Fiber tapers have attracted much attention and have been successfully employed in various applications, ranging from resonators, filters, interferometers to sensors. This thesis studies the properties of fiber tapers for the purpose of making tapered-based devices and sensors in aerospace related application where small size and light weight are critical. This thesis includes theoretical derivation and experimental verifications of distributed mode coupling in tapered single-mode fibers (SMFs) with high-resolution optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR) technique. The studies are realized with OFDR through phase detection of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), which measures local refractive index change relative to the reference arm. The wavelength shifts converted by the phase change give the group index differences between the fundamental mode and higher-order modes of fiber tapers. The energy re-distribution is observed in Rayleigh backscatter amplitude as a function of fiber length with a ~13µm resolution over the entire fiber taper, and group index difference between core and cladding modes is measured with a spatial resolution of ~2cm by using autocorrelation data processing. The thermal and mechanical properties of fiber tapers have also been characterized with OFDR. The cross-correlation wavelength shift is related to the refractive index change of the modes. It is shown that residual stress induced by the tapering process results in the inhomogeneous thermal property, which can be significantly reduced by an annealing treatment. A fiber taper with a waist diameter of ~6µm has a force sensitivity of ~620.83nm/N, ~500 times higher than that of SMF. Furthermore, polarization-preserving character of tapered polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs) is evaluated by OFDR-based distributed birefringence along tapered PMFs. Three tapered-based micro-fiber devices have been used as effective mode selecting components to build narrow-linewidth tunable Erbium-doped fiber ring lasers. The fabrication is easy and at a low cost. 1) a tapered fiber tip forms multimode interference mechanism; 2) a two-taper MZI has been demonstrated by splitting/combining the fundamental mode and higher-order modes through fiber tapers and is tuned by bending one taper waist; 3) a novel tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter, consisting of a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber and a micro-fiber, is employed in the reflection mode.

Fiber tapers have attracted much attention and have been successfully employed in various applications, ranging from resonators, filters, interferometers to sensors. This thesis studies the properties of fiber tapers for the purpose of making tapered-based devices and sensors in aerospace related application where small size and light weight are critical. This thesis includes theoretical derivation and experimental verifications of distributed mode coupling in tapered single-mode fibers (SMFs) with high-resolution optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR) technique. The studies are realized with OFDR through phase detection of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), which measures local refractive index change relative to the reference arm. The wavelength shifts converted by the phase change give the group index differences between the fundamental mode and higher-order modes of fiber tapers. The energy re-distribution is observed in Rayleigh backscatter amplitude as a function of fiber length with a ~13µm resolution over the entire fiber taper, and group index difference between core and cladding modes is measured with a spatial resolution of ~2cm by using autocorrelation data processing. The thermal and mechanical properties of fiber tapers have also been characterized with OFDR. The cross-correlation wavelength shift is related to the refractive index change of the modes. It is shown that residual stress induced by the tapering process results in the inhomogeneous thermal property, which can be significantly reduced by an annealing treatment. A fiber taper with a waist diameter of ~6µm has a force sensitivity of ~620.83nm/N, ~500 times higher than that of SMF. Furthermore, polarization-preserving character of tapered polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs) is evaluated by OFDR-based distributed birefringence along tapered PMFs. Three tapered-based micro-fiber devices have been used as effective mode selecting components to build narrow-linewidth tunable Erbium-doped fiber ring lasers. The fabrication is easy and at a low cost. 1) a tapered fiber tip forms multimode interference mechanism; 2) a two-taper MZI has been demonstrated by splitting/combining the fundamental mode and higher-order modes through fiber tapers and is tuned by bending one taper waist; 3) a novel tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter, consisting of a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber and a micro-fiber, is employed in the reflection mode.

