title: Spectral tuning of a locally bent microfiber taper interferometer with a nanosized liquid crystal overlay.
abstract: In this paper, the tuning characteristics of locally bent microfiber taper covered with a nanosized high-refractive-index liquid crystal (LC) layer under different temperatures and electric field intensities have been theoretically analyzed and experimentally investigated. A locally bent microfiber taper interferometer with a waist diameter of ∼3.72  μm is fabricated by using the flame brushing technique, followed by bending the transition region of the taper to form a modal interferometer and later by placing a ∼200  nm LC layer over the uniform taper waist region. Experimental results indicate that a high-efficiency thermal or electric tuning of an LC-coated locally bent microfiber taper interferometer could be achieved. This suggests a potential application of this device as tunable all-fiber photonic devices, such as filters, modulators, and sensing elements.
authors.forename: Haimei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Changjing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yinghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zehua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Xianping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang