Christoph Chojetzki

Thermal regeneration of fiber Bragg gratings in photosensitive fibers

We report about a thermal regeneration of fiber Bragg gratings written in photosensitive fibers with nanosecond laser pulses. We observe a regenerative process in a highly photosensitive fiber without hydrogen loading which indicates a secondary grating growth in an optical fiber by thermal activation. This process is more temperature stable than the commonly known gratings produced by color center modifications. The writing conditions of such new type of gratings are investigated and the temperature behavior of these regenerated fiber Bragg gratings is analyzed. The application possibilities are in the field of high temperature sensor systems by making use of the combination of good spectral shape of a Type I grating with a Type II like temperature stability.

High-reflectivity draw-tower fiber Bragg gratings—arrays and single gratings of type II

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) were manufactured during the fiber drawing process [draw tower grating (DTG)] with excellent reflectivity values. This was done in the region of 1550 nm by single pulses of a 248-nm excimer laser applied during the fiber drawing process of single mode fibers. An improved setup for the writing process and special photosensitive fibers enable the manufacture of type I DTG arrays with a reflectivity of up to 40% and type II DTGs with a reflectivity near 100%. Details of the setup and results of the DTG arrays and DTGs of type II are reported.

High-mechanical-strength single-pulse draw tower gratings

The inscription of fiber Bragg gratings during the drawing process is a very useful method to realize sensor arrays with high numbers of gratings and excellent mechanical strength and also type II gratings with high temperature stability. Results of single pulse grating arrays with numbers up to 100 and definite wavelengths and positions for sensor applications were achieved at 1550 nm and 830 nm using new photosensitive fibers developed in IPHT. Single pulse type I gratings at 1550 nm with more than 30% reflectivity were shown first time to our knowledge. The mechanical strength of this fiber with an Ormocer coating with those single pulse gratings is the same like standard telecom fibers. Weibull plots of fiber tests will be shown. At 830 nm we reached more than 10% reflectivity with single pulse writing during the fiber drawing in photosensitive fibers with less than 16 dB/km transmission loss. These gratings are useful for stress and vibration sensing applications. Type II gratings with reflectivity near 100% and smooth spectral shape and spectral width of about 1 nm are temperature stable up to 1200 K for short time. They are also realized in the fiber drawing process. These gratings are useful for temperature sensor applications.

Post-hydrogen-loaded draw tower fiber Bragg gratings and their thermal regeneration.

The idea of Bragg gratings generated during the drawing process of a fiber dates back almost 20 years. The technical improvement of the draw tower grating (DTG) process today results in highly reliable and cost-effective Bragg gratings for versatile application in the optical fiber sensor market. Because of the single-pulse exposure of the fiber, the gratings behave typically like type I gratings with respect to their temperature stability. This means that such gratings only work up to temperatures of about 300 °C. To increase temperature stability, we combined DTG arrays with hydrogen postloading and a thermal regeneration process that enables their use in high-temperature environments. The regenerated draw tower gratings are demonstrated to be suitable for temperatures of more than 800 °C.

Single-pulse fiber Bragg gratings and specific coatings for use at elevated temperatures

The technique of recording fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with single exposure pulses during the fiber drawing process allows production of such gratings in complex array structures, with high mechanical strength of the fiber and in a simple and cost-efficient way. This is of special interest for the growing field of fiber sensor applications with FBGs. A general advantage of fiber sensor systems is their ability to be used also at elevated temperatures compared with conventional electric or electronic sensors. For this purpose, the fiber itself as well as the grating structure and the fiber coating should be stable under such elevated temperature conditions. We have investigated different coating materials and possibilities of making temperature-stable FBGs of types I and II in the range of 100 degrees C-1000 degrees C with good reflection efficiency by single-pulse exposure during the fiber drawing process.

Bragg Grating Inscription in GeO

We present KrF excimer laser-induced dynamics of Bragg grating growths in GeO2 doped microstructured optical fibers. The studied fibers all have 6 rings of airholes in a hexagonal lattice and a GeO2 doped region in the center of the microstructure. We compare the growth rates of fiber Bragg gratings in the different microstructured fibers with UV grating inscription. The influence of the doping level, the airhole filling factor, the airhole pitch distance and the fiber orientation are investigated. We expand the range of microstructured optical fibers in which Bragg gratings can be inscribed, achieving reflection strengths that are useable for FBG-based sensing applications, even for doped regions with GeO2 concentrations as low as 1.36 mol% and 0.45 mol%.

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ORMOCER coated Fiber-Bragg-Gratings (FBGs) were investigated at cryogenic temperatures. Below the Bragg wavelength of uncoated FBG is nearly independent on temperature. ORMOCER coated FBG are temperature dependent over the whole temperature range investigated from 10 to 300 K. For 50-300 K, the ORMOCER coating contributes to an additional linear temperature shift of the Bragg wavelength of 2.4 pm/K. Below 40 K the temperature dependence decreases to 1.0 pm/K. ORMOCER coated FBGs can be used as sensor at cryogenic temperatures.

-Doped Microstructured Optical Fibers

As a part of the surveillance system for liquid hydrogen tanks which is developed for future space programs of the Euro-pean Space Agency, we have investigated hydrogen sensors, temperature sensors, and strain sensors, all of them based on fiber optic Bragg gratings. We present a new type of hydrogen sensor in the form of a micro-bending beam consisting of a D-shaped elliptical core fiber with an inscribed Bragg grating and a 2-10µm thin palladium foil glued onto the flat side of the fiber. The strain sensors are embedded in the inner tank wall, i.e., they are designed to function properly down to minimum temperatures of 20K. Temperature sensors are required for the separation of hydrogen or strain effects, respectively, from temperature influences. They measure the thermal elongation of glass substrates with particular sensitivity at cryogenic temperatures. The reversible shift of the Bragg wavelength which is caused by the elongation of the Bragg gratings in the multi-sensor network is monitored by a polychromator based signal processing unit.

ORMOCER Coated Fiber-Optic Bragg Grating Sensors at Cryogenic Temperatures

The idea of fabricating fiber Bragg gratings already during the drawing of a fiber dates back almost 20 years. The application of a transverse holographic writing method on a draw tower offers a promising solution for a highly effective Bragg grating production. Because of the high technology requirements it took more than 10 years to develop the method into a reliable process. During the last five years the improvements in the technical development enables cost effective industrial production of draw tower gratings (1DTG®). In this paper we report about new possibilities of the improved process with respect to the grating type (type I gratings, type II gratings), the coating type (2ORMOCER®, metals) and the fiber type and diameter (125μm, 80μm and below). Furthermore, we present examples for the application of draw tower fiber Bragg gratings in sensing technologies for medical applications.

Fiber optic sensors for the monitoring of cryogenic spacecraft tank structures

We present a novel method to discretely tune the emission wavelength of pulsed fiber-integrated lasers. As spectral filter, a step-chirped fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array is employed combining a monolithic structure with an unrivaled design freedom enabling large tuning bandwidths as well as tailored spectral characteristics towards fingerprint tuning features. Together with an electrical control mechanism ensuring programmable operation, this tuning method promotes fiber-integrated lasers to access new fields of applications e.g. in biophotonics and distributed sensing. The potential of this tuning concept is investigated based on an Ytterbium-doped fiber laser. The system shows superb emission properties including excellent wavelength stability, high spectral signal contrast (up to 50dB) and narrow linewidth (15GHz) as well as adjustable pulse durations in the nanosecond range with peak powers up to 100W. Additionally, the unique spectral potential of this method is demonstrated by realizing filter designs enabling e.g. a record tuning range of 74nm for fiber-integrated lasers.