Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

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Optics & Laser Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/optlastec

Temperature and axial strain characteristic of cladding etched

single-mode ber based acousto-optic tunable lter
Chao Liu, Li Pei n, Yiqun Wang, Sijun Weng, Liangying Wu, Shaowei Yu
Key Laboratory of All Optical Network and Advanced Telecommunication Network of Ministry of Education, Institute of Lightwave Technology,
Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 20 April 2014
Received in revised form
9 July 2014
Accepted 14 July 2014
Available online 12 August 2014

The temperature and axial strain characteristic of the cladding etched single-mode ber based acoustooptic tunable lter (CE-SMF-AOTF) were described in the simulation and experiment. In the simulation,
the CE-SMF-AOTF had a linear wavelength shift response to the temperature and axial strain, and the
lter with small ber diameter was more sensitive to the temperature and axial strain than it with large
ber diameter. In the experiment, the temperature and axial strain characteristic of the CE-SMF-AOTF
with ber diameters of 39 m and 67 m were measured. The experimental results accorded well with
the simulated ones.
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Acousto-optic tunable lter
Temperature
Axial strain

1. Introduction
Optical lters are key components for optical communication
systems. Due to their tunable spectra, the lters can be used in
optical signal processing [1], wavelength selection [2] and optical
ampliers [3]. Currently, the common optical lters include ber
gratings [46], acousto-optic tunable lters (AOTFs) [2], Mach
Zehnder interferometer lters [7], FabryPerot lters [8] and so on.
Among these tunable lters, the AOTFs have the advantages of
wide tunable range, good switching speed, and easy electric
control. Particularly, all-ber AOTFs have good compatibility with
optical ber communication systems. Therefore, there is a lively
interest in the design of all-ber AOTFs to obtain tunable complex
spectra. In 1997, an all-ber AOTF based on single-mode ber
(SMF) was rst demonstrated by Kim et al. [9], and in order to
enhance the coupling efciency, Li et al. designed a cladding
etched SMF based AOTF (CE-SMF-AOTF) in 2002 [10]. Other types
of all-ber AOTFs are also proposed with the components such as
taper ber [11] and ber grating [12,13]. For the application of
these all-ber AOTFs, it is signicant to understand the effects of
various external perturbations such as temperature uctuation
and axial strain on the device performance. It is because the
temperature and axial strain characteristic of the lter largely
determine its packaging structure. There have been a few reports
on the axial strain characteristics of some all-ber AOTFs [1417].
In 2006, Li et al. analyzed the axial strain characteristic of the ber

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: lipei@bjtu.edu.cn (L. Pei).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2014.07.012
0030-3992/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

taper based AOTF [15], but the variation of the ber which is
induced by the strain, is negligible. In 2009, Lee et al. reported the
axial strain characteristic of SMF based AOTF by consideration of
the combination of acoustic and optical effects [16], but the
variation of the ber diameter has not been fully considered in
the analysis of this AOTF. To the best of our knowledge, no report
was appeared on the temperature characteristic of the CE-SMFAOTF.
In this paper, the temperature and axial strain characteristic of
the CE-SMF-AOTF with different ber diameters are demonstrated
in the simulation and experiment. In the simulation, the optical
resonant wavelength shift of the lter is explained by the combination of the acoustic and optical effect in the ber which are
signicantly affected by the temperature and axial strain. In the
experiment, the lter with different diameters are measured
under several temperatures and axial strains.

2. Operation of the CE-SMF-AOTF

As shown in Fig. 1, the CE-SMF-AOTF is composed of the
cladding-etched single mode ber, the silica horn and the PZT.
When the electrical signal is loaded on the PZT, the PZT vibrates up
and down, creating a exural acoustic wave in the ber. After
propagating over the acousto-optic (AO) interaction region where
the ber cladding is etched, the exural acoustic wave is absorbed
by the ber coating layer. The exural acoustic wave bends the
ber and changes the refractive index distribution of the ber,
periodically. When the ber is assumed to vibrate in the yz plane
(vertical plane), the change of the refractive index n can be

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C. Liu et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

expressed as [11]

nx; y; z n0 1

2
ka S0 y

cos ka z

where n0 is the effective local index, is the elasto-optic

contribution to the index change, ka 2 =a is the vector of the
acoustic wave, S0 is the amplitude of the exural acoustic wave,
and a is the acoustic wavelength.
The change of the refractive index in the ber causes the
coupling from the HE11 mode in the core to the HE21 mode in the
cladding at the resonant wavelength where the phase matching
condition is satised: the acoustic wavelength a should be the
same as the optical beat-length LB between the core mode HE11
and the cladding mode HE21 [14],
2
a LB
11  21

where 11 and 21 are the propagation constants of the core mode

HE11 and the cladding mode HE21, respectively.
Then the HE21 mode is absorbed by the ber coating layer,
giving rise to a wavelength notch in the transmission spectra. The
coupled mode equations between the HE11 mode and the HE21
mode can be given by [11]
dE11
dE21
iK s eis z E21 0;
iK s e  is z E11 0
dz
dz

where E11 and E21 are mode eld intensity of the HE11 mode and
the HE21 mode respectively, K s is the AO coupling coefcient, and
s 11  21 2 =a is a detuning parameter that is zero at the
optical resonant wavelength, respectively.

