In-Fiber Thermally Diffused Coupler and Fiber Bragg Grating Inscribed in Twin-Core Fiber for Sensitivity-Enhanced Vector Bending Sensing

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.