Abstract

In this paper, we report on the fabrication, characterization, and sensing applications of a high-birefringence suspended-core fiber (HB-SCF) using the stack-and-draw technique. Capillaries in two sizes were used for stacking, forming an elliptical core, giving rise to geometric modal birefringence of the HB-SCF. Through a finite-element method, the theoretical values of the phase and group modal birefringence of the HB-SCF were found to be $2.59 \times 10^{-4}$ and $4.75 \times 10^{-4}$ , respectively. Based on a Sagnac interferometer (SI), the group modal birefringence of the HB-SCF was measured to be $4.84 \times 10^{-4}$ , which agrees well with the theoretical result. The sensing characteristics of the HB-SCF SI for pressure, strain, and torsion measurements were analyzed theoretically and investigated experimentally. It exhibits sensitivities of 2.82 nm/MPa for hydrostatic pressure, 0.43 pm/μϵ for strain, and 0.0157/° for torsion measurements. The HB-SCF is made entirely of pure silica without stress-applying parts, thus its modal birefringence is thermally insensitive, resulting in a low temperature sensitivity of ∼1 pm/°C.

© 2014 IEEE

Intermodal coupling of supermodes in a twin-core photonic crystal fiber and
its application as a pressure sensor

Zhengyong Liu, Ming-Leung Vincent Tse, Chuang Wu, Daru Chen, Chao Lu, and Hwa-Yaw Tam
Opt. Express 20(19) 21749-21757 (2012)

High pressure sensor based on photonic crystal fiber for downhole application

H. Y. Fu, Chuang Wu, M. L. V. Tse, Lin Zhang, Kei-Chun Davis Cheng, H. Y. Tam, Bai-Ou Guan, and C. Lu
Appl. Opt. 49(14) 2639-2643 (2010)

Temperature dependence of birefringence in ethanol-filled suspended core fiber

Jose Luis Vilas, Jose Antonio Sanchez-Martin, and Eusebio Bernabeu
Appl. Opt. 55(23) 6222-6228 (2016)

Temperature- and strain-independent torsion sensor using a fiber loop mirror based on suspended twin-core fiber

Orlando Frazão, Ricardo M. Silva, Jens Kobelke, and Kay Schuster
Opt. Lett. 35(16) 2777-2779 (2010)

Measurements of polarimetric sensitivity to hydrostatic pressure, strain and temperature in birefringent dual-core microstructured polymer fiber

Marcin K. Szczurowski, Tadeusz Martynkien, Gabriela Statkiewicz-Barabach, Waclaw Urbanczyk, and David J. Webb
Opt. Express 18(12) 12076-12087 (2010)