3. The temperature characteristic of the CE-SMF-AOTF

When the temperature of the CE-SMF-AOTF varies, the acoustic
wavelength a and the optical beat-length LB change, leading to
the shift of the optical resonant wavelength. In a cylindrical optical
ber, the ber diameter is much smaller than the acoustic
wavelength of lowest order exural acoustic wave. Therefore, the

frequency f a of the exural acoustic wave can be expressed as [16]

"

!#1=2

2 E a I a
2a T a
1 2
fa 2
4
S
4 E a I a

where Ea , I a , , S and T a are Young's modulus, the area moment of

inertia, the ber density, the cross-sectional area of the ber, and
the initial tension in the longitudinal direction of the ber,
respectively. When the temperature changes T, because the area
moment of inertia and the initial tension can be given by


d 4
l
Ia
; T a Ea S Ea ST;
5
l
4 2
respectively, the acoustic wavelength a of the lowest order
exural acoustic wave can be expressed as
v
s
u


2
u
C ext t
f a
a p
T T2
1 Td
6
C ext
2f a
where C ext is the speed of the acoustic wave in ber, f a is the
acoustic frequency, is the thermal expansion coefcient of the
ber, and d is the ber diameter. For silica, the values of C ext and
are about 5760 m/s and 5:5  10  7 =o C, respectively.
Based on Eq. (6), the relationship between the acoustic wavelength a and the ber diameter d can be obtained, as shown in
Fig. 2. In the simulation, the acoustic frequency f a is 0.9 MHz. The
graph shows that the acoustic wavelength decreases with the
decrease of the ber diameter, and when the temperature
increases, the acoustic wavelength also increases.
When the temperature changes T, the parameters of the ber
varies. According to the thermal expansion effect and thermooptic effect, the radius and refractive index of ber core and ber
cladding are changed as [18]:
for the ber core,
r co r co
0 1 T;

Fig. 2. Acoustic wavelength as a function of the ber diameter for three different
temperatures.

co

for the ber cladding,

r cl r cl
0 1 T;

ncl ncl
0 1 T;
cl

where
and
are the initial radius of the ber core and ber
cl
cladding, nco
0 and n0 are the initial refractive index of the ber core
co
cl
and ber cladding, and are the thermo-optic coefcient of
the ber core and ber cladding, respectively.
Fig. 3 shows the relationship between the effective refractive
index of the ber mode (HE11 and HE12) and the ber diameter d.
The calculation is based on Eqs. (7) and (8), and the characteristic
equation for the core mode and the cladding mode which are
obtained from the step-index ber geometry [19]. In the
r co
0

Fig. 1. The schematic for measurement of the CE-SMF-AOTF.

nco nco
0 1 T;

r cl
0

Fig. 3. The relationship between the effective refractive index of the ber mode
and the ber diameter for three different temperatures.

C. Liu et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

133

Fig. 4. The transmission spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for various temperatures. (a) the ber diameter d is 39 m, (b) the ber diameter d is 67 m.

Fig. 5. The optical resonant wavelength shift of the CE-SMF-AOTF as a function of

the temperature.

simulation, the parameter values are listed as: r co

0 4:1 m,
co
cl
6
cl
nco
, 7:80  10  6 . As
0 1:4682, n0 1:4631 8:06  10
shown in Fig. 3, in the same temperature, with the decrease of the
ber diameter d, the effective refractive index of the core mode
HE11 is constant while the effective refractive index of the cladding
mode HE12 decreases. Meanwhile, with the increase of the
temperature, the effective refractive index of the core mode HE11
and the cladding mode HE12 increase.
Fig. 4 illustrates the calculated transmission spectra of the CESMF-AOTF under various temperatures which can be obtained
from the coupled mode equations Eq. (3). In the calculation, the
acoustic frequency f a is 0.9 MHz, and because the AO coupling
coefcient in the smaller ber diameter should be higher [10], the
AO coupling coefcient K s with the d of 39 m is 0:84K 0 while the
AO coupling coefcient K s of the lter with the d of 67 m is
0:66K 0 , where K 0 is the characteristic coupling coefcient of the
lter when the core mode HE11 is completely coupled to the
cladding mode HE12. As shown in Fig. 4, when the temperature
increases, the optical resonant wavelength of the CE-SMF-AOTF
moves to the longer wavelength region. Comparing Fig. 4(a) with
Fig. 4(b), when T increases from 0 1C to 40 1C, the optical
resonant wavelength of the lter with the d of 39 m moves from
1660.22 nm to 1665.68 nm while the optical resonant wavelength
of the lter with the d of 67 m moves from 1740.93 nm to
1745.50 nm. It means that the optical resonant wavelength shifts
further in the smaller ber diameter which is also shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 plots the relationship between the optical resonant

