We combine the evanescent field (EF) sensing mechanism with the fiber loop ringdown (FLRD) sensing scheme to create FLRD-EF sensors. The EF sensor heads are fabricated by etching the cladding of a single-mode fiber (SMF), while monitoring the etching process by the FLRD technique in real-time, on-line with high control precision. The effect of the sensor head dimensions on the sensors' detection sensitivity and response time are investigated. The EF scattering (EFS) sensing mechanism is combined with the FLRD detection scheme to create a new type of fiber optic index sensor. The detection limit for an optical index change is 3.2×10-5. This is the highest sensitivity for a fiber optic index sensor so far, without using any chemical-coating or optical components at the sensor head. A new type of index-based biosensor using high sensitivity FLRDEFS technique to sense deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and bacteria (Escherichia coli) is created.

The previous cytological and electrophysiological work suggests that the optic tectum matures during metamorphic climax. It was the aim of the present work to attempt to compare pre metamorphic (Stage XII) larval and post metamorphic juvenile, Rana catesbeiana, using a photostimulated evoked electroencephalographic (E.E.G.) response in the optic tectum and correlate that with tissue studies to verify neurophysiological maturation of the optic tectum.

Part A of two parts. Part B titled: "The Processing and Evaluation of Long Lived GaA1As Channeled Substrate Planar Lasers". / <p> The design and fabrication of a low cost optical communications link is described. The evaluation of this system shows that it can transmit bipolar analog signals in a bandwidth of O to 17 kHz with less than 0.1% non-linearity, Combined with an autoranging capability, the linear link is demonstrated to be useful for high accuracy remote data acquisiton. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Distributed optical fiber sensors offer unprecedented advantages, and the most remarkable one is the ability to continuously measure physical or chemical parameters along the entire optical fiber, which is attached to the device, structure and system. As the most recently investigated distributed optical fiber sensors, phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (φ-OTDR), Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA) and Brillouin dynamic grating-optical time domain reflectometry (BDG-OTDR) techniques have been given tremendous attention on the advantage of quantitative measurements ability over high sensitivity and absolute measurement with long sensing distance, respectively. However, the accompanying limitations in terms of static measurement range, acquisition rate, laser frequency drifting noise, and spatial resolution limitations in these techniques hinder their performance in practical applications. This thesis pays particular attention to the above three distributed sensing techniques to explore the fundamental limitations of the theoretical model and improve the sensing performance. Before presenting the novel sensing scheme with improved sensing performance, an introduction about distributed fiber optical sensing, including three main light scattering mechanisms in optical fiber, the recent advancements in distributed sensing and key parameters of Rayleigh scattering- and Brillouin scattering-based sensing systems. After that, a study on the theoretical analysis of large chirping rate pulse generation and the theoretical model of using chirped pulse as interrogation signal in φ-OTDR, BOTDA and BDG-OTDR systems are given. In the disruptive experimental implementations, the sensing performance has been improved in different aspects. By using a random fiber grating array as the distributed sensor, a high-precision distributed time delay measurement in a CP φ-OTDR system is proposed thanks to the enhanced in-homogeneity and reflectivity. In addition, a simple and effective method that utilizes the reference random fiber grating to monitor the laser frequency drifting noise is demonstrated. Dynamic strain measurement with a standard deviation of 66 nε over the vibration amplitude of 30 με is achieved. To solve the limited static measurement range issue, a multi-frequency database demodulation (MFDD) method is proposed to release the large strain variation induced time domain trace distortion by tuning the laser initial frequency. The maximum measurable strain variation of about 12.5 με represents a factor of 3 improvements. By using the optimized chirped pulse φ-OTDR system, a practical application of monitoring the impact load response in an I-steel beam is demonstrated, in which the static and distributed strain variation is successfully reconstructed. To obtain an enhanced static measurement range without a complicated database acquisition process, a photonic approach for generating low-frequency drifting noise, arbitrary and large frequency chirping rate (FCR) optical pulses based on the Kerr effect in the nonlinear optical fiber is theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated by using both fixed-frequency pump and chirped pump. Due to the Kerr effect-induced sinusoidal phase modulation in the nonlinear fiber, high order Kerr pulse with a large chirping rate is generated. Thus the static measurement range of higher order Kerr pulse is significantly improved. Chirped pulse BOTDA based on non-uniform fiber is also analyzed, showing a high acquisition rate that is only limited by the sensor length and averaging times due to the relative Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) changes are directly extracted through the local time delays between adjacent Brillouin traces from two single-shot measurement without frequency sweep process. BFS measurement resolution of 0.42 MHz with 4.5 m spatial resolution is demonstrated over a 5 km non-uniform fiber. A hybrid simultaneous temperature/strain sensing system is also demonstrated, showing a strain uncertainty of 4.3 με and temperature uncertainty of 0.32 °C in a 5 km non-uniform fiber. Besides, the chirped pulse is also utilized as a probe signal in the Brillouin dynamic grating (BDG) detection along the PM fiber for distributed birefringence variations sensing. The strict phase-matching condition only enables part of the frequency components within the chirped probe pulse to be reflected by BDG, giving an adjustable spatial resolution without photo lifetime limitation. The spatial resolution is determined by the frequency chirping rate of the probe pulse.

