The aim of this work was to induce permanent birefringence both in typical liquid crystal cells and photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) by photo-polymerization. For this purpose three different liquid crystalline materials, namely E7, 5CB, and 6CHBT were combined with a mixture of RM257 monomer and a UV sensitive initiator with the percentage weight less than 10%. Due to the photo-polymerization process it was possible to achieve polymer-stabilized liquid crystal orientation inside LC cells and micro-sized cylindrical glass tubes. In particular, periodic change in spatial molecular orientation was achieved by selective photo-polymerization. Successful results obtained in these simple geometries allowed for the experimental procedure to be repeated in PCFs leading to locally-induced permanent birefringence in PCFs.

Distributed measurement often relies on sensor networks. In this paper, we present the construction of low-coherence fiber-optic Fabry–Pérot sensors connected into a quasi-distributed network. We discuss the mechanism of spectrum modulation in this type of sensor and the constraints of assembly of such sensors in the network. Particular attention was paid to separate the signals from individual sensors which can be achieved by cavity length-based addressing. We designed and built a laboratory model of a temperature sensors network. The employed sensors are low-coherence Fabry–Pérot interferometric sensors in a fiberoptics configuration. The extrinsic sensor cavity utilizes the thermal expansion of ceramics, and the sensors are addressed by the different lengths of the cavities. The obtained test results showthat the signal components from each sensor can be successfully separated, and the number of sensors could be expanded depending on the FWHM of the light source.

This paper focuses on automatic locking of tracking filters used in optical frequency transfer systems. General concept of such a system is briefly described and the problems with its automatic startup, originating in the use of the analog phase locked loop to filter weak, received signal, are discussed. A supervisory circuitry and algorithm to solve these problems is proposed. The frequency of the signal to be filtered is measured indirectly and the output frequency of the tracking filter is monitored. In the case of lack of synchronism (i:e: after the startup) a significant difference of these frequencies is measured and the supervisory algorithm forces the filter to tune into the right frequency and then allows it to synchronize. A system with the proposed solution was implemented and tested experimentally on a fiber optic link with high attenuation and multiple optical connectors. Transient signals during locking were recorded to investigate the system’s behavior in real environment. The system was evaluated in the link causing synchronization losses every 17 min on average. During measurements over 3 days, the whole system was synchronized for over 99.98% of time despite these difficult conditions.

This paper deals with an issue of a rotational motion impact on a construction and presents civil engineering applications of a fiber optic rotational seismograph named Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring. It has been designed for a long- term building monitoring and structural rotations’ recording. It is based on the Sagnac effect which enables to detect one-axis rotational motion in a direct way and without any reference system. It enables to detect a rotation component in the wide range of a signal amplitude from 10-8 rad/s to 10 rad/s, as well as a frequency from DC to 1000 Hz. Data presented in this paper show the behavior of a reinforced concrete frame construction on different floors. Several measurements were carried out by placing the applied sensor on different floor levels of a building. The laboratory and in-situ measurements confirmed that Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring is an accurate and suitable device for applications in civil engineering.

This paper investigates the noise levels present at various points in the FOSREM type fiber optic seismograph. The main aim of this research was to discover magnitudes of noise, introduced by various components of the analog and optical circuits of the device. First, the noise present in the electronic circuit without any optics connected is measured. Further experiments show noise levels including the detector diode not illuminated and illuminated. Additional tests were carried out to prove the necessity of analog circuitry shielding. All measurements were repeated using three powering scenarios which investigated the influence of power supply selection on noise. The results show that the electronic components provide a sufficient margin for the use of an even more precise detector diode. The total noise density of the whole device is lower than 4⋅10−7 rad/(s√Hz). The use of a dedicated Insulating Power Converter as a power supply shows possible advantages, but further experiments should be conducted to provide explicit thermic confirmation of these gains.

An interferometric structure based on a Dual-Resonance Long-Period Grating (DRLPG) within a Fiber Loop Mirror (FLM) is presented in this paper. Its purpose is to measure the refractive index (RI) of liquid analytes. The grating is the RI sensing probe, while the FLM serves as a band-pass filter. Due to the high extinction ratio of the FLM, amplitude measurements can be obtained, allowing implementation of the differential interrogation method to establish the sensitivity of the device. The use of a polarization controller makes it possible to fine-tune the interferometric peaks with respect to the two notches of the DRLPG. Precisely aligned configuration produces a maximum sensitivity of 3871.5 dB/RIU within the RI range of 1.3333 up to 1.3419 with linear sensor response.