Journal of Physics: Conference Series

OPEN ACCESS You may also like

- Glass beads and Ge-doped optical fibres
Observation of axial acoustic waves in multimode as thermoluminescence dosimeters for
small field photon dosimetry
PMMA optical fibres and implications for a new S M Jafari, A I Alalawi, M Hussein et al.

- Quenching-free fluorescence signal from

class of optical fibre sensor plastic-fibres in proton dosimetry:
understanding the influence of erenkov
radiation
To cite this article: A D Ernest and D W Lamb 2005 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 15 270 Jeppe Brage Christensen, Erik Almhagen,
Håkan Nyström et al.

- Waveguidance by the photonic bandgap

effect in optical fibres
Jes Broeng, Thomas Søndergaard, Stig E
View the article online for updates and enhancements. Barkou et al.

This content was downloaded from IP address 220.233.193.34 on 09/11/2023 at 10:06

Institute of Physics Publishing Journal of Physics: Conference Series 15 (2005) 270–275
doi:10.1088/1742-6596/15/1/045 Sensors & their Applications XIII

Observation of axial acoustic waves in multimode PMMA

optical fibres and implications for a new class of optical fibre
sensor

A D Ernest and D W Lamb1

Physics and Electronics, School of Biological, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences,

University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
E-mail: dlamb@une.edu.au

Abstract. Observations of axial acoustic waves in multimode polymethylmethacrylate

(PMMA) optical fibres are reported. Rapid electrostriction was induced in a 1.25 m length of
PMMA optical fibre using a pulsed transverse electric field of ~106 V m-1. By observing the
effects of birefringence on a polarised laser beam, acoustic waves travelling with a speed of
1050 m s-1 were observed to travel between the fibre ends. Simple calculations indicate that
these acoustic waves comprised shear waves, although propagation of surface waves could not
be ruled out. The implications of these observations in terms of a new class of optical fibre
sensors based on the propagation of axial acoustic waves are also discussed.

1. Introduction
Optical fibres have attracted much interest as intrinsic sensors as they are small in diameter (~100 µm
– 1 mm), are dielectric, are chemically and physically robust and, as they carry radiation rather than
electric current, are impervious to electromagnetic interference [1]. The electro-optical characteristics
of optical fibres are attracting interest for reasons ranging from the design of electro-optic phase
modulators, to their application as intrinsic electric field sensors to understanding inter-pulse
interactions. One particular electro-optic mechanism is electrostriction; the process where the density
of a material increases in response to the intensity of an external electric field [2]. This in turn, via the
elasto-optic effect, results in a proportional change in refractive index of the material. Electrostriction
induced by rapidly-changing electric fields can produce acoustic waves and these result in unwanted
resonance effects. Electrostriction, and their unwanted acoustic interference can be generated
externally, by the application of time-varying external electric fields [3, 4], or arise internally, for
example by the electric field variations associated with propagating radiation itself [5]. Work to date
has concentrated on the radially-propagating acoustic waves resulting from electrostriction as these are
responsible for the interference effects described earlier. The response times for such density changes
is ~1 ns. The acoustic waves propagate, at the speed of sound out to the core-cladding boundary and
create echoes as they reflect back towards the core [6]. This is primarily the result of an acoustic
impedance mismatch between the silica cladding and the polymer jacketing material that surrounds the
fibre. The damping time of vibrational eigenmodes of the resulting resonances has been observed to be
~100 ns [2]. It has been claimed that appropriate treatment of the jacket to reduce this mismatch may
be one means of reducing unwanted acoustic resonances [7].

1
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed

© 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd 270

 271

Electrostriction in optical fibres should also generate axial acoustic waves, waves travelling along
the length of the fibre. We propose that the speed of these acoustic waves, and hence axial resonances
that result, could be used as the basis of an optical fibre sensor itself, and unlike phase or polarisation-
based sensors that require complex optical trains and often expensive fibres and couplers, require the
use of only multimode fibres that are susceptible to electrostriction.
In this paper we report on a series of simple experiments that allow observation of axial acoustic
waves in a length of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) optical fibre and briefly discuss how this
phenomenon could be used as the basis of a new class of optical fibre sensors.