Fiber tapers have attracted much attention and have been successfully employed in various applications, ranging from resonators, filters, interferometers to sensors. This thesis studies the properties of fiber tapers for the purpose of making tapered-based devices and sensors in aerospace related application where small size and light weight are critical. This thesis includes theoretical derivation and experimental verifications of distributed mode coupling in tapered single-mode fibers (SMFs) with high-resolution optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR) technique. The studies are realized with OFDR through phase detection of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), which measures local refractive index change relative to the reference arm. The wavelength shifts converted by the phase change give the group index differences between the fundamental mode and higher-order modes of fiber tapers. The energy re-distribution is observed in Rayleigh backscatter amplitude as a function of fiber length with a ~13µm resolution over the entire fiber taper, and group index difference between core and cladding modes is measured with a spatial resolution of ~2cm by using autocorrelation data processing. The thermal and mechanical properties of fiber tapers have also been characterized with OFDR. The cross-correlation wavelength shift is related to the refractive index change of the modes. It is shown that residual stress induced by the tapering process results in the inhomogeneous thermal property, which can be significantly reduced by an annealing treatment. A fiber taper with a waist diameter of ~6µm has a force sensitivity of ~620.83nm/N, ~500 times higher than that of SMF. Furthermore, polarization-preserving character of tapered polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs) is evaluated by OFDR-based distributed birefringence along tapered PMFs. Three tapered-based micro-fiber devices have been used as effective mode selecting components to build narrow-linewidth tunable Erbium-doped fiber ring lasers. The fabrication is easy and at a low cost. 1) a tapered fiber tip forms multimode interference mechanism; 2) a two-taper MZI has been demonstrated by splitting/combining the fundamental mode and higher-order modes through fiber tapers and is tuned by bending one taper waist; 3) a novel tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter, consisting of a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber and a micro-fiber, is employed in the reflection mode.

Extreme variability of rainfall during the growing season in the Prairies underlies the need to improve means of quantifying the amount of soil moisture available for plant growth in real time. This study was conducted to modify and validate the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) for estimating volumetric soil water content. A network of soil moisture hydra probes and weather stations were installed for continuous soil moisture monitoring and real-time weather data collection at 13 sites across Central and Western Manitoba during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. The data from the probes were validated and calibrated. Both the laboratory and field validations showed that the root mean square error of the default factory calibration increased with increasing clay content of the soil. Outputs from these probes were used to test the modified VSMB model. The model was most effective at simulating soil water content at the surface layers.

Extreme variability of rainfall during the growing season in the Prairies underlies the need to improve means of quantifying the amount of soil moisture available for plant growth in real time. This study was conducted to modify and validate the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) for estimating volumetric soil water content. A network of soil moisture hydra probes and weather stations were installed for continuous soil moisture monitoring and real-time weather data collection at 13 sites across Central and Western Manitoba during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. The data from the probes were validated and calibrated. Both the laboratory and field validations showed that the root mean square error of the default factory calibration increased with increasing clay content of the soil. Outputs from these probes were used to test the modified VSMB model. The model was most effective at simulating soil water content at the surface layers.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:33:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Viviane_Santos_Silva_Terra.pdf: 2073573 bytes, checksum: 19ddda03c961d08b0c0179b761552932 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-12 / The South region of Brazil (Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul) is responsible for the production of temperate fruit trees. Among them, the peach crop has been a good option for crops diversification. The knowledge of the amount of available soil water to supply water needs during the peach different stages of development is of interest to the agronomic point of view. In this sense, we highlight the importance of the use of irrigation in peach orchards in order to provide an adequate crop water supply. It is therefore important to know the response of peach to water deficit so that we can assess the influence of the practice of irrigation in crop production. Among the methodologies, the soil water balance, which consists of applying the equation of conservation of mass, has been used. Based on this, the main objective of this work was to evaluate and quantify the different components of water balance in a Red Yellow Podzolic soil, planted with peach trees, cultivar Maciel, under irrigation and without irrigation and to verify the adequacy of Domain Reflectometry Frequency (FDR) equipment for monitoring the water content over time. The evaluation and quantification of different components of water balance of soil water were measured in an experimental area which belongs to Embrapa Clima Temperado, Pelotas-RS, Brazil, planted with peach cultivar Maciel, nearby plants irrigated and not irrigated. For this, the water balance calculation was carried out weekly and divided into 32 periods, of which 4 periods (12, 20, 24 and 26) were discarded because they had precipitation above 30 mm week-1. The experimental area containing irrigated and no irrigated plants was divided into five strips. The irrigated plants belonged to the strip 1 (tubes 3 and 6), strip 2 (tube 2) and strip 3 (tube 1), each one with an area of 0.5 m². The no-irrigated area belonged to the strip 4 (tube 8) and 5 (tube 7), with an area of 1 meters each one. Strips 1, 2 and 4 were under canopy and the other outside of the canopy. Rainfall was measured by rain gauges; irrigation water supply was made based on the average daily evapotranspiration of the region; the variation of water storage in the soil was measured by readings of soil water content up to 0.50 m depth, using an equipment based on reflectometry in the frequency domain (FDR) which was calibrated from readings of tensiometers; the runoff and internal drainage or capillary rise were neglected; and the actual evapotranspiration (ETr) was taken as the unknown variable. From the results we can conclude that it is possible to use an indirect method, using tensiometers and soil water retention curves to obtain calibration curves of the reflectometry equipment in the frequency domain (FDR); the adopted irrigation management, based on the average evapotranspiration of the region, may not be sufficient to supply the water requirements of peach crop; peach trees with water supply through irrigation have higher values of actual evapotranspiration; and soil water storage ranged in all irrigated and no irrigated strips between 60 and 140 mm week-1, unaffected by the adopted treatments in the study. / A região de Pelotas é responsável pela grande produção de frutíferas de Clima Temperado, em especial a cultura do pessegueiro que tem sido uma boa opção para a diversificação de culturas. O conhecimento da quantidade de água disponível no solo para atender as necessidades hídricas do pessegueiro durante os seus diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento é de interesse do ponto de vista agronômico. Neste sentido, destaca-se o uso da irrigação na cultura do pessegueiro, visando fornecer a cultura um adequado suprimento de água. Desta forma, é importante conhecer a resposta do pessegueiro ao déficit hídrico para que se possa avaliar a influência da prática da irrigação na produção da cultura. Dentre as metodologias que tem sido utilizada, destaca-se a do balanço hídrico no solo, que consiste na aplicação da equação de conservação de massa. Baseado no acima exposto, este trabalho teve como o objetivo principal avaliar e quantificar os diferentes componentes do balanço hídrico em um solo Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo, cultivado com plantas de pessegueiro, cultivar Maciel, em condições de irrigação e sem irrigação, bem como verificar a adequação de um equipamento de Reflectometria no Domínio da Frequência (FDR) para monitorar o seu conteúdo de água ao longo do tempo. A avaliação e quantificação dos diferentes componentes do balanço hídrico de água no solo foram realizadas em uma área experimental pertencente a Embrapa Clima Temperado, Pelotas-RS, cultivada com pessegueiro, cultivar Maciel, próximo às plantas irrigadas e não irrigadas. Para tal, o cálculo do balanço hídrico foi realizado semanalmente e dividido em 32 períodos, sendo a área experimental contendo as plantas irrigadas e não irrigadas dividida em cinco faixas. As plantas irrigadas pertenciam a faixa 1 (tubos 3 e 6), faixa 2 (tubo 2) e faixa 3 (tubo 1), cada uma com área de 0,5 m². As não irrigadas pertenciam a faixa 4 (tubo 8) e faixa 5 (tubo 7), com uma área de 1,0 m² cada. As faixas 1, 2 e 4 encontravamse na subcopa da planta e as demais fora da copa. A precipitação foi medida por meio de pluviômetros; a irrigação foi feita diariamente baseada na média evapotranspirativa da região; a variação da armazenagem de água no solo foi medida por meio de leituras de umidade do solo até 0,50 m de profundidade, utilizando-se um equipamento baseado na reflectometria no domínio da frequência (FDR), o qual foi calibrado a partir de leituras de tensiometria; o escoamento superficial e a drenagem interna ou ascensão capilar foram desprezados; a evapotranspiração foi tomada como variável incógnita. A partir dos resultados podese concluir que é possível a utilização de um método indireto, usando tensiômetros e curvas de retenção para a obtenção de curvas de calibração do equipamento de reflectometria no domínio da frequência (FDR); o manejo de irrigação adotado, baseado na média de evapotranspiração da região, pode não ser suficiente para suprir a demanda hídrica da cultura do pessegueiro; plantas de pessegueiro com suprimento hídrico por meio da irrigação apresentam valores maiores de evapotranspiração real e a armazenagem variou em todas as faixas irrigadas e não irrigadas entre 60 a 140 mm semana-1, não sendo afetada pelos manejos adotados no estudo.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:37:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Cesar Ribeiro Miraglia.pdf: 2147088 bytes, checksum: 67087392fe4b03bb24d9a164fd92ceed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-20 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / Sensors based on optical fibers are being increasingly used in hostile environments for measuring pressure, temperature, stress, chemical and biological parameters, etc. These sensors have the advantage of having reduced size and weight, immunity to electromagnetic interference, of being chemically inert, and also allowing the distributed measurement of the respective parameter along the fiber. Microstructured optical fibers have characteristics that are relevant to sensing applications, such as freedom of design of their internal structure obtained by varying the diameter of the holes and the distances between them, among other parameters, which is not applicable in conventional optical fibers. The present work aims to use a microstructured optical fiber as a distributed sensor for hydrostatic pressure, using the POTDR (Polarization Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry) and the