Abstract
A new method for microfiber Bragg gratings (μ-FBGs) fabrication by means of two-photon polymerization in photosensitive resin is reported. Such polymerized μ-FBGs were cured along with the surface of microfibers without any damage or distortion to the substrate. The laser intensity was optimized to improve the spectral properties of the polymerized gratings. The refractive index measurement was performed and the maximum sensitivity obtained is ~207 nm/RIU at the refractive index value of 1.440 with the fiber diameter being 1.7 μm. This work opens a new idea for optical structure integration and further optical functionality integration.
Highlights
Microfiber is an important substrate for photonic devices in optical fiber communication and optical fiber sensing due to its intrinsic properties, i.e. large evanescent field, small modefield area, high nonlinearity and low-loss connection with single-mode fiber (SMF) [1,2,3,4]
The laser intensity was optimized to improve the spectral properties of the polymerized gratings
This work opens a new idea for optical structure integration and further optical functionality integration
Summary
Microfiber is an important substrate for photonic devices in optical fiber communication and optical fiber sensing due to its intrinsic properties, i.e. large evanescent field, small modefield area, high nonlinearity and low-loss connection with single-mode fiber (SMF) [1,2,3,4]. A variety of microfiber Bragg gratings (μ-FBGs) based on structural change or refractive index modulation of material have been successfully fabricated by use of different fabrication methods, i.e. chemical etching [5], femtosecond (Fs) laser micromachining [6,7,8], ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation [9], and focused ion beam milling [10,11]. In the mentioned works, the Bragg resonances are realized by introducing structural damage to microfibers or RI modulation in the microfibers. Since the micro-bull was realized by TPP [13], different kinds of applications of TPP have sprung up, i.e. microfluidic devices [14], biomedical structures [15], MEMS [13, 16, 17]
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