Embedded corrugated long-period fiber gratings for sensing applications

We demonstrate a method to make possible the mass production of corrugated long-period fiber gratings (C-LPFGs) by utilizing imprint lithography on polycarbonate (PC) substrates. For such C-LPFGs whose working principle is based on photoelastic effect, pretensile tension is required to be applied to inducing periodical refractive index variation. We then present an attempt to use PC as embedding material for providing internal compressive stress for C-LPFGs to have a photoelastic effect. This type of LPFG, termed embedded corrugated long-period fiber gratings (EC-LPFGs), is obtained after reimprinting the C-LPFGs into other PC substrates. Since compressive stress is retained due to the materials of different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), unlike C-LPFGs, EC-LPFGs can serve as strain, bending, and temperature sensors without the need of pretensile strain. The two most troublesome problems, the fragility of an etched fiber grating and the requirement of pretensile strain, can be simultaneously alleviated or solved by EC-LPFGs. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America