UV-Inscribed Optical Fiber Gratings in Mid-IR Range and Their Laser Applications

We have UV-inscribed fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), long-period gratings (LPGs), and tilted fiber gratings (TFGs) into mid-IR 2m range using three common optical fiber grating fabrication techniques (two-beam holographic, phase mask, and point-by-point). The fabricated FBGs have been evaluated for thermal and strain response. It has been revealed that the FBG devices with responses in mid-IR range are much more sensitive to temperature than that in near-IR range. To explore the unique cladding mode coupling function, we have investigated the thermal and refractive index sensitivities of LPGs and identified that the coupled cladding modes in mid-IR range are also much more sensitive to temperature and surrounding medium refractive index change. The 45 tilted fiber gratings (45-TFGs) as polarizing devices in mid-IR have been investigated for their polarization extinction characteristics. As efficient reflection filters and in-cavity polarizers, the mid-IR FBGs and 45-TFGs have been employed in fiber laser cavity to realize multi-wavelength 2 m Tm-doped CW and mode locked fiber lasers, respectively.