published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

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Fiber amplifiers with high power and high pulse energy are strongly in demand for both scientific research and industrial applications. Ytterbium-doped fiber has been an outstanding choice for its broad-gain bandwidth and excellent power conversion efficiencies. In this dissertation, we introduced a compact high power high pulsed energy laser system with chirally coupled core (3C) Yb-doped fibers as the gain media. Traditional standard fibers and photonic crystal fibers are not suitable for compact high power high pulse energy laser systems because of poor higher order modes (HOMs) management and complicated air-hole structure. Newly invented 3C silica fibers solve these problems. A helical side-core around the Yb-doped central core extracts the HOMs from the central core. By adjusting this chirally structure, the core of the 3C fiber can be enlarged and the transverse mode of the fiber can be single mode at certain wavelengths. To simulate the amplification process with high power high pulse energy better, a new modeling method based on a combination of the rate equations and the nonlinear Schrödinger equations is invented. The gain was calculated from rate equations and the pulse evolution was analyzed using nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The simulation provided a good guidance for building compact high power high pulse energy laser systems. To achieve high power and high pulse energy, the system is designed as a two-stage structure. The laser

The RHEA Spectrograph is a single-mode echelle spectrograph designed to be a replicable and cost effective method of undertaking precision radial velocity measurements. Two versions of RHEA currently exist, one located at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia (450 - 600nm wavelength range), and another located at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, USA (600 - 800 nm wavelength range). Both instruments have a novel fibre feed consisting of an integral field unit injecting light into a 2D grid of single mode fibres. This grid of fibres is then reformatted into a 1D array at the input of the spectrograph (consisting of the science fibres and a reference fibre capable of receiving a white-light or xenon reference source for simultaneous calibration). The use of single mode fibres frees RHEA from the issue of modal noise and significantly reduces the size of the optics used. In addition to increasing the overall light throughput of the system, the integral field unit allows for cutting edge science goals to be achieved when operating behind the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope and the SCExAO adaptive optics system. These include, but are not limited to: resolved stellar photospheres; resolved protoplanetary disk structures; resolved Mira shocks, dust and winds; and sub-arcsecond companions. We present details and results of early tests of RHEA Subaru and progress towards the stated science goals.

Ao longo dos últimos anos, redes de Bragg em fibras ópticas (FBG, do inglês Fiber Bragg Gratings) vêm sendo frequentemente utilizadas como sensores de deformação e de temperatura. O problema da indistinguibilidade entre esses dois parâmetros físicos, presente durante medidas realizadas por esse tipo de sensor, tem sido bem resolvido com o uso de duas FBGs com comprimentos de onda distintos. Muito embora esse artifício tenha apresentado bons resultados, ele também oferece algumas desvantagens, sendo uma delas a necessidade de duas fontes de luz para diferentes comprimentos de onda. Em virtude disto, este trabalho apresenta um sistema capaz de realizar medidas de temperatura e deformação, simultaneamente, utilizando apenas uma fonte de luz. O método baseia-se na inscrição de duas redes de Bragg com comprimentos de onda próximos (no caso, 810 e 860 nm) na mesma posição da fibra óptica. Apesar de a separação entre os comprimentos de onda das FBGs ser aparentemente pequena (cerca de 50 nm), o sistema respondeu precisamente a variações de deformação e temperatura. Dessa forma, a utilização de apenas uma fonte de luz no sistema é corretamente justificada, uma vez que, com essa alteração, o custo do sistema é substancialmente reduzido. Ademais, o uso de comprimentos de onda em torno de 800 nm também barateia o sistema, pois os CCDs usados neste intervalo espectral são menos onerosos do que aqueles tradicionalmente usados em comprimentos de onda de comunicações ópticas (1,55 μm). / In recent years, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have been frequently used as strain and temperature sensors. Several studies have tackled the problem of distinguishing between these two physical parameters using a dual-wavelength sensor. Although these sensors have shown good results, they have a few drawbacks, one of them being the need for two light sources with different wavelengths. We present an approach for simultaneous strain and temperature sensing which uses only one light source. The method relies on writing FBGs with nearby wavelengths (for instance, at 810 and 860 nm) at the same section of the fiber. Even though the Bragg wavelengths are separated by just a few nanometers (about 50 nm), it is possible to accurately measure variations in strain and temperature. One of the major advantages of this approach is the use of a unique light source, what reduces substantially the system cost. Another advantage is the lower cost of array detectors at 800 nm when compared to those of telecom wavelengths (1,55 μm).

