spie proceedings [spie spie photonics europe - brussels, belgium (monday 16 april 2012)] optical...

DFB Laser based Electrical Dynamic Interrogation For Optical Fiber Sensors

J. P. Carvalho*a,b, O. Frazãoa, J. M. Baptistaa,c, J. L. Santosa,c, A. P. Barberod

aINESC TEC, Optoelectronics and Electronic Systems Unit, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal;

bDept. of Physics, FCUP, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; cCentro de Ciências Exatas e da Engenharia, Universidade da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, 9000-390

Funchal, Portugal; dDept. de Engenharia de Telecomunicações, Fluminense Federal University, Rua Passos da Pátria 156 - Sala

504, 24220-110 Niterói, Brasil.

* [email protected]; phone +351 220 402 301; fax +351 220 402 437; http://www.inescporto.pt/uose

ABSTRACT

An electrical dynamic interrogation technique previously reported by the authors for long-period grating sensors is now progressed by relying its operation exclusively on the modulation of a DFB Laser. The analysis of the detected first and second harmonic generated by the electrical modulation of the DFB Laser allows generating an optical signal proportional to the LPG spectral shift and resilient to optical power fluctuations along the system. This concept permits attenuating the effect of the 1/f noise of the photodetection, amplification and processing electronics on the sensing head resolution. This technique is employed in a multiplexing sensing scheme that measures refractive index variations.

Keywords: electrical dynamic interrogation, 1/f noise, multiplexing, refractive index.

1. INTRODUCTION Long-period gratings (LPGs) are fiber structures where the light guided in the core is coupled to several cladding modes at specific resonant wavelengths [1]. Such type of fiber gratings are optical passive devices which share the intrinsic characteristics of conventional optical fiber sensors, such as electrically passive operation, immunity to electromagnetic interference and multiplexing capability, and show some specific characteristics such as low back reflection and low insertion loss. The low back reflection characteristic occurs because such devices operate in transmission owing to the coupling of the fundamental guided mode to co-directional cladding modes. The coupling between forward modes occurs when the phase matching vector is short, which corresponds to a refractive index spatial modulation period of some hundred micrometers [2] which means an advantage in terms of fabrication when compared with Fiber Bragg Gratings.

Because LPGs deal with radiation that propagates in the cladding region, its resonance loss band is sensitive to changes in the fiber structure induced by different physical parameters namely, torsion, transverse load and, in particular, when bending is applied to the section of the fiber containing the grating. They are also prone to changes in the surrounding medium, mainly to changes on its refractive index. The LPG devices are also sensitive to strain and their temperature sensitivity can be substantial. Therefore, LPGs are tunable band-rejection filters that find a wide range of applications as optical fiber sensors [3]. More recently, LPGs have been fabricated in photonic crystal fibers and their use as sensing elements is an active area of research [4-7].

As a result of its principle of operation and spectral characteristics, LPGs, as sensing elements, are mostly used to detect variations of quasi-static parameters. Their interrogation is normally achieved with optical spectrum analyzers (OSA) or by detecting the optical power changes at one or more wavelengths located in the edges of the LPG transmission spectrum. If two wavelengths, one in each edge of the LPG, are selected (for example using selective filters such as Fiber Bragg gratings - FBG), and if the detected optical power in these wavelengths are P1 and P2, then processing of the type

Optical Sensing and Detection II, edited by Francis Berghmans, Anna Grazia Mignani, Piet De Moor, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8439, 84390K · © 2012 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/12/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.922691

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8439 84390K-1

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(P1-P2)/(P1+P2) gives a signal proportional to the measurand induced LPG shift and independent of the optical power fluctuations along the system [7-9]. Considering the associated photodetection, amplification and processing are in most of the cases in the DC or quasi-DC regime, the measurand readout resolution can be substantially affected by the 1/f noise of the electronics. Therefore, it would be advantageous to set-up a LPG interrogation approach compatible with signal photodetection and amplification at higher frequencies.

