In situobservation of dynamic pitch jumps of in-planar cholesteric liquid crystal layers based on wavelength-swept laser

Confinement and magnetic-field effect on chiral ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals in Grandjean-Cano wedge cells

We explore the structure and magnetic-field response of edge dislocations in Grandjean-Cano wedge cells filled with chiral mixtures of the ferroelectric nematic mesogen DIO. Upon cooling, the ordering changes from paraelectric in the cholesteric phase N^{*} to antiferroelectric in the smectic SmZ_{A}^{*} and to ferroelectric in the cholesteric N_{F}^{*}. Dislocations of the Burgers vector b equal to the helicoidal pitch P are stable in all three phases, while dislocations with b=P/2 exist only in the N^{*} and SmZ_{A}^{*}. The b=P/2 dislocations split into pairs of τ^{-1/2}λ^{+1/2} disclinations, while the thick dislocations b=P are pairs of nonsingular λ^{-1/2}λ^{+1/2} disclinations. The polar order makes the τ^{-1/2} disclinations unstable in the N_{F}^{*} phase, as they should be connected to singular walls in the polarization field. We propose a model of transformation of the composite τ^{-1/2} line-wall defect into a nonsingular λ^{-1/2} disclination, which is paired up with a λ^{+1/2} line to form a b=P dislocation. The SmZ_{A}^{*} behavior in the in-plane magnetic field is different from that of the N_{F}^{*} and N^{*}: the dislocations show no zigzag instability, and the pitch remains unchanged in the magnetic fields up to 1 T. The behavior is associated with the finite compressibility of smectic layers.

Output Characterization of 220 nm Broadband 1250 nm Wavelength-Swept Laser for Dynamic Optical Fiber Sensors

Broadband wavelength-swept lasers (WSLs) are widely used as light sources in biophotonics and optical fiber sensors. Herein, we present a polygonal mirror scanning wavelength filter (PMSWF)-based broadband WSL using two semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) with different center wavelengths as the gain medium. The 10-dB bandwidth of the wavelength scanning range with 3.6 kHz scanning frequency was approximately 223 nm, from 1129 nm to 1352 nm. When the scanning frequency of the WSL was increased, the intensity and bandwidth decreased. The main reason for this is that the laser oscillation time becomes insufficient as the scanning frequency increases. We analyzed the intensity and bandwidth decrease according to the increase in the scanning frequency in the WSL through the concept of saturation limit frequency. In addition, optical alignment is important for realizing broadband WSLs. The optimal condition can be determined by analyzing the beam alignment according to the position of the diffraction grating and the lenses in the PMSWF. This broadband WSL is specially expected to be used as a light source in broadband distributed dynamic FBG fiber-optic sensors.

Fiber-Optic Temperature Sensor Using Cholesteric Liquid Crystals on the Optical Fiber Ferrules

Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) can be applied to various physical and chemical sensors because their alignment structures are changed by external stimuli. Here, we propose a CLC device fabricated by vertically forming the helical axis of the CLC between the cross-sections of two optical fiber ferrules. An optical fiber temperature sensor was successfully implemented using the proposed optical fiber ferrule-based CLC device. A wideband wavelength-swept laser with a center wavelength of 1073 nm and scanning range of 220 nm was used as a light source to measure the variations in the reflection spectrum band according to the temperature change in the CLC cell. The wavelength variation of the reflection spectrum band according to the temperature applied to the CLC cell was reversible and changed linearly with a change in the temperature, and the long-wavelength edge variation rate according to the temperature change was −5.0 nm/°C. Additionally, as the temperature applied to the CLC cell increased, the reflection spectrum bandwidth gradually decreased; the reflection spectrum bandwidth varied at a rate of −1.89 nm/°C. The variations in the refractive indices with temperature were calculated from the band wavelengths of the reflection spectrum. The pitch at each temperature was calculated based on the refractive indices and it gradually decreased as the temperature increased.

