Strain-insensitive and high-temperature long-period gratings inscribed in photonic crystal fiber

We fabricate and demonstrate strain-insensitive and high-temperature long-period gratings in endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fiber by use of focused pulses of a CO(2) laser and a periodic stress relaxation technique without geometrical deformation and elongation of the fiber. The thermal dependence of mode coupling at 1299.59 nm is 10.9 pm/degreesC from 24 to 992degreesC, whereas the coefficient of strain sensitivity is -0.192 pm/,muepsilon up to the maximum strain of 2.74%epsilon. It is found for what is believed to be the first time that, in contrast with the traditional fiber case, the coupling resonance shifts toward shorter wavelengths under applied strain, indicating that the refractive index of the core is decreased as a result of the rebuilding of tension attributed to the stress-elastic effect, and the cladding modes is highly dispersive because of airholes arranged in the fiber cladding. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.