In this work it is reported a progressed version of the LPG dynamic interrogation technique previously presented by the authors [10,11], based on a modulation at different frequencies of two Distributed-Feedback Lasers (DFB) spectrally located near the LPG resonance depth.The interrogation method relies in detecting with an electrical spectrum analyzer (ESA) the amplitude of the first and the second harmonic of the electrical signals that results from the optoelectronics conversion of the DFB Laser spectrum. The amplitude of the first harmonic is proportional to the slope of the LPG spectral response at the DFB Laser operating wavelengths, being the amplitude of the second harmonic also proportional to the second derivative of the LPG original spectrum. Both electrical amplitudes, of the first and second harmonic, changes with the relative spectral movements between the LPG and the fixed operation wavelength of the DFB Laser, permitting to obtain a processed signal which is proportional to the LPG spectral shift and immune to optical power fluctuations along the system. This technique is tested in a multiplexing scheme to measure refractive index variations of two LPGs sensors working in reflection.

2. OPERATION PRINCIPLE The feasibility of the proposed approach is dependent on the level of slope variation, and its derivative, along the LPG spectral resonance. To a good approximation the LPG transfer function can be represented by the following expression [12]:

( )

2

4ln 2

( ) 1res

LPGout oP P m e

λ λλλ

⎛ ⎞−− ⎜ ⎟

Δ⎝ ⎠⎡ ⎤⎢ ⎥= − ⋅⎢ ⎥⎣ ⎦

(1)

where λres and ΔλLPG are the LPG resonance wavelength and spectral width, respectively, and m indicates the resonance loss level. For a typical LPG with 20dB of attenuation at λres, m=0.99. Figure 1 shows Pout (λ)/P0, (dPout/dλ)/P0 and (d2Pout/dλ2)/P0 versus λ. It can be observed that the magnitude of the normalized slope variation along the full LPG response is approximately one order of magnitude smaller than the normalized optical power variation. It is also observed that the second derivative of the normalized FBG spectrum is approximately a factor of five smaller than the normalized slope variation. These factors translate into corresponding factors for the signal variations associated with Pout(λ)/P0, (dPout/dλ)/P0 and (d2Pout/dλ2)/P0, with origin at a LPG spectral shift relative to fixed wavelength values defined by the DFB Lasers.

From this argument it seems that the preferable option should be to follow the standard approach monitoring Pout (λ)/P0. However, this is a DC reading, consequently affected by low-frequency noise, which usually has a 1/f power spectral dependence. On the other hand, the slope and the second derivative approach is compatible with interrogation in a frequency range far from the 1/f noise region, which means the signal-to-noise ratio can eventually be favored by the reduction of the noise level, eventually compensating the disadvantage of the reduction in signal amplitude.



0.00

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

-0.075

-0.050

-0.025

0.000

0.025

0.050

0.075

1500 1520 1540 1560 1580 1600

-0.005

0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

P out /

P 0

(dP ou

t / dλ

) / P

0

( d2 P

out /

dλ2 )

/ P0

Wavelength (nm)

Figure 1. Pout (λ)/P0, (dPout /dλ)/P0 and (d2Pout /dλ2)/P0 versus λ.

3. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed interrogation approach the setup presented in Figure 2 was implemented. Two LPGs with resonances centred at 1530 nm (LPG1) and 1565 nm (LPG2), presented in Figure 3, were fabricated using the electric arc technique (the periods of the refractive index modulation, Λ, are 391 μm and 397 μm respectively; coupling to a 6th order cladding mode). Both LPGs were placed between fibre holders inside a recipient with an aqueous sodium chloride (NaCl) solution.

The experimental setup is illuminated by means of two DFB Lasers emitting at 1531nm (λ1) and 1566nm (λ2), modulated by two independent signal generators with sine waves of ~300mV of amplitude at the frequencies 1000Hz (f1) and 800Hz (f2). These modulations induced corresponding modulations of the lasers injection currents around the DC bias values, with the consequent spectral shifts. The optical fibre at the LPGs right side was mirrored with silver nitrate (AgNO3) allowing the sensing heads multiplexing scheme to operate in reflection.

