We analyze the effects of average index variation on the transmission characteristics of an index-apodized long-period fiber grating (LPFG) by the transfer matrix method and study how these effects depend on the grating length, the grating profile, the modal dispersion factor, and the duty cycle of the index modulation. Apart from shifting the resonance wavelength and modifying the rejection band, average index variation can give rise to significant side lobes that may appear on the short-wavelength or long-wavelength side of the rejection band, depending on the signs of the average index change and the modal dispersion factor. Our results provide general guidance for the writing of LPFGs for the minimization of side lobes. Our analysis compares well with published experimental results and should be useful for the design and fabrication of LPFGs.

Tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) and reflective tilted fiber Bragg grating (R-TFBG) were proposed and demonstrated in the graded-index multimode fiber (GI-MMF). The TFBGs with grating planes tilted at an angle of 2.5° corresponding to the fiber axis were inscribed. The TFBGs in the GI-MMF had the good linear sensitivity to the temperature, strain and curvature. The fiber was then cleaved at the far end of the TFBG to form an R-TFBG using the Fresnel reflection of the fiber end. The reflective spectra of the R-TFBG were given, and the temperature sensing properties were also investigated.

Suspended core fiber tapers with different cross sections (with diameters from 70 μm to 120 μm) are produced by filament heating. Before obtaining the taper, the spectral behavior of the suspended core fiber is a multimode interference structure. When the taper is made, an intermodal interference between a few modes is observed. This effect is clearly visible for low taper core dimensions. Since the core and cladding do not collapse, two taper regions exist, one in the core and the other in the cladding. The cladding taper does not affect the light transmission, only the core is reduced to a microtaper. The spectral response of the microtaper based-suspended core fiber is similar to a beat of two interferometers. The strain is applied to the microtaper, and with the reduction in the transverse area, an increase in sensitivity is observed. When the taper is immersed in a liquid with a different index of refraction or subjected to temperature variations, no spectral change occurs.

Using a center etched single mode optical fiber, a simple vibration senor is designed to monitor the vibrations of a simply supported beam. The sensor has high linear response to the axial displacement of about 0.8 mm with a sensitivity of 32 mV/10 μm strain. The sensor is tested for periodic and suddenly released forces, and the results are found to coincide with the theoretical values. This simple design, small in size and low cost sensor may find applications in industry and civil engineering to monitor the vibrations of the beam structures and bridges.

An index guiding photonic crystal fiber used in gas sensing applications is presented. The dependency of the confinement loss and relative sensitivity on the fiber parameters and wavelength is numerically investigated by using the full-vectorial finite element method (FEM). The simulations showed that the gas sensing sensitivity increased with an increase in the core diameter and a decrease in the distance between centers of two adjacent holes. Increasing the hole size of two outer cladding rings, this structure simultaneously showed up to 10% improved sensitivity, and the confinement loss reached 6×10-4 times less than that of the prior sensor at the wavelength of 1.5 μm. This proved the ability of this fiber used in gas and chemicals sensing applications.

A Michelson interferometer based sensor, to monitor the displacement and vibration of a surface, is presented. The interference signals detected in quadrature are processed using analog electronics to find the direction of the motion of a vibrating surface in real-time. The complete instrumentation and signal processing are implemented for the interpretation of the amplitude as well as positive and negative excursion of the vibration cycles. This new technique is simpler as compared to the techniques commonly used in the interferometer based vibration sensors. Using this technique, we have measured mechanical vibrations having a magnitude of the order of nanometers and frequency in the range of 50 Hz to 500 Hz. By making small changes in the electronic circuit, the technique can be implemented for the extended range of the vibration frequencies and amplitude.

This paper describes the application of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based sensors for monitoring road pavement strains caused by mining induced ground subsidence as a result of underground longwall coal mining beneath a major highway in New South Wales, Australia. After a lengthy planning period, the risks to the highway pavement were successfully managed by the highway authority and the mining company through a technical committee. The technical committee comprised representatives of the mining company, the highway authority and specialists in the fields of pavement engineering, geotechnical engineering and subsidence. An important component of the management strategy is the installation of a total of 840 strain and temperature sensors in the highway pavement using FBG arrays encapsulated in glass-fiber composite cables. The sensors and associated demodulation equipment provide continuous strain measurements along the pavement, enabling on-going monitoring of the effects of mining subsidence on the pavement and timely implementation of planned mitigation and response measures to ensure the safety and serviceability of the highway throughout the mining period.

The admittance loci method plays an important role in the design of multilayer thin film structures. In this paper, admittance loci method has been explored theoretically for sensing of various chemical and biological samples based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon. A dielectric multilayer structure consisting of a Boro silicate glass (BSG) substrate, calcium fluoride (CaF2) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) along with different dielectric layers has been investigated. Moreover, admittance loci as well as SPR curves of metal-dielectric multilayer structure consisting of the BSG prism, gold metal film and various dielectric samples have been simulated in MATLAB environment. To validate the proposed simulation results, calibration curves have also been provided.

The structure and physical properties of a thin titania sol-gel layer prepared on silicon and silica surfaces were examined. Spectroscopic (FTIR, UV-VIS spectroscopy), refractive index (ellipsometry) and microscopic (light microscopy and SEM/EDS) tools were used to examine both chemical uniformity and physical uniformity of the sol-gel glass layers. The conditions for the fabrication of uniform layers were established, and room temperature dopant incorporation was examined. The absorption bands of porphyrin-containing titania sol-gel layers were characterized. By addition of a metal salt to the titania layer, it was possible to metallate the free-base porphyrin within and change the UV-VIS absorbance of the porphyrin, the basis of metal detection using porphyrins. The metalloporphyrins were detected by localized laser ablation inductive coupled mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS), indicating fairly uniform distribution of metals across the titania surface.

Deeply etched rib waveguides on silicon on insulator platform were not addressed well in research publications. We have analyzed single mode condition and polarization independence of a deeply etched rib waveguide (DE-RW) structure from biosensing perspective. With this rib structure, an asymmetrically etched integrated optic directional coupler has been numerically modeled to have the same coupling length for quasi- TE and TM modes. The coupling coefficients with the glucose solution as an upper cladding were calculated using a full vector mode solver, and the bulk refractive index sensitivity of the sensor was found as 28.305×10-2 /RIU for a fundamental quasi-TE mode.

This paper reports an application of an optical fiber sensor in a continuous and in situ failure testing of an E-glass/vinylester top hat stiffener (THS). The sensor head was constructed from a compact phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG). The narrow transmission channel of the PS-FBG is highly sensitive to small perturbation, hence suitable to be used in acoustic emission (AE) assessment technique. The progressive failure of THS was tested under transverse loading to experimentally simulate the actual loading in practice. Our experimental tests have demonstrated, in good agreement with the commercial piezoelectric sensors, that the important failures information of the THS was successfully recorded by the simple intensity-type PS-FBG sensor.

This paper reviews high temperature sensing applications based on fiber Bragg gratings fabricated by use of femtosecond laser. Type II fiber Bragg gratings fabricated in the silica fiber can sustain up to 1200 ℃ while that fabricated in the sapphire fiber have the good thermal stability up to 1745 ℃.