Three-parameter optical fiber sensor based

on a tilted fiber Bragg grating

Nélia J. Alberto,1,* Carlos A. Marques,2 João L. Pinto,1 and Rogério N. Nogueira2

1
Instituto de Nanoestruturas, Nanomodelação e Nanofabricação e Departamento de Física,
Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
2
Instituto de Telecomunicações—Pólo de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
*Corresponding author: nelia@ua.pt

Received 7 July 2010; revised 29 September 2010; accepted 1 October 2010;

posted 4 October 2010 (Doc. ID 131275); published 27 October 2010

A three-parameter optical sensor based on a tilted fiber Bragg grating is proposed. Through the mon-
itoring of the wavelength shift of the core mode resonance and the ghost mode resonance, it is possible to
discriminate strain and temperature. In addition, the refractive index can be determined by calculating
the normalized transmission spectrum area. With the current approach, resolutions of up to 5:7 × 10−4 ,
4 με, and 3:1 °C were achieved, for refractive index, strain, and temperature, respectively. The developed
sensor can be an important tool in several areas of engineering, namely, biomedical, biological, and
environmental sensing. © 2010 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: 060.2310, 060.2370, 060.3735.

1. Introduction and the possibility of remote measurements in

The monitoring of physical, chemical, and biological
parameters is of relevant importance in numerous
areas, including structural health monitoring [1], de-
tection of soil and water contaminants [2], biorecogni-
tion of analytes [3], and biomedical applications [4].
The refractive index (RI) is one of the most impor-
tant parameters to be measured, since it can provide
information about the presence/absence of certain
substances [5], the cure process of materials [6],
and clinical diagnosis [7]. However, due to the hetero-
geneity and complexity of the analyzed media, it is
also essential to investigate others parameters, such
as temperature and strain.
The monitoring systems should be, apart from
other requirements, chemically inert, immune to elec-
tromagnetic interferences and harsh environments,
and minimally invasive. Fiber optic technology, due
to its characteristics, is an excellent alternative. In
addition to these features, fiber optics still presents
low weight, compact size, multiplexing capabilities,
0003-6935/10/316085-07$15.00/0
© 2010 Optical Society of America
real time.
Based on this technology, several schemes have
been proposed for individual measurement of RI,
temperature, and strain. Some allow the simulta-
neous measurement of two of these parameters,
namely, strain/temperature [8,9] and temperature/
RI [10]. A methodology used to discern temperature
and strain based on the core and ghost modes mon-
itoring has been reported in [8], however, no RI
measurements were studied.
We propose a multiparameter sensor for simulta-
neous measurement of strain, temperature, and RI.
The device is based on a single 8° tilted fiber Bragg
grating (TFBG) and the sensing mechanism relies
on monitoring the core mode and ghost mode wave-
length shift for discrimination of temperature and
strain. The two modes present different sensitivities
to temperature and practically equal sensitivity to
strain. The RI is determined by computation of the
transmission spectrum area of the grating. An ap-
proach for the measurement of the RI, with no addi-
tional parameter, based on the envelope area of the
cladding mode resonances, has been reported by
Laffont and Ferdinand [11]. However, it depends on