wavelength shift and the variation of temperature T. The

graph shows that is proportional to T, and the slope of the
lter with d of 39 m is larger than the lter with d of 67 m
which means that the lter with small ber diameter is more
sensitive to the temperature than the lter with the large ber
diameter. Note that the  3 dB bandwidth of the CE-SMF-AOTF
with d of 39 m is larger than the one with d of 67 m. It is due to
the decrease of the ber diameter d [20].
The experimental measured spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for
several temperatures at xed acoustic frequency of 0.9 MHz, is
shown in Fig. 6. In Fig. 6, the lter with d of 39 m has a higher
transmissivity than the one with d of 67 m. When the temperature adds from 15 1C to 55 1C, the optical resonant wavelength of
the lter moves 5.68 nm and 4.81 nm towards long wavelength,
corresponding to d of 39 m and 67 m respectively. This variation trend is similar to Fig. 4. Fig. 7 plots the relationship between
the measured resonant wavelength shift of CE-SMF-AOTF and the
temperature. As shown in Fig. 7, the lter has a linear wavelength
shift response to the different temperatures. The slope between
the optical resonant wavelength and the temperature in the lter
with d of 39 m, is larger than the one in the lter with d of
67 m. Due to the linear response of the resonant wavelength to
the temperature, this lter also can be used as a temperature
sensor. Note that the notch depths of the AOTF are sensitive to the
variation of the temperature, which is similar to temperature
characteristic of the mechanically induced long-period ber grating [2123]. It is because the output strain of the PZT decreases
with the increase of the temperature [24,25], weakening the
amplitude of the exural acoustic wave S0 . As a result, the AO
coupling coefcient K s would reduce, resulting in the decrease in
the notch depths of the CE-SMF-AOTF.

4. The axial strain characteristic of the CE-SMF-AOTF

Similar to the temperature characteristic of the CE-SMF-AOTF,
when the axial strain is applied on the AO interaction region of the
AOTF, the optical resonant wavelength also changes, due to the
variation of the acoustic wavelength a and the optical beatlength LB . In the analysis, the axial strain is the tensile strain. Based
on
Eq. (4), the acoustic wavelength of the lowest order exural
acoustic wave under the axial strain can be expressed as
v
s
u


2
u
C ext t
f a
a p
2
1  d
9
C ext
2f a

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C. Liu et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

Fig. 6. The experimental measured spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for several temperatures. (a) the ber diameter d is 39 m, (b) the ber diameter d is 67 m.

Fig. 7. The relationship between the measured resonant wavelength shift and the
temperature. The line is the linear tting, and the triangle and the cross are the
experimental data.

Fig. 9. The relationship between the effective refractive index of the ber mode
and the ber diameter for three different axial strains.

When the axial strain is applied on the CE-SMF-AOTF, the

core and cladding of the ber become an anisotropic positive
uniaxial crystal whose optical axis is parallel to the ber's axis, and
the refractive indices of the transverse and longitudinal electric
elds in the ber would be different. According to the elasto-optic
effect, the transverse and longitudinal indices of the ber core and
ber cladding can be written as [26]:
for the ber core,
1 co3
1 co3
co
co
co
nco
t n0  n0 p12  p11 p12 ; nz n0  n0 p11  2p12
2
2
10
for the ber cladding,
1 cl3
1 cl3
cl
cl
cl
ncl
t n0  n0 p12  p11 p12 ; nz n0  n0 p11  2p12
2
2
Fig. 8. Acoustic wavelength as a function of the ber diameter for three different
axial strains.

where is Poisson's ration. For silica, the value of is 0.16. Fig. 8

shows the acoustic wavelength a as a function of the ber
diameter d under the axial strain of 0 , 450 , and 900 . In
the calculation, the value of acoustic frequency f a is also 0.9 MHz.
As shown in Fig. 8, the acoustic wavelength decreases with the
decrease of the ber diameter in the same axial strain, and the
acoustic wavelength also increases when the axial strain increases.

11
where p11 and p12 are the strain-optic coefcients. For silica, the
values of p11 and p12 are 0.113 and 0.252, respectively. In addition,
according to the Poisson effect, the radius of the ber core and
cladding would be changed as [26]
cl
cl
r co r co
0 1  ; r r 0 1 

12

Based on Eqs. (10)(12) and the characteristic equation for the

core mode and the cladding mode which are obtained from the
step-index uniaxial ber geometry [26], the relationship between

C. Liu et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

135

Fig. 10. The transmission spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for various axial strains. (a) the ber diameter d is 39 m, (b) the ber diameter d is 67 m.

