Sensing Characteristics of Tilted Long Period Fiber Gratings Inscribed by Infrared Femtosecond Laser

Sensors (Basel). 2018 Sep 7;18(9):3003. doi: 10.3390/s18093003.

Abstract

We propose a novel tilted long period fiber grating (TLPFG) design, inscribed using a line-by-line inscription technique and an infrared femtosecond (Fs) laser. The responses of this TLPFG to external refractive index, temperature, torsion, and strain were systematically investigated to determine its sensing characteristics. The external refractive index (RI) was measured to be -602.86 nm/RIU at an RI of ~1.432. The TLPFG was used to accurately measure temperatures up to 450 °C with a sensitivity of 103.8 pm/°C. The torsion and strain sensitivity of the device were 48.94 nm/(rad/mm) and -0.63 pm/µε, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed TLPFG could be used as sensors in a series of application fields including high temperatures and external environments.

Keywords: TLPFG; femtosecond laser; optical fiber sensor; sensing properties.