The system noise level was stabilized at ~ - 85 dBVrms and the processing adopted was:



1 2

1 2

proc

V VV

V Vω ω

ω ω

−=

+ (2)

where Vω1 and Vω2 are the rms voltage amplitudes of the first and second harmonic signals relative to each DFB laser when modulated (DFB Laser @ λ1: ω1=1000Hz, ω2=2000Hz; DFB Laser @ λ2: ω1=800Hz, ω2=1600Hz) as shown in Figure 4. This processing eliminates the deleterious consequences of optical power fluctuations considering the amplitudes of these harmonics are both affected.

f1=1000Hz

f2=800Hz

ESA

DFB Laser1531 nm

DFB Laser1566 nm

Aqueous solution Aqueous solution

LPG1 @ 1530 nm LPG2 @ 1565 nm

50:50Optical Coupler

Photodetector

Figure 2. Experimental setup of the multiplexing layout for measuring refractive index variations using the electrical dynamic interrogation approach.

1500 1510 1520 1530 1540 1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 1600

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

Ref

lect

ion

Spec

tra (d

B)

Wavelength (nm)

neff=1.3355 LPGs in air

Figure 3.Optical reflection spectra of the LPGs multiplexing scheme for refractive index measurement. Spectrum of both structures

immersed in distilled water (solid line); optical response of the multiplexed LPGs in air (dashed line).



400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

ω2ω

2

ω1

Am

plitu

de (d

BV rm

s)

Frequency (Hz)

DFB Laser (λ1= 1531nm)modulation frequency (f1)

n=1.3355 n=1.3605

DFB Laser (λ2= 1570nm)modulation frequency (f2)

n=1.3380 n=1.3620

ω1

Figure 4. Electrical spectra of the multiplexed scheme being (in red) ω1 and ω2 the first and second harmonic of the DFB Laser modulation frequency (f1), and (in blue) ω1 and ω2 the first and second harmonic of the DFB Laser modulation frequency (f2).

After photodetection of the optical signals reflected by the AgNO3 mirror at the top of the sensing fiber, the resultant electrical signals were added with an electrical circuit and visualized in an HP 35660A electrical spectrum analyzer (ESA) with adequate impedance matching. The modulation of the injection current of each DFB Lasers originates a relative spectral movement with reference to the LPG transfer function, with a consequent optical power modulation at the modulation frequencies and its second harmonic. The amplitude of this power modulation is function of the LPG spectral position, which changes due to the measurand variation. This effect can be observed in Figure 3 and Figure 4, where it can be seen that the wavelength shift of the LPGs resonances is transformed into an amplitude variation of the two harmonics (ω1 and ω2) observed in the ESA, corresponding to the frequency (f1 or f2) in which each DFB Laser is being modulated.

4. RESULTS The setup depicted in Figure 2 was used to estimate Vproc for each sensor, as shown in Figure 5.



Equation y = a + b*x LPG1

Vproc@1530nm Intercept 0.93527

Vproc@1530nm Slope 0.04761

Equation y = a + b*x LPG2

Vproc@1570nm Intercept 0.97425

Vproc@1570nm Slope 0.01881

1.335 1.340 1.345 1.350 1.355 1.360 1.3650.9988

0.9990

0.9992

0.9994

0.9996

0.9998

1.0000

V proc

(a.u

.)

Refractive index (RIU)

Figure 5. System output versus refractive index variations for each LPG: LPG1 (in blue); LPG2 (in red).

As can be observed, a linear system response was obtained as stated by the linear regression presented in Figure 5. Figure 6 shows the system step response for an induced NaCl concentration variation which correspond to a refractive index change for both, LPG1 and LPG2, cases.

From the amplitude of the step changes of the output signals induced by the refractive index step variations and the rms fluctuations of these signals in the situation of constant refractive index, a resolution of 3.3×10-4 RIU for LPG1 and 4.4×10-4 RIU for LPG2 was obtained. These results indicate that a refractive index resolution is expected to be improved with optimization of the configuration, particularly in what concerns the tuning of the relative spectral positions of the LPGs and DFB emission lines. Also, no crosstalk was observed between the two sensors of the structure.

0 200 400 600 800 1000

0.9988

0.9990

0.9992

0.9994

0.9996

0.9998

1.0000

n=1.3605

n=1.3510

n=1.3440

Vpro

c (a

.u.)

