A novel multicore optical waveguide component based on a fiber design optimized towards selective grating inscription for multiplexed sensing applications is presented. Such a fiber design enables the increase in the optical sensor capacity as well as extending the sensing length with a single optical fiber while preserving the spatial sensing resolution. The method uses a multicore fiber with differently doped fiber cores and, therefore, enables a selective grating inscription. The concept can be applied in a draw tower inscription process for an efficient production of sensing networks. Along with the general concept, the paper discusses the specific preparation of the fiber-based sensing component and provides experimental results showing the feasibility of such a sensing system.
Keywords: fiber Bragg gratings; multicore fiber; multiplexing; photosensitivity; shape sensing.