Characteristics of Deuterium-Loaded Fiber Bragg Gratings

Fiber Bragg gratings with controllable reflectance and bandwidth were fabricated by employing high-pressure deuterium loading for photosensitivity enhancement and by utilizing a phase mask for holographic exposure. The absorption peak near 1.71 mu m was used as an indicator to monitor the evolution of deuterium diffusion into and out of the fiber? and it was noted that the measured results were consistent with the simulated ones. Thermal hysteresis of the fiber Bragg grating was markedly reduced and reliability was therefore increased, following annealing. The difference between hydrogen and deuterium loadings is also discussed.