OFDR (Optical Frequency-Domain Reflectometry) measurement techniques. The application of hydrostatic pressure on the fiber changes its birefringence and, consequently, the evolution of the states of polarization, which is the parameter monitored by the techniques. By monitoring the changes of these states, it is possible to infer the changes in applied pressure. The study is undertaken via simulations and analysis, both performed in the software MatLab. / Sensores baseados em fibras ópticas vêm sendo cada vez mais utilizados em ambientes hostis para medição de pressão, temperatura, stress, análise química e biológica, etc. Esses sensores têm a vantagem de possuírem tamanho e peso reduzidos, imunidade à interferência eletromagnética, de serem quimicamente inertes, e também permitirem a medição distribuída do parâmetro a ser analisado ao longo da fibra. As fibras ópticas microestruturadas possuem características relevantes na aplicação de sensoriamento, tal como a liberdade de construção de sua estrutura interna variando o diâmetro dos buracos e a distância entre eles, entre outros parâmetros, que não são aplicáveis em fibras ópticas convencionais. Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar uma fibra óptica microestruturada como sensor distribuído de pressão hidrostática, utilizando as técnicas de medição POTDR (Polarization Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry) e OFDR (Optical Frequency-Domain Reflectometry). A aplicação de pressão hidrostática sobre a fibra altera sua birrefringência e, consequentemente, a evolução do seu estado de polarização, sendo este último o parâmetro monitorado pelas técnicas. Analisando-se a mudança deste estado, pode-se inferir a mudança de pressão aplicada. O estudo é realizado através de simulações e análises efetuadas no software MatLab.

La corrosion des armatures de renforcement des structures en béton représente un enjeu socio-économique majeur. Sa détection et le suivi de son évolution constituent un défi pour la recherche appliquée. Les techniques standards non destructives de détection de corrosion mettent en œuvre des procédés indirects tels la mesure d’impédance, de potentiels, ou par ultrasons. Leurs capacités d’auscultation sont limitées dans l’espace (notamment en profondeur), leur coût reste élevé dans un contexte de maintenance périodique et elles conduisent à des paramètres d’interprétation complexe. Des progrès sont nécessaires dans la détection et l’analyse fiable de la progression des processus de corrosion. Dans ce travail, nous présentons une nouvelle méthode pour détecter la corrosion et le suivi de son évolution, basée sur l’observation directe des changements intervenant à l’interface fer-béton par Capteur à Fibre Optique (CFO). L'attaque par corrosion de la surface de l'armature dépend de plusieurs paramètres électrochimiques (température, pH, carbonatation, présence de chlorures, contamination biologique, etc.). Deux comportements mécaniques à l'interface fer-béton sont distingués. Dans le premier cas (carbonatation), le produit d'oxydation du métal reste à l'interface et augmente la pression interne, pouvant conduire à la fissuration de la couche de béton extérieure. Dans le second cas (piqures), les ions métalliques sont évacués hors de la structure avec comme conséquence une réduction de section des barres d'armature (affaiblissement du renforcement). Un CFO innovant est proposé dans le but de localiser et quantifier les deux types de corrosion précités. Le principe consiste à observer l’impact direct de la corrosion sur l’état de déformation d’une fibre optique préalablement précontrainte par construction. Deux procédés métrologiques sont étudiés : Bragg et réflectométrie fréquentielle (Optical Frequency-Domain Reflectometry - OFDR). Des tests de corrosion accélérée montrent la faisabilité du procédé. Une procédure de fabrication simplifiée et à coût optimisé est proposée pour la surveillance in situ et répartie des structures de génie civil, dans une perspective future de maintenance conditionnée. / Corrosion of reinforced bars (rebars) in concrete structures remains a major issue in civil engineering works, being its detection and evolution a challenge for the applied research. Usual non-destructive corrosion detection methods involve impedance, potential or ultra-sonic indirect measurements of complex interpretation. Besides, they are restricted to near-surface examinations and the maintenance cost is still high (scheduled maintenance). Many efforts remain to be done to survey the onset and progression of corrosion processes in a reliable way. In this work, we present a new methodology to detect the onset of corrosion and to monitor its evolution, based on the direct observation of rebar–concrete interface changes by the use of an Optical Fiber Sensor (OFS). The corrosion attack over rebar surface depends on several physical, chemical and electrochemical parameters (temperature, pH, presence of chlorides/CO2, biological contamination, etc.). Two types of mechanical behavior and described. In the first case (carbonation), metal oxidation products stay at the interface and increase internal pressure, potentially leading to a crack of the external concrete layer. In the second case (pitting), metal ions are evacuated out of the structure, leading to a reduction of the rebar section (structural weakness). An innovative sensor design is proposed with the purpose of localizing and quantifying the amount of both corrosion types. The basic principle consists in measuring the impact of corrosion over the state of strain of a prestressed optical fiber. Two metrological techniques are used: Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) and Optical Frequency-Domain Reflectometry (OFDR). Accelerated corrosion tests were performed in electrolytic solutions for both kinds of corrosion types (pitting and carbonation) and provide a proof-of-concept for the technique. A low-cost, simplified manufacturing procedure is proposed with the aim to provide distributed and in situ Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), suitable for future Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) of civil engineering concrete structures.

