PASSIVE AND ACTIVE FIBER OPTIC COMPONENTS (FIBER COUPLERS, MULTIPLEXERS, CRYSTAL FIBERS)

This thesis is concerned with the development and characterization of both passive and active fiber-optic components for applications in single-mode fiber systems, in particular in the new technology of fiber sensors and signal processors. These components include single-mode fiber directional couplers, vital to many optical fiber systems, all-fiber wavelength multiplexers, with potential applications in communication systems and active fiber devices, and single-crystal fiber lasers and amplifiers as miniature light sources and signal regenerators.; The fiber directional couplers involved in this work, fabricated by a polishing process, are described in detail. Experimental characterization of their coupling, loss and unique tuning properties, and their respective dependence on the coupler geometrical parameters, are reported. A theoretical model of fiber-to-fiber coupling is also developed and shown to be a very useful and accurate tool in the design and study of this type of fiber couplers.; The dependence of the coupling properties of fiber couplers on the signal wavelength is studied both theoretically and experimentally for applications in wavelength division multiplexing. All-fiber multiplexers exhibiting a good wavelength selectivity and unique tunability are described and shown to operate according to the coupler model.; Work on active fiber devices explores the potential of the new technology of single-crystal fibers grown by the laser-heated floating-zone technique. The status of crystal fiber growth is reported, together with the basic physical and optical characteristics of these fibers. A theoretical model of the effects of fiber model structure on the gain and laser operation of active fibers is also developed to predict the performance of lasers and amplifiers in a fiber form. Several conceptual pumping schemes are described which offer solutions to the difficult problem of optically pumping small diameter fiber amplifiers. The experimental characterization of high-gain Nd:YAG fiber pulse amplifiers and cw fiber lasers operating at 1064 nm is also reported in detail. These measurements demonstrate the potential of crystal fibers as efficient active devices. Their dominant loss mechanism is identified as propagation loss due to fiber diameter variations, and means of reducing the current loss level are discussed.