Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)

What is an FBG?
A fiber Bragg grating is a periodic perturbation (modulation) of the refractive index
in the core of an optical fiber.

Very importance device in Optical Communication: Applications such as

filters etc for WDM application
Refractive index profile of an FBG
d = period

distance

Variation of the Refractive index

of the core of the optical fiber
 When light travels down such a fibre, every time it meets a discontinuity
(change) in the refractive index, a small amount of energy is reflected.

Glass core

Glass cladding Plastic jacket Periodic refraction index change

(Gratings)
 These reflections are very small, especially if ∆n is very small (typical values of
∆n/n ~ 10−3 to 10−4 are typical).

For an arbitrary wavelength (i.e. not the Bragg wavelength), the weak reflections
have no particular phase relation with each other, and therefore their intensities
when added together, give only a small total reflection for that wavelength.

But when the waves reflected off two successive interfaces, are in phase, they
add up constructively; this is a kind of phase matching. The (vacuum) wavelength
for which this occurs is called the Bragg wavelength. Other wavelengths are
nearly not affected by the Bragg grating, except for some side lobes which
frequently occur in the reflection spectrum (but can be suppressed by
apodization). Around the Bragg wavelength, even a weak index modulation (with
an amplitude of e.g. 10-4) is sufficient to achieve nearly total reflection, if the
grating is sufficiently long (e.g. a few millimeters).

λB = 2 nd. (OR )

(Different conventions in different books)

d=period
 Bragg’s Law

AB = d sinq

The rays of the incident beam are in phase and parallel up to the point at which
the top beam strikes the top layer at point z. The second beam must travel the
extra distance AB + BC if the two beams are to continue traveling adjacent and
parallel. This extra distance must be an integral (n) multiple of the wavelength
(λ) for the phases of the two beams to be the same: nλ = AB +BC.
 Bragg’s Law

AB = d sinq

Since AB = BC, nλ = 2AB = 2 d sin q

This is Bragg Law.

When this condition is met, all the reflections from all the pairs of interfaces
are in phase, and the amplitudes of the individual reflected beams add
together. The total reflectivity is a factor of M, where M is the number of
grating periods. Since in a typical fibre grating M ~ 104−105, the grating’s
reflectivity can be substantial, even though the reflectivity of each interface
is tiny. It is this behaviour, that a fibre grating can be highly reflective at
certain specific wavelengths, but almost completely transparent for other
wavelengths, which makes it a useful device as a filter.
Typical reflection spectrum of an FBG
For a fibre grating with a uniform, sinusoidally varying refractive index, the ratio
between the amplitude of the reflected wave at the end of the fibre and the incident
amplitude — the total reflection coefficient of the fibre grating — is given by this
(complex) formula, which is obtained by Coupled Mode Theory:

The total reflectivity, the ratio of the two intensities, is the square of the
magnitude of this quantity.

Note: q, the coupling coefficient is also very commonly denoted by symbol k

 Peak
The peak reflectivity (i.e. reflectivity at the Bragg reflectivity
wavelength)
is given as

Rmax ≅ tanh2κL

where
κ ≅ π.∆n.I / λB and I =overlap integral

(I is the transverse overlap integral of the modal distribution with the region
where grating is formed (i.e. over the core of the fiber). Usually I <1
implying that only a part of the light propagates through the grating (core),
as there is no grating in the cladding.

(Note: The peak reflectivity is obtained when detuning factor = 0 in the

previous slide)
 Typical example

=>

Scan lambda, plot and verify. See effect of various parameters.

 Manufacturing of FBG
Fiber grating is made by periodically changing the refractive index in
the glass core of the fiber. The refraction changes are made by
exposing the fiber to the UV-light with a fixed pattern.

It was observed in 1978 that exposure to ultra-violet light leads to a

change in the refractive index of certain doped glasses (for example,
those doped with germanium). For the first time it was realized that it
was possible to imprint into an optical fibre a pattern of varying
refractive index, which clearly would influence how light travelled
through the fibre. In other words, it was possible to tailor-make optical
fibres with an almost arbitrary range of optical properties.
Fibre Bragg grating is usually fabricated by exposing the fibre, from
the side, to an ultra-violet interference pattern. Since only the core is
doped, a periodic variation is formed in the core but not in the cladding.
Schematically the process might be represented by this diagram,
showing that the refractive index in the core has been altered at the
intensity maximums produced by two interfering ultra-violet beams.

Other methods: (i) phase mask technique,

(ii) UV beam focussing while moving the fiber etc.
 Strong and weak fibre gratