Bending insensitivity of fiber Bragg gratings in suspended-core optical fibers.

This Letter presents simulation and experimental results that explore bending insensitivity of fiber Bragg gratings in suspended-core optical fibers. The implementation of thin silica bridge in the fibers enhances index contrast of the fiber core and reduces bending-induced strain transfer to the fiber core. This fiber design lead to a reduction of over 7 times in strain-induced fiber Bragg grating resonant peak shifts in the suspended-core fiber compared with that in standard telecommunication fiber, and an 0.14 dB bending loss at a bending radius of 6.35 mm.

Suspended-core fiber Bragg grating sensor for directional-dependent transverse stress monitoring.

This Letter presents simulation and experimental results of orientation-dependent transverse stress fiber sensors using fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) inscribed in four-hole suspended-core fibers. Resonant peak shifts and splitting of FBGs were studied as functions of the applied transverse load and fiber orientation. Both simulation and experimental results revealed that the response of FBGs in suspended-core fibers is sensitive to both the orientation and magnitude of an applied transverse stress.

Design of a highly-birefringent microstructured photonic crystal fiber for pressure monitoring.

We present the design of an air hole microstructured photonic crystal fiber for pressure sensing applications. The air-hole photonic crystal lattices were designed to produce a large intrinsic birefringence of 1.16 x 10(-3). The impact of the surrounding air holes for pressure sensing to the propagation mode profiles and indices were studied and improved, which ensures single mode propagation in the fiber core defined by the photonic crystal lattice. An air hole matrix and a practical chemical etching process during the fiber perform preparation stage is proposed to produce an optical fiber with a birefringence-pressure coefficient of 43.89 x 10 (-6)MPa(-1) or a fiber Bragg grating pressure responsivity of 44.15 pm/MPa, which is a 17 times improvement over previous photonic crystal fiber designs.

Ultrafast femtosecond-laser-induced fiber Bragg gratings in air-hole microstructured fibers for high-temperature pressure sensing.

We present fiber Bragg grating pressure sensors in air-hole microstructured fibers for high-temperature operation above 800 degrees C. An ultrafast laser was used to inscribe Type II grating in two-hole optical fibers. The fiber Bragg grating resonance wavelength shift and peak splits were studied as a function of external hydrostatic pressure from 15 psi to 2000 psi. The grating pressure sensor shows stable and reproducible operation above 800 degrees C. We demonstrate a multiplexible pressure sensor technology for a high-temperature environment using a single fiber and a single-fiber feedthrough.