SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL
In order to overcome the problems in the prior art, the utility model provides an optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode resonant cavity and preparation method thereof.
The application provides an optical fiber sensor based on a polymer whispering gallery mode resonant cavity, which comprises an optical fiber, wherein the optical fiber comprises a fiber core and a cladding; wherein the optical fiber has a groove; the groove is internally provided with a waveguide and a backwall resonant cavity with a polymer structure.
As the utility model provides an improvement of optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode cavity, polymer structure is the solidification structure that polymer monomer formed through laser polymerization processing.
As the utility model provides an improvement of optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode cavity, the polymer structure is the photoresist solidification structure.
As an improvement of the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator provided by the present invention, the bottom height of the groove is lower than the fiber core, and the groove cuts the fiber core into a first fiber core and a second fiber core; the waveguide is of a polymer structure, and two ends of the waveguide are respectively connected with the first fiber core and the second fiber core.
As the utility model provides an improvement of optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode cavity, the waveguide is recess inner fiber core.
As the utility model provides an improvement of optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode resonant cavity, the whispering gallery resonant cavity is microdisk chamber, little ring cavity, microballon cavity, microdisk chamber, or microcolumn cavity.
As an improvement of the fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator provided by the present invention, the diameter of the whispering gallery resonator is 20 μm to 60 μm.
As an improvement of the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator provided by the utility model, the waveguide diameter is 1 μm-2 μm.
As an improvement of the fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator provided by the present invention, the gap between the waveguide and the whispering gallery mode resonator is 0-2 μm.
As the utility model provides an improvement of optical fiber sensor based on polymer whispering gallery mode cavity, optic fibre still includes the coating.
The application has the following beneficial effects:
the utility model discloses the first time provided utilize laser polymerization technique at the inside integrated echo wall resonant cavity of optic fibre. Compared with the prior art, the utility model discloses the most outstanding advantage is that the integrated level is higher, can guarantee the integration of this syntonizer to compact structure. The polymer structure echo wall resonant cavity directly integrated in the optical fiber through the polymerization technology has the advantages that the processing time is reduced, the structural size is reduced, the stability of the device is improved, the structural design is more flexible, and great guarantee is provided for meeting requirements of different environments.
The specific implementation mode is as follows:
in order to make the technical solution of the present invention better understood, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without creative efforts shall belong to the protection scope of the present invention.
In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", and the like, indicate the orientation or positional relationship indicated based on the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically limited otherwise.
In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "fixed" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; may be mechanically coupled, may be electrically coupled or may be in communication with each other; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship, unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those skilled in the art.
The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail by the accompanying drawings and examples.
Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical fiber sensor based on a polymer whispering gallery mode resonator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 1, the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator includes an optical fiber. The optical fiber includes a core (1) and a cladding (2). The optical fiber of the embodiment of the present application may be a single mode optical fiber or a multimode optical fiber, and is preferably a single mode optical fiber.
The optical fiber has a groove (3) in the middle, and the groove (3) is obtained by removing material. The groove (3) is internally provided with a waveguide (4) and a whispering gallery resonant cavity (5) with a polymer structure.
The polymer structure of the embodiment of the present application is a cured structure formed by laser polymerization processing of polymer monomers. Specifically, the monomer solution comprises a polymer monomer, a photoinitiator and a photosensitizer. And (3) irradiating the monomer solution, then carrying out polymerization reaction on the polymer monomer to form a polymer structure, and carrying out light-induced polymerization reaction. Preferably, the polymer structure is a photoresist cured structure formed by exposing and curing a photoresist.
Fig. 1 shows the structure of the optical fiber sensor when the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is a microdisk cavity.
However, it can be understood that the specific structure of the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is not limited to a microdisc cavity, but can also be a micro-ring cavity, a microsphere cavity, a microdisc cavity or a micro-column cavity.
In a particular embodiment, the waveguide (4) may be the core (1) of an optical fiber; the core (1) is exposed when the groove (3) is machined.
Alternatively, in another specific embodiment, the waveguide (4) is a polymer structure, which is a cured structure formed by laser polymerization of a polymer monomer.
If the core (1) is exposed when the groove (3) is processed, the exposed core (1) is used as the waveguide (4). Due to the limitation of the processing technology, the surface of the waveguide (4) is rough easily, and light guide is affected. Therefore, preferably, the waveguide (4) is of a polymer structure, and the core (1) in the groove (3) is removed first, and then the waveguide (4) of the polymer structure is formed.
Specifically, the bottom height of the groove (3) is lower than that of the fiber core (1), the fiber core (1) in the groove (3) is removed at the same time, and the fiber core (1) is cut off by the groove (3) into a first fiber core (1) positioned on the left side of the groove (3) and a second fiber core (1) positioned on the right side of the groove (3). A waveguide (4) with a polymer structure is formed in the groove (3), and two ends of the waveguide (4) are respectively connected with the first fiber core (1) and the second fiber core (1).