INTRODUCTION: The“vulnerable plaque" is defined as the“precursor lesion" that ultimately ends in acute coronary thrombi (clots) that create a heart attack. Macrophages and inflammatory cells, found preferentially in vulnerable plaque, sustain their activity in the plaque through anaerobic metabolism and lactate production. The ultimate goal is to assess anaerobic metabolism in-vivo by measuring tissue pH and lactate concentration in atherosclerotic plaques using optical spectroscopy. The proposed in-vitro optical probe design, experimental method, and spectroscopic data analysis methodology are established in this research. METHODS: A fiber optic probe was designed and built based on both Monte Carlo simulations and bench testing with the goal to collect light from a small volume of tissue. A simulation of the depth penetration of the proposed probe was performed on normal and atherosclerotic aortic tissue, and the final probe was bench tested using normal aorta. A method was developed to preserve plaque metabolic status of tissue harvested from patients. Human atherosclerotic tissue obtained immediately after carotid endarterectomy was placed in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) with non-essential amino acids supplement, bubbled with 75%O2/20%N2/5%CO2 at 37°C. Tissue pH, pCO2, pO2 and temperature with (n=7) and without (n=2) the media preparation over time were reviewed to assess plaque viability and maintenance of physiological conditions. Additional plaques placed in media were used for development of chemometric methods to measure pH and lactate. Areas of each plaque were randomly chosen for analysis. Reflectance spectra were collected with a dispersive spectrometer (400-1100 nm) and a Fourier-transform near-infrared spectrometer (1100-2400 nm) using the fiber optic probe. Reference measurements for tissue pH and lactate were made with glass microelectrodes and micro-enzymatic assay, respectively. Partial least-squares (PLS) data analysis was used to develop multivariate calibration models on an initial set of 5-6 plaques relating the optical spectra to the reference tissue pH (n=20) or the lactate concentration (n=21) to assess data quality. The coefficient of multiple determination (R2), the standard error of cross-validation (SECV), and the number of factors were used to assess the model performance. Additional points were collected from ~14 plaques and added to preliminary data. Pre-processing techniques were then used to see if preliminary data results could be improved by reducing different sources of variability with the introduction of more points. RESULTS: Monte Carlo simulations and depth penetration tests with the final probe design showed light is collected from ~1 mm3 volume of tissue using a 50 micron source-receiver separation. Tissue pH, pCO2, pO2 and temperature values demonstrated that the plaques were viable and stable in the media preparation for a maximum of 4 hours. Data from the first six plaques collected for lactate analysis showed that for seventeen points, a six-factor model produced adequate results (R2=0.83 SECV=1.4 micromoles lactate/gram tissue). Data from the first five plaques collected for tissue pH analysis, showed for seventeen different points, a three-factor model produced adequate results (R2=0.75 SECV=0.09 pH units). When additional points were added to either data set, model results were degraded. CONCLUSIONS: The in-vitro optical probe design and experimental procedures was established and the feasibility of the optical method demonstrated with preliminary data. However, with the addition of more data points, different sources of tissue and spectral variability were observed to affect calibration. The gross pathology type and mismatched optical volume to reference measurement volume limited the tissue pH determination. The reference measurement precision, the spatial resolution of the reference lactate measurement, and unmodeled tissue variability (water and proteins) limited the lactate determination. Large variability in all optical measurements was observed. Additional in-vitro data collection would be required such that the variability due to the tissue is reduced and any spectrometer variability adequately compensated to be able to use the optical calibration in-vivo.

