Birefringent azopolymer long period fiber gratings induced by 532 nm polarized laser

Based on the photoinduced birefringence in azo materials, the model of the birefringent long period fiber gratings (BLPFGs) has been proposed and the transmission of such birefringent fiber gratings was further simulated by the coupled mode theory. In order to obtain the optimum condition for making birefringent azopolymer optical fiber (APOF) gratings the photoinduced birefringence of azo dye and methyl methacrylate (MMA) copolymers was systematically studied. After photosensitivity study of azo samples, using Teflon technique, azo dye containing single mode polymer optical fiber (POF) was fabricated. Finally, BLPFGs can be fabricated in azopolymer fiber using polarized 532 nm laser. A 120 μm LPFG with a 50% duty cycle has been successfully written within the core of the fiber with 532 nm laser by an amplitude mask method. Under polarized microphotography, the grating was observed when the optical axis was set at 45° with the direction of the first polarizing lens of the polarization microscope.