See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/253554280

Biophotonic applications of optical communication devices

Article  in  Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering · May 2008
DOI: 10.1117/12.779945

CITATIONS READS
0 1,314

2 authors:

Gerd Keiser Fu-Jen Kao

Boston University National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
91 PUBLICATIONS   2,674 CITATIONS    282 PUBLICATIONS   2,536 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Focus on Microscopy conferences View project

Polarization-resolved stimulated emission pump-probe microscopy View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Fu-Jen Kao on 13 August 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Biophotonic applications of optical communication devices
Gerd Keiser*a and Fu-Jen Kaob
a
Dept of Electronic Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology,
43 Keelung Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 106 Taiwan
b
Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang Ming University,
155 Li-Nong St., Sec. 2, Taipei 112 Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in technology have spawned a rapidly growing use of photonic systems for life sciences related clinical
and research applications. Many of these biomedical applications are using selections of passive and active optical
components that were developed for optical fiber communication systems over the past two decades. This paper
describes how the unique physical characteristics and light-transmission properties of various passive optical components
developed for telecommunications address some of the basic challenges of photonic applications in the life sciences.

Key words: biophotonics, optical components, passive devices, fiber optics

1. INTRODUCTION

The extensive activities involved with developing optical fiber telecommunication systems over the past two
decades has resulted in a large portfolio of passive and active optical components. The functions of these devices include
combining, separating, distributing, isolating, and amplifying various optical power levels across spectral bandwidths
ranging from 800 to 1600 nm. Many of these passive components can be applied in biophotonic and biomedical systems
for healthcare diagnosis, therapy, and imaging, and for life sciences research. The challenges in developing biophotonic
instrumentation for life sciences related clinical and research applications include collecting low light levels emitted or
reflected from biological specimens, delivering a wide range of optical power levels to a localized tissue area or section
during different categories of therapeutic healthcare sessions, and accessing in the least invasive manner a diagnostic or
treatment area within a living being with an optical probe or a radiant energy source. The unique physical and light-
transmission properties of optical fiber-based photonic components enable the resolution of such implementation issues.
Among the device applications are spectroscopic analyses of biological tissues and fluids, endoscopy, optical coherence
tomography, photodynamic therapy, laser surgery, and fluorescent techniques.

This paper presents a tutorial overview of the characteristics and functions of a variety of passive optical
components that are widely used in telecommunication networks and illustrates how these devices can be applied in
biophotonic systems. First, Sec. 2 discusses the spectral windows that are of interest to biomedical-related diagnosis,
therapy, and imaging processes, and for life sciences research. Section 3 then gives the physical and operating
characteristics of current and potentially applicable photonic components derived from the telecommunication field.
Among the components being considered are arrayed waveguide gratings, planar and fiber Bragg gratings, thin-film
filters, beam splitters, optical circulators, and optical couplers. Since many spectral regions of interest in biophotonic
systems are in the UV and visible regions, whereas the operational spectral band for telecommunications is concentrated
in the near infrared, some of the devices will require material or configuration modifications for efficient biophotonic
uses.

We will point out the advantages and limitations of current passive photonic devices when applied to different
wavelength bands ranging from about 190 nm in the ultraviolet to around 10 µm in the near infrared. In addition, we will
describe ongoing research for extending the spectral operating range beyond that used in telecommunications for selected
photonic devices.

*gkeiser@mail.ntust.edu.tw; phone +886-2-2737-6409; fax +886-2-2737-6424

Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care, edited by

Jürgen Popp, Wolfgang Drexler, Valery V. Tuchin, Dennis L. Matthews,
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991, 69911E, (2008) · 1605-7422/08/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.779945

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-1

2008 SPIE Digital Library -- Subscriber Archive Copy
 2. BIOPHOTONIC SPECTRAL WINDOWS

This section describes why specific lightwave windows are needed to carry out most therapeutic and diagnostic
biophotonic processes. Having this knowledge allows the specification and selection of an optical fiber that meets the
transmission criteria for carrying out a biological process in a selected optical wavelength band.

The interaction of light with biological tissues and fluids is a complex process because the constituent materials
are optically inhomogeneous1-3. (Note that for simplicity in the rest of this paper we will use the generic word “tissue” to
refer to both biological tissues and fluids.) Since the diverse and intermingled tissue components have different indices
of refraction, the effective refractive index of a tissue can be continuously varying or undergo abrupt changes at the
boundaries between different material components. This spatial index variation gives rise to scattering, reflection, and
refraction effects in the tissue. Thus, although light can penetrate several centimeters into a tissue, strong scattering of
light can prevent observers from getting a clear image of tissue abnormalities.

Light absorption is another important factor in the interaction of light with tissue, since the degree of absorption
determines how far light can penetrate into a biological material. Figure 1 shows the absorption coefficients for several
major tissue components. These components include water (about 75 percent of the body), whole blood, melanosomes
(skin pigments), the epidermis (outer layer of the skin), and blood vessels. The wavelengths of interest span the spectral
range from about 190 nm in the ultraviolet (UV) to around 10 µm in the infrared (IR).

Most tissues absorb light weakly in the spectral range that extends from 600 to about 1500 nm, that is, from the
orange region in the visible spectrum to the near infrared (NIR). This wavelength band is popularly known as the
therapeutic window or the diagnostic window, since it enables the viewing or treating of tissue regions within a living
body by optical means. Light absorption characteristics of tissue for the UV and IR regions outside the therapeutic
window are important for implementing processes such as ablation of tissue and dental enamel, UV and IR absorption
spectroscopy, tissue welding, and laser surgery.

t
. 1
UV Vis. JR
E
U 1°°°° AXF "1 • 1
'Er YAG
whole blood

.\. -h
excimer\
I -

excnuer\ . .
100 . epidermis -

10-
I0
-

water[1
dyr3se
sdn
ii iI •
Nd:YA
_,___,..
100 I•000 IO•000

Wavelength [nm]
Fig. 1. The absorption properties of the major biological tissues and fluids determine which spectral
regions are suitable for various diagnostic or therapeutic processes. (From: S. L. Jacques, K.
Lee, and J. C. Ramella-Roman, Proc. SPIE 4001, 14-28, 2000.)

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-2

 3. FUNCTIONS OF PASSIVE OPTICAL COMPONENTS

A key feature of a high-speed optical fiber link used for telecomm applications is the ability to combine and
separate a large number of independent optical signals.4 Each of these signals operates at different peak wavelength and
occupies a unique narrow spectral band around that wavelength. The spectral bands are selected so that they do not
interfere with neighboring bands. Figure 2 illustrates the wavelength combining process, which is known as wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM). Most WDM devices operate reciprocally, that is, they can be used either to combine
wavelength bands onto a fiber or to separate an aggregate of such bands into individual channels. Several types of
passive optical devices are being widely used by the telecom industry to combine or separate the independent wavelength
channels. The technology used to realize these devices can be adapted to create components that will combine or separate
narrow lightwave spectral bands of interest to biological and healthcare research. This paper describes several such
WDM devices and discusses their application to biophotonic systems.

A1

Single
fiber Ihie

0
multiplexer

Fig. 2. The process of wavelength division multiplexing combines independent wavelength channels
onto a single fiber or separates the aggregate stream into individual channels at the receiving end.

3.1 Thin-film filters

A dielectric thin-film filter (TFF) is used as an optical bandpass filter.5 This means that it allows a particular
very narrow wavelength band to pass straight through it and reflects all others. The basis of these devices is a classical
Fabry-Perot filter structure, which is a dielectric cavity formed by two parallel highly reflective mirror surfaces. This
structure is called a Fabry-Perot interferometer, an etalon, or a thin-film resonant cavity filter. The power transmission
function of an etalon is periodic in wavelength. The periodic spacing is called the passband. In order for a single
wavelength to be selected by the filter from a particular spectral range, all the wavelengths must lie between two
successive passbands of the filter transfer function. If some wavelengths lie outside this range, then the filter would
transmit several wavelengths. The distance between adjacent peaks is called the free spectral range or FSR.

Thin-film filters are available in a wide range of passbands varying from 50 to 800 GHz, or equivalently, from
0.4 to 6.4 nm in the 1550-nm wavelength region. One proposed application is to use an array of sixteen optical thin-film
filters to measure the concentrations of the constituent substances in various types of biological fluids.6 A popular TFF
device is a dichroic mirror which is used in two-wavelength systems to pass one wavelength and reflect the other. These
components are used in applications such as optical coherence tomography, confocal microscopes, laser beam delivery
mechanisms, flow cytometry, and laser traps.