2. Materials and methods

The optical fibre used in this investigation was unjacketed, multimode, step-index PMMA fibre
with a core diameter of 250 µm, and an overall diameter with cladding 265 µm (LG265-48, Regal
Lighting Systems, NSW Australia). The exact nature of the cladding of this step-index fibre is
protected by the manufacturer for commercial reasons, although it is likely to be fluoropolymer [8].
This fibre was selected on the basis that it is inexpensive and easy to acquire.
A schematic diagram of the apparatus used in this investigation is shown in Figure 1. Polarised
radiation from an 8.6 mW He-Ne laser (Uniphase, Model 1135P, CA USA) was directed through a ¼-
wave plate (Newport, Irvine CA USA) inclined at 45° to the electric field axis of the laser beam. The
circularly-polarised beam was then passed through a polarising prism (Newport, Irvine CA USA) and
the polarised radiation was coupled into a 1.25 m length of multimode PMMA optical fibre using a
precision optical coupler (incl. 20x objective, M-F-91TS, Newport, Irvine CA USA). The purpose of
the polarising prism was to facilitate variation of the polarisation angle of the input laser radiation
without perturbing the optical fibre. Laser radiation emerging from the fibre was directed through a
second polarising beam splitter (analyser) onto a photodetector (Type 882 Photosensor & 1815-C
Powermeter, Newport Irvine CA USA) connected to a high-speed digital storage oscilloscope (LeCroy
9400, Switzerland).
The electrostrictive pulse was applied to the PMMA fibre using a pair of parallel-plate electrodes
separated by 0.8 mm. The PMMA fibre was coiled into a flat circular spiral of diameter ranging from
5.5 to 6.0 cm and sandwiched between two closely spaced parallel-plate electrodes in an open-air
stainless steel high-voltage chamber. The coiled PMMA fibre was attached to a 0.1 mm polyester
backing sheet (MylarTM, DuPont, VA USA) using several 5 mm x 2 mm sections of adhesive tape. The
purpose of the Mylar sheet was two-fold; to support the spiralled fibre and to prevent electrical
breakdown of the air-gap between the two parallel plates. Rapid square-wave pulses were applied
across the electrode gap using a 0-3 kV power supply (Burton, Model 215, NY USA) connected to a
high-voltage transistor (NPN BU205) and a signal generator (Wavetech, Model 142, CA USA). The
voltage could be switched on and off in the frequency range of 0.01 – 1000 Hz. As the voltage was
applied across a parallel-plate gap of 0.8 mm, the resulting electric field could be varied between 0 and
3.75 x 106 V m-1, although due to limitations in the breakdown voltage of the transistor, pulsed fields
were limited to 1.9 x 106 V m-1 An example of the pulsed voltage waveform is given in Figure 2.
 272

10 MΩ BU205
Power
supply
1500 V 1 kΩ
600kΩ Mylar Coiled
Objective
spacer PMMA
lens (20x) laser
in fib
Polarising
prism
laser
¼ wave out
Mylar
plate Electrode backing
Polarising prism
sheet

Experimental chamber
HeNe laser
Pulse Power meter Airflow
generator A heater
Thermocouple
Ch 1
LeCroy 9400
Trigger averaging DSO Ch 2 High voltage probe
(1000:1)

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of experimental apparatus

3. Results and discussion

The multimode PMMA fibres do not preserve the polarisation state of an input laser beam because of
random birefringence in the fibre core. Figure 3 illustrates the effect of fibre length on the preservation
of polarisation in the fibre. In this figure, the intensity of emerging radiation was plotted as a function
of transmission axis of the analyser and fibre length was progressively reduced from 60 cm to 7 cm.
For fibre lengths >50 cm the emerging radiation is effectively unpolarised.

