Background
Optical fibers having special functions other than conventional optical communication fibers are generally referred to as "special optical fibers", and compared to conventional optical communication fibers, special optical fibers have unique designs in terms of structures, materials, manufacturing methods, and the like, so as to satisfy various special purposes, such as sensing applications. Such as making polarization-maintaining fiber for fiber optic gyroscopes based on the Sagnac effect; based on the Faraday effect, a magneto-optical fiber is used for the magnetic field sensor; based on an optical coherence technology, the bending-resistant optical fiber is used for the optical fiber hydrophone; based on the raman effect, multimode optical fibers are used for optical fiber temperature sensors and the like.
In the existing sensor manufactured based on the sagnac effect, one light beam is transmitted clockwise in the optical fiber ring, the other light beam is transmitted anticlockwise, the two light beams are transmitted along the same direction in the optical fiber ring, when the inertia system where the device is located is static, the optical paths of the two light beams in the optical fiber are the same, the mutual difference error is eliminated, and when the inertia system where the device is located has a certain rotation angular speed, the optical paths of the two light beams are different, so that the rotation angular speed can be measured according to the optical path difference.
The external magnetic field can cause the propagation constants of light propagating in the optical fiber in the positive and negative directions to be different, so that a non-reciprocal error is introduced, and the fact that the sensor manufactured based on the sagnac effect is sensitive to the external magnetic field is shown, but the sensor is sensitive to the rotation angular velocity, and the influence of the optical path difference caused by the angular velocity is far greater than the influence of the angular velocity caused by the external magnetic field, so that the external magnetic field information is submerged in the angular velocity information.
Adopt double helix structure, in double helix structure, two bundles of light that propagation direction is opposite all through once clockwise propagation and once anticlockwise propagation, introduce this kind of special propagation structure, can get rid of traditional sagnac device and be sensitive to angular velocity this characteristic for only contain by external magnetic field information in its measured information, simultaneously, double helix structure compares in traditional structure, can be when greatly increased optical fiber length, has reduced the area of coiling again, makes the device easily miniaturize.
The 3D printing technology can solve the problem that the conventional preparation method is difficult to control preparation parameters, such as the two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing 3D printing technology. Two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing 3D printing is based on a two-photon absorption principle, namely, one molecule of a substance absorbs two photons at the same time, the two-photon absorption is mainly generated at a super-strong laser focus generated by pulse laser, the laser intensity at other places on a light path is not enough to generate two-photon absorption, and the two-photon absorption method has the characteristics of good penetrability to materials, high space selectivity and the like because the used light wavelength is longer and the energy is lower, and the corresponding single-photon absorption process cannot be generated.
Different from the technology of direct printing in free space, the preparation of special optical fiber needs to print out the required structure in the hollow optical fiber, because the area to be printed is located in the hollow optical fiber, light beam needs to enter the area through the hollow optical fiber cladding, so refraction and reflection can occur, and the adoption of the direct printing method can cause that partial area can not receive the two-photon laser, and can seriously affect the transmission of optical signals.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention provides a double-D type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with a double-spiral structure and a manufacturing method thereof, and aims to solve the problems that the existing multi-material fiber core double-D type special optical fiber cannot realize uniform printing of multiple materials in a hollow optical fiber through the traditional two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing 3D printing technology, the magnetic field information of a traditional sagnac sensor is submerged in angular velocity information, and the like. The forward and reverse beams of light are transmitted along respective transmission directions and then transmitted in the reverse direction when transmitted in the double-D type optical fiber wound by the double-helix structure, so that errors caused by the fact that a traditional sensor based on the sagnac effect is sensitive to the angular speed are eliminated. Meanwhile, the double-spiral structure is adopted, the length of the wound optical fiber can be increased, compared with other winding shapes, the winding area is saved, and the size of the sensing device is reduced.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:
one of the purposes of the invention is to provide a double-D type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with a double-spiral structure, which comprises a light source, a photoelectric sensor, double Y branches and a double-spiral structure, wherein the light source is connected with an incident end on one side of the double Y branches, the photoelectric sensor is connected with an emergent end on the same side of the double Y branches, and two signal ends on the other side of the double Y branches are respectively connected with two ports of the double-spiral structure; the double-helix structure is a micro-structure optical fiber with double D-shaped transmission media inside;
light emitted by the light source enters the incident end on one side of the double Y branches, then is transmitted to the double-spiral structure through the two signal ends on the other side of the double Y branches, and the two beams of light are transmitted along respective propagation directions, then are transmitted in the reverse direction, are respectively emitted from the other port, return to the double Y branches, and finally are detected by the photoelectric sensor.