"Hydroxyl ions are a common contaminant in optical fibers, and are responsible for strong absorption centered at 1380 nm that becomes significant over long optical path lengths. Recently, however, special fabrication methods have been developed that minimize the hydroxyl ion contamination, permitting use of the entire 1300-1700 nm spectral region for telecommunications. There is therefore interest in examining the Nd 4F3/2 to 4I13/2 transition for a potential optical amplifier at 1400 nm. In this thesis, the excited state absorption cross section and the overall gain/loss spectrum of neodymium in a silica glass fiber were determined for the 1200-1500 nm wavelength region using the pump-probe method. The ground state absorption cross section was also determined from transmission measurements, and the stimulated emission cross section was calculated using the fluorescence spectrum and the McCumber relation. Oscillator strengths for absorption and emission transitions were calculated in the 800-1600 nm wavelength range using the Judd-Ofelt method. The above procedures were followed for both the Nd-doped fiber, as well as an erbium-doped silica fiber. The shape of the Nd emission spectrum is also noteworthy, since the characteristic Nd peak at 1064 nm is not observed, although there is strong emission at 1092 nm. The pump-probe measurements revealed significant excited state absorption loss between 1200 and 1350 nm, due to excitation from the 4F3/2 to the higher 4G9/2 and 4G7/2 states. Between 1350 and 1475 nm, there was no net gain or loss that could be observed beyond the level of the noise. For the glass fibers studied, it appears that in the spectral region of interest for an optical amplifier, the stimulated emission and excited state absorption cancel one another out."

Geração de luz supercontínua é um efeito caracterizado por um forte alargamento espectral induzido por efeitos não-lineares no meio óptico, e que encontra uma vasta gama de aplicações, como tomografia por coerência óptica, espectroscopia e metrologia de freqüência. No presente trabalho, os fenômenos físicos responsáveis pela geração de luz supercontínua são estudados teoricamente, utilizando a ferramenta numérica desenvolvida para dar suporte à teoria. Os efeitos de polarização relacionados à geração de luz supercontínua também são analisados e, neste contexto, a utilização de uma fibra de cristal fotônico com formato tipo-D e alta birrefringência é proposta para servir como meio óptico. As características do supercontínuo gerado nesta fibra são analisadas teoricamente, novamente com o apoio da ferramenta numérica. A análise conclui que a fibra proposta apresenta consideráveis vantagens em relação às fibras convencionais, principalmente por ser capaz de manter o estado de polarização da luz supercontínua estável. / Supercontinuum generation is an effect characterized by a strong spectral broadening induced by nonlinear effects in the optical medium. There is a wide range of applications for this effect, such as optical coherence tomography, spectroscopy and frequency metrology. In this work, the physical phenomena responsible for supercontinuum generation are theoretically studied relying on the developed numerical tool to support the theory. The polarization effects related to supercontinuum generation are also assessed and, in this context, a highly birefringent D-shaped photonic crystal fiber is proposed as a medium for supercontinuum generation. The characteristics of supercontinuum generation in the proposed fiber are theoretically analyzed. The analysis concludes that the proposed fiber shows considerable advantages over conventional fibers, mainly due to the capability to keep the state of polarization of the supercontinuum stable.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur la conception d’un « laboratoire-sur-fibre » original dédié à l’analyse moléculaire à distance, sans marquage et in vivo compatible dans l’avenir avec les examens endoscopiques et dédié à l’assistance aux diagnostiques. Notre approche est basée sur l’utilisation de faisceaux de fibres microstructurés. Lorsqu’ils sont correctement conçus et recouverts d’une couche d’or, ces assemblages de fibres présentent des propriétés plasmoniques intéressantes. Dans un premier temps, le modèle numérique utilisé pour atteindre une meilleure compréhension des phénomènes physiques impliqués dans l’optimisation de la sensibilité des capteurs est expliqué. Les simulations, basées sur l’optique géométrique, ont été utilisées pour optimiser la géométrie des pointes et l’épaisseur de la couche d’or dans le but d’améliorer les performances analytiques et permettre ainsi des détections d’interactions biochimiques. Le processus de fabrication des capteurs est ensuite expliqué depuis leur structuration par gravure chimique effectuée à l’ISM (Bordeaux) jusqu’à leur métallisation réalisée au CEA Grenoble. Une comparaison entre les comportements théoriques et expérimentaux et alors menée pour comprendre l’influence de l’hétérogénéité du dépôt d’or et des surfaces gravées sur la sensibilité optique. Ces propriétés optiques sont ensuite exploitées jusqu’à la preuve de concept d’analyses biochimiques déportées. Cette étape a été réalisée en deux temps : d’abord la sensibilité à l’indice local a été démontrée en détectant l’adsorption d’une couche organique auto-assemblée et ensuite un suivi de l’interaction spécifique entre deux brins d’ADN complémentaires a été effectué. Le manuscrit s’achève par une analyse des aspects plus complexes liés à la nature peu multimodale des fibres présentes dans le faisceau. La théorie des guides d’ondes est alors utilisée pour expliquer l’influence du caractère modal de la propagation de la lumière sur les réponses des fibres optiques. / This Ph.D. thesis focuses on the design of an original “lab-on-fiber” tool for remote, label-free in vivo molecular analysis that could be dedicated in the future to endoscopic diagnosis. Our approach is based on functionalized microstructured optical fiber bundles. When appropriately designed and covered by a gold layer, those fibers exhibit interesting plasmonic properties. First, the numerical model used to reach a better understanding of the physical phenomena involved in the optimization of the sensor’s sensitivity is explained. The simulations based on ray optics were then used to optimize the fiber tip geometry and gold coating thickness to enhance the analytical performances and ultimately allow biochemical detections. The fabrication process of the sensor is then explained going from the chemical etching done by the ISM team (Bordeaux) to the metallization of the tips performed at the CEA Grenoble. A comparison between theoretical and experimental behaviors is then conducted to assess the influence of the heterogeneity of both the gold deposit and the etched surfaces on the optical sensitivity. Afterwards, we take advantage of those optical properties to perform remote biochemical analysis. This was achieved in two steps: we first proved that our sensor was sensitive to local optical index variations by detecting the adsorption of a thin self-assembled organic layer and ultimately a specific interaction between two complementary DNA strands was monitored. The last part of this work tackles the more difficult aspects of the few-modes fibers composing the bundle. Waveguide theory is then used to explain the influence of the modal characteristics of light propagation on the optical fibers responses.