3.2 Arrayed waveguide gratings

An arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is a popular compact WDM device used for combining and separating
closely spaced wavelength information channels.7,8 Traditionally they have been applied in the 1300 to 1600-nm spectral
band, but recent investigations have been done to extend operation to the visible spectral region. Figure 3 shows the

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-3

operational concept of an AWG. Starting from the left, the N input slab waveguides in region 1 are connected to planar
star coupler (region 2) which acts as a lens. If a wide spectral band of multi-wavelength light enters one of the input
waveguides, this lens distributes the entering optical power among the waveguides in the grating array in region 3. Since
adjacent waveguides of the grating array in region 3 differ in path length by a precise length ∆L, all input wavelengths
emerge at point 4 with different relative phase delays given by ∆L/λ. The second lens in region 5 refocuses the light onto
the output slab waveguide array in region 6, so that each wavelength emerges from a different output waveguide in
region 6.

Grating wily wavnit

3 4

flr
λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4
2 5
C-
stsr

λ1
hip at Pub Output Gay
nwC- λ2 wuC-
urior 1 6 winy
λ3 λ4

Fig. 3. Top view of a typical AWG and designation of its various operating regions.

These operational characteristics enable an AWG to be used as a spectrometer or optical spectrum analyzer. A
straightforward application is in the near-infrared region using a standard AWG that operates with a central wavelength
in the C-band (1530 to 1565 nm). Eighty spectral channels with a spacing of 0.4 nm are achievable with such a device.
However, the design of an AWG for operation in the visible region becomes more complex and difficult, since the core
width and thickness of the individual waveguides becomes smaller with decreasing wavelength. To date, an eight-
channel AWG has been realized for operation in the visible region. Further investigations related to material and
waveguide layout issues are being pursued to extend the capabilities of such devices for spectroscopic applications in the
biomedical field.9

3.3 Fiber Bragg gratings and planar gratings

A grating is an important element in telecom systems for combining and separating individual wavelengths.
Basically a grating is a periodic structure or perturbation in a material.10-12 This variation in the material has the property
of reflecting or transmitting light in a certain direction depending on the wavelength.

Through a variety of photo-imprinting processes, a permanent periodic variation in the refractive index can be
produced inside the core of an optical fiber. When a multi-wavelength signal encounters the grating, those wavelengths
that are phase-matched to the Bragg reflection condition of the grating are reflected. All other wavelengths will pass
through the device. Such a device is called a fiber Bragg grating or FBG. Figure 4 shows an example of the optical
bandpass characteristic of a 25-GHz FBG that has a steep spectral profile.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-4

 Applications of fiber Bragg gratings to biophotonics include sensors for studying the setting expansion of dental
materials, in vivo temperature profiling in the human body, and as medical sensors to check for the presence of
antibodies in blood or other biological samples.13,14

0 Reflection
bandwidth
> 0.08 nm @ -0.5 dB
-10 Adjacent
Reflectivity (dB)

channel
isolation
-20 > 30 dB Reflection
bandwidth
< 0.25 nm @ -25 dB
-30

-40
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Relative wavelength (nm)

Fig. 4. Example of the reflection band and spectral profile of a 25-GHz FBG.

Planar reflection gratings are fine ruled or etched parallel lines on some type of reflective surface. With these
gratings, light will bounce off the grating at an angle. The angle at which the light leaves the grating depends on its
wavelength, so the reflected light fans out in a spectrum. If the lines are spaced equally, each individual wavelength will
be reflected at a slightly different angle, as shown in Fig. 5. There can be a reception fiber at each of the positions where
the reflected light gets focused. Thus, individual wavelengths will be directed to separate fibers.

The reflective diffraction grating works reciprocally, that is, if different wavelengths come into the device on
the individual input fibers, all of the wavelengths will be focused back into one fiber after traveling through the device.
One also could have a photodiode array in place of the receiving fibers for functions such power-per-wavelength
monitoring. A widely used application of reflection gratings is in optical spectrum analyzers. In this case, instead of
using a receiving fiber there is a fixed location for a receiving photodetector. By rotating the grating, the intensity
distributions of different wavelengths can be measured with the detector.