The invention also aims to provide a manufacturing method of the double-D type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with the double-helix structure, which is characterized in that a double-D type optical fiber with two materials is printed by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology, and the cross section of the optical fiber is circular; and printing and curing a semicircle on one side of the circle by using a first fiber core material, and printing and curing a semicircle on the other side by using a second fiber core material to prepare the micro-structural optical fiber with the double-D-shaped transmission medium inside.
The specific manufacturing process comprises the following steps:
(1) glass is used as a substrate for 3D printing, and a hollow optical fiber is wound on one surface of the substrate to form an outer profile of a double-spiral structure;
(2) one end of the hollow optical fiber is connected to the micro-fluidic pump, the interface is sealed, the other end of the hollow optical fiber is fixed on the glass substrate, the glass substrate is controlled by the micro-rotational displacement table to drive the hollow optical fiber to move, and the position of the hollow optical fiber is monitored in real time;
(3) filling first fibre core material A in the cavity of hollow core optic fibre through the micro-fluidic pump, adopting two-photon femto second laser direct writing technique to print the solidification of first fibre core material for presetting the shape through 3D, specifically do:
the curing shape is semicircular, the semicircular area is divided into N steps according to the printing height to be sequentially scanned and cured, the parameters of the laser output area are set through a mathematical model of the relation between the laser output area and the focusing and curing area established in advance through simulation, and the laser beam is controlled to scan and cure the first fiber core material A along the scanning track (14); after one step scanning solidification is completed, repeating the steps, and scanning solidification is performed on the next step, wherein when the scanning solidification of the N steps is completed in sequence, the scanning solidification of the first fiber core material A is completed;
(4) and (4) repeating the step (3), filling the second fiber core material into a second semicircular cavity of the hollow fiber through a microfluidic pump, and curing the second fiber core material B into a preset shape through 3D printing by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology to obtain the micro-structural fiber with the double-D type transmission medium inside.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: the double-D type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with the double-helix structure adopts the double-helix structure mode, and the forward light and the backward light are respectively transmitted along respective transmission directions and then transmitted in the reverse direction when being transmitted, so that the angular speed error in the traditional sagnac sensing system is eliminated, and the phase difference generated by the external magnetic field change of the sensor manufactured according to the principle is enabled to be
For the main contradiction, the double helix structure can increase the length of the wound optical fiber and increase the optical path, namely, the phase difference generated under the same magnetic field change is increased
Is largeThe measurement accuracy is improved, and the simplified structure is easy for miniaturization of the sensing equipment.
Detailed Description
The invention is further illustrated with reference to the following figures and examples. The technical features of the embodiments of the present invention can be combined correspondingly without mutual conflict.
The method adopts a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology, and establishes a 3D printing model of the double-spiral structure in advance according to the refractive index of the material and the geometric shape of the double-spiral structure, wherein the cross section of the double-spiral structure is circular. In the manufacturing process, the position and the outline of a double-spiral structure to be printed are determined on a glass substrate, then 1/2 circles with circular cross sections are printed on the double-spiral structure by using a first material, the redundant part of the material is cleaned after printing is finished, a second material is printed by using a two-photon laser direct writing device again to serve as the other 1/2 circle with the whole circular cross section, and the redundant part of the material is cleaned after printing is finished. Compared with the existing magnetic field sensor, the double-D type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with the double-helix structure and the manufacturing method thereof have the advantages of easiness in operation, high speed, high precision, high success rate and the like, and have good application prospects in the field of magnetic field measurement.