When the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is a microdisc cavity, a microring cavity, a microdisc cavity or a micropillar cavity, the bottom surface of the groove (3) can be a platform, as shown in fig. 2. It will be appreciated that the bottom surface of the groove (3) is used to carry the waveguide (4) and the whispering gallery cavity (5), and the particular configuration of the bottom surface of the groove (3) is not limited thereto. When the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is a microsphere cavity, the bottom surface of the groove (3) can be step-shaped, and the height of the bottom surface of the groove (3) bearing the waveguide (4) is higher than that of the bottom surface of the groove (3) bearing the microsphere cavity.
The echo wall resonant cavity (5) and the waveguide (4) are fixed on the bottom surface of the groove (3). The waveguide (4) is tangent to the echo wall cavity (5), and the gap between the waveguide (4) and the echo wall cavity (5) is 0-2 μm, which is suitably sized to provide resonance between the waveguide (4) and the echo wall cavity (5).
In a preferred embodiment, the waveguide (4) has a diameter of 1 μm to 2 μm. The diameter of the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is 20-60 μm.
The optical fiber further comprises a coating layer (not shown) covering the cladding (2).
The preparation method of the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonant cavity comprises the following steps:
step S1: sample preparation and machining of grooves (3): removing materials from the optical fiber to obtain a groove (3), and removing the fiber core (1) at the groove (3);
step S2: cleaning the optical fiber;
step S3: polymerization processing, namely fixing the optical fiber on a laser micromachining system, and immersing the optical fiber groove (3) in a monomer solution; polymerizing the monomer solution by adopting laser, and forming a solidified polymer structure waveguide (4) and a polymer structure echo wall resonant cavity (5) in the monomer solution to obtain an optical fiber sensor sample based on the polymer echo wall mode resonant cavity;
step S4: and developing, namely immersing the sample obtained in the step S3 in a developing solution, and dissolving the monomer which is not polymerized and solidified to obtain the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator.
The monomer solution contains polymer monomer, photoinitiator and photosensitizer. The monomer solution is preferably a photoresist.
In step S1, the groove (3) may be processed by various methods. Preferably, in a particular embodiment of the present application, the grooves (3) are machined by laser etching.
After the coating layer of the optical fiber is stripped to a proper length, coating layer scraps are wiped off. Then fixing the optical fiber on the glass slide; and fixing the glass slide with the optical fiber on a three-dimensional displacement platform of a femtosecond laser micromachining system, and removing materials at the position of the optical fiber coating layer by femtosecond laser etching processing to obtain the groove (3).
In a more detailed embodiment, the sample preparation and the machining of the groove (3) respectively comprise the following steps:
sample preparation: taking a section of single-mode optical fiber, stripping a coating layer at the middle position of the optical fiber by a proper length, such as 5 mm-20 mm, and wiping coating layer fragments by using lens wiping paper or dust-free paper dipped with absolute ethyl alcohol.
Machining a groove (3): the section of optical fiber is fixed on the glass slide by ultraviolet glue or other methods, so that the optical fiber is kept straight and loose, and the glass slide with the fixed optical fiber is adsorbed on a three-dimensional displacement platform of the femtosecond laser micromachining system by a vacuum adsorption method. The energy and repetition rate of the femtosecond laser pulses are adjusted. A microscope objective (NA < 0.3) with low multiplying power (low numerical aperture) is selected as a focusing element of a laser beam, a proper laser etching scanning path is designed through a computer, the length, the height and the width of a laser etching area, the scanning layer interval, the scanning line distance and the displacement speed are set, the starting and the stopping of the processing are controlled through a shutter, and a platform with the height lower than that of a fiber core (1) can be obtained through femtosecond laser etching processing in the internal processing of the optical fiber. The height of the platform is suitably set so that it carries the waveguides (4) of the polymer structure.
In step S2, the detailed steps of the cleaning include: and (3) placing the sample with the processed groove (3) into absolute ethyl alcohol, ultrasonically cleaning for 5-10 minutes, and taking out and airing.
In step S3, the optical fiber is fixed on the glass slide, a photoresist is dropped on the optical fiber groove (3) to immerse the optical fiber groove (3) in the photoresist, and then a cover glass is covered. The detailed steps of adding the photoresist include: and supporting parts are arranged on two sides of the optical fiber etching position to prevent the cover glass from extruding the optical fiber, photoresist is dripped into the groove (3) after the optical fiber is etched, the optical fiber is immersed in the photoresist and no bubble is generated, and then the cover glass is covered to seal the photoresist. Specifically, adhesive tapes can be attached to two sides of the optical fiber etching position to serve as supporting portions.
