A Novel Electrically Tunable Long-Period Fiber Grating Using a Liquid Crystal Cladding Layer
A. Czaplaa, b, T.R. Wolińskia, E. Nowinowski-Kruszelnickic and W.J. Bockb
aFaculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, Koszykowa 75, 00-662 Warszawa, Poland
bPhotonics Reaserch Center, Univ. du Québec en Outaouais, Rue Saint-Jean-Bosco 101, J8X 3X7 Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
cMilitary University of Technology, Gen. S. Kaliskiego 2, 00-908 Warszawa, Poland
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The main aim of the presented work is the integration of a long-period fiber grating and a liquid crystal into a hybrid structure, in order to develop an innovative fiber optic device controlled by an external electric field. The studied long-period fiber grating was fabricated using UV irradiation in a boron co-doped fiber (PS1250/1500, manufactured by Fibercore). As a liquid crystal we used a typical 5CB nematic liquid crystal. The sensing mechanism of the proposed loss filter relies on long-period fiber grating attenuation bands sensitivity to optical properties of the liquid crystal layer. The results obtained show that the long-period fiber grating with a nanosized liquid crystal layer exhibits one order of magnitude higher electrical sensitivity and a lower level of the voltage control than the long-period fiber grating with a micro-sized liquid crystal layer.
DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.118.1104
PACS numbers: 42.81.Cn, 42.79.Dj, 42.81.Pa, 42.79.Kr