O principal objetivo deste trabalho é a avaliação das limitações de desempenho de multiplexadores \"add/drop\", a serem empregados em sistemas de comunicações ópticas multiplexados em comprimentos de onda (Wavelength Division Multiplexing -WDM) de alta velocidade, que operam em torno de 1.55 &#956m. Com a introdução da transmissão de dados utilizando-se a técnica WDM há a necessidade do desenvolvimento de novos componentes ópticos, como multiplexadores e demultiplexadores \"add/drop\" e \"cross-connects\" ópticos. O desenvolvimento destes componentes possibilitará a evolução dos simples enlaces WDM ponto a ponto para a rede totalmente óptica. Neste cenário os multiplexadores ópticos add/drop (Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer - OADM) desempenharão um papel chave, permitindo maior conectividade e flexibilidade nas redes WDM. Neste trabalho é especificamente analisado o OADM mencionado acima. É realizado o estuido individual dos componentes que constituem uma configuração genérica deste dispositivo. São analisados a chave óptica e o divisor/combinador de potência, sendo discutido o procedimento de projeto para a otimização do seu desempenho. / The main goal of this work is the evaluation of the limitations regarding the performance in add/drop multiplexers, which will be used in optical systems employing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), working in high speed and operating around 1.55 &#956m. With the introduction of WDM technique in order to transmit optical signals, there is a need to develop new optical devices, such as optical add/drop multiplexers (OADM) and demultiplexers. The development of these devices will allow the evolution of lightwave systems from single-wavelength point-to-point links to the wavelength division multiplexed optical networks. In this context, optical add/drop multiplexers will play a main role, making possible the connectivity and flexibility increase of WDM networks. In this work the OADM cited above is specifically studied. An individual study of the devices that constitute a generic configuration of the OADM is carried out. The optical switch and the power divider/combiner are analyzed, as well as the design techniques to improve their performances.