Abstract
An erbium-doped (Er3+) fiber optic laser is proposed for sensing alternated magnetic fields by measuring the laser intensity modulation. The sensor is fabricated using two partially overlapped narrow-band fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and a section of doped fiber in a Fabry-Perot configuration. Laser power stability and bandwidth are studied while changing the overlap. A bulk rod of TbDyFe, a magnetostrictive material, is glued to both the FBGs and the laser wavelength and power are modulated according to the magnetic field. Acquisition and processing are done using virtual instrumentation. Results have shown the possibility of detecting 11.18 mu T-rms/root Hz for an alternating magnetic field of 4.17 mT(rms).

Abstract
In this work an optical fiber laser with loop configuration was developed for magnetic field measurement. The transducer element is an FBG written in a HiBi fiber whose wavelength is modified using a magnetostrictive material that applies deformation in the presence of the magnetic field. The laser has a bandwidth of 450 MHz and operates in single polarization. A shift of 258.5 pm was observed in the laser operating wavelength for a magnetic field of 17.85 mT. Moreover, a maximum sensitivity of 14.72 pm/mT in the linear regime operation was achieved when increasing the magnetic field. The system provides a narrow emission line that is dependent on the magnetic field magnitude enabling high resolution interferometric measurement schemes. The laser response to AC magnetic fields was also characterized using a passive interferometer with higher sensitivity in the range of 8.32 to 17.93 mT(RMS).

Abstract
In this paper, we present the numerical and the experimental results of a new low cost surface plasmon resonance sensor configuration. It is based on a plasmonic sensor platform and an efficient higher order modes filtering in plastic multimode fibers, exploiting a tapered plastic optical fiber at the output of the sensor system. The experimental results have demonstrated that the tapered filter positioned after the sensor system improves the performances in terms of refractive index range and depth of the resonance curve. The results are in agreement with the numerical simulations.

Abstract
In the last few decades, optical trapping has played an unique role concerning contactless trapping and manipulation of biological specimens. More recently, optical fiber tweezers (OFTs) are emerging as a desirable alternative to bulk optical systems. In this paper, an overview of the state of the art of OFTs is presented, focusing on the main fabrication methods, their features and main achievements. In addition, new OFTs fabricated by guided wave photo polymerization are reported. Their theoretical and experimental characterization is given and results demonstrating its application in the manipulation of yeast cells and the organelles of plant cells are presented.

Abstract
In this work the use of guided wave photo-polymerization for the fabrication of novel polymeric micro tips for optical trapping is demonstrated. It is shown that the selective excitation of linear polarized modes, during the fabrication process, has a direct impact on the shape of the resulting micro structures. Tips are fabricated with modes LP02 and LP21 and their shapes and output intensity distribution are compared. The application of the micro structures as optical tweezers is demonstrated with the manipulation of yeast cells.

Abstract
An erbium doped (Er3+) fiber optic laser is proposed for magnetic field measurement. A pair of FBGs glued onto a magnetostrictive material (Terfenol-D rod) modulates the laser wavelength operation when subject to a static or a time dependent magnetic field. A passive interferometer is employed to measure the laser wavelength changes due to the applied magnetic field. A data acquisition hardware and a Lab VIEW software measure three phase-shifted signals at the output coupler of the interferometer and process them using two distinct demodulation algorithms. Results show that sensitivity to varying magnetic fields can be tuned by introducing a biasing magnetic field. A maximum error of 0.79% was found, for magnetic fields higher than 2.26 mT(RMS).