presented in this work. By using the created sensors bending radii down to several millimeters can be measured with a high precision. Separation of different core FBGs by wavelength makes it possible to combine several cores during their interrogation, which allows for sensor measurements through a single optical port.
We present the results on fiber Bragg gratings inscription with femtosecond laser pulses in a Fibercore SM- 7C1500(6.1/125) 7-core single-mode optical fiber. By focusing femtosecond pulses into the volume of the fiber and by controlling the transverse spatial position of the pulse absorption region we selectively modify the individual fiber cores of the fiber and at the same time specify geometry of the each grating. We show that different longitudinal profiles of coupling coefficient can be realized for the FBG, including uniform, chirped and apodized ones.
The results of the development of a 6-channel microwave photonic beamforming system (BFS) for phased array antenna in receiving mode are presented. BFS incorporate DWDM technology based components of analogue fiber-optic transmission links with external modulation in RF range 0.1-18 GHz and specially manufactured chirped fiber Bragg grating. A number of BFS transmitters have six optical carriers separated with 100 GHz step (ITU grid, DWDM standard in C-band). The beamforming is realized by introducing inter-channel time delays when microwave modulated optical carriers interact with chirped fiber Bragg grating (СFBG) in reflection mode, throughout the total operating spectral range of 6-channel BFS (6x100 GHz). The used СFBG has 2 cm length. The results of measuring the S-parameters of BFS 6 channels are given, which enable to synthesize the far-field pattern of the phased array antenna with photonic BFS under investigation. Far-field patterns of four channel linear phased antenna array integrated with photonic beamformer model have been measured and compared with calculated patterns taking into account amplitude and phase errors arising in beamformer channels.
We report on the transverse mode selection in an all-fiber CW Raman laser based on a multimode graded-index fiber directly pumped by multimode laser diodes. Selection properties of special fiber Bragg gratings inscribed by UV CW or IR femtosecond radiation in the 100-μm core of graded-index fiber are experimentally compared. It is also theoretically explained why the better fundamental mode selection occurs in the femtosecond fiber Bragg grating inscribed in the fiber with lower core diameter. Fibers with core diameter of 62.5, 85 and 100 um are compared in the experiment. With core enlargement, the output power and slope efficiency increase sufficiently (from 47% to 84%) at the expense of slight beam-quality parameter increase (M2 =1.3-3).
The results on tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) inscription using the method of transverse scanning of the fiber core by a femtosecond laser beam is reported in this paper. As an example, TFBGs consisting of unidirectional and bi-directional grating planes and having a tilt angle up to 9° are created. It is shown that different transverse mode groups of the fiber cladding can be excited with the created structures. The corresponding resonant dips reach the amplitude up to 30 dB that indicates the inscription method efficiency.
We report on the first all-fiber CW Raman laser based on a multimode graded-index fiber directly pumped by multimode laser diodes. A joint action of Raman clean-up effect and mode-selection properties of special fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in the central part of fiber core, results in high-efficiency conversion of a multimode (M2~26) pump at 915 nm into a high-quality output beam at 954 nm. Fibers with core diameter of 62.5, 85 and 100 um are compared. With core enlargement, the output power and slope efficiency increase sufficiently (from 47% to 84%) at the expense of slight beam-quality parameter reduction (M2=1.3-3).
Femtosecond-pulse modification of the refractive index in transparent materials enables the inscription of fiber Bragg gratings with new features and extended capabilities. In this study we present the results of fiber Bragg gratings inscription in Corning 62.5/125 multimode graded index fiber with IR femtosecond laser pulses. The specifics of point-by-point inscription including single and multiple Bragg grating inscription in limited fiber segment as well as different transverse modes excitation/suppression is discussed. Multimode fiber Bragg gratings inscribed with femtosecond radiation are investigated for the first time directly in the Raman fiber laser cavity.
Experimental investigation of thermochemical laser-induced periodic surface structures (TLIPSS) formation on metal films (Ti, Cr, Ni, NiCr) at different processing conditions is presented. The hypothesis that the TLIPSS formation depends significantly on parabolic rate constant for oxide thin film growth is discussed. Evidently, low value of this parameter for Ni is the reason of TLIPSS absence on Ni and NiCr film with low Cr content. The effect of simultaneous ablative (with period ≈λ) and thermochemical (with period ≈λ) LIPSS formation was observed. The formation of structures after TLIPSS selective etching was demonstrated.
We present the results of comparative numerical study of energy deposition in single shot femtosecond laser
inscription for fundamental and second harmonic of Yb-doped fiber laser. We have found that second harmonic
is more efficient in absorbing energy which leads to lower inscription threshold. Hence this regime is more
attractive for applications in femtosecond laser microfabrication.
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