Fibre
Ratio of maximum to minimum output

length
Electrode potential difference (V)

57 cm
6 37 cm
400 27 cm
17 cm
~10 µs 4 7 cm

200
0.7 ms
2
0
0 10
Time (ms)
0
0 50 100 150 200
Input polarisation angle (° )

Figure 2 An example of the high voltage Figure 3 Degree of polarisation (specified as

switching pulse used to generate the ratio of maximum to minimum power output) of
electric field on the PMMA fibre. laser beam emerging from PMMA fibre as a
function of fibre length
 273

Prior to application of the pulsed electric field, the transmission axes of the polariser and analyser
were set at +45o and – 45 o, respectively to the electric field of the chamber. On application of the
pulsed electric field, the intensity of the light at the photodetector was observed to change as shown in
Figure 4. The magnitude of the electro-optic response in Figure 4(a) is ~0.08 µW, superimposed on an
average output power level of 3.0 µW. These traces were obtained by averaging over a period of 5
seconds, corresponding to approximately 15 individual traces. Furthermore, the nature of the detected
response was observed to cycle over time, through a positive step function (figure 4(a)) to a null trace
(figure 4(b) to a negative step function (figure 4(c) to a null trace (figure 4(d)) and so on. Such cycles
were observed to occur over a time scale varying from tens of seconds to hours. At this stage the exact
mechanism of this cycling remains unclear, however it is suspected that ambient temperature
fluctuations may be a contributing factor.

0.04
Relative light output power (µW)

-0.04 (a) (b)

0 140 0 140
Time (ms) Time (ms)
0 140 0 140
0.04

-0.04 HV on HV off (c) (d)

Figure 4 Time-varying laser power output, as measured at the analyser, in response to application of
electric field pulses of 1.9 x 106 V m-1at a frequency of 9.0 Hz

Notwithstanding the fact that the ‘polarity’ and amplitude of the observed step functions changed in
time, the ringing is the most significant other feature of all the traces. Although particularly prominent
following switching off the field, ringing during the “field on” half-cycle yields traces of greater
consistency. For the 1.25 m length of PMMA fibre, the ringing oscillations exhibited a period of 3.4
ms with an approximate decay-time constant (that is decay of amplitude to 1/e of the maximum value)
of 17 ms. This period and decay constant are approximately 5 orders of magnitude larger than those
attributed to radially-propagating acoustic waves [2]. We propose that this ringing is produced by end-
to-end reflections axial acoustic waves travelling along the optical fibre. This is further evidenced by
the two traces of Figure 5, acquired using two different lengths of PMMA fibre. A smaller oscillation
period exists for the shorter fibre length. Also evident in the traces of figure 5 is the complicating fact
that there is often more than one acoustic mode present. Indeed, it was found that the condition of the
cut at either end of the fibre had a significant influence on the quality of the oscillations observed. This
is consistent with the notion that the reflection of acoustic waves at the fibre ends is critically
dependent on the edge-conditions. This complication creates some ambiguity and requires careful
analysis when identifying the equivalent mode for various fibre lengths, since various modes are
enhanced depending on the conditions.
274

Figure 6 is a plot of oscillation period as a function of fibre length. The obvious outlying data point
in figure 6 is likely to be the result of interference between vibrational modes resulting in an incorrect
identification of a particular mode. Ignoring this outlier, and if we assume the acoustic mode we are
observing is the fundamental mode of vibration, then the slope of this curve yields a speed of
propagation of the acoustic disturbance of 1050 m s-1.
The acoustic waves observed in this fibre are most likely to be either bulk longitudinal P-waves or
shear/transverse S-waves. The speeds of the P- and S-waves in PMMA can be calculated using
Y S
vP = and v P = , respectively, where Y is the Young’s modulus, S is the shear modulus and
ρ ρ
ρ is the density of PMMA. Using typical values of Y, S and ρ for PMMA (66.9 x 109 Pa, 25.5 x 109 Pa
and 2.52 x 103 kg m-3, respectively [9]), values for the speeds of P- and S-waves are 2.65 x 103 m s-1
and 1.01 x 103 m s-1. There is also the possibility that surface, elliptical Rayleigh R-waves or Love L-
waves may be excited in the fibre at the core-cladding boundary. The R and L waves are dispersive,
but in bulk materials are often observed to have the same order of magnitude of speed as S waves
([10],[11]). It is possible that these waves are also contributing to the observed acoustic vibrations and
a detailed investigation of modes and waveform types is now in progress.

