Open AccessCurvature sensing using a hybrid polycarbonate-silica multicore fiber
Author(s) -
Tommy Boilard,
Guillaume Bilodeau,
Steeve Morency,
Younès Messaddeq,
Richard Fortier,
François Trépanier,
Martin Bernier
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.411363
Subject(s) - materials science , curvature , cladding (metalworking) , polycarbonate , optics , photonic crystal fiber , optical fiber , silica fiber , all silica fiber , plastic clad silica fiber , fiber optic sensor , hard clad silica optical fiber , core (optical fiber) , multi core processor , plastic optical fiber , bending , fiber , composite material , fiber laser , computer science , physics , geometry , mathematics , operating system
We report on the development of a novel hybrid glass-polymer multicore fiber integrating three 80 µm polyimide-coated silica fibers inside a 750 µm polycarbonate cladding. By inscribing an array of distributed FBGs along each segment of silica fiber prior to the hybrid fiber drawing, we demonstrate a curvature sensor with an unprecedented precision of 296 pm/m -1 around 1550 nm, about 7 times more sensitive than sensors based on standard 125 µm multicore fibers. As predicted by theory, we show experimentally that the measured curvature is insensitive to temperature and strain. Also, a more precise equation to describe the curvature on a simple bending setup is presented. This new hybrid multicore fiber technology has the potential to be extended over several kilometers and can find high-end applications in 3D shape sensing and structural health monitoring.