1 November 2010 / Vol. 49, No. 31 / APPLIED OPTICS 6085

a complex algorithm for determination of the lower
and upper envelope curves.
To the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to
report a sensor for simultaneous measurement of
strain, temperature, and RI. Moreover, compared
with other multiparameter sensing systems, the con-
figuration proposed does not involve special
materials [12,13] and/or complex grating fabrication
techniques [10,14].
2. Theory of TFBGs
TFBGs are short period gratings in which the modu-
lation of the RI is purposely tilted with respect to the
longitudinal axis of the fiber, in order to enhance the
coupling of light between the forward-propagating
core mode and the backward-propagating cladding
modes (Fig. 1) [15].
The wavelengths of the Bragg reflection λB and the
cladding mode resonances λiclad are determined by the
phase matching condition and can be expressed as
2neff Λ
λB ¼ ; ð1Þ
cos θ
ðnieff ;core þ nieff ;clad ÞΛ
λiclad ¼ ; ð2Þ
cos θ
where neff , nieff ;core , and nieff ;clad are the effective in-
dices of the core mode at λB , the core mode, and
the ith cladding mode at λiclad , respectively. The grat-
ing period Λg along the axis of the fiber is given by
Λg ¼ Λ= cos θ, where θ is the tilt angle.
The backward-propagating cladding modes at-
tenuate rapidly and are not observed in the reflection
spectrum. Instead, they are observed in the trans-
mission spectrum as numerous resonances. Figure 2
shows the transmission spectrum characteristic of
a TFBG.
As it can be seen, it has the core mode resonance,
several cladding mode resonances, and, between
them, the ghost mode resonance. This mode consists
in a group of strongly guided cladding modes with
low interaction with the cladding boundary, located
at wavelengths below the core mode.
3. Experimental Setup
The sensor was written in a standard single mode
photosensitive fiber (FiberCore PS1250/1500), with
a 248 nm KrF excimer laser, using the phase mask
technique. The fiber was previously subjected to a
Fig. 1. (Color online) Schematic diagram of a TFBG where θ is the
tilt angle and Λg is the grating period.
6086 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 49, No. 31 / 1 November 2010
Fig. 2. Transmission spectrum of a TFBG with 15 mm of length
and an 8° tilt angle.
hydrogenation process that occurred at a pressure
of 150 bars, during two weeks, in order to enhance
its photosensitivity.
In the grating writing process, the phase mask was
tilted in the perpendicular plane to the incident laser
beam. The resulting TFBG has a length and a tilt of
15 mm and 8°, respectively. Gratings with different
inclinations were previously tested. For small angles,
the RI sensor sensitivity was decreasing. However, for
larger angles, the responses of the core mode and the
ghost mode for strain and temperature were similar,
and it became impossible to discriminate both effects
in the total wavelength shift. Thus, 8° is the resulting
angle of an optimization process. After the writing
process, the TFBG was subjected to annealing at
80 °C, for 24 h, to remove the residual hydrogen.
The TFBG transmission spectra were recorded
with a wavelength resolution of 4:1 pm and a trans-
mission spectrum resolution of 0:02 dB, using an
optical network analyzer (ONA).
The experimental setup used to characterize the
TFBG sensor is shown in Fig. 3. The fiber was placed
inside a cylindrical tube. The tube has a needle at each
end through which the fiber is pulled; see Fig. 3. The
two sides of the fiber were anchored, one to a fixed
block and the other to a block mounted on a linear
translation stage. The whole assembly was placed in-
side a climatic chamber. All the tests were accom-
plished under controlled strain and temperature
conditions.
The immersion liquids used in the experiments
were aqueous glycerin solutions at different concen-
trations, providing a RI range from 1.332 to 1.467.
The nominal RI (nD ) of the solutions was measured
at a wavelength of 590 nm, using a commercial Abbe
refractometer with a resolution of around 10−3 . We
