Flavio Esposito

Experimental Study of the Refractive Index Sensitivity in Arc-induced Long Period Gratings

This paper presents an experimental study of the sensitivity characteristics to the surrounding refractive index (SRI) in arc-induced long period gratings (LPGs), in order to outline their dependence over the fabrication parameters. Several LPGs were fabricated, with spectral features that are appealing for chemical sensing applications, e.g., negligible power losses, bands depth greater than 20 dB, and total length smaller than 35 mm. In addition, low spatial periods Λ, which are close to the limit of the arc-based fabrication technique, were selected in order to excite high-order cladding modes. In particular, the period was chosen in range 350-500 μm to focus attention on the same cladding modes for the gratings under investigation. Accordingly, a wide experimental analysis was then carried out to investigate the dependence of the sensitivity to SRI changes on the period in order to derive design criteria for LPG fabrication. In the wavelength range 1100-1700 nm and taking into consideration the attenuation bands related to the LP05 and LP06 cladding modes, an SRI sensitivity enhancement up to one order of magnitude can be achieved by proper selection of the grating period.

Comparative Study of Long-Period Gratings Written in Standard and Fluorine-Doped Fibers by Electric Arc Discharge

In this paper, we present a comparative study of long-period gratings (LPGs) written in the standard Ge-doped fiber and in two different fluorine-doped fibers by means of the electric arc discharge (EAD)-based technique. Concerning Ge-doped fibers, we present an assessment of the EAD procedure by fabricating relatively short LPGs with deep attenuation bands (up to 32 dB) and trivial power losses. We also demonstrate the ability to manage the effect of the single EAD perturbation to select grating length, which in turn acts on the bandwidth of attenuation bands, without compromising depth. Furthermore, for the first time, we produced LPGs in F-doped fibers with attenuation bands deeper than 30 dB, demonstrating the dependence of the spectra on the grating period. Finally, we illustrate a comparative experimental study on the sensitivity of LPGs fabricated in the standard and F-doped fibers with surrounding refractive index (SRI) and temperature changes. We proved that the SRI response of LPGs in F-doped fibers is significantly higher than in the standard fiber and it strongly depends on the type of F-doped fiber considered. LPGs written in F-doped fibers exhibit a slightly lower temperature sensitivity (in the range 20-30 pm/°C for λres2 cladding mode) than the LPG in the standard fiber (45 pm/°C).

Real-time analysis of arc-induced Long Period Gratings under gamma irradiation

In this paper, we present a comparative experimental and theoretical study on gamma radiation sensitivity of Long Period Gratings (LPGs), fabricated by electric arc discharge technique, as monitored in three single mode optical fibers supplied by different manufacturers. A real-time measurement of LPGs’ wavelength shift was performed until a total dose of 35 kGy was reached, with average dose rate of 0.18 kGy/h, the irradiation being done at room temperature. In one case, a maximum radiation sensitivity of 1.34 nm/kGy was recorded for doses up to 0.5 kGy. Moreover, by combining experimental results with numerical simulations, it was found that changes occurred in the core refractive index of the irradiated optical fibers up to 2.5 ∙ 10−5. The increase of the core thermo-optic coefficient up to 1.5 ∙ 10−8/°C was observed as well.

Arc-Induced Long Period Gratings in Polarization-Maintaining Panda Fiber

In this letter, we report about the fabrication of long period gratings (LPGs) in a polarization-maintaining Panda optical fiber, by means of the electric arc discharge technique. This is the first time that LPGs are arc-induced in a polarization maintaining fiber. The dependence of the LPG’s spectral features on the input light polarization alignment is illustrated, by considering the two principal polarization states, i.e., along the fast and slow axes of the Panda fiber. Moreover, an investigation about the surrounding refractive index sensitivity, as a function of the two principal polarization states, is also reported with interesting results.

Arc-induced Long Period Gratings in standard and speciality optical fibers under mixed neutron-gamma irradiation

In this paper, for the first time, the effects of mixed neutron and gamma flux on the spectral and sensing responses of Long Period Gratings (LPGs) are thoroughly analyzed. Six LPGs written by means of Electric Arc Discharge (EAD) technique in standard and speciality fibers, including radiation-hardened ones, were tested. The EAD technique was chosen because it enables the writing of gratings both in standard and not photosensitive fibers. The experiments have been carried out in a “TRIGA” pulsed nuclear reactor and the LPGs were irradiated by a gamma-ray dose-rate of 9 Gy/s and a mean 1.2∙1012 n/(cm2s) neutron flux. Real time monitoring was performed for a comparative investigation of LPGs’ response, in terms of radiation sensitivity and wavelength shift. Experiments show that LPG in a radiation-resistant fiber exhibits resonant wavelength shift higher than LPG in standard fiber. The changes of temperature sensitivity due to radiation were experimentally established by comparison of pre- and post-radiation characterization, indicating that radiation effects induce a slight increase of the temperature sensitivity, except for the LPG in pure-silica fiber. Theoretical and numerical analysis was combined with experimental data for evaluation LPGs’ parameters changes, such as refractive index and thermo-optic coefficient, after exposure to radiation.