Incident light from a biological sample Reflection

grating
λ1, λ2 , λ3 , λ4 ... (fixed or
rotating)
λ1

Optical fibers or
λ2
detector array •
•
λN

Fig. 5. The angle at which incident light leaves a reflection grating depends on the wavelength.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-5

3.4 Optical couplers

The concept of an optical coupler encompasses a variety of functions, including splitting a light signal into two
or more streams, combining two or more light streams, tapping off a small portion of optical power for monitoring
purposes, or transferring a selective range of optical power from one fiber to another. When discussing couplers it is
customary to designate couplers in terms of the number of input ports and output ports on the device. For example, a
coupler with two inputs and two outputs would be called a 2 × 2 coupler. In general, an N × M coupler has N ≥ 2 input
ports and M ≥ 2 output ports. The coupling devices can be fabricated either from optical fibers or by means of planar
optical waveguides using material such as lithium niobate (LiNbO3) or InP.

A commonly available 2 × 2 coupler is the fused-fiber coupler illustrated in Fig. 6. This is fabricated by twisting
together, melting, and pulling two single-mode fibers so they get fused together over a uniform section of length W.
Each input and output fiber has a long tapered section of length L, since the transverse dimensions are reduced gradually
down to that of the coupling region when the fibers are pulled during the fusion process. Here P0 is the device input
power on the top fiber, P1 is the throughput power to the first output fiber, and P2 is the power coupled into the second
output fiber. The parameters P3 and P4 are extremely low optical signal levels that result from backward reflections and
scattering due to packaging effects and bending in the device.

Input pew
Th_
pow

p4
-

- —______________ cI1IIIIO
C)___
Crosatalk
—

<___IIIiIIo
Coupled
L W J L j pow
Tapered region Coupling regior 1ip region

Fig. 6. Cross-sectional view of a fused-fiber coupler with a coupling region of length W and two tapered regions of length L.

The advantages of these devices is that they can operate over a broad wavelength range (400 to 2000 nm) and a
wide temperature range (-40 to +350˚C), they can be packaged in ultra-small and rugged housings, and they can handle
high optical powers. Biophotonic applications of fused-fiber couplers include laser surgery, optical coherence
tomography, endoscopy, optical power level monitoring in light therapy, spectroscopy, and biosensors.

Lateral scan of
Broadband Optical coupler object under test
source

Signal Longitudinal scan

processor by a moving mirror

Fig. 7. Basic concept of optical coherence tomography using a fused fiber coupler.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-6

3.5 Optical isolators and circulators

In a number of applications it is desirable to have a passive optical device that is nonreciprocal, that is, it works
differently when its inputs and outputs are reversed. Two examples of such a device are optical isolators and circulators.

Optical isolators are devices that allow light to pass through them in only one direction. This is important in a
number of instances to prevent scattered or reflected light to travel in the reverse direction. One common application of
an optical isolator is to keep such light from entering a laser diode and possibly causing instabilities in the optical output.
Optical isolations of better than 30 dB can be achieved within 20 nm on either side of a specific peak wavelength.
An optical circulator is a non-reciprocal multi-port passive device that directs light sequentially from port to port in only
one direction. As illustrated in Fig. 8, an input A on port 1 is sent out on port 2, an input B on port 2 is sent out on port 3,
and an input C on port 3 is sent out on port 1. In the biophotonics field this device is used in conjunction with thin-film
filters or FBGs to combine or separate a series of narrow wavelength bands for applications such as laser-scanning
microscopy, optical coherence tomography, imaging techniques (for example, monitoring tissue changes induced by
laser thermal therapy), spectroscopic diagnostics, and processing of biosensor signals.

A A

Port 1 Port 2

C B
Port 3

C B

Fig. 8. Operational concept of a three-port optical circulator.

4. SUMMARY

A wide variety of passive optical components that have been developed during the past two decades for optical
fiber telecommunication systems also can be applied to the biophotonic area. Among the components considered in this
paper are arrayed waveguide gratings, planar and fiber Bragg gratings, thin-film filters, beam splitters, optical circulators,
and optical couplers. Although typically these devices originally were intended for use in the 800 to 1600-nm spectral
region, many of them or the technology upon which they are based can be applied directly to the wider spectral range
used in the biophotonics field. some, such as arrayed waveguide gratings, need further development to be applicable to
the visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges. In addition to passive optical components, active optoelectronic devices and a
wide variety of optical fibers are being used for biophotonics.15-19 Discussions of active devices and optical fibers are not
addressed in this paper.