Fig. 3. Experimental setup for the sensor characterization.
also used a set of calibrated oils from Cargille La-
boratories, whose refractive indices were specified
for several wavelengths and temperatures.
4. TFBG Characterization
A. RI Sensitivity
The RI sensitivity was determined by immersing the
grating in the aqueous glycerin solutions and keep-
ing constant the temperature and strain at 20 °C and
294 με, respectively.
The transmission spectrum of the 8° TFBG is
shown in Fig. 4, with the grating immersed in three
different solutions. As the surrounding RI changes,
the coupling characteristics of the cladding modes
and consequently the TFBG transmission spectrum
also change. A smoothing of the spectrum is observed
until only two resonances remain, namely, the core
mode and the ghost mode. The wavelengths of these
two modes are unaffected within the resolution used
in the measurements.
The progressive decrease of the cladding mode re-
sonance strength with the increasing RI is due to the
change of the outer RI toward nieff ;clad . In this process,
the ith cladding mode becomes weakly guided, redu-
cing its resonance amplitude. When the RI equals the
nieff ;clad , the cladding mode is no longer guided into
the fiber, becoming a radiated mode; a smoothing
of the spectrum is observed. In this way, it is possible
to correlate the total power of the guided modes in
the fiber with the outer RI.
As was mentioned above, the RI measurement
relies on the determination of the transmission spec-
trum area (Area) and is given by
Fig. 4. Transmission spectrum of the 8° TFBG for three glycerin
solutions with different RIs.
Zλf
Area ¼ T linear ðλÞdλ; ð3Þ
λi
where λi and λf are the limits of the wavelength range
analyzed, which, in this case, are 1495.500 and
1558:000 nm, respectively. T linear ðλÞ is the transmis-
sion spectrum in linear scale. The Area is then nor-
malized, using as a reference the area obtained when
the grating was immersed in the solution with a RI
equal to 1.332 (Arearef ).
In Fig. 5, the normalized area (Areanorm ) of the
transmission spectra is depicted as a function of
the outer RI. The best fit for the Areanorm , when
the RI changes from 1.332 to 1.467, is a fifth-order
polynomial. A linear approximation can be adjusted
in a reduced RI range. For instance, considering only
the RI range of 1.361–1.418, the RI can be calculated
from
RI ¼ −0:1854Areanorm þ 1:5379: ð4Þ
Through the error propagation analysis, it is possible
to determine the error associated with the RI mea-
surement (ΔRI). This is given by the slope error
(Δm) and the normalized area error (ΔAreanorm ),
according to
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2  
∂RI ∂RI 2
ΔRI ¼ ΔArea2norm þ Δm2 :
∂Areanorm ∂m
ð5Þ
The area error is the product between the minimum
wavelength step (4:1 pm) and the minimum power
step of the measurement equipment (100:02 dB=10 ). As
the results presented were normalized, ΔAreanorm is
given by ΔArea=Arearef. Thus, an error of 2:4 × 10−3
is obtained. This is an expected result, since an Abbe
refractometer with 1 × 10−3 resolution was used as a
reference. If only the ΔAreanorm is considered, the ex-
pected resolution is 2 × 10−5. To demonstrate that the
RI resolution can be enhanced if a better RI reference
is used, a Cargille oil, whose RI is known to within a
Fig. 5. Variation of the normalized area of the transmission
spectra as a function of the RI.
1 November 2010 / Vol. 49, No. 31 / APPLIED OPTICS 6087
resolution of 1 × 10−4 (RI ¼ 1:4240 at 20 °C) was
tested. By varying the temperature in small steps,
small RI variations were obtained. The thermo-optic
coefficient (∂n=∂T) of the liquid is −0:000403 C−1. The
results can be seen in Fig. 6 and, using Eq. (5), a RI
resolution of 5:7 × 10−4 is obtained, demonstrating
that the main source of error was due to the measure-
ment method used as reference.
B. Strain and Temperature Sensitivity
When a TFBG is subjected to axial strain, Δε, and
temperature changes, ΔT, the wavelength shift for
the core mode and cladding modes, ΔλB and Δλiclad ,
can be written by

