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Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits
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Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 15829

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jean-Claude Diels

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Optical Science, and Electrical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Interests: laser physics and nonlinear optics; ultrafast phenomena; high-resolution spectroscopy and imaging; adaptive optics and interferometry; laser-induced discharges and plasmas; laser gyros and related sensing of displacements; index of refraction; magnetic and electric fields
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in laser technology that can be applied to the sensing of fields, magnetic and electric, position (down to femtometer), gas pressure, flow, rotation, and acceleration. Of particular interest is the use of frequency combs applied to sensing, and active laser sensing where the measurement is performed inside a laser cavity. Theoretical and experimental papers are invited that cover basic aspects of classical and quantum signal enhancement and/or noise reduction. This includes, for instance, response enhancement near “exceptional points”. Another aspect to cover is noise reduction by squeezing techniques. Desirable improvements include (1) enhanced sensitivity, dynamic range, and shorter response time; (2) reduced noise; (3) compactness, reduced weight, and power consumption; and (4) no dead band. Compactness and reduced weight call for the development of fiber laser and microresonator implementation. Experimental demonstrations with all types of lasers (discrete component, fiber, waveguide) are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Jean-Claude Diels
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • active laser sensing
  • frequency combs
  • signal enhancement
  • exceptional point noise reduction
  • squeezing techniques
  • shorter response time
  • laser gyro
  • laser accelerometer
  • magnetometer
  • fiber laser and microresonator

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 10655 KiB  
Communication
Mode-Locked Fiber Laser Sensors with Orthogonally Polarized Pulses Circulating in the Cavity
by Hanieh Afkhamiardakani and Jean-Claude Diels
Sensors 2023, 23(5), 2531; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23052531 - 24 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1240
Abstract
Intracavity phase interferometry is a powerful phase sensing technique using two correlated, counter-propagating frequency combs (pulse trains) in mode-locked lasers. Generating dual frequency combs of the same repetition rate in fiber lasers is a new field with hitherto unanticipated challenges. The large intensity [...] Read more.
Intracavity phase interferometry is a powerful phase sensing technique using two correlated, counter-propagating frequency combs (pulse trains) in mode-locked lasers. Generating dual frequency combs of the same repetition rate in fiber lasers is a new field with hitherto unanticipated challenges. The large intensity in the fiber core, coupled with the nonlinear index of glass, result in a cumulative nonlinear index on axis that dwarfs the signal to be measured. The large saturable gain changes in an unpredictable way the repetition rate of the laser impeding the creation of frequency combs with identical repetition rate. The huge amount of phase coupling between pulses crossing at the saturable absorber eliminates the small signal response (deadband). Although there have been prior observation of gyroscopic response in mode-locked ring lasers, to our knowledge this is the first time that orthogonally polarized pulses were used to successfully eliminate the deadband and obtain a beat note. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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13 pages, 1485 KiB  
Article
Control of Frequency Combs with Passive Resonators
by James Hendrie, Ning Hsu and Jean-Claude Diels
Sensors 2023, 23(3), 1066; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23031066 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1343
Abstract
Tailored optical frequency combs are generated by nesting passive etalons within mode-locked oscillators. In this work, the oscillator generates a comb of 6.8 GHz with 106 MHz side-bands. This tailored comb results from the self-synchronized locking of two cavities with precision optical frequency [...] Read more.
Tailored optical frequency combs are generated by nesting passive etalons within mode-locked oscillators. In this work, the oscillator generates a comb of 6.8 GHz with 106 MHz side-bands. This tailored comb results from the self-synchronized locking of two cavities with precision optical frequency tuning. In this manuscript, it is demonstrated that these combs can be precisely predicted utilizing a temporal ABCD matrix method and precise comb frequency tuning by scanning over the D1 transition line of 87Rb and observing the fluorescence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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9 pages, 1428 KiB  
Article
Phase Nanoscopy with Correlated Frequency Combs
by Xiaobing Zhu, Matthias Lenzner and Jean-Claude Diels
Sensors 2023, 23(1), 301; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23010301 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1530
Abstract
This study addresses any sensor based on measuring a physical quantity through the phase of a probing beam. This includes sensing of rotation, acceleration, index change, displacement, fields… While most phase measurements are made by detecting an amplitude change in interfering beams, we [...] Read more.
This study addresses any sensor based on measuring a physical quantity through the phase of a probing beam. This includes sensing of rotation, acceleration, index change, displacement, fields… While most phase measurements are made by detecting an amplitude change in interfering beams, we detect instead a phase change through a relative frequency shift of two correlated frequency combs. This paper explores the limit sensitivity that this method can achieve, when the combs are generated in an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), pumped synchronously by a train of femtosecond pulses separated by half the OPO cavity round-trip time. It is shown that a phase difference as small as 0.4 nanoradians can be resolved between the two pulses circulating in the cavity. This phase difference is one order of magnitude better than the previous record. The root-mean-square deviation of the measured phase over measuring time is close to the standard quantum limit (phase-photon number uncertainty product of 0.66). Innovations that made such improved performances possible include a more stable OPO cavity design; a stabilization system with a novel purely electronic locking of the OPO cavity length relative to that of the pump laser; a shorter pump laser cavity; and a square pulse generator for driving a 0.5 mm pathlength lithium niobate phase modulator. Future data acquisition improvements are suggested that will bring the phase sensitivity exactly to the standard quantum limit, and beyond the quantum limit by squeezing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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11 pages, 2328 KiB  
Article
Measurement of Optical Rubidium Clock Frequency Spanning 65 Days
by Nathan D. Lemke, Kyle W. Martin, River Beard, Benjamin K. Stuhl, Andrew J. Metcalf and John D. Elgin
Sensors 2022, 22(5), 1982; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s22051982 - 03 Mar 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3116
Abstract
Optical clocks are emerging as next-generation timekeeping devices with technological and scientific use cases. Simplified atomic sources such as vapor cells may offer a straightforward path to field use, but suffer from long-term frequency drifts and environmental sensitivities. Here, we measure a laboratory [...] Read more.
Optical clocks are emerging as next-generation timekeeping devices with technological and scientific use cases. Simplified atomic sources such as vapor cells may offer a straightforward path to field use, but suffer from long-term frequency drifts and environmental sensitivities. Here, we measure a laboratory optical clock based on warm rubidium atoms and find low levels of drift on the month-long timescale. We observe and quantify helium contamination inside the glass vapor cell by gradually removing the helium via a vacuum apparatus. We quantify a drift rate of 4×10−15/day, a 10 day Allan deviation less than 5×10−15, and an absolute frequency of the Rb-87 two-photon clock transition of 385,284,566,371,190(1970) Hz. These results support the premise that optical vapor cell clocks will be able to meet future technology needs in navigation and communications as sensors of time and frequency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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19 pages, 739 KiB  
Article
Intracavity Measurement Sensitivity Enhancement without Runaway Noise
by Luke Horstman and Jean-Claude Diels
Sensors 2021, 21(24), 8473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21248473 - 19 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1938
Abstract
A method to increase the sensitivity of an intracavity differential phase measurement that is not made irrelevant by a larger increase of noise is explored. By introducing a phase velocity feedback by way of a resonant dispersive element in an active sensor in [...] Read more.
A method to increase the sensitivity of an intracavity differential phase measurement that is not made irrelevant by a larger increase of noise is explored. By introducing a phase velocity feedback by way of a resonant dispersive element in an active sensor in which two ultrashort pulses circulate, it is shown that the measurement sensitivity is elevated without significantly increasing the Petermann excess noise factor. This enhancement technique has considerable implications for any optical phase based measurement; from gyroscopes and accelerometers to magnetometers and optical index measurements. Here we describe the enhancement method in the context of past dispersion enhancement studies including the recent work surrounding non-Hermitian quantum mechanics, justify the method with a theoretical framework (including numerical simulations), and propose practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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Review

