Development of fiber Bragg gratings technology and their complex structures for sensing, telecommunications and microwave photonics applications

In this paper research on the development of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology which has been conducted at the Institute of Electronic Systems (IES), Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) since 2004 is presented. In particular the directions in the development of advanced set-ups employing the phase mask inscription scheme are discussed and supported with the descriptions of structures designed and fabricated with the use of the laboratory stages constructed at the IES. The novelty of the presented solutions is based on the combination of numerous techniques of the external modification of the interferometric patterns (projected onto cores of photosensitive fibers to modulate their refractive index) as well as application of the modification of the internal properties of the waveguides themselves by the means of introducing strain or tapering. The development of these sophisticated set-ups resulted in the inscription of FBGs with precisely designed spectral characteristics which found application in telecommunications and sensor technology are also illustrated here. The paper is summarized with the specification of the most important achievements attained at the lab and drafting of the possible directions of further research.