Fig. 11. The optical resonant wavelength shift of the CE-SMF-AOTF as a function of
the axial strain.

the effective refractive index of the ber mode (HE11 and HE12) and
the ber diameter for three different axial strains can be shown in
cl
co
Fig. 9. In the calculation, the values of nco
0 , n0 , and r 0 are the same
as those applied in Fig. 3. In Fig. 9, with the decrease of the ber
diameter d, the effective refractive index of the core mode HE11 is
invariable while the effective refractive index of the cladding mode
HE12 decreases in the same axial strain. When the axial strain
increases, unlike the temperature-induced optical effect, the
effective refractive index of the core mode HE11 and the cladding
mode HE12 decrease.
Fig. 10 demonstrates the calculated transmission spectra of the
CE-SMF-AOTF under different axial strains which can be obtained
from the coupled mode equations Eq. (3). In the calculation, the
values of the acoustic frequency f a and the AO coupling coefcient
K s are the same as those applied in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 10,
similar to the temperature characteristic, the optical resonant
wavelength of the lter move to the longer wavelength region,
and the wavelength shift of the lter with small ber diameter is
more than the lter with large ber diameter. Fig. 11 shows the
optical resonant wavelength shift as a function of the axial
strain. It shows that is also proportional to the axial strain, and
the slope in the lter with d of 39 m is larger than the one in the
lter with d of 67 m. It means that the lter with small ber
diameter has a higher sensitivity to the axial strain than the lter
with the large ber diameter.
Fig. 12 plots the measured spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for
several axial strains at xed acoustic frequency of 0.9 MHz.

As shown in Fig. 12, with increase of the axial strain, the optical
resonant wavelength of the lter moves to the longer wavelength
region. When the axial strain increases from 0 to 900 , the
optical resonant wavelength of the lter with d of 39 m shifts
28.28 nm, which is larger than 10.58 nm of the lter with d of
67 m. This variation trend is also similar to Fig. 10. Noted that
unlike the temperature characteristic, the notch depths of the lter
are insensitive to the axial strain. It is because the acoustic energy
is not affected by the axial strain, and therefore the AO coupling
efciency in the ber can remains constant [16]. The measured
optical resonant wavelength shift is shown in Fig. 13 as a function
of the axial strain. The optical resonant wavelength of the lter is
proportional to the axial strain, as expected from Fig. 11, and the
slope between the optical resonant wavelength and the axial
strain in the lter with d of 39 m, is larger than the one in the
lter with d of 67 m. Due to the highly linear response of the
resonant wavelength to the axial strain and good reproducibility,
the axial strain can be used in the tuning the optical resonant
wavelength, instead of changing the acoustic frequency.

5. Conclusions
The temperature and axial strain characteristic of the CE-SMFAOTF are demonstrated and analyzed in the simulation and
experiment. The temperature and axial strain which are applied
in the lter, changing both acoustic and optical properties of the
ber, result in the optical resonant wavelength shift of the lter.
Based on the coupled mode equations of the lter, the transmission spectra of the lter with the ber diameter d of 39 m and
67 m under different temperatures and axial strains are simulated. According to the simulation results, the optical resonant
wavelength of the lter moves to the longer wavelength region
when the temperature or axial strain increase, and the optical
resonant wavelength shift is proportional to the variation of the
temperature or axial strain. The slope between the optical resonant wavelength and the temperature or axial strain increases
with decrease of the ber diameter, which means the lter with
small ber diameter is more sensitive to the temperature or axial
strain than the lter with large ber diameter. In the experiment,
the transmission spectra of the lter with the ber diameter d of
39 m and 67 m under different temperatures and axial strains
are measured. When the temperature adds from 15 1C to 55 1C, the
optical resonant wavelength adds 5.68 nm in the lter with d of
39 m, which is larger than 4.81 nm in the one with d of 67 m;
and when the axial strain increases from 0 to 900 , the
optical resonant wavelength of the lter with d of 39 m shifts

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C. Liu et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 65 (2015) 131136

Fig. 12. The experimental measured spectra of the CE-SMF-AOTF for several axial strains. (a) the ber diameter d is 39 m, (b) the ber diameter d is 67 m.

Fig. 13. The relationship between the measured resonant wavelength shift and the
axial strain. The line is the linear tting, and the triangle and the cross are the
experimental data.

28.28 nm, which is larger than 10.58 nm of the lter with d of

67 m. The variation trend of experimental results accord well
with the simulated ones. These research results can be applied in
the designing the packing structure of the CE-SMF-AOTF, and used
as the temperature or strain sensor.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds
for the Central Universities (No. 2014YJS028).
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