In step S3, the laser micromachining system is preferably a femtosecond laser micromachining system. Compared with other laser processing modes, the femtosecond laser is an ultrafast laser, the femtosecond laser has high single-pulse power density, the thermal effect is small when the femtosecond laser acts on a substance, cold processing is performed, and the surfaces of the prepared waveguide (4) and the echo wall resonant cavity (5) are smoother and higher in precision. Further, the femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization technology is preferably adopted to polymerize the photoresist to prepare the waveguide (4) and the echo wall resonant cavity (5), and the femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization technology is used, so that the polymerization spatial resolution is higher, and a finer structure can be made.
After a glass slide with optical fibers is fixed on a three-dimensional displacement platform of a femtosecond laser micromachining system, polymer structure waveguide (4) and a polymer structure echo wall resonant cavity (5) are obtained through femtosecond laser polymerization processing.
The detailed steps of the polymerization process include: fixing the sample into which the photoresist is dropped on a three-dimensional displacement platform in a vacuum adsorption mode, and adjusting the energy and the repetition frequency of the femtosecond laser pulse. A high-magnification (high-numerical aperture) microscope objective (NA > 0.4) is selected as a focusing element of the laser beam. And setting proper scanning layer spacing, scanning line spacing and displacement speed, and controlling the starting and the stopping of the processing process through a shutter. Through femtosecond laser polymerization processing, the structures of the waveguide (4) and the echo wall resonant cavity (5) of the polymer can be obtained in the optical fiber.
The optical path system of the processing equipment for preparing the polymer whispering gallery mode resonator inside the polymeric optical fiber is shown in fig. 2.
Firstly, the femtosecond laser beam is expanded by a beam expander to expand the diameter of the laser beam by 2-3 times, and then the laser beam passes through a laser attenuator and an optical power meter, wherein the laser attenuator is used for adjusting the laser power value, the optical power meter is used for detecting the laser power value, a switch driven by a computer is used for controlling the exposure time of the laser, the transmission illumination light passes through a dichroscope, then the transmission illumination light passes through a filter wave plate to filter redundant laser, then the transmission illumination light enters a CCD (charge coupled device) to be imaged so as to observe a processing image in real time, and the femtosecond laser beam enters a microscope objective after being reflected by a. The sample is fixed on a three-dimensional precision displacement platform, and the displacement platform is controlled to move in X, Y, Z three directions by a computer.
As an improvement of the preparation method of the optical fiber sensor provided by the present invention, in step S4, the developing solution is a mixed solution of acetone and isopropyl alcohol.
The detailed steps of the development process include: and (3) taking down the cover glass above the polymerized sample after the processing is finished, removing the supporting parts used for protecting the optical fibers at two sides, and immersing the sample with the glass slide in acetone: and standing the mixed solution of isopropanol (volume ratio of 1: 4) for 1-5 minutes, dissolving the non-polymerization cured photoresist, and retaining the polymerization cured waveguide (4) and echo wall resonant cavity (5) structures.
When the echo wall resonant cavity (5) is a micro-ring echo wall resonant cavity (5), fig. 3 is a scanning electron microscope image of the optical fiber sensor based on the polymer echo wall mode resonant cavity prepared by the above method.
FIG. 4 is a transmission spectrum of a fiber sensor based on a polymer whispering gallery mode resonator as shown in FIG. 3. The free spectrum range is about 13 nm around 1560 nm wavelength, and since the diameter of the micro-disk is 40 μm, the radius r of the micro-disk is 20 μm, the refractive index of the photoresist is 1.5, the relation FSR of the free spectrum FSR and the radius r is satisfied, namely FSR = (lambda) 2)/(2πrn) 。
The application provides an optical fiber sensor based on a polymer whispering gallery mode resonant cavity, which is characterized in that a fiber core (1) at a groove (3) is removed together, and then a waveguide (4) is manufactured in a polymerization mode. The prepared waveguide (4) has a smooth surface.
If the fiber core (1) positioned at the groove (3) is reserved when the groove (3) is processed, the fiber core (1) is used as the waveguide (4), the groove (3) is processed by a material removing method, and the fiber core (1) is required to be reserved, the surface of the fiber core (1) is rough, and the light guide effect is influenced.
The utility model provides an optical fiber internal integration's polymer echo wall resonant cavity structure that solidifies with femto second laser two-photon polymerization technique has the characteristics that the size is compact, the integrated level is high. The polymer has higher thermo-optic coefficient, and the optical fiber sensor of the polymer micro-ring echo wall resonant cavity can be used as a high-sensitivity temperature sensor; the polymer micro-ring echo wall resonant cavity optical fiber sensor can also be used as a humidity sensor because the polymer is easy to absorb moisture and expand. In addition to this, it can be used as a filter in a communication optical fiber.
It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of some, but not restrictive, of the broad invention, and that the appended drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. This application is capable of embodiments in many different forms and is provided for the purpose of enabling a thorough understanding of the disclosure of the application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present application may be practiced without modification or with equivalents of some of the features described in the foregoing embodiments. All equivalent structures made by using the contents of the specification and the drawings of the present application are directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields and are within the protection scope of the present application.