[ES] Esta tesis aborda la caracterización de circuitos fotónicos integrados (PIC) usando interferometría óptica en el domino de las frecuencias (OFDI). OFDI tiene una implementación razonablemente simple e interroga al dispositivo bajo test (DUT) proporcionando su respuesta en el dominio del tiempo, en la que los distintos caminos ópticos seguidos por la luz se manifiestan en contribuciones que contienen información de posición, amplitud y fase. Junto con un "setup" OFDI construido en nuestros laboratorios y estructuras de test integradas que involucran anillos resonantes, interferómetros, etc., proponemos e implementamos técnicas para obtener parámetros ópticos cruciales tales como el índice de grupo, dispersión cromática, rotación de polarización y pérdidas de propagación en guías de onda. También para caracterizar acopladores ópticos. Se realizan evaluaciones directas de fase óptica en diferentes experimentos para, entre otras aplicaciones, caracterizar efectos de calor en chips. En la culminación de la tesis, se aborda la integración conjunta de los interferómetros de OFDI junto con el DUT, concibiéndolo como una estructura de caracterización integrada. El uso de guías de onda integradas proporciona una alta estabilidad y adaptación al DUT, además de un mecanismo inherente de compensación de la dispersión. Se realiza un análisis y prueba de concepto experimental caracterizando un "arrayed waveguide grating" en tecnología de nitruro de silicio. Seguidamente, se da un paso adelante proponiendo una arquitectura interferométrica de tres brazos novedosa que permite reducir la complejidad de la medida. Se lleva a cabo una validación experimental amplia usando distintos equipos de laboratorio, acoplamiento horizontal y vertical al chip, y diferentes DUTs en tecnologías de nitruro de silicio y "silicon-on-insulator". / [CAT] Aquesta tesi aborda la caracterització de circuits fotònics integrats (PIC) usant interferometria òptica al domini de les freqüències (OFDI). OFDI té una implementació raonablement simple i interroga el dispositiu sota test (DUT) proporcionant la seva resposta en el domini del temps, en què els diferents camins òptics seguits per la llum es manifesten en contribucions que contenen informació de posició, amplitud i fase. Juntament amb un "setup" OFDI construït als nostres laboratoris i estructures de test integrades que involucren anells ressonants, interferòmetres, etc., proposem i implementem tècniques per obtenir paràmetres òptics crucials com ara l'índex de grup, dispersió cromàtica, rotació de polarització i pèrdues de propagació en guies d'ona. També per caracteritzar acobladors òptics. Es fan avaluacions directes de fase òptica en diferents experiments per, entre altres aplicacions, caracteritzar efectes de calor en xips. A la culminació de la tesi, s'aborda la integració conjunta dels interferòmetres d'OFDI juntament amb el DUT, concebent-ho com una estructura de caracterització integrada. L'ús de guies d'ona integrades proporciona una alta estabilitat i adaptació al DUT, a més d'un mecanisme inherent de compensació de la dispersió. Es realitza una anàlisi i prova de concepte experimental caracteritzant un "arrayed waveguide grating" en tecnologia de nitrur de silici. Seguidament, es fa un pas avant proposant una arquitectura interferomètrica de tres braços nova que permet reduir la complexitat de la mesura. Es du a terme una validació experimental àmplia usant diferents equips de laboratori, acoblament horitzontal i vertical al xip, i diferents DUTs en tecnologies de nitrur de silici i "silicon-on-insulator". / [EN] This PhD thesis covers the characterization of complex photonic integrated circuits (PIC) by using Optical Frequency Domain Interferometry (OFDI). OFDI has a fairly simple implementation and interrogates the device under test (DUT) providing its time domain response, in which the different optical paths followed by light manifest in contributions with position, amplitude and phase information. Together with a working OFDI setup built in our laboratory and integrated test structures involving devices such as ring resonators, interferometers, etc., we propose and implement techniques to get crucial optical parameters such as waveguide group refractive index, chromatic dispersion, polarization rotation, and propagation loss. Also, to characterize optical couplers. Direct optical phase assessment