As shown in fig. 1, the double D-type optical fiber weak magnetic field sensor with a double-spiral structure provided by the present invention includes a light source 1, a photoelectric sensor 2, a double Y branch 5 and a double-spiral structure 8, wherein the light source 1 is connected to an incident end 3 on one side of the double Y branch 5, the photoelectric sensor 2 is connected to an emergent end 4 on the same side of the double Y branch 5, and two signal ends on the other side of the double Y branch are respectively connected to two ports of the double-spiral structure 8; the double-spiral structure 8 is a micro-structure optical fiber with double D-shaped transmission media inside;
light emitted by the light source 1 enters the incident end on one side of the double-Y branch 5 and is transmitted to the double-helix structure 8 through the two signal ends on the other side of the double-Y branch 5, the two beams of light are transmitted along respective propagation directions, then are transmitted in the reverse direction, are respectively emitted from the other port, return to the double-Y branch, and finally are detected by the photoelectric sensor.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer profile of the double helix structure 8 is formed by winding hollow-core optical fibers, and the cross section of the hollow-core optical fibers is circular. Specifically, the double-spiral structure 8 is formed by integrally connecting a series of semi-arc units with radii in a linear relation, and the center of the double-spiral structure 8 is provided with two semi-arc units C with the same radius r1Semi-circular arc unit C2Two semicircular arc units C1And C2Tangent and opposite opening direction. The semicircular arc unit comprises an outer layer and an inner layer, the outer layer is a semicircular hollow optical fiber, and the inner layer is a double-D-shaped transmission medium.
As shown in fig. 2, in units of half-circular arcs C1Arc center O of1As the center of circle, there are m concentric semi-circular arc units with radius R from inside to outsideiR + (i-1) × (d + l) (i ═ 1, …, m), direction of opening and C1Same, r is a semicircular arc unit C1The radius of (a);
by semi-circular arc unit C2Arc center O of2As the center of circle, there are m concentric semi-circular arc units with radius R from inside to outsideiR + (i-1) × (d + l) (i ═ 1, …, m), direction of opening and C2Same as that described inSemi-circular arc unit C2And a semicircular arc unit C1The radii r of (a) and (b) are the same;
with O1M concentric semi-circular arc units as circle center and O2The m concentric semi-circular arc units as the circle centers are connected in pairs to form the whole double-spiral structure 8, and the two semi-circular arc units positioned at the outermost periphery form two input/output ports IO 1 9、IO 210; wherein d is the diameter of the fiber core of the hollow optical fiber, and l is the distance between two adjacent sections of semi-circular arc units. In this embodiment, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram, and m is 3, but it should be noted that the value of m may be set according to actual needs.
In order to facilitate the connection between the double-spiral structure and the double-Y branch structure, the opening directions of the two ports of the double-spiral structure 8 are set to be consistent, and one of the outermost semi-arc unit ports (IO) can be used1Or IO2) Bending 180 degrees to obtain the structure shown in fig. 2.
The double-spiral structure is formed by printing double D-shaped optical fibers with two materials by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology. As shown in fig. 3, the cross section of the optical fiber is circular, wherein a semicircle at one side of the circular shape is printed and cured by using the first fiber core material, and a semicircle at the other side is printed and cured by using the second fiber core material, so as to prepare the micro-structured optical fiber with the internal double D-type transmission media, and the structure of the micro-structured optical fiber is shown in fig. 5.
Two materials are sequentially scanned and solidified in a hollow optical fiber by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology, and the specific process steps are as follows:
(1) according to the designed special optical fiber geometry and the core material, selecting the hollow core optical fiber with proper size and the first core material A11 and the second core material B12.
(2) The small glass is used as a substrate for 3D printing, the hollow optical fiber is wound on one surface of the substrate to form a double-spiral structure 8, and it is noted that during winding, the hollow optical fiber needs to be horizontally wound on the glass substrate, meanwhile, the hollow optical fiber cannot be twisted and needs to be placed straightly, otherwise, scanning and curing area asymmetry can be caused.
(3) Because the area to be printed is located in the hollow optical fiber, the light beam needs to enter the area through the hollow optical fiber cladding, so refraction and reflection can occur, a part of the area can not receive the two-photon laser by adopting a direct printing method, and the transmission of the optical signal can be seriously influenced, the embodiment carries out related printing operation according to a mathematical model of the relation between the laser output area and the focusing and curing area established by simulation:
f=f(n1,n2)×f(x);n1,n2the refractive indices of the cladding and core, respectively.