Output Stabilization of Wavelength-Swept Laser Based on Closed-Loop Control of Fabry-Pérot Tunable Wavelength Filter for Fiber-Optic Sensors

The output of a wavelength-swept laser (WSL) based on a fiber Fabry–Pérot tunable filter (FFP-TF) tends to shift the peak wavelength due to external temperature or heat generated by the FFP-TF itself. Therefore, when measuring the output of WSL for a long time, it is very difficult to accurately measure a signal in the temporal domain corresponding to a specific wavelength of the output of the WSL. If the wavelength variation of the WSL output can be predicted through the peak time information of the forward scan or the backward scan from the WSL, the variation of the peak wavelength can be compensated for by adjusting the offset voltage applied to the FFP-TF. This study presents a successful stabilization method for peak wavelength variation in WSLs by adjusting the offset voltage of the FFP-TF with closed-loop control. The closed-loop control is implemented by measuring the deviation in the WSL peak position in the temporal domain using the trigger signal of the function generator. The feedback repetition rate for WSL stabilization was approximately 0.2 s, confirming that the WSL output and the peak position for the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) reflection spectrum were kept constant within ±7 μs at the maximum when the stabilization loop was applied. The standard deviations of WSL output and reflection peak positions were 1.52 μs and 1.59 μs, respectively. The temporal and spectral domains have a linear relationship; the ±7 μs maximum variation of the peak position corresponded to ±0.035 nm of the maximum wavelength variation in the spectral domain. The proposed WSL system can be used as a light source for temperature or strain-dependent sensors as it compensates for the WSL wavelength variation in applications that do not require a fast scanning rate.

1.1-µm Band Extended Wide-Bandwidth Wavelength-Swept Laser Based on Polygonal Scanning Wavelength Filter

We demonstrated a 1.1-µm band extended wideband wavelength-swept laser (WSL) that combined two semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) based on a polygonal scanning wavelength filter. The center wavelengths of the two SOAs were 1020 nm and 1140 nm, respectively. Two SOAs were connected in parallel in the form of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. At a scanning speed of 1.8 kHz, the 10-dB bandwidth of the spectral output and the average power were approximately 228 nm and 16.88 mW, respectively. Owing to the nonlinear effect of the SOA, a decrease was observed in the bandwidth according to the scanning speed. Moreover, the intensity of the WSL decreased because the oscillation time was smaller than the buildup time. In addition, a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) cell was fabricated as an application of WSL, and the dynamic change of the first-order reflection of the CLC cell in the 1-µm band was observed using the WSL. The pitch jumps of the reflection band occurred according to the electric field applied to the CLC cell, and instantaneous changes were observed.

Characterization of Second-Order Reflection Bands from a Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Cell Based on a Wavelength-Swept Laser

We report the results of an experimental study of the characterization of second-order reflection bands from a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) cell that depends on the applied electric field, using a wide bandwidth wavelength-swept laser. The second-order reflection bands around 1300 nm and 1500 nm were observed using an optical spectrum analyzer when an electric field was applied to a horizontally oriented electrode cell with a pitch of 1.77 μm. A second-order reflection spectrum began to appear when the intensity of the electric field was 1.03 V_rms/μm with the angle of incidence to the CLC cell fixed at 36°. The reflectance increased as the intensity of the electric field increased at an angle of incidence of 20°, whereas at an incident angle of 36°, when an electric field of a predetermined value or more was applied to the CLC cell, it was confirmed that deformation was completely formed in the liquid crystal and the reflectance was saturated to a constant level. As the intensity of the electric field increased further, the reflection band shifted to a longer wavelength and discontinuous wavelength shift due to the pitch jump was observed rather than a continuous wavelength increase. In addition, the reflection band changed when the angle of incidence on the CLC cell was changed. As the angle of incidence gradually increased, the center wavelength of the reflection band moved towards shorter wavelengths. In the future, we intend to develop a device for optical wavelength filters based on side-polished optical fibers. This is expected to have a potential application as a wavelength notch filter or a bandpass filter.