Sensing Characteristics of Arc-Induced Long Period Gratings in Polarization-Maintaining Panda Fiber

We present and discuss an investigation of the sensing features of long period gratings fabricated in a polarization-maintaining Panda optical fiber, by means of the electric arc discharge technique. In particular, the investigation regards the resonant wavelength shift of first three cladding modes as function of three environmental parameters, such as strain, temperature, and surrounding medium refractive index. We also investigate and discuss the variations of the sensing behavior as a function of the polarization input state. The achieved results show that the sensitivity of each resonant wavelength to environmental parameters is modulated by the cladding mode order and by polarization input light, with some appealing characteristics. For instance, the lowest order cladding mode in slow polarization state is practically insensitive to temperature and surrounding refractive index, but sensitive to strain. Temperature and strain sensitivities show opposite signs with the input light polarization. Sensitivity to surrounding refractive index is higher in the case of fast polarization state. These results represent a concrete perspective of the possibility that this device can act as a 3-parameter sensor.

Long period gratings written in fluorine-doped fibers by electric arc discharge technique

In this work, we present long period gratings (LPGs) in two different Fluorine-doped fibers realized by electric arc discharge (EAD) technique. Firstly, we optimized the EAD fabrication procedure for standard Ge-doped fibers where we are able to fabricate relatively short LPGs with deep attenuation bands (up to 32 dB) and trivial power losses. Successively, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, we produced LPGs in F-doped fibers with maximum attenuation band depths in range 25-30 dB and trivial power losses. We also investigated the sensitivity of LPGs fabricated in such F-doped fibers, with surrounding refractive index (SRI) and temperature changes, and compared the results with those of LPGs fabricated in standard fiber. We found that SRI response of LPGs in F-doped fibers is significantly higher than in standard fiber and it strongly depends on the type of F-doped fiber considered, whereas they exhibit a slightly lower sensitivity to temperature compared to LPGs in standard fiber.

Arc-Induced Long Period Gratings from Standard to Polarization-Maintaining and Photonic Crystal Fibers

In this work, we report about our recent results concerning the fabrication of Long Period Grating (LPG) sensors in several optical fibers, through the Electric Arc Discharge (EAD) technique. In particular, the following silica fibers with both different dopants and geometrical structures are considered: standard Ge-doped, photosensitive B/Ge codoped, P-doped, pure-silica core with F-doped cladding, Panda type Polarization-maintaining, and Hollow core Photonic crystal fiber. An adaptive platform was developed and the appropriate “recipe” was identified for each fiber, in terms of both arc discharge parameters and setup arrangement, for manufacturing LPGs with strong and narrow attenuation bands, low insertion losses, and short length. As the fabricated devices have appealing features from the application point of view, the sensitivity characteristics towards changes in different external perturbations (i.e., surrounding refractive index, temperature, and strain) are investigated and compared, highlighting the effects of different fiber composition and structure.

Fabrication of arc-induced long-period gratings in different silica fibers

In this work, we report on recent results about the fabrication of Long Period Gratings (LPGs) in different single mode optical fibers, by means of Electric Arc Discharge (EAD) technique. In particular, the results are related to three optical fibers with different doping elements, i.e.: standard telecommunication Ge-doped SMF28, highly photosensitive B/Gecodoped PS1250/1500, and P-doped P-SM-5 fibers. EAD leads to a point-by-point LPG inscription, due to localized tapering of the transversal size of the core and cladding regions along the fiber, and to changes of the silica refractive index due to the stress relaxation induced by local hot spots. Here, we take into consideration both standard and unconventional silica fibers and the aim of the work is to identify an appropriate “recipe” for each fiber, for manufacturing LPGs with strong and narrow attenuation bands (depth higher than 25 dB) and trivial power losses (<0.5 dB). Indeed, a proper combination of arc power and duration, as well as fiber tension, allows for the appropriate core and cladding modulation and thus for the desired LPGs spectral features. The sensitivity characteristics towards surrounding refractive index (SRI) and temperature changes of these LPGs are also investigated, highlighting the effects of different kind of doping.

Arc-Induced Long Period Gratings: Analysis of the Fabrication Parameters on the Surrounding Refractive Index Sensitivity

This paper reports on recent numerical and experimental studies about the effects of the fabrication parameters on the Long Period Gratings (LPGs) sensitivity to the surrounding refractive index. The LPGs are fabricated by Electric Arc-Discharge (EAD) technique and the fabrication parameters are optimized by acting on the arc duration, power and electrodes gap. This permits to fabricate several LPGs in standard fiber with period ranging from 400 to 500 µm gratings where the coupling is with LP05 and LP06 cladding modes. Furthermore, we have investigated the surrounding refractive index (SRI) sensitivity of the LPGs as function of the grating period and compared the experimental results with numerical analysis based on coupled mode theory. As we show here, we achieve a good agreement between numerical and experimental results.