A numerical study on the importance of non-uniform index modification during femtosecond grating inscription in microstructured optical fibers

Tigran Baghdasaryan; Thomas Geernaert; Hugo Thienpont; Francis Berghmans

doi:10.1117/12.2229341

27 April 2016 A numerical study on the importance of non-uniform index modification during femtosecond grating inscription in microstructured optical fibers

Tigran Baghdasaryan, Thomas Geernaert, Hugo Thienpont, Francis Berghmans

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Proceedings Volume 9886, Micro-Structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV; 98860A (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2229341
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2016, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) inscription methods based on femtosecond laser sources are becoming increasingly popular owing to the (usually) non-linear nature of the index modification mechanism and to the resulting advantages. They allow, for example, fabricating fiber gratings that can survive temperatures exceeding 700°C, which can be an asset in the domain of fiber sensing. However applying femtosecond laser based grating fabrication to microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) can be challenging due to the presence of the air holes in the fiber cladding. The microstructured cladding not only impedes light delivery to the core in most cases, but also causes a non-uniform intensity distribution in the MOF core. To deal with these challenges we present a modeling approach that allows simulating how the reflectivity of the grating and the nature of the index modulation are affected by the inscription conditions. We rely on transverse coupling simulations, empirical data and coupled mode analysis to model the induced index change and the resulting grating reflectivity. For IR femtosecond grating inscription we show that due to the intensity redistribution in the core region, irreversible Type II index changes can be induced in a MOF at laser peak intensities below the Type II threshold for step-index fibers. The resulting non-uniform induced index change has repercussions on the reflection spectrum of the grating as well. Our coupled mode analysis reveals, for example, that although the average index change in the core region can be high, the partial overlap of the core mode with the index change region limits the reflectivity of the grating.

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Tigran Baghdasaryan, Thomas Geernaert, Hugo Thienpont, and Francis Berghmans "A numerical study on the importance of non-uniform index modification during femtosecond grating inscription in microstructured optical fibers", Proc. SPIE 9886, Micro-Structured and Specialty Optical Fibres IV, 98860A (27 April 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2229341

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KEYWORDS

Reflectivity

Femtosecond phenomena

Refractive index

Cladding

Fiber Bragg gratings

Structured optical fibers

Modulation

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