REFERENCES

1. W.-F. Cheong, S.A. Prahl, and A. J. Welch, “A review of the optical properties of biological tissues,” IEEE J.
Quantum Elec. 26, 2166-2185 (1990).
2. J. Mobley and T. Vo-Dinh, “Optical properties of tissue,” in T. Vo-Dinh, ed. Biomedical Photonics Handbook, CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2003.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-7

 3. V. V. Tuchin, “Light-tissue interactions,” in T. Vo-Dinh, ed. Biomedical Photonics Handbook, CRC Press, Boca
Raton, FL, 2003.
4. G. Keiser, Optical Fiber Communications, McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, 4th ed., 2008.
5. J. Jiang, J.J. Pan, Y. H. Guo, and G. Keiser, "Model for analyzing manufacturing- induced internal stresses in 50-
GHz DWDM multilayer thin film filters and evaluation of their effects on optical performances," J. Lightwave
Technology 23, 495-503 (2005).
6. G. Minas, R. F. Wolffenbuttel, and J. H. Correia, “An array of highly selective Fabry–Perot optical channels for
biological fluid analysis by optical absorption using a white light source for illumination,” J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt.
8, 272–278 (2006).
7. Special Issue on “Arrayed grating routers/WDM mux demuxs and related applications/uses” and “Integrated optics
and optoelectronics,” IEEE J. Selected Topics Quantum Electron. 8 (2002).
8. H. Uetsuka, “AWG technologies for dense WDM applications,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electron. 10, 393-402
(2004).
9. Y. Komai, H. Nagano, K. Okamoto, and K. Kodate, “Compact spectroscopic sensor using a visible arrayed
waveguide grating,” Japanese J. Appl. Physics 45, 6742-6749 (2006).
10. R. Kashyap, Fiber Bragg Gratings, Academic, New York, 1999.
11. I. Bennion, J. A. R. Williams, L. Zhang, K. Sugden, and N. J. Doran, “UV-written in-fibre Bragg gratings: A tutorial
review,” Optical Quantum Electronics 28, 93-135 (1996).
12. K. P. Chen and P. R. Herman, “Photosensitization of standard fibers with deep UV laser radiation,” J. Lightwave
Technology, 21, 1958-1968 (2003).
13. M. S. Milczewski, J. C. C. da Silva, I. Abe, L. Carvalho, R. N. Nogueira, A. S. Paterno1, H. J. Kalinowski, and J. L.
Pinto, “Determination of setting expansion of dental materials using fibre optical sensing,” Meas. Sci. Technol. 17,
1152–1156 (2006).
14. M. Mehrvar, C. Bis, J. M. Scharer, M. Moo-Young, and J. H. Luong, “Fiber optic biosensors – Trends and
advances,” Analytical Sciences, 16, 277-292 (2000).
15. R. Kasahara, Y. Matsuura, T. Katagiri, and M. Miyagi, “Transmission properties of infrared hollow fibers produced
by drawing a glass-tube preform,” Opt. Eng., 46, 025001/1-5 (2007).
16. P. St. J. Russell, “Photonic crystal fibers,” Science, 299, 358–362 (2003).
17. J. Miller, P. K. Yu, S. J. Cringle, and D.-Y. Yu, “Laser-fiber system for ablation of intraocular tissue using the
fourth harmonic of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser,” Applied Optics, 46, 413-420 (2006).
18. F. C. Holsinger, C. N. Prichard, G. Shapira, O. Weisberg, D. S. Torres, C. Anastassiou, E. Harel, Y. Fink, and R. S.
Weber, “Use of the photonic band gap fiber assembly CO2 laser system in head and neck surgical oncology,” The
Laryngoscope, 116, 1288-1290 (2006).
19. P. R. Bargo, S. A. Prahl, and S. L. Jacques, “Optical properties effects upon the collection of optical fibers in
different probe configurations,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electronics, 9, 314-321 (2003).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6991 69911E-8

View publication stats