Femtosecond Laser Inscribed Bragg Gratings in Low Loss CYTOP Polymer Optical Fiber

We report on the first inscription of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP)-perfluorinated polymer optical fibers (POFs). We have used a direct write method with a femtosecond laser operating in the visible. The FBGs have a typical reflectivity of 70%, a bandwidth of 0.25 nm, a 3-mm length, and an index change of ~10-4. The FBGs operate in the C-band, where CYTOP offers key advantages over polymethyl methacrylate optical fibers, displaying significantly lower optical loss in the important near-infrared (NIR) optical communications window. In addition, we note that CYTOP has a far lower affinity for water absorption and a core-mode refractive index that coincides with the aqueous index regime. These properties offer several unique opportunities for POF sensing at NIR wavelengths, such as compatibility with existing optical networks, the potential for POF sensor multiplexing and suitability for biosensing. We demonstrate compatibility with a commercial Bragg grating demodulator.