Abstract: There is described a method of manufacturing a lensed optical fiber using an optical fiber having a tapered region decreasing in diameter along a longitudinal direction leading to a taper tip. The method generally has: while the tapered region and the taper tip of the optical fiber are immersed into an etching liquid, heating the etching liquid surrounding the taper tip in accordance with a temperature gradient in which temperature increases longitudinally from the tapered region to the taper tip, said the local heating causing a corresponding etching rate gradient shaping the taper tip into a lens.

Abstract: The method can include a muscle deforming a fiber path and activating a joint of the mammal, circulating electricity along the fiber, along the length of the fiber path, generating a movement signal including monitoring a change of impedance of the fiber stemming from the deformation of the muscle path during said deformation of the fiber path, determining a coefficient of correlation value of successive portions of the movement signal associated to corresponding, successive, time windows, including ascertaining a degree of similitude between the corresponding portion and a corresponding movement template, and generating an indication of muscle fatigue based on said coefficient of correlation values.

Abstract: An electrochemical ion sensor and a method for sensing a presence of at least one ion species in a solution are provided. The electrochemical sensor includes a solid-state electrolyte medium doped with an organometallic material, having an electrochemical affinity with the ion species, and a pair of electrodes electrically contacting the solid-state electrolyte. The electrochemical sensor also includes an electrical circuit configured to drive the pair of electrodes with an AC electrical excitation and to measure at least one parameter related to a complex electrical impedance of the doped solid-state electrolyte medium in response to the AC electrical excitation. The parameter may be an electrical resistance, an inductance or a combination of both, and represents the presence of the ion species in the solution when the solid-state electrolyte medium is exposed to the solution.

Abstract: An electrochemical ion sensor and a method for sensing a presence of at least one ion species in a solution are provided. The electrochemical sensor includes a solid-state electrolyte medium doped with an organometallic material, having an electrochemical affinity with the ion species, and a pair of electrodes electrically contacting the solid-state electrolyte. The electrochemical sensor also includes an electrical circuit configured to drive the pair of electrodes with an AC electrical excitation and to measure at least one parameter related to a complex electrical impedance of the doped solid-state electrolyte medium in response to the AC electrical excitation. The parameter may be an electrical resistance, an inductance or a combination of both, and represents the presence of the ion species in the solution when the solid-state electrolyte medium is exposed to the solution.

Abstract: A germanate glass composition suitable for use in a fiber amplifier for broadband amplification of optical signals is provided. The glass preferably includes 35-75% GeO2, 0-45% PbO, 5-20% BaO, 5-20% ZnO, and 2-10% R2O (R=Na, Li, K). It is doped with thulium ions (Tm3+) and codoped with holmium ions (Ho3+). The glass composition of the invention results in a remarkably large bandwidth as compared with previous glasses. It is also highly compatible with existing silica optical fibers.

Abstract: Flourinated glasses containing indium fluoride and MF.sub.2 fluorides in at least 70 moles %, in which M denotes one or several elements of the group Ba, Sr, Ca, Pb. Said glasses contains, in the form of stabilizing elements, either 2 to 12 % gadolinium fluoride, or 2 to 10 % magnesium fluoride, or else a mixture of both fluorides in a proportion not exceeding 20 mole %. Variants of these compositions are also described.