Time-domain fiber laser hydrogen sensor

Environmental Monitoring: A Comprehensive Review on Optical Waveguide and Fiber-Based Sensors

Globally, there is active development of photonic sensors incorporating multidisciplinary research. The ultimate objective is to develop small, low-cost, sensitive, selective, quick, durable, remote-controllable sensors that are resistant to electromagnetic interference. Different photonic sensor designs and advances in photonic frameworks have shown the possibility to realize these capabilities. In this review paper, the latest developments in the field of optical waveguide and fiber-based sensors which can serve for environmental monitoring are discussed. Several important topics such as toxic gas, water quality, indoor environment, and natural disaster monitoring are reviewed.

Temperature Self-Compensated Refractive Index Sensor Based on Fiber Bragg Grating and the Ellipsoid Structure

In this paper, a temperature self-compensated refractive index sensor based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and the ellipsoid structure is demonstrated. The ellipsoid can excite the cladding modes and recouple them into the fiber core. Two well-defined wavelength bands are observed in the reflection spectrum of the proposed sensor, i.e., the Bragg resonant peak and the cladding resonant peaks. By measuring the wavelength shift of the cladding resonant peak, the surrounding refractive index (SRI) can be determined, and the wavelength shift of the Bragg resonant peak can be used as a reliable reference to self-compensate the temperature variation (temperature sensitivity of 10.76 pm/°C). When the SRI changes from 1.3352 to 1.3722, the cladding resonant peak redshifts linearly with an average sensitivity of 352.6 pm/RIU (refractive index unit). When the SRI changes from 1.3722 to 1.4426, an exponential redshift is observed with a maximum sensitivity of 4182.2 pm/RIU. Especially, the sensing performance is not very reliant on the distance between the FBG and the ellipsoid, greatly improving the ease of the fabrication.

Tapered Optical Fiber Functionalized with Palladium Nanoparticles by Drop Casting and Laser Radiation for H₂ and Volatile Organic Compounds Sensing Purposes

A comparative study on the sensing properties of a tapered optical fiber pristine and functionalized with the palladium nanoparticles to hydrogen and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is presented. The sensor response and, response/recovery times were extracted from the measurements of the transient response of the device. The tapered optical fiber sensor was fabricated using a single-mode optical fiber by the flame-brushing technique. Functionalization of the optical fiber was performed using an aqueous solution of palladium chloride by drop-casting technique assisted for laser radiation. The detection principle of the sensor is based on the changes in the optical properties of palladium nanoparticles when exposed to reducing gases, which causes a variation in the absorption of evanescent waves. A continuous wave laser diode operating at 1550 nm is used for the sensor characterization. The sensor functionalized with palladium nanoparticles by this technique is viable for the sensing of hydrogen and VOCs, since it shows an enhancement in sensor response and response time compared to the sensor based on the pristine optical microfiber. The results show that the fabricated sensor is competitive with other fiber optic sensors functionalized with palladium nanoparticles to the hydrogen.

Investigation of dynamic properties of erbium fiber laser for ultrasonic sensing

Dynamic properties of an erbium fiber laser (EFL) is researched and demonstrated for ultrasonic sensing in this research. The EFL has ring cavity incorporated with a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating. A numerical model is used to analyze its dynamic responses to quasi-static change, continuous wave and burst wave. The ultrasonic behavior of the EFL resembles the forced single degree of freedom vibration with damping. Corresponding experimental results fit the simulation results well, showing some interesting ultrasonic properties of this EFL. After certain data process method, this EFL can be used in practical ultrasonic nondestructive testing.

Chirped dissipative soliton absorption spectroscopy

We present analytical theory of dissipative soliton absorption spectroscopy. A dissipative soliton formed in an all-normal-dispersion oscillator with a narrowband intracavity absorber acquires spectral features that follow the index of refraction of the absorber, as confirmed by numerical simulations and experimental evidence. In contrast to the soliton absorption spectroscopy in an anomalous dispersion regime, we anticipate resonant enhancement of a modulation signal near the pulse spectrum edges that results in an additional signal gain. We further show that the pulse acquires a nanosecond-long tail in the time domain and provide simple formula for estimation of its energy content.

Large-area imager of hydrogen leaks in fuel cells using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

We constructed a simple device, which utilized laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to image H2 gas leaking from the surfaces of hydrogen fuel cells to ambient air. Nanosecond laser pulses of wavelength lambda=532 nm emitted from a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser were first compressed to a pulse length Deltat<1 ns using a stimulated Brillouin backscattering cell. Relay-imaging optics then focused this beam onto the H(2) leak and initiated the breakdown plasma. The Balmer-alpha (H-alpha) emission that emerged from this was collected with a 2-m-long macrolens assembly with a 90-mm-diameter image area, which covered a solid angle of approximately 1 x 10(-3)pi steradians seen from the plasma. The H-alpha light was isolated by two 100-mm-diameter interference filters with a 2 nm bandpass, and imaged by a thermoelectrically cooled charge-coupled device camera. By scanning the position of the laser focus, the spatial distribution of H2 gas over a 90-mm-diameter area was photographed with a spatial resolution of < or = 5 mm. Photoionization of the water vapor in the air caused a strong H-alpha background. By using pure N2 as a buffer gas, H2 leaks with rates of <1 cc/min were imaged. We also studied the possibilities of detecting He, Ne, or Xe gas leaks.