High-quality Phase-Shifted Bragg grating sensor inscribed with only one laser pulse in a polymer optical fiber

Abstract

We present the first phase-shifted polymer optical fiber Bragg grating sensor inscribed with only one KrF laser pulse. The phase shift defect was created directly during the grating inscription process by placing a very narrow blocking aperture, in the center of the UV beam. One laser pulse with a duration of 15 ns and energy 6.3 mJ is adequate to introduce a refractive index change of 0.69×10-4 in the fiber core. The high-quality produced Bragg grating structure rejects 16.3 dB transmitted power, thus providing 97.6% reflectivity, which is well suited for photonic applications. The transmission notch depth is about 10 dB and very sharp notches of 3 dB width ranging from 14 pm is reported. The temperature, strain, and pressure response of the sensor has been characterized showing promising results in applications that require high-precision measurements. The ability to inscribe these high-quality sensors effectively can significantly reduce their production cost in industry.