3D Printing Technology for Tapered Optical Fiber Protection With Gas Sensing Possibilities

Abstract

We present a new procedure for protecting micro-optical fibers (tapered fibers) by using the 3-dimension (3D) printing technology. A standard single-mode optical fiber was tapered down to the diameter of 1 µm and embedded in a polymeric matrix obtained by an additive manufacturing routine. We show that the proposed structure protects the fiber taper against environmental humidity while keeping permeability to gas flow and the possibility of the realization of gas detection experiments. To our knowledge, this is the first time 3D printed casings were applied to protect fiber tapers from humidity deterioration. We envisage this new approach will allow the development of new fiber taper devices to better resist in humid environments.

Keywords

3D printing / additive manufacturing / optical fiber / tapered fibers / sensing

References

[1] Pevec S, Donlagic D. Multiparameter fiber-optic sensors: a review. Optical Engineering, 2019, 58(7): 072009.

[2] Russell P. Photonic crystal fibers. Science, 2003, 299(5605): 358-362.

[3] Portosi V, Laneve D, Faloni M C, Prudenzano F. Advances on photonic crystal fiber sensors and applications. Sensors, 2019, 19(8): 1892.

[4] Silva S, Pachon E G P, Franco M A R, Hayashi J G, Malcata F X, Frazão O, . Ultrahigh-sensitivity temperature fiber sensor based on multimode interference. Applied Optics, 2012, 51(16): 3236-3242.

[5] Kersey A D, Davis M A, Patrick H H, LeBlanc M, Koo K P, Askins C G, . Fiber grating sensors. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 1997, 15(8): 1442-1463.

[6] Lou J, Wang Y, Tong L. Microfiber optical sensors: a review. Sensors, 2014, 14(4): 5823-5844.

[7] Brambilla G. Optical fibre nanowires and microwires: a review. Journal of Optics, 2010, 12(4): 043001.

[8] Yang R, Yu Y, Xue Y, Chen C, Chen Q, Sun H. Single S-tapered fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Optics Letters, 2011, 36(23): 4482-4484.

[9] Vukovic N, Broderick N G R, Petrovich M, Brambilla G. Novel method for the fabrication of long optical fiber tapers. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2008, 20(14): 1264-1266.

[10] Ward J M, O’Shea D G, Shortt B J, Morrissey M J, Deasy K, Chormaic S G N. Heat-and-pull rig for fiber taper fabrication. Review of Scientific Instruments, 2006, 77(8): 083105.

[11] Birks T A, Li Y W. The shape of fiber tapers. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 1992, 10(4): 432-438.

[12] Cordeiro C M B, Wadsworth W J, Birks T A, Russell P St J. Engineering the dispersion of tapered fibers for supercontinuum generation with a 1064 nm pump laser. Optics Letters, 2005, 30(15): 1980-1982.

[13] Beltrán-Mejía F, Osório J H, Biazoli C R, Cordeiro C M B. D-microfibers. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2013, 31(16): 3056-3061.

[14] Jin W, Ho H L, Cao Y C, Ju J, Qi L F. Gas detection with micro- and nano-engineered optical fibers. Optical Fiber Technology, 2013, 19(6): 741-759.

[15] Brambilla G, Payne D N. The ultimate strength of glass silica nanowires. Nano Letters, 2009, 9(2): 831-835.

[16] Lou N, Jha R, Domínguez-Juárez J L, Finazzi V, Villatoro J, Badenes G, . Embedded optical micro/nano-fibers for stable devices. Optics Letters, 2010, 35(4): 571-573.

[17] Xiao L, Grogan M D W, Wadsworth W J, England R, Birks T A. Stable low-loss optical nanofibers embedded in hydrophobic aerogel. Optics Express, 2011, 19(2): 764-769.

[18] Tong L, Lou J, Gattass R R, He S, Chen X, Liu L, . Assembly of silica nanowires on silica aerogels for microphotonic devices. Nano Letters, 2005, 5(2): 259-262.

[19] L. Xiao, M. D. W. Grogan, R. England, W. J. Wadsworth, and T. A. Birks, “Gas sensing with a sub-micron tapered fibre embedded in hydrophobic aerogel,” in Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics 2010, California, May 16–21, 2010, pp. 1–3.

[20] Gurav J L, Jung I, Park H, Kang E S, Nadargi D Y. Silica aerogel: synthesis and applications. Journal of Nanomaterials, 2010, 2010, 409310.

[21] Cook K, Canning J, Leon-Saval S, Reid Z, Hossain M A, Comatti J, . Air-structured optical fiber drawn from a 3D-printed preform. Optics Letters, 2015, 40(17): 3966-3969.

[22] Cook K, Balle G, Canning J, Chartier L, Athanaze T, Hossain M A, . Step-index optical fiber drawn from 3D printed preforms. Optics Letters, 2016, 41(19): 4554-4557.

[23] T. H. R. Marques, B. M. Lima, J. H. Osório, L. E. da Silva, and C. M. B. Cordeiro, “3D printed microstructured optical fibers,” in 2017 SBMO/IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and Optoelectronics Conference (IMOC), Brazil, Aug. 27–30, 2017, pp: 1–3.

[24] Talataisong W, Ismaeel R, Marques T H R, Mousavi S A, Beresna M, Gouveia M A, . Mid-IR hollow-core microstructured fiber drawn from a 3D printed PETG preform. Scientific Reports, 2018, 8(1): 8113.

[25] Zubel M G, Sugden K, Webb D J, Saez-Rodriguez D, Nielsen K, Bang O. Embedding silica and polymer fibre Bragg gratings (FBG) in plastic 3D-printed sensing patches. Micro-structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV, 2016, 9886, 98860N.

[26] Manzo N R, Callado G T, Cordeiro C M B, Vieira L C M Jr.. Embedding optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors in 3D printed casings. Optical Fiber Technology, 2019, 53, 102015.

[27] Scott R, Vidakovic M, Chikermane S, McKinley B, Sun T, Banerji P, . Encapsulation of fiber optic sensors in 3D printed packages for use in civil engineering applications: a preliminary study. Sensors, 2019, 19(7): 1689.