Abstract
We experimentally characterized a birefringent side-hole microstructured fiber in the visible wavelength region. The spectral dependence of the group and phase modal birefringence was measured using the methods of spectral interferometry. The phase modal birefringence of the investigated fiber increases with wavelength, but its positive sign is opposite to the sign of the group modal birefringence. We also measured the sensing characteristics of the fiber using a method of tandem spectral interferometry. Spectral interferograms corresponding to different values of a physical parameter were processed to retrieve the spectral phase functions and to determine the spectral dependence of polarimetric sensitivity to strain, temperature and hydrostatic pressure. A negative sign of the polarimetric sensitivity was deduced from the simulation results utilizing the known modal birefringence dispersion of the fiber. Our experimental results show that the investigated fiber has a very high polarimetric sensitivity to hydrostatic pressure, reaching −200 rad × MPa−1× m−1 at 750 nm.
Highlights
Birefringent (HB) fibers, such as conventional elliptical-core, bow-tie or side-hole fibers, can be used as active elements of fiber-optic sensor configurations utilizing the interference of polarization modes
The spectral dependence of the group and phase modal birefringence is measured using the methods of spectral interferometry
The sensing characteristics of the fiber are measured using a method of tandem spectral interferometry
Summary
Birefringent (HB) fibers, such as conventional elliptical-core, bow-tie or side-hole fibers, can be used as active elements of fiber-optic sensor configurations utilizing the interference of polarization modes. The phase shift can be measured by interferometric or polarimetric methods that can be used in interferometric and polarimetric sensors for measuring different physical quantities, such as temperature, hydrostatic pressure and elongation [1,2]. The holes break the mechanical symmetry of the fiber and are responsible for a high change of the phase modal birefringence when a symmetrical load induced by hydrostatic pressure applied to the fiber cladding is transferred into nonsymmetrical stress distribution in the core region. Conventional HB fibers exhibit temperature-sensitive birefringence, so that when they are used for sensing other parameters than temperature, such as hydrostatic pressure, the temperature cross-sensitivity affects the measurement accuracy significantly. To overcome this limitation, HB microstructured (MS)
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