No description available.

Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

The most promising strategy for reducing the cost of manufacturing polymer matrix composites while improving their reliability is the use of sensors during processing to permit control of the cure cycle based on measurements of the material's internal state. While sensors have been demonstrated that infer the material state indirectly through measurements of acoustic impedance, electrical impedance, or refractive index, sensors that directly measure parameters critical to composite manufacturing, such as resin rheology and resin hydrostatic pressure, would improve characterization of thermoset resins during cure. Here we describe the development of a multifunctional fiber optic sensor that may be embedded in a composite part during lay-up to monitor the state of the polymer matrix during processing. This sensor will output quantitative data which will indicate the viscoelasticity of the thermoset matrix resin. The same sensor will additionally function as a strain sensor following fabrication, capable of monitoring residual strains due to manufacturing or in-service internal strains. / Ph. D.

A small shear sensor utilizing an array of carbon nanotubes to support a sensor head was developed for use in steady, high speed, 2D flow. The sensor is a non-intrusive, direct measurement device with a 2 x 2 mm square sensor head surrounded by a small gap on each side (~0.004 inches). The translation of the sensing element is due to the nanotubes bending when a shear force is applied to the sensor head. Displacements are measured by an interferometric technique using fiber-optics to measure the distance the sensor head travels by viewing a polished side of the head. The fiber-optical displacement sensor is bonded to a stationary substrate so that all measurements are relative to a fixed position. Arrays of carbon nanotubes were grown on bare 2 x 2 mm square silicon chips. The nanotubes were grown to heights of 75 microns with a thin layer of amorphous carbon on top. The silicon chips were then flipped, and the amorphous layer of carbon was bonded to bare 1 x 1 cm silicon substrates, making the bottom of 2 x 2 mm silicon chip the sensor head. The sensors were calibrated at Luna Innovations using a point-load technique. Four of the six sensors could not be successfully calibrated because they were fatally damaged during the last step of the calibration process. Wind tunnel tests were conducted on the one sensor that survived the calibration. An arrangement was designed and built from aluminum to test the performance of the sensor in the Virginia Tech Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Seven test runs were conducted in this cold-flow facility at a nominal Mach number of 2.4 and stagnation pressures ranging from 50 - 90 psia. Two test runs gave skin friction values 3 - 20% lower than those values predicted by indirect measurement techniques before the sensor was damaged. While these first results are encouraging, further studies are clearly needed. Due to distinct anomalies in the displacement data during test run 3, it was concluded that the sensor was damaged during this run. Possible explanations of the failure of this sensor are offered along with suggestions for future work. / Master of Science

