Temperature and strain discrimination using a single tilted fibre Bragg grating

A fibre optic sensor capable of discriminating between temperature and strain, using a single fibre Bragg grating, is presented. The technique exploits the core–cladding mode coupling of a tilted fibre Bragg grating (TFBG). The core and cladding modes exhibit different thermal sensivities, while the strain sensivities are approximately equal. Monitoring the core–core mode coupling resonance and the core–cladding mode coupling resonance of the TFBG spectrum allows the separation of the temperature and strain induced wavelength shifts.