ΔλB ¼ kcore;ε Δε þ kcore;T ΔT; ð6Þ

Δλiclad ¼ kiclad;ε Δε þ kiclad;T ΔT; ð7Þ

where Fig. 7. Transmission spectrum of the 8° TFBG for three different

strain values.
2neff ∂Λ 2Λ ∂neff
kcore;ε ¼ þ ;
cos θ ∂ε cos θ ∂ε permissible and the resolution used in the
2Λ ∂neff 2neff ∂Λ measurements.
kcore;T ¼ þ ; To calculate the strain TFBG sensitivity, the grat-
cos θ ∂T cos θ ∂T
ðnieff ;core þ nieff ;clad Þ ∂Λ ing was subjected to strain ranging between 0 and
kiclad;ε ¼ 1464 με. It was applied using the translation stage.
cos θ ∂ε During the experiment, the grating was immersed
Λ ∂ðneff ;core þ neff ;clad Þ
i i
in a glycerin solution with RI equal to 1.382 at 20 °C.
þ ; Figure 7 shows the TFBG transmission spectrum
cos θ ∂ε
for three different strain values. A translation of the
Λ ∂ðneff ;core þ neff ;clad Þ
i i
kiclad;T ¼ full spectrum for higher wavelengths is observed as
cos θ ∂T the strain increases, while the Areanorm is unaffected,
neff ;core þ neff ;clad ∂Λ
i i
as can be confirmed with the results of the Fig. 8.
þ : Areanorm was calculated using a moving window,
cos θ ∂T
which followed the wavelength translation of the
In both expressions, the wavelength shift due to the resonance modes.
strain and temperature effects are given in the first The wavelength shift experienced by the core mode
and second terms, respectively. and the ghost mode as a function of the applied strain
According to Eqs. (6) and (7), the core mode reso- is depicted in Fig. 8. The core mode and ghost
nance and cladding mode resonances have different mode wavelength varies linearly and with the same
sensitivities to strain and temperature variations. amplitude with the applied strain. The sensitivities
However, in the case of strain, this discrepancy can calculated were 1:030
0:001 pm=με for both modes.
be neglected, considering the maximum strain

Fig. 8. Strain sensitivity of the TFBG and normalized area of the

Fig. 6. Normalized area as a function of RI of the Cargille oil. spectrum.

6088 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 49, No. 31 / 1 November 2010

 Fig. 10. Characterization of the TFBG to RI at two different
temperatures.

plished based on the principles discussed

previously in Section 4.
The RI is determined by monitoring the normal-
ized area of the transmission spectrum. In this
Fig. 9. Transmission spectra of the TFBG for three different experimental work, the area obtained with the grat-
temperatures. ing immersed in water was used as reference. In the
cases of strain and temperature, the wavelength
shift of the core mode and the ghost mode were mea-
The minimum strain variation that can be detected sured. The sensing mechanism is based on the fact
is 4 με. that the modes have different sensitivities to tem-
The thermal characterization of the TFBG was ac- perature and sensitivities that can be considered
complished by immersing the grating in a glycerin equal to strain.
solution with RI equal to 1.427 at 294 με, and with In a practical situation, it is necessary to discrimi-
the temperature varying from 20 °C to 70 °C in nate the contribution of each parameter on the total
10 °C steps. The variations in the transmission spec- wavelength shift experienced by the core mode and
trum caused by the temperature changes can be the ghost mode. To that, a matrix system can be
observed in Fig. 9. constructed:
Two alterations can be noticed in the transmission     
spectra. First, there is a redshift in the wavelength of Δλcore kcore;ε kcore;T Δε
¼ : ð8Þ
the spectra as temperature increases; it is caused by Δλiclad i i
kclad;ε kclad;T ΔT
the changes in the grating period and in the effective
RI of the different modes. The other variation is in The strain and thermal sensitivity coefficients were
the spectrum area, which is due to the RI change of calculated previously. The ith cladding mode anal-
the glycerin solution. To investigate if there is any yzed was the ghost mode. Thus, the variation of
influence of the temperature in the spectrum area the two parameters, Δε and ΔT, can be determined
apart from the contribution of the RI changes, the by the following relationship:
TFBG was characterized to RI, at 20 °C and 40 °C,    −1  
using a set of Cargille oils. The results are presented Δε 0:0010 0:0085 Δλcore
¼ : ð9Þ
in Fig. 10 and no modification is observed, demon- ΔT 0:0010 0:0098 Δλiclad
strating the insensitivity of the spectrum area to this
parameter. The thermal sensitivity of the core mode
and ghost mode is shown in Fig. 11.
As temperature increases, a linear wavelength
shift is observed for the two modes. However, the am-
plitude is different, as expected from Eqs. (6) and (7),
being more accentuated in the case of the ghost
mode. The sensitivities calculated were 8:5

0:1 pm=°C and 9:8
0:1 pm, for the core mode and
the ghost mode, respectively. The resolution obtained
is around 0:5 °C for each mode.