is made in different experiments permitting, amongst others, the characterization of on-chip heat effects. In the culmination of the thesis, the co-integration of the OFDI interferometers with the DUT is addressed, conceiving it as an integrated characterization structure. The use of integrated waveguides provide high stability and adaptation to the DUT, as well as an inherent dispersion de-embedding mechanism. It is provided analysis and experimental proof of concept with an arrayed waveguide grating as DUT in a silicon nitride platform. A considerable leap forward is then taken by proposing a novel three-way interferometer architecture, reducing the measurement complexity. Wide experimental validation is carried out using different laboratory equipment, horizontal and vertical chip coupling, and different DUTs in silicon nitride and silicon-on-insulator. / Bru Orgiles, LA. (2022). Optical Frequency Domain Interferometry for the Characterization and Development of Complex and Tunable Photonic Integrated Circuits [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181635 / TESIS

Les peignes de longueurs d'onde, produisant des dizaines de porteuses optiques régulièrement espacées à partir d'une seule source laser, présentent un grand intérêt pour les systèmes de communication à haut débit. Ce travail de thèse porte sur les peignes générés par les diodes laser à blocage de modes basées sur des nanostructures semi-conductrices à basse dimensionnalité. Dans cette étude, les performances en verrouillage de modes de lasers Fabry-Pérot mono-section basés sur différents systèmes de matériaux sont comparées sur la base de la largeur du spectre optique d'émission et de la capacité à produire des impulsions courtes à faible gigue temporelle. En remarquant que les lasers à base de bâtonnets quantiques InAs sur InP présentent de meilleures caractéristiques par rapport aux autres matériaux examinés, leurs propriétés spécifiques en termes de stabilité des peignes de fréquences optiques et de chirp des impulsions sont étudiées plus en détail. Le chirp est d'abord étudié par la technique FROG (frequency-resolved optical gating). Ensuite, la dispersion chromatique du matériau laser est évaluée afin de vérifier si elle peut expliquer les grandes valeurs de chirp mesurées par FROG. Pour cela la technique de réflectométrie optique dans le domaine fréquentiel est utilisée et ses capacités uniques de mesure ont été étudiées et validées. Enfin, ces lasers sont employés avec succès pour les transmissions haut débit à l'aide de la technique de modulation optique OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) en détection directe. Débits de l'ordre du térabit par seconde, ainsi que le faible coût de l’architecture du système, sont très prometteurs pour les data centers / Optical frequency combs, generating tens of equally spaced optical carriers from a single laser source, are very attractive for next-generation wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication systems. This PhD thesis presents a study on the optical frequency combs generated by mode-locked laser diodes based on low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures. In this work, the mode-locking performances of single-section Fabry-Pérot lasers based on different material systems are compared on the basis of the optical spectrum width, the timing jitter and pulse generation capabilities. Then, noticing that InAs quantum dashes grown on InP exhibit on average better characteristics than other examined materials, their unique properties in terms of comb stability and pulse chirp are studied in more detail. Laser chirp, in particular, is first investigated by frequency resolved optical gating (FROG) characterizations. Then, chromatic dispersion of the laser material is assessed in order to verify whether it can account for the large chirp values measured by FROG. For that, a high sensitivity optical frequency-domain reflectometry setup is used and its measurement capabilities are extensively studied and validated. Finally, the combs generated by quantum dash mode-locked lasers are successfully employed for high data rate transmissions using direct-detection optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Terabit per second capacities, as well as the low cost of this system architecture, appear to be particularly promising for future datacom applications