In digital communication systems, several types of impairments may be introduced to the signal. These impairments result in degraded system performance; for example, high bit-error-rate or power penalty. For optical communication systems, in this thesis, these impairments are categorized into four types; that is, thermal noise, shot noise, signal-dependent noise, and intersymbol interference (ISI). By using a Gaussian approximation, effects of the first three impairments are analyzed. It is shown that signal-dependent noise introduces an error floor to the system and the bit-error-rate is considerably degraded if a nonzero-extinction ratio is applied to the system. It is shown that if the decision threshold at the decision circuit is set improperly, more received power is required to keep the bit-error-rate constant. Three main components in the system (i.e., transmitter, optical fiber, and receiver) are modeled as Butterworth filters. ISI from this model is determined by computer simulation. A high ISI is from a small system bandwidth. It is shown that a minimum power penalty can be achieved if the transmitter and receiver bandwidths are matched and fixed, and the ratio of fiber bandwidth to bit rate is 0.85. Comparing ISI from this model to ISI from raised cosine- rolloff filters, it is shown that at some particular bandwidths ISI from raised cosine-rolloff filters is much lower that that from this model. However, if the transmitter and receiver bandwidths are not matched and are not equal to these bandwidths, ISI from this model is lower than ISI from raised cosine-rolloff filters. / Master of Science

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) is a membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family protein, which is encoded by a gene of identical name present on the X chromosome. CASK may participate in presynaptic scaffolding, gene expression regulation, and cell junction formation. CASK is essential for survival in mammals. Heterozygous mutations in the CASK gene (in females) produce X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) and mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH, OMIM# 300749). CASK mutations are also frequently associated with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) which is the most common cause of childhood blindness in developed countries. Some patients with mutations in CASK have been also diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy (ONA) and glaucoma. We have used floxed CASK (CASKfloxed), CASK heterozygous knockout (CASK(+/-)), CASK neuronal knockout (CASKNKO) and tamoxifen inducible CASK knockout (CASKiKO) mouse models to investigate the mechanism and pathology of CASK-linked ONH. Our observations indicate that ONH occurs with 100% penetrance in CASK(+/-) mice, which also displayed microcephaly and disproportionate cerebellar hypoplasia. Further, we found that CASK-linked ONH is a complex developmental neuropathology with some degenerative components. Cellular pathologies include loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC), astrogliosis, axonopathy, and synaptopathy. The onset of ONH is late in development, observed only around the early postnatal stage in mice reaching the plateau phase by three weeks of birth. The developmental nature of the disorder is confirmed by deleting CASK after maturity since CASKiKO mice did not produce any obvious optic nerve pathology. Strikingly the CASKfloxed mice expressing ~49% level of CASK did not manifest ONH despite displaying a slightly smaller brain and cerebellar hypoplasia indicating that ONH may not simply be an extension of microcephaly. We discovered that deleting CASK in neurons produced lethality before the onset of adulthood. The CASKNKO mice exhibited delayed myelination of the optic nerve. Overall this work suggests that CASK is critical for neuronal maturation and CASK-linked ONH is a pervasive developmental disorder of the subcortical visual pathway. Finally, in a side project, I also described a new methodology of targeting neurons using receptor-mediated endocytosis which would help target retinal neurons for therapeutic purposes in the future. / Ph. D. / 7 in 10,000 children suffer from childhood blindness, for whom all the visual information from the outside world is completely blocked. Although classified as a rare disease, optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), or the underdevelopment of optic nerve, is the leading cause of childhood blindness in developed countries, accounting for 15% of childhood blindness. Only a handful of genes have been shown to associate with ONH. The CASK gene, whose protein product calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) plays a role in presynaptic scaffolding, is one of them. Mutations in the CASK gene not only produce ONH, but also microcephaly and intellectual disability. Investigating the mechanism of CASK-linked ONH will provide critical data to understand the molecular basis of optic nerve formation and maturation. Here we have used the CASK heterozygous knockout mouse model to replicate the ONH and microcephaly seen in female human patients. We discovered that the onset of CASK-linked ONH corresponded to the late third trimester developmental stage in humans, thus ONH is developmental in nature. ONH pathologies include thinning of optic nerves, axonal atrophy, and synaptopathy. In contrast to the postnatal death of constitutive CASK loss of function in mice, CASK ablation in adult mice did not lead to lethality. CASK deletion also delays neuronal myelination. Overall, our results indicate that CASK is critical for postnatal maturation of the central nervous system and mutations of the CASK gene is sufficient to lead to ONH. Early intervention and proper gene therapy may treat CASK-linked ONH.