5. Multiparameter Sensor
The simultaneous measurement of strain, tempera- Fig. 11. Temperature sensitivity of the core mode and the ghost
ture, and RI, using a single TFBG can be accom- mode.

1 November 2010 / Vol. 49, No. 31 / APPLIED OPTICS 6089

 Table 1. Simultaneous Measurements of Temperature,
Strain, and RI and Deviation between Experimental and
Theoretical Values
Values
Theoretical Experimental
1.362 1.367
20 °C 22:8 °C
732 με 667 με
1.446 1.437
40 °C 38:2 °C
1220 με 1350 με
1.391 1.384
60 °C 64:1 °C
488 με 438 με
The current sensor allows the measurement of RI
and strain with 5:7 × 10−4 and 4 με, respectively. As
was also mentioned, the RI measurement resolution
could probably go down to 2 × 10−5 if a better refer-
ence method were used. The temperature measure-
ment is obtained from the wavelength difference
between the core and the ghost modes; therefore,
the temperature resolution will be 3:1 °C, assuming
a wavelength resolution of 4:1 pm.
The sensor validation was accomplished in the la-
boratory. Table 1 shows the values of RI, temperature,
and strain, simultaneously measured with the devel-
oped sensor (experimental values). The theoretical
values were previously determined using the Abbe re-
fractometer, a thermal chamber, and a translation
stage, for RI, temperature, and strain, respectively.
In the same table, the theoretical/experimental
derivation values are also presented. The deviation
between the measured temperature and the corre-
sponding theoretical value varied from 4.5% to 14%.
With regard to the strain, the error obtained is around
10% for all the tests performed. On average, we
achieved a difference of 7 × 10−3 between the experi-
mental and the theoretical RI values, which was ex-
pected, since the reference used in the test was an
Abbe refractometer with a resolution of 10−3. As
was discussed previously, the real error is at least
equal to or below 5:7 × 10−4.
6. Conclusion
A multiparameter sensor for performing simulta-
neous measurement of strain, temperature, and RI
was demonstrated. The developed sensor, based on
a single TFBG, does not involve the use of several
gratings, the application of special coatings, or the
modification of the physical integrity of the fiber.
The sensing principle consists of the computation
of the transmission spectrum area of the TFBG for
determination of the RI. The strain and temperature
are discriminated, monitoring the core mode and
the ghost mode wavelength shift, based on the fact
that both modes have different thermal sensitivities
and approximately equal sensitivities to strain
variations.
6090 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 49, No. 31 / 1 November 2010
The individual resolution values achieved were
5:7 × 10−4 , 4 με, and 0:5 °C, for RI, strain, and tem-
perature, respectively. Theoretically, the device may
detect variations of 2 × 10−5 ; nevertheless, due to the
Error RI reference limitation, it was not possible to confirm
this value.
5 × 10−3
14%
The multiparameter sensor was tested in a labora-
8.9% tory, and the maximum error achieved was 10.6% for
9 × 10−3 strain and 14% for temperature. The difference ob-
4.5% tained in the case of RI was 7 × 10−3, which can be
10.6% explained with the RI reference resolution used. It
7 × 10−3 is expected that the real RI error in a multipara-
6.8% meter analysis is around 10−4 .
10.2%
The proposed sensor can be a useful tool in
many different applications, such as control of cure
processes of materials, biological and environmental
sensing, and structural health monitoring, where the
analysis of these three parameters is important.
The authors acknowledge the support received
from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portu-
gal, through research grant SFRH/BD/30551/2006
and by the projects PTDC/EEA-TEL/66840/2006
and PTDC/CTM/101538/2008.
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