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In this work a simple and compact fiber optic sensor based on an overcoupled tapered fiber coupler is studied. The coupler is fabricated to be operated well beyond the initial coupling cycles, where the rapid exchange of energy between outputs ports enable the fabrication of a highly sensitive device. The suitability and sensitivity of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by measuring refractive index (RI) variations of sugar concentrations in water. The device presents a linear response in terms of power transmission or wavelength shift versus RI changes. The best achieved sensitivity is 0.442 units of normalized transmission per unit of sugar concentration, with a noise detection limit of 0.003 weight percent of sugar concentration (wt %). From this result the minimum detectable RI change is estimated as 5 × 10 −6 refractive index unit (RIU). The sensor can be also wavelength-encoded, exhibiting a sensitivity of 2,171 nm/RIU, maintaining a linear response in a large range of RI. These experimental results are within the best results reported in the framework of fiber couplers and modal interferometers based RI sensors.

Narrowband filtering based on whispering gallery modes of a slightly tapered cylindrical optical microresonator was used to implement a tunable narrowband erbium-doped fiber laser. The laser can be set to emit a single longitudinal cavity mode (single frequency), although the laser cavity is a few meters long. In the single-frequency regime the laser can emit a maximum power of 0.380 mW with a linewidth <35 kHz and a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 50 dB. Tunability is achieved by sliding the excitation point along the microcylinder. A tuning range of 1.16 nm is demonstrated.

Active mode-locking of long-cavity all-fiber ring laser based on broad bandwidth in-fiber acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is reported. The proposed AOM combines the advantages of intermodal coupling induced by standing flexural acoustic waves in a double-ended tapered fiber. We focus our attention on the effects of large tapered transitions to improve the bandwidth modulation. Our approach permits the implementation of broad modulation bandwidth (13 nm), high modulation depth (50 %), and low optical loss (1.1 dB) in an 80-lm configuration. The effects of the AOM in the laser performance are also investigated. Transform-limit optical pulses of 25 ps temporal width and 2.7 W peak power were obtained at 2.46 MHz repetition rate.

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