Abstract
A vector bending fiber sensor based on core-by-core inscribed fiber Bragg gratings in a twin-core fiber has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. An in-fiber integrated vector bending sensor is realized by using the thermal diffusion technique to fabricate the coupler. The characteristics of the coupler fabricated by thermal diffusion are simulated and experimented. By inscribing fiber Bragg gratings with different reflection wavelengths in the two cores of a symmetrical twin-core fiber, the curvature sensitivity can be enhanced by tracking the wavelength difference between the fiber Bragg gratings of the two cores. The measured bending sensitivity of the fiber Bragg grating ranges from −161.6 pm/m−1 to +165.5 pm/m−1. The differential sensitivity of the two cores is twice that of a conventional single grating, and the temperature-induced crosstalk is also reduced. The bending sensor proposed in this paper has the advantages of high integration, enhancing the sensitivity and two-dimensional orientation recognizability, and reducing temperature crosstalk, which can be a promising candidate for structural health monitoring or wearable artificial electronics applications.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
J. M. Lopez-Higuera, L. Rodriguez Cobo, A. Quintela Incera, and A. Cobo, “Fiber optic sensors in structural health monitoring,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2011, 29(4): 587–608.
R. G. Duncan and M. T. Raum, “Characterization of a fiber-optic shape and position sensor,” Smart Structures and Materials 2006: Smart Sensor Monitoring Systems and Applications, 2006, 6167: 26–36.
O. Arrizabalaga, Q. Sun, M. Beresna, T. Lee, J. Zubia, J. V. Pascual, et al., “High-performance vector bending and orientation distinguishing curvature sensor based on asymmetric coupled multi-core fibre,” Scientific Reports, 2020, 10(1): 14058.
H. Bai, S. Li, J. Barreiros, Y. Tu, C. R. Pollock, and R. F. Shepherd, “Stretchable distributed fiber-optic sensors,” Science, 2020, 370(6518): 848–852.
I. M. Van Meerbeek, C. M. De Sa, and R. F. Shepherd, “Soft optoelectronic sensory foams with proprioception,” Science Robotics, 2018, 3(24): eaau2489.
J. Villatoro, A. V. Newkirk, E. Antonio-Lopez, J. Zubia, A. Schülzgen, and R. Amezcua-Correa, “Ultrasensitive vector bending sensor based on multicore optical fiber,” Optics Letters, 2016, 41(4): 832–835.
K. Dong, X. Peng, and Z. L. Wang, “Fiber/fabric-based piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators for flexible/stretchable and wearable electronics and artificial intelligence,” Advanced Materials, 2020, 32(5): 1902549.
L. Xiang, X. Zeng, F. Xia, W. Jin, Y. Liu, and Y. Hu, “Recent advances in flexible and stretchable sensing systems: from the perspective of system integration,” ACS Nano, 2020, 14(6): 6449–6469.
X. Yang, Z. Chen, C. S. M. Elvin, L. H. Y. Janice, S. H. Ng, J. T. Teo, et al., “Textile fiber optic microbend sensor used for heartbeat and respiration monitoring,” IEEE Sensors Journal, 2015, 15(2): 757–761.
A. G. Leal-Junior, A. Frizera-Neto, M. J. Pontes, and T. R. Botelho, “Hysteresis compensation technique applied to polymer optical fiber curvature sensor for lower limb exoskeletons,” Measurement Science and Technology, 2017, 28(12): 125103.
J. Amorebieta, A. Ortega-Gomez, G. Durana, R. Fernández, E. Antonio-Lopez, A. Schülzgen, et al., “Compact omnidirectional multicore fiber-based vector bending sensor,” Scientific Reports, 2021, 11(1): 5989.
R. Idrisov, I. Floris, M. Rothhardt, and H. Bartelt, “Characterization and calibration of shape sensors based on multicore optical fibre,” Optical Fiber Technology, 2021, 61: 102319.
G. Yin, Z. Xu, J. Ma, and T. Zhu, “Simultaneous measurement of bending and torsion in optical fiber shape sensor,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2022: 1–7.
Y. Wei, T. Jiang, C. Liu, X. Zhao, L. Li, R. Wang, et al., “Sawtooth fiber MZ vector bending sensor available for multi parameter measurement,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2020, 40(17): 6037–6044.
Y. Kong and X. Shu, “In-fiber hybrid cladding waveguide by femtosecond inscription for two-dimensional vector bend sensing,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2021, 39(7): 2194–2204.
Z. Li, Y. X. Zhang, W. G. Zhang, L. X. Kong, Y. Yue, T. Y. Yan, et al., “Parallelized fiber Michelson interferometers with advanced curvature sensitivity plus abated temperature crosstalk,” Optics Letters, 2020, 45(18): 4996–4999.
