Highly tunable Bragg gratings in single-mode polymer optical fibers

Xiong, Zhigang; Peng, Gang-Ding; Wu, Bin; Chu, P.L.

doi:10.1109/68.748232

Cited by 288 publications

(196 citation statements)

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“…However, despite the fact that it is a decade since the first FBG was reported in a polymer optical fibre (POF) [2], applications of the polymer devices away for the optical bench have only just started to be reported [3]. Even though polymer FBGs posses some attractive features (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

827 nm Bragg grating sensor in multimode microstructured polymer optical fibre

2010

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We report on the fabrication and characterisation of a Bragg grating in multimode microstructured polymer optical fibre with a Bragg wavelength of 827nm. This is the smallest Bragg wavelength reported to date for a polymer optical fibre grating and the relatively low loss of the fibre at this wavelength considerably enhances the utility of the device compared to gratings at longer wavelengths. IntroductionSilica fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have become well established as an important sensing technology [1]. However, despite the fact that it is a decade since the first FBG was reported in a polymer optical fibre (POF) [2], applications of the polymer devices away for the optical bench have only just started to be reported [3]. Even though polymer FBGs posses some attractive features (e.g. a lower Young's modulus than silica and a higher failure strain[4]), a considerable barrier to their take-up has been the availability of gratings only at longer wavelengths, mainly around 1550nm [2], [5], though there have been reports of gratings at 980 nm [6]. The problem with these devices is the high attenuation of POF at longer wavelengths, typically around 100dB/m at 1550nm and 10 dB/m at 980nm [7].FBGs at these wavelengths in POF have only become useful with the development of glued connections to silica fibre down-leads that allow POF sensors just a few centimetres in length to be deployed [3]. However, the presence of the relatively fragile and bulky connection so close to the FBG is a significant limitation on its deployment. Consequently, we have been working towards the inscription of FBGs in the 800nm region where fibre loss is much lower (2dB/m) [7] and broadband semiconductor sources are readily available.Work from the early 1970s on the photosensitivity of bulk poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) reported a recording resolution of better than 200nm sufficient for the creation of Bragg reflectors for a red dye laser [8] and this suggested that the inscription of FBGs in POF at 820nm should not be problematic. Indeed, in our laboratory, we quickly succeeded in recording gratings with a period of 279 nm in 2mm thick slabs of bulk PMMA using a phase mask illuminated by a HeCd laser. However, numerous attempts to use the same laser to record similar gratings in samples of POF (both doped stepindex fibre and pure PMMA microstructured fibre) were completely unsuccessful. These attempts were made using two methods, the conventional phase mask approach [9] and an interferometric technique based on Lloyd's mirror [1].In this paper we report on our eventual success in producing gratings at 827nm and provide full details of the inscription arrangement that permits exposure times of around 2 hours. ExperimentalMultimode microstructured polymer optical fibre (MMmPOF) was used in this work. The fibre was obtained from Kiriama Pty. Ltd. of Sydney, Australia, and is made purely of PMMA with an outer diameter of 150µm along with a core diameter of 50µm. The photonic crystal fibre (PCF) design consists of three rings of holes ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

827 nm Bragg grating sensor in multimode microstructured polymer optical fibre

2010

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“…Fiber Bragg gratings have been written in many types of POFs, for example polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) POFs [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], fluorinated POFs [15,16], and TOPAS POFs [17], by using various methods such as phasemask [1][2][3][4][5], direct writing [6], or a combination of phase mask and interferometry [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. 325nm has been employed as a mainstream wavelength for writing grating in PMMA POFs [1][2][3][4][5][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the effect of annealing on the strain sensitivity performance was not yet considered. Polymer optical FBGs have shown great potential for sensor applications to sense for example temperature and strain with higher sensitivity and wider tunability than its silica counterpart [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Those advantages are due to the lower Young's modulus and higher thermo-optic coefficient of POFs [23,24].…”

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Improved thermal and strain performance of annealed polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings

Yuan

Stefani

Bache

et al. 2011

Optics Communications

141

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Abstract:We report on a detailed study of the inscription and characterization of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in commercial step index polymer optical fibers (POFs). Through the growth dynamics of the gratings, we identify the effect of UV-induced heating during the grating inscription. We found that FBGs in annealed commercial POFs can offer more stable short-term performance at both higher temperature and larger strain. Furthermore, the FBGs' operational temperature and strain range without hysteresis was extended by the annealing process. We identified long-term stability problem of even the annealed POF FBGs. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. 325nm has been employed as a mainstream wavelength for writing grating in PMMA POFs [1][2][3][4][5][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Other wavelength such as 355nm obtained from a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser has been used to write grating in CYTOP fiber developed by Asahi Glass Co. and Keio University [15,16]. On the other hand, 800nm femtosecond pulses from Ti:Sapphire laser or its double frequency was mainly used for point by point direct writing [6] or grating writing with a phasemask [7]. However, the mechanism of index change does not appear to be fully understood [5,13,[18][19][20]. It is believed that more than one process is involved in the photo-induced refractive index changes and hence in the grating formation dynamics [18][19][20]. The widely accepted point is that the principle mechanism of index change is an increase due to the photo-induced polymerization of the unreacted monomers [5,[18][19][20], while laser-induced heating in the irradiated region during the inscription may also contribute to the index change [5]. Previous reports indicated that annealing of the POF before FBG inscription can relieve the frozen-in stress induced by the fiber drawing process [21] and increase the linear operation temperature range of FBGs [22]. However, the effect of annealing on the strain sensitivity performance was not yet considered. Polymer optical FBGs have shown great potential for sensor applications to sense for example temperature and strain with higher sensitivity and wider tunability than its silica counterpart [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Those advantages are due to the lower Young's modulus and higher thermo-optic coefficient of POFs [23,24]. In addition, polymers are clinically

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“…The aforementioned characteristics come in handy especially in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, for some applications of which, materials alternative to silica are incessantly sought for. To date, the most widespread material for polymer-based FBGs is PMMA [1,2,[8][9][10], although the use of some alternative plastics, such as CYTOP (amorphous fluoropolymer) [11] Polycarbonate optical fibers were introduced by Fujitsu in 1986 (the core was made of PC, with a polyolefin-based material as the cladding) [24] and have been extensively studied and used since then [25][26][27]. Polycarbonate is an engineering plastic that exhibits excellent clarity and impact strength [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and characterization of polycarbonate microstructured polymer optical fibers for high-temperature-resistant fiber Bragg grating strain sensors

Fasano

Woyessa

Stajanča

et al. 2016

Opt. Mater. Express

121

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Abstract:Here we present the fabrication of a solid-core microstructured polymer optical fiber (mPOF) made of polycarbonate (PC), and report the first experimental demonstration of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) written in a PC optical fiber. The PC used in this work has a glass transition temperature of 145°C. We also characterize the mPOF optically and mechanically, and further test the sensitivity of the PC FBG to strain and temperature. We demonstrate that the PC FBG can bear temperatures as high as 125°C without malfunctioning. In contrast, polymethyl methacrylate-based FBG technology is generally limited to temperatures below 90°C. ©2016 Optical Society of America

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Highly tunable Bragg gratings in single-mode polymer optical fibers

Cited by 288 publications

References 20 publications

827 nm Bragg grating sensor in multimode microstructured polymer optical fibre

827 nm Bragg grating sensor in multimode microstructured polymer optical fibre

Improved thermal and strain performance of annealed polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings

Fabrication and characterization of polycarbonate microstructured polymer optical fibers for high-temperature-resistant fiber Bragg grating strain sensors

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