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    Bunimovich Stadium-like Microsphere for Randomized Fiber Laser Operation
    (Basel : MDPI, 2018) Silveira, Beatriz; Gomes, André D.; Becker, Martin; Schneidewind, Henrik; Frazão, Orlando
    A silica resonator was demonstrated for random laser generation. The resonator consisted of a conventional microsphere fabricated in an optical fiber tip through electric arc discharge, and modifications to its geometry were carried out to create asymmetry inside the silica structure. The resulting Bunimovich stadium-like microsphere promotes multiple reflections with the boundaries, following the stochastic properties of dynamic billiards. The interference of the multiple scattered beams generates a random signal whose intensity was increased by sputter-coating the microstadium with a gold thin film. The random signal is amplified using an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) in a ring cavity configuration with feedback, and lasing is identified as temporal and spectral random variations of the signal between consecutive measurements.
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    A Brief Review of New Fiber Microsphere Geometries
    (Basel : MDPI, 2018-7-11) Delgado Gomes, André; Silva Monteiro, Catarina; Silveira, Beatriz; Frazão, Orlando
    A brief review of new fiber microsphere geometries is presented. Simple microspheres working as Fabry–Perot cavities are interrogated in reflection and in transmission. Two microspheres were also spliced together, and subjected to different physical parameters. These structures are an alternative solution for load measurement and, when read in transmission, it is also possible to apply strain. Moreover, the structure is capable of being used under extreme ambient temperatures up to 900 °C. Random signal in cleaved microspheres was demonstrated with the possibility of using it for random laser or sensing applications. All this work was developed at the Centre for Applied Photonics, INESC TEC.
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    Multimode Fabry-Perot Interferometer Probe based on Vernier Effect for Enhanced Temperature Sensing
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019) Gomes, André D.; Becker, Martin; Dellith, Jan; Zibaii, Mohammad Ismail; Latifi, Hamid; Rothhardt, Manfred; Bartelt, Hartmut; Frazão, Orlando
    New miniaturized sensors for biological and medical applications must be adapted to the measuring environments and they should provide a high measurement resolution to sense small changes. The Vernier effect is an effective way of magnifying the sensitivity of a device, allowing for higher resolution sensing. We applied this concept to the development of a small-size optical fiber Fabry–Perot interferometer probe that presents more than 60-fold higher sensitivity to temperature than the normal Fabry–Perot interferometer without the Vernier effect. This enables the sensor to reach higher temperature resolutions. The silica Fabry–Perot interferometer is created by focused ion beam milling of the end of a tapered multimode fiber. Multiple Fabry–Perot interferometers with shifted frequencies are generated in the cavity due to the presence of multiple modes. The reflection spectrum shows two main components in the Fast Fourier transform that give rise to the Vernier effect. The superposition of these components presents an enhancement of sensitivity to temperature. The same effect is also obtained by monitoring the reflection spectrum node without any filtering. A temperature sensitivity of −654 pm/°C was obtained between 30 °C and 120 °C, with an experimental resolution of 0.14 °C. Stability measurements are also reported.