Flexible epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings are fabricated on a low-modulus TPX™ polymethylpentene polyolefin substrate for an easy to manufacture and low-cost optomechanical sensor pad providing exceedingly multipurpose application potentials. Rectangular EpoCore negative resist strip waveguides are formed employing standard UV mask lithography. Highly persistent Bragg gratings are inscribed directly into the channel waveguides by permanently modifying the local refractive indices through a well-defined KrF excimer laser irradiated +1/-1 order phase mask. The reproducible and vastly versatile sensing capabilities of this easy-to-apply optomechanical sensor pad are demonstrated in the form of an optical pickup for acoustic instruments, a broadband optical accelerometer, and a biomedical vital sign sensor monitoring both respiration and pulse at the same time.
Keywords: Bragg grating; EpoCore; TPX; accelerometer; guitar pickup; vital sign sensor.