Time (seconds)

n=1.3355

0 200 400 600 800 1000

0.9993

0.9994

0.9995

0.9996

0.9997

0.9998

0.9999

n=1.3590

n=1.3535

n=1.3435

Vpr

oc (a

.u.)

Time (seconds)

n=1.3380

Figure 6. Step response for induced refractive index variations of the aqueous solution of NaCl (in left) of LPG1 and (in right) of

LPG2.



5. CONCLUSIONS In this work a multiplexing scheme based in an upgraded approach of the electrical dynamic LPG interrogation technique was presented. It was based on the analysis of the electrical spectrum of two modulated DFB Lasers located nearby a LPG resonance. This concept permits to attenuate the effect of the 1/f noise of the electronics when determining the refractive index resolution. A value of 10-4 RIU was achieved. The developed interrogation architecture easily allows multiplexing several sensing heads, is simple and also could be applied in several structures used for the measurement of DC or quasi-DC measurands, as is the case for multimode interferometers (MMI) or other sensing devices based on the phenomenon of surface plasmonic resonance (SPR).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported in part by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/30850/2006, and the Portugal-Brazil bilateral project AMBISENSE (CNPq 61/2008; FCT 411.00).

REFERENCES

[1] A. M. Vengsarkar, P. J. Lemaire, J. B. Judkins, V. Bhatia, T. Erdogan, J. E. Sipe, “Long-period fiber gratings as band-rejection filters”, Journal of Lightwave Technology, 14, 58-64, 1996.

[2] J. M. López-Higuera, [Handbook of Optical Fibre Sensing Technology], John Wiley (2002). [3] S. W. James, R. P. Tatam, “Optical fibre long-period grating sensors: characteristics and application”,

Measurement Science and Technology, 14, 49-56, 2003. [4] H. Dobb, K. Kalli, D. J. Webb, “Temperature-insensitive long-period grating sensors in photonic crystal fiber”,

Electronics Letters, 40, 657-658, 2004. [5] J. S. Petrovic, H. Dobb, V. K. Mezentsev, K. Kalli, D. J. Webb, I. Bennion, “Sensitivity of LPGs in PCFs

fabricated by an electric arc to temperature, strain and external refractive index”, Journal of Lightwave Technology, 25, 1306-1312, 2007.

[6] L. Rindorf, O. Bang, “Highly sensitive refractometer with a photonic crystal-fiber long-period grating”, Optics Letters, 33, 563-564, 2008.

[7] C. Jesus, P. Caldas, O. Frazão, J. L. Santos, P. A. S. Jorge, J. M. Baptista, “Simultaneous Measurement of Refractive Index and Temperature Using a Hybrid Fiber Bragg Grating/Long-Period Fiber Grating Configuration”, Fiber and Integrated Optics, 2009. (28): p. 440–449.

[8] H. J. Patrick, G. M. Williams, A.D. Kersey, J. R. Pedrazzani, A. M. Vengsarkar, “Hybrid fiber Bragg grating/long period fiber grating sensor for strain/temperature discrimination”, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 8, 1223-1225, 1996.

[9] R. Falate, O. Frazão, G. Rego, J. L. Fabris, J. L. Santos, “Refractometric sensor based on a phase-shifted long-period fiber grating”, Applied Optics, 45, 5066-5072, 2006.

[10] J. P. Carvalho, L. Coelho, M. J. Pontes, A. P. Barbero, M. A. Martinez, R. M. Ribeiro, J. Weyl, J. M. Baptista, M. T. R. Giraldi, I. Dias, J. L. Santos, O. Frazão, “Long period gratings dynamic interrogation with modulated fibre Bragg gratings and optical amplification”, IEEE Sensors Journal, 12, 179 - 183, 2012.

[11] J. P. Carvalho, L. Coelho, J. M. Baptista, J. L. Santos, O. Frazão, “Dynamic interrogation for optical fibre sensors based on long period gratings”, Measurement and Science Technology, 22, 2011.

[12] L.A. Ferreira, E.V. Diatzikis, J. L. Santos, F. Farahi, “Frequency modulated multimode laser diode for fibre Bragg grating sensors”, Journal of Lightwave Tecnology, 16, 1620-1630, 1998.



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