Fiber Bragg Grating and Fabry-Perot Optical Filters

PLABAN PRATIM BHUYAN

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION, DON BOSCO COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, GUWAHATI, ASSAM

Email: plaban1990@gmail.com
AbstractThis paper contains detailed description of Fiber Bragg Grating and Fabry-Perot optical filters and their applications in the present day world. Keywords Optical filters, FBG optical filters, Fabry-Perot optical filters

If the thickness of each layer is equal to /4, then the light at wavelength experiences a phase shift equal to . ii) Cavity filters: These filters are based on the Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator also called the Fabry-Perot interferometer. An FP supports only those wavelengths that complete their total path within the cavity with a zero phase shift. iii) Multicavity filters and dielectric thin-film

I.

OPTICAL FILTERS(INTRODUCTION):

Optical filters are devices that selectively transmit light of different wavelengths, usually implemented as plane glass or plastic devices in the optical path which are dyed in the mass or have interference coatings. Optical filters selectively transmit light in a particular range of wavelengths, i.e. colours, while blocking the remaining. They can usually pass long wavelengths only, short wavelengths only or a band of wavelengths, blocking both longer and shorter wavelengths. Optical filters are commonly used in photography, in many optical instruments, astronomy and for colour stage lighting.

multicavity filters(DTMF):These filters cascade several FP cavities, a feat that makes the transmission characteristic close to the ideal one. A DTMF is a device constructed from several FP cavities, where reflection is provided by multilayer thin-film mirrors. It utilizes all the advantages of multilayer thin-film mirrors and the multicavity cascade to obtain a flat and steep transmission characteristic. B. Types of Tunable filters:

There are two broad classes of filters: 1. 2. Fixed filters Tunable filters. 1. Fixed filters: They allow a fixed, predetermined wavelength to pass through. 2. Tunable filters: They dynamically tune the selected length. Since Tunable filters require some external power, they are not passive but active components.

i) Diffraction grating: The tuning capability of diffraction grating is determined by the formula, 13.28: dsin=m. The most practical way to change it is to vary angle , that is ,to tilt the diffraction grating. ii) Dielectric thin-film multicavity filter: We can tune DTMF by titling the filter with respect to propagating light. Another possibility is to slide the triangular shape filter laterally. In either case, angle of incident changes, which results in a change in the /4 condition in the filter. iii) Fiber Bragg grating: We can tune this filter by using the formula 2neff=B. We can change by either applying a stretching force or heating the grating. Low loss, easy coupling, a narrow

A. Types of Fixed filters: i) Thin-film interference filter: This filter depends on the effect of interference among many light waves reflected from the sheaf of thin layers.

bandwidth, and high resolution are the advantages of FBG tuning filter. Its major drawback is narrow dynamic range. iv) Acousto-optic tunable filter(AOTF): This is a very interesting filter. It is based largely on largely on a Bragg grating but this grating is created by an acoustic wave. This makes the device versatile. This filter converts a TE electromagnetic wave into a TM wave and vice versa. TE and TM are transverse electric and transverse magnetic waves respectively. v) Electro-optic tunable filter(EOTF): The structure and the principle of operation of this filter are similar to AOTF. The grating is created by an electro-optic effect in the LiNbO3 material. Finger like electrodes are used to induce this grating. vi) Mach- Zehnder tuning filter: To make a tunable MZF, a symmetric configuration of a M-Zehnder interferometer is used. Tuning is obtained by changing the refractive index of one of the arms. This filter can be fabricated by a lithographic method.

Since the assignment is mainly on Fiber Bragg Grating optical filters and Febry-Perot optical filters, so these two filters have been discussed in details.

II. FIBER BRAGG GRATING FILTERS: A FiberBragg grating(FBG) is a type of distributed Bragg reflector constructed in a short segment of optical fiber that reflects particular wavelengths of light and transmits all others. This is achieved by creating a periodic variation in the refractive index of the fiber core, which generates a wavelength specific dielectric mirror. A fiber Bragg grating can therefore be used as an inline optical filter to block certain wavelengths, or as a wavelength-specific reflector. The first FBG was demonstrated by Ken Hill in 1978. Initially the gratings were fabricated using a visible laser propagating along the fiber core. In the year 1989, Gerald Meltz demonstrated the much more flexible transverse holographic inscription technique where the laser illumination came from the side of the fiber.