P. Saffari, T. Allsop, A. Adebayo, D. Webb, R. Haynes, and M. M. Roth, “Long period grating in multicore optical fiber: an ultra-sensitive vector bending sensor for low curvatures,” Optics Letters, 2014, 39(12): 3508–3511.
D. Barrera, J. Madrigal, and S. Sales, “Long period gratings in multicore optical fibers for directional curvature sensor implementation,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2018, 36(4): 1063–1068.
D. Zheng, J. Madrigal, H. Chen, D. Barrera, and S. Sales, “Multicore fiber-Bragg-grating-based directional curvature sensor interrogated by a broadband source with a sinusoidal spectrum,” Optics Letters, 2017, 42(18): 3710–3713.
D. Barrera, J. Madrigal, and S. Sales, “Tilted fiber Bragg gratings in multicore optical fibers for optical sensing,” Optics Letters, 2017, 42(7): 1460–1463.
M. Jang, J. S. Kim, S. H. Um, S. Yang, and J. Kim, “Ultra-high curvature sensors for multi-bend structures using fiber Bragg gratings,” Optics Express, 2019, 27(3): 2074–2084.
M. J. Gander, “Bend measurement using Bragg gratings in multicore fibre,” in Fourteenth International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors, Italy, 2000, pp. 535–538.
G. M. H. Flockhart, W. N. MacPherson, J. S. Barton, J. D. C. Jones, L. Zhang, and I. Bennion, “Two-axis bend measurement with Bragg gratings in multicore optical fiber,” Optics Letters, 2003, 28(6): 387–389.
Y. Li, G. M. Bubel, D. J. Kudelko, M. F. Yan, and M. J. Andrejco, “A novel twin-core fiber grating sensor system and its applications,” Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications VII, 2010, 7677: 103–110.
M. Hou, K. Yang, J. He, X. Xu, S. Ju, K. Guo, et al., “Two-dimensional vector bending sensor based on seven-core fiber Bragg gratings,” Optics Express, 2018, 26(18): 23770–23781.
W. Bao, N. Sahoo, Z. Sun, C. Wang, S. Liu, Y. Wang, et al., “Selective fiber Bragg grating inscription in four-core fiber for two-dimension vector bending sensing,” Optics Express, 2020, 28(18): 26461–26469.
P. S. Westbrook, K. S. Feder, T. Kremp, T. F. Taunay, E. Monberg, J. Kelliher, et al., “Integrated optical fiber shape sensor modules based on twisted multicore fiber grating arrays,” Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Diagnostics and Treatment Applications XIV, 2014, 8938: 88–94.
L. Meng, G. Chen, D. Wang, and L. Yuan, “Thermal diffusion technique for in-fiber discrete waveguide manipulation and modification: a tutorial,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2021, 39(12): 3638–3653.
G. Chen, H. Deng, S. Yang, C. Ma, and L. Yuan, “An in-fiber integrated multifunctional mode converter,” Optical Fiber Technology, 2019, 52: 101961.
Y. Zhao, A. Zhou, X. Ouyang, Y. Ouyang, C. Zhou, and L. Yuan, “A stable twin-core-fiber-based integrated coupler fabricated by thermally diffused core technique,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2017, 35(24): 5473–5478.
G. Kliros, “Coupling coefficient of thermally diffused expanded core fiber couplers,” Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 2011, 5: 193–197.
K. Shiraishi, Y. Aizawa, and S. Kawakami, “Beam expanding fiber using thermal diffusion of the dopant,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, 1990, 8(8): 1151–1161.
A. D. Yablon, “Novel multifocus tomography for measurement of microstructured and multicore optical fibers,” Fiber Lasers XI: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 2014, 8961: 66–71.
E. Cuche, P. Marquet, and C. Depeursinge, “Spatial filtering for zero-order and twin-image elimination in digital off-axis holography,” Applied Optics, 2000, 39(23): 4070–4075.
P. Ferraro, P. Marquet, and C. Depeursinge, “Compensation of the inherent wave front curvature in digital holographic coherent microscopy for quantitative phase-contrast imaging,” Applied Optics, 2003, 42(11): 1938–1946.
A. J. Devaney, “A filtered backpropagation algorithm for diffraction tomography,” Ultrasonic Imaging, 1982, 4(4): 336–350.
A. D. Yablon, “Optics of fiber fusion splicing,” Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2005: 91–135.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFB2203903); National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61827819, 61735009, and 61905154); partially supported by special fund for Bagui Scholars Program of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Grant No. 2019A38), and Guangxi Innovation-Driven Development Project (Grant No. AA18242043).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Meng, L., Wang, H., Xia, Q. et al. In-Fiber Thermally Diffused Coupler and Fiber Bragg Grating Inscribed in Twin-Core Fiber for Sensitivity-Enhanced Vector Bending Sensing. Photonic Sens 13, 230310 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-023-0683-z
Received:
Revised:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-023-0683-z