Open AccessDirect infrared femtosecond laser inscription of chirped fiber Bragg gratings
Author(s) -
Sergei Antipov,
Martin Ams,
Robert J. Williams,
Eric Mägi,
Michael J. Withford,
Alexander Fuerbach
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.000030
Subject(s) - materials science , optics , fiber bragg grating , phosfos , femtosecond , grating , long period fiber grating , cladding (metalworking) , optoelectronics , laser , ultrashort pulse , optical fiber , dispersion shifted fiber , fiber optic sensor , wavelength , physics , metallurgy
We compare and contrast novel techniques for the fabrication of chirped broadband fiber Bragg gratings by ultrafast laser inscription. These methods enable the inscription of gratings with flexible period profiles and thus tailored reflection and dispersion characteristics in non-photosensitive optical fibers. Up to 19.5 cm long chirped gratings with a spectral bandwidth of up to 30 nm were fabricated and the grating dispersion was characterized. A maximum group delay of almost 2 ns was obtained for linearly chirped gratings with either normal or anomalous group velocity dispersion, demonstrating the potential for using these gratings for dispersion compensation. Coupling to cladding modes was reduced by careful design of the inscribed modification features.