A. Manufacture: FBGs were created by "inscribing" or "writing" systematic variation of refractive index into the core of a special type of optical fiber using an intense ultraviolet (UV) source such as a UV laser. Two main processes are used: interference and masking. The method that is used among the two depends on the type of grating to be manufactured. Normally a germanium-doped silica fiber is used in the manufacture of Fiber Bragg gratings. The germanium-doped fiber is photosensitive, which means that the refractive index of the core changes with exposure to UV light. Standard fibers can be used if the photosensitivity is enhanced by pre-soaking the fiber in hydrogen. B. Reflection and transmission of light by FBG:
Fig 1(a,b,c) : FBG optical fiber

Fiber Bragg grating can be used as a MUX/DEMUX device in WDM systems for extracting a signal with a particular wavelength from a stream of signals or channels. It is explained in the following fig()

Fig 2: Schematic diagram of a Fiber Bragg Grating

As shown in fig (2), the refractive index of the fiber core is modulated with a period of . When a light of broad spectrum is applied in one end of fiber containing a Fiber Bragg grating, the part of the light with wavelength matching the Bragg grating wavelength will be reflected back to the input end with the rest of the light passing through the other end. This phenomenon is shown in the fig (3):

Fig 3: Working o FBG

From the momentum conservation requirement of the Bragg grating condition, the following equation is obtained:
Fig 4: FBG as MUX/DEMUX

C. Fiber Bragg Grating structure: The structure of the FBG can vary with the refractive index where neff is the effective refractive index of the fiber core, and B is the wavelength of the light reflected by the Bragg grating. Therefore, the Bragg grating wavelength B can be expressed as 1. Uniform positive-only index change 2. Gaussian apodized 3. Raised-cosine apodized 4. Chirped 5. Discrete phase shift or the grating period. The grating period can be uniform or graded and localised or distributed in a superstructure. There are six structures of FBG:

6. Superstructure

Apodized gratings: There are basically two quantities that control the properties of the FBG. These are the grating length, , given as

and the grating strength,

.There are, however, three

properties that need to be controlled in a FBG. These are the reflectivity, the bandwidth, and the side-lobe strength. In the strong grating limit (i.e., for large ) the bandwidth

depends on the grating strength, and not the grating length. This means the grating strength can be used to set the bandwidth. The grating length, effectively , can then be used to set the peak reflectivity, which depends on both the grating strength and the grating length. The result of this is that the side-lobe strength cannot be controlled, and this simple optimization results in significant side-lobes. A third quantity can be varied to help with side-lobe suppression. This is apodization of the refractive index change. The term apodization refers to the grading of the refractive index to approach zero at the end of the grating. Apodized gratings offer significant improvement in side-lobe suppression while
Fig 5: Structure of the Refractive Index Change in a Uniform Fiber Bragg Grating

maintaining reflectivity and a narrow bandwidth. The two functions typically used to apodize a FBG are Gaussian and raised-cosine. Chirped fiber Bragg gratings: The refractive index profile of the grating may be modified to add other features, such as a linear variation in the grating period, called a chirp. The reflected wavelength changes with the grating period, broadening the reflected spectrum. A grating possessing a chirp has the property of adding dispersiondifferent wavelengths reflected from the grating will be subject to different delays. This property has been used in the development of phased-array antenna systems and

polarization mode dispersion compensation Tilted fiber Bragg gratings: In standard FBGs, the grading or
Fig 6:Refractive Index Profile in the Core

variation of the refractive index is along the length of the fiber

, and is typically uniform across the width of the fiber. In a tilted FBG (TFBG), the variation of the refractive index is at an angle to the optical axis. The angle of tilt in a TFBG has an effect on the reflected wavelength, and bandwidth. Long-period gratings: Typically the grating period is the same size as the Bragg wavelength, as shown above. For a grating that reflects at 1,500 nm, the grating period is 500 nm, using a refractive index of 1.5. Longer periods can be used to achieve much broader responses than are possible with a standard FBG. These gratings are called long-period fiber grating. They ii)Fiber Bragg grating sensors: Fiber Bragg gratings can then be used as direct sensing elements for strain and temperature. They can also be used as transduction elements, converting
Fig 7:Optical add-drop multiplexer

typically have grating periods on the order of 100 micrometers, the output of another sensor, which generates a strain or to a millimeter, and are therefore much easier to manufacture. temperature change from the measurand, for example, fiber Bragg grating gas sensors use an absorbent coating, which in D. Applications: i) the presence of a gas expands generating a strain, which is measurable by the grating. Technically, the absorbent material is the sensing element, converting the amount of gas to a strain. The Bragg grating then transduces the strain to the change in wavelength. Specifically, fiber Bragg gratings are finding uses in instrumentation applications such seismology, pressure sensors for extremely as

Communications: The primary application of fiber

Bragg gratings is in optical communications systems. They are specifically used as notch filters. They are also used in optical multiplexers and demultiplexers with an optical circulator, or [optical add-drop multiplexer]] (OADM). Figure (7) shows 4 channels, depicted as 4 colours, impinging onto a FBG via an optical circulator. The FBG is set to reflect one of the channels, here channel 4. The signal is reflected back to the circulator where it is directed down and dropped out of the system. Since the channel has been dropped, another signal on that channel can be added at the same point in the network. A demultiplexer can be achieved by cascading multiple drop sections of the OADM, where each drop element uses an FBG set to the wavelength to be multiplexed. Conversely, a multiplexer can be achieved by cascading multiple add sections of the OADM. FBG demultiplexers and OADMs can also be tunable.

