10480 Vol. 57, No.

36 / 20 December 2018 / Applied Optics Research Article

Bi-fiber quasi-axis probe for photonic Doppler

velocimetry for shock physics experiments
DETIAN WANG,* JIANHUA MENG, JIANHUA TIAN, LIGUO ZHU, QIXIAN PENG, ZEREN LI, AND JIANHENG ZHAO
Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan Province 621900, China
*Corresponding author: wdt_abcd@163.com

Received 17 September 2018; revised 16 November 2018; accepted 19 November 2018; posted 19 November 2018 (Doc. ID 346063);
published 14 December 2018

Photonic Doppler velocimetry (PDV) has become a major domain velocity measurement technique for shock
physics experiments. In this study, we propose and validate a bi-fiber quasi-axis probe for PDV that consists
of a multimode source fiber and a single-mode detection fiber. This structure makes the received light by
the probe totally reflected or scattered from the target, and, therefore, is free from the influence of unwanted
return light. The light-receiving efficiency of the probe was calculated by the Monte Carlo method and was va-
lidated by static experiment. We validate that the feasibility of probe by dynamic experiments with measurement
depth up to 6 cm. Above all, the bi-fiber quasi-axis probe is a promising supplementary probe for PDV for shock
physics experiments. © 2018 Optical Society of America
https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.57.010480

1. INTRODUCTION
In the last decade, photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV) has be-
come a widely-used velocity measurement technique for shock
physics experiments where velocities up to several kilometers
per second have to be measured accurately, robustly, and
quickly [1–4]. The principle of PDV is that the frequency-
shifted signal light reflected or scattered from the moving target
interferes with the original reference light from the laser source,
and the beat frequency of interference signal is proportional to
the velocity of the moving target. There are various types of
probe for PDV measurements. One type is the bare single-
mode fiber itself [5,6]. Since the bare single-mode fiber has
a large divergent angle and small core diameter (∼8.2 μm),
the receiving efficiency of light is very low. In order to obtain
higher receiving efficiency, the common type of probe is a
single-mode fiber coupled with a gradient index (GRIN) lens.
The GRIN probe has a much smaller divergent angle and larger
effective receiving area than the single-mode fiber itself, which
is helpful in obtaining much higher receiving efficiency. One
type of GRIN probe has custom specific return loss from the
end face of the GRIN lens [1]; hence the return loss light can
be thought of as reference light. The PDV with this type of
probe has simple structure but the unchangeable optical inten-
sity of reference light. The other type of GRIN probe has little
return loss [3], and the reference light is from a very small frac-
tion of laser source by fiber coupler. In this case, the reference
light can be adjusted by fiber attenuator to match with the sig-
nal light to obtain a suitable amplitude of the interference sig-
nal. Although the current probes are robust to measure velocity,
one problem is still in the way. That is, we cannot monitor the
exact optical intensity of signal light reflected or scattered from
the target. The heart fiber optic component of PDV is a three-
port fiber circulator characterized by a property that light in-
jected into port 1 would be emitted out into port 2 and light
injected into port 2 would be emitted out into port 3. This
property causes the probe of PDV, which is connected to
port 2, to emit and collect light from the target through the
same fiber. This structure makes all unwanted return light from
the three-port circular interfaces, the fiber connection interfa-
ces, and the probe end faces involved in the interference signal.
In practice, shocking the target intentionally before shock phys-
ics experiments is the best alternative way to check the intensity
of signal light. The high amplitude of interference signal means
the high optical intensity of signal light. However, shocking the
transmission fiber is often used as a compromise method be-
cause the target cannot be shocked. In this case, the amplitude
of interference is not only related to the signal light but also
related to all unwanted light from interfaces and end faces
of PDV; therefore, optical intensity of signal light cannot be
evaluated, and the quality of interference signal is not secured.
Mercier et al. modified the VISAR probe, consisting of two
fibers coupled with lens as the PDV probe to measure velocity
[4]; however, the light of source laser may cross talk into the
detection fiber by the surface of the lens. Chen et al. proposed
multiple GRIN probes to measure transverse velocity [7], of
which the detection fiber receives light totally reflected or
scattered from the target, but the measurement depth is
only within 2 mm. In order to make the PDV free from the

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