(4) The method comprises the following steps of filling a first fiber core material A11 into a cavity of a hollow fiber through a microfluidic pump, and curing the first fiber core material into a preset shape through 3D printing by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology, wherein the specific method comprises the following steps:
the curing shape is semicircular, as shown in fig. 4, the semicircular area is divided into 15 steps to be sequentially scanned and cured, as the diameter of the core of the hollow optical fiber is 10um, the height of each step is 0.67um, the parameters of the laser output area are set through a mathematical model of the relation between the laser output area and the focusing and curing area established in advance through simulation, and as shown in fig. 6, the laser beam is controlled to scan and cure the first core material a11 along the scanning track 14; after one step scanning and curing is completed, repeating the steps, and scanning and curing the next step, wherein after 15 steps are sequentially scanned and cured, the scanning and curing of the first fiber core material A11 are completed; in this embodiment, when scanning and curing the core material along the scanning track 14, the scanning and curing of all the steps are completed sequentially from the bottommost step to the bottom.
(5) And after the material A in the micro-fluidic pump is cleaned, replacing the material A with cleaning liquid, and cleaning the redundant uncured first fiber core material A11 in the hollow cavity through the micro-fluidic pump.
(6) And (4) repeating the step (3), filling the second fiber core material into the second semicircular cavity of the hollow fiber through the microfluidic pump, and printing and curing the second fiber core material B12 into a preset shape through 3D by adopting a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing technology.
(7) And after the second fiber core material B12 in the micro-fluidic pump is cleaned, the second fiber core material B12 is replaced by cleaning liquid, and the redundant second fiber core material B12 is cleaned by the micro-fluidic pump to obtain the micro-structural optical fiber with the double-D type transmission medium inside.
When the sensor structure shown in fig. 1 is prepared, the printed double-spiral structure is connected with a conventional light source, a photoelectric sensor and a double-Y branch according to the connection mode shown in fig. 1, wherein the light source is connected with an incident end on one side of the double-Y branch, the photoelectric sensor is connected with an emergent end on the same side of the double-Y branch, and two signal ends on the other side of the double-Y branch are respectively connected with two ports of the double-spiral structure. The specific types, structures and connection modes of the light source, the photoelectric sensor and the double Y branches are not limited, and the functions can be realized.
In one embodiment of the present invention, in the step (2), the hollow-core optical fiber is horizontally and straightly placed; the first fiber core material A11 and the second fiber core B12 filled in the steps (4) and (6) are two-photon polymerization photosensitive materials, and the amount of the filled two-photon polymerization photosensitive materials can fill the fiber cores of the hollow-core optical fibers.
In a typical example, the photosensitive polymer material used is a two-photon femtosecond laser direct writing base material of IP-DIP material manufactured by nanoscribe, YIG (yttrium iron garnet) nanoparticles are mixed into the IP-DIP polymer to form a first core material a, Bi: YIG (bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet) nanoparticles are mixed into the IP-DIP polymer to form a second core material B, and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate and IPA (isopropyl alcohol) are used as cleaning liquid.
The double-helix structure prepared by the method eliminates the angular velocity measurement in the traditional sagnac sensing system, and solves the problem of phase difference generated by external magnetic field change
Meanwhile, the double-helix structure can increase the length of the wound optical fiber and increase the optical path, namely, the phase difference generated under the same magnetic field change is increased
The measurement accuracy is greatly improved, and the simplified structure is easy for miniaturization of the sensing equipment.
The specific principle is as follows:
in the double-D type optical fiber wound in the double helix structure, light propagating in the forward direction propagates in the first core material A, light propagating in the reverse direction propagates in the second core material B, the first core material A and the second core material B have opposite Field constants, and when a magnetic field in the axial direction of the double helix structure is provided, the phase changes of the two beams of light propagating in the double helix structure are respectively:
therefore, the interference signal of the two beams is:
the size of the magnetic field along the axial direction of the double-helix structure can be solved by sampling and analyzing the interference signals of the two beams of light.
The above embodiments of the present invention are only specific embodiments, and the description of each embodiment has a respective emphasis, and the related description of other embodiments may be referred to for parts which are not described in detail in a certain embodiment. It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but that many variations are possible. All modifications which can be derived or suggested by a person skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present invention are to be considered within the scope of the invention.