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environments, and as downhole sensors in oil and gas wells for measurement of the effects of external pressure, temperature, seismic vibrations and inline flow measurement. III.FABRY-PEROT FILTERS: The Fabry-Perot filter is an optical resonator that confines and stores the light energy at selected frequencies. This optical transmission system incorporates feedback, whereby light is repeatedly reflected within the system and thus circulates without escaping the system. A simple Fabry-Perot filter comprises of two parallel planar mirrors spaced a fixed distance apart. The rays travelling between mirrors are kept perpendicular to the plane of the mirrors via a two-lens system.

If both surfaces have a reflectance R, the transmittance function of the etalon is given by

where

Fig 8: Fabry-Perot filter

The Fabry-Perot was discovered by Charles Fabry and Alfred Perot at the University of Marseille in 1897. The discovery was a result from work primarily conducted in the field of electricity and the necessity in this field for precise measurements of small distances. With this study, Fabry and Perot discovered an optical phenomenon called resonance that led to the invention of a very useful method of measuring small distances. A. Working of Fabry-Perot filter The varying transmission function of Fabry-Perot is caused by interference between the multiple reflections of light between the two reflecting surfaces. Constructive interference occurs if the transmitted beams are in phase, and this corresponds to a high-transmission peak of the filter. If the transmitted beams are out-of phase, destructive interference occurs and this corresponds to a transmission minimum. Whether the multiply reflected beams are in phase or not depends on the wavelength () of the light (in vacuum), the angle the light travels through the filter (), the thickness of the filter () and the refractive index of the material between the reflecting surfaces (n).The phase difference between each succeeding reflection is given by :

is the coefficient of finesse. Maximum transmission occurs when the optical path length difference (2nlcos) between each transmitted beam is an integer multiple of the wavelength. In the absence of absorption, the reflectance of the filter Re is the complement of the transmittance, such that T e +Re =1. The maximum reflectivity is given by,

and this occurs when the path-length difference is equal to half an odd multiple of the wavelength.

Fig 9:A FabryPerot filter. Light enters the etalon and undergoes multiple internal reflections.

distance between two bright lines is recorded by means of a CCD camera. 4. Laser resonators are often described as FabryPerot resonators, although for many types of laser the reflectivity of one mirror is close to 100%, making it more similar to a GiresTournois interferometer. Semiconductor diode lasers sometimes use a true FabryPerot geometry, due to the difficulty of coating the end facets of the chip.

5. FabryPerot filters can be used to prolong the

Fig 10: The transmission of an etalon as a function of wavelength. A highfinesse filter (red line) shows sharper peaks and lower transmission minima than a low-finesse filter (blue).

interaction length in laser absorption spectrometry techniques. 6. A FabryPerot filter can be used to make a spectrometer capable of observing the Zeeman Effect, where the spectral lines are far too close

B. Applications 1. The most important common applications are as dichroic filters, in which a series of atalonic layers are deposited on an optical surface by vapour deposition. These optical filters usually have more exact reflective and pass bands than absorptive filters. When properly designed, they run cooler than absorptive filters because they can reflect unwanted wavelengths. Dichroic filters are widely used in optical equipment such as light sources, cameras and astronomical equipment. 2. Telecommunications networks employing 7.

together to distinguish with a normal spectrometer. In astronomy an etalon is used to select a single atomic transition for imaging. The most common is the H-alpha line of the sun. CONCLUSION So, we have seen that Optical filters are devices that selectively transmit light of different wavelengths, usually implemented as plane glass or plastic devices in the optical path which are either dyed in the mass or have interference coatings. These are generally used in photography, stage

wavelength division multiplexing have add-drop multiplexers with banks of miniature tuned fused silica or diamond etalons. These are small iridescent cubes about 2 mm on a side, mounted in small highprecision racks. The materials are chosen to maintain stable mirror-to-mirror distances, and to keep stable frequencies even when the temperature varies.

lightning, astronomy, etc. in future there will be more development in this field and we shall see much more applications in the use of optical filters. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank our mam, Ms. Subra Mukherjee, for giving me this assignment as it helped me a lot of gather knowledge regarding the working and the use of optical filters in todays world.

3. An optical wavemeter is a combination of up to five

FabryPerot interferometers with a factor of ten differences in between any two of them. The beam is made divergent by a cylindrical lens and the

REFERENCES
[1] Ricardo Feced, Michalis N. Zervas, and Miguel A. Muriel, An Efficient Inverse Scattering Algorithm for the Design of No uniform Fiber Bragg Gratings. [2] Turan Erdogan, Fiber Grating Spectra [3] Jason S. Milne, Adrian J. Keating, John M. Dell, and Lorenzo Faraone, MEMS-based Tunable Fabry-Perot Filters on Silicon Substrates, School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. [4] S. Boutami, B. Ben Bakir, J.-L. Leclercq, X. Letartre, P. RojoRomeo, M. Garrigues, and P. Viktorovitch, Highly selective and compact tunable MOEMS photonic crystal Fabry-Perot filter, LEOM-CNRS-Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully Cedex, France. [5] Andreas Othonos, Fiber Bragg gratings, Department of Natural Sciences; Physics, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.