Birefringent microfiber-based fiber loop mirrors for tunable filters and refractive index sensors

Abstract

Highly birefringent (Hi-Bi) microfiber-based fiber loop mirrors (FLMs) were studied for tunable comb filters and refractive index (RI) sensors. RI sensitivity of up to 15,441 nm/RIU was experimentally demonstrated for the RI sensors and, for the tunable filter a thermal tuning coefficient of ~-2.35nm/°C was obtained for temperature from 20 to 90°C when it was immersed into water. The use of two cascaded Hi-Bi micro-tapers within a Sagnac loop allows more flexibility in controlling the transmission/reflection spectraums of the FLM. The length of the tapered Hi-Bi microfibers is on the order of centimeters, two orders of magnitude shorter than the conventional Hi-Bi fiber-based devices.