Solution-Mediated Annealing of Polymer Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings at Room Temperature

Abstract

In this letter we investigate the response of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microstructured polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings (POFBGs) after immersion in methanol/water solutions at room temperature. As the glass transition temperature of solution-equilibrated PMMA differs from the one of solvent-free PMMA, different concentrations of methanol and water lead to various degrees of frozen-in stress relaxation in the fiber. After solvent evaporation, we observe a permanent blue-shift in the grating resonance wavelength. The main contribution in the resonance wavelength shift arises from a permanent change in the size of the fiber. The results are compared with conventional annealing. The proposed methodology is cost-effective as it does not require a climate chamber. Furthermore, it enables an easy-to-control tuning of the resonance wavelength of POFBGs.

Fast and stable gratings inscription in POFs made of different materials with pulsed 248 nm KrF laser

“…POFs present additional advantages when compared with their silica counterparts, which include flexibility in bending, higher fracture toughness, and lower Young Modulus that provides higher sensitivity in strain sensing applications [5]. In addition, the biocompatibility and non-brittle nature of POFs means that they are clinically acceptable and can be employed in in-vivo applications [6]. Such advantages of POF sensors enable their application to measure parameters like temperature [7], strain [8], humidity [9], curvature [10], acceleration [11], and liquid level [12].…”

Hot water-assisted fabrication of chirped polymer optical fiber Bragg gratings

“…Recently, annealing on water acts as et al [23] Figure 3(a 1.0 °C (gratin central wavel hot water aft similar behav hot water at 5 after 10 mins, bandwidth of water, the ref considerably (Fig. 3(b)…”

Advances on Polymer Optical Fiber Gratings Using a KrF Pulsed Laser System Operating at 248 nm

“…In order to reduce the inscription time for POFBGs, the thermal treatment of annealing was proposed, which comprises keeping the fiber at a temperature close, but below, the material Tg for long periods of time [38]. It is worth mentioning that different annealing treatments were proposed to reduce the annealing time [39] and to reduce the annealing temperature [40], providing a higher range of possibilities for the thermal treatment on the fiber. Another technique for reducing the inscription time is the application of dopants on the POF, which can significantly reduce the inscription time.…”