Bragg gratings inscribed in solid-core microstructured single-mode polymer optical fiber drawn from 3D-printed polycarbonate preform

Abstract

This paper reports the first single-mode microstructured solid-core fiber drawn from a 3D-printed preform and the first fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in a fiber drawn from a 3Dprinted preform. Extensive fiber characterization results are presented and discussed including: fiber attenuation, mode simulations, dynamic thermomechanical analysis and thermo-optic coefficient. Fiber Bragg gratings are successfully inscribed using three different laser types: 325 nm continuous wave, 517 nm pulsed femtosecond and 248 nm nanosecond.