4.0

Fibre length
1/oscillation frequency (ms)
Relative output light power

1.25 cm
1.25
0.75 cm
0.75
(arb. units)

3.0

2.0
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
0 20 40 Fibre length (m)

Time (ms)

Figure 5 Comparison of “ringing” in temporal Figure 6 Variation in oscillation period of

curves for different fibre lengths. Signals are “ringing” with fibre length. Electric field pulses =
averaged over 5 seconds (approximately 15 1.9 x 106 V m-1at a frequency of 9.0 Hz.
traces) and applied electric field pulses = 1.9 x
106 V m-1at a frequency of 9.0 Hz.

Notwithstanding the preliminary nature of these results, the concept of an intrinsic optical fibre
sensor based on perturbations to axial acoustic wave propagation in fibres themselves is novel. Any
external environment that alters the propagation speed of the acoustic waves in the fibres would alter
the nature of the ringing observed in the radiation signal. For example, axial acoustic-wave fibre
sensors (AAWFS) could conceivably be employed as sensors of external pressure, temperature, strain
or even sonic sensors. Furthermore, the reliance of the acoustic reflection properties of the fibre ends
also offers potential for applications in measuring acoustic impedances of liquid media.

4. Conclusion
This paper reports on observations of axial acoustic waves, generated using electrostrictive pulses,
in a length on multimode PMMA optical fibre. Observed resonances exhibited an oscillation period of
~1 ms and a decay time of ~10 ms. From measurements of oscillation period as a function of fibre
 275

length, the speed of the acoustic waves was observed to be 1050 m s-1, indicating that they constituted
shear waves, although the possibility of boundary R and L- waves at the core-cladding interface has
yet to be ruled out.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the technical support of the Faculty of the Sciences Engineering
Workshop, in particular Messrs Andrew Gasbarri and Allan Rummery for construction of the high-
voltage apparatus, and the electronics support provided by Mr Graham Hyde (Division of Physics &
Electronics, UNE) and Mr Graham Cooper (Division of Physics & Electronics, UNE).

References
[1] Culshaw B and Dakin J 1989 Optical Fiber Sensors Volume 2: Systems and applications
(Artech House: London) 799 pp.
[2] Townsend P D, Poustie A J, Hardman P J and Blow K J 1996 Measurement of the refractive
index modulation generated by electrostriction-induced acoustic waves in optical fibres Optics Letters
21 333-8.
[3] Long X-C, Myers R A and Brueck S R J 1994 Measurement of the linear electro-optic
coefficient in poled amorphous silica Optics Letters 19 1819-21.
[4] Liu A C, Digonnet M J F and Kino G S 2001 Measurement of the dc Kerr and electrostrictive
phase modulation in silica Journal of the Optical Society of America B 18 187-94.
[5] Melloni A, Frasca M, Garaglia A, Tonini A and Martinelli M 1998 Direct measurement of
electrostriction in optical fibers Optics Letters 23 691-3.
[6] Hardman P J, Townsend P D, Poustie A J and Blow K J 1996 Experimental investigation of
resonance enhancement of the acoustic interaction of optical pulses in an optical fiber Optics Letters
21 393-5.
[7] Buckland E L and Boyd R W 1997 Measurement of the frequency response of the
electrostrictive nonlinearity in optical fibres Optics Letters 22 676-78.
[8] Merchant D F, Scully P J and Schmitt N F 1999 Chemical tapering of polymer optical fibre
Sensors and Actuators 76 365–71.
[9] http://www.camd.lsu.edu/msds/p/polymethylmethacrylate.htm, accessed 7th May, 2005.
[10] http://www.geoforum.com/knowledge/texts/bodare/viewpage.asp?PageID=4&Lang=Eng,
accessed 7th May, 2005.
[11] http://www.uwm.edu/~bketter/Research/Surface_Theory/Surface.html, accessed 7th May,
2005.