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18 pages, 3319 KiB  
Review
Synchronously Intracavity-Pumped Picosecond Optical Parametric Oscillators for Sensors
by Alena Zavadilová, Václav Kubeček and David Vyhlídal
Sensors 2022, 22(9), 3200; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s22093200 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1611
Abstract
The research and development of laser systems for intracavity phase interferometry is described. These systems are based on an intracavity synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO), enabling the generation of two trains of picosecond pulses inside a single cavity. In such a configuration, [...] Read more.
The research and development of laser systems for intracavity phase interferometry is described. These systems are based on an intracavity synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO), enabling the generation of two trains of picosecond pulses inside a single cavity. In such a configuration, it is possible to measure the beat note frequency between two pulses and to very precisely determine the phase difference between them. The pump source is a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser. A periodically poled magnesium-doped lithium niobate crystal is used as the optical parametric oscillator crystal coupling the pump and the signal cavities. We designed a synchronously pumped OPO in a linear and ring cavity configuration allowing generation in a dual-pulse regime. By a mutual detuning of both cavity lengths, the quasi-synchronous regime of pumping was achieved and high harmonics of repetition rate frequencies were generated. Such a system can be useful for applications such as pump-probe spectroscopy or for testing telecommunication systems. We also realized the subharmonic OPO cavity as a source of two independent trains of picosecond pulses suitable for intracavity phase interferometry; we also measured the beat note signal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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30 pages, 35672 KiB  
Review
Rotation Active Sensors Based on Ultrafast Fibre Lasers
by Igor Kudelin, Srikanth Sugavanam and Maria Chernysheva
Sensors 2021, 21(10), 3530; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21103530 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4172
Abstract
Gyroscopes merit an undeniable role in inertial navigation systems, geodesy and seismology. By employing the optical Sagnac effect, ring laser gyroscopes provide exceptionally accurate measurements of even ultraslow angular velocity with a resolution up to 10−11 rad/s. With the recent advancement [...] Read more.
Gyroscopes merit an undeniable role in inertial navigation systems, geodesy and seismology. By employing the optical Sagnac effect, ring laser gyroscopes provide exceptionally accurate measurements of even ultraslow angular velocity with a resolution up to 10−11 rad/s. With the recent advancement of ultrafast fibre lasers and, particularly, enabling effective bidirectional generation, their applications have been expanded to the areas of dual-comb spectroscopy and gyroscopy. Exceptional compactness, maintenance-free operation and rather low cost make ultrafast fibre lasers attractive for sensing applications. Remarkably, laser gyroscope operation in the ultrashort pulse generation regime presents a promising approach for eliminating sensing limitations caused by the synchronisation of counter-propagating channels, the most critical of which is frequency lock-in. In this work, we overview the fundamentals of gyroscopic sensing and ultrafast fibre lasers to bridge the gap between tools development and their real-world applications. This article provides a historical outline, highlights the most recent advancements and discusses perspectives for the expanding field of ultrafast fibre laser gyroscopes. We acknowledge the bottlenecks and deficiencies of the presented ultrafast laser gyroscope concepts due to intrinsic physical effects or currently available measurement methodology. Finally, the current work outlines solutions for further ultrafast laser technology development to translate to future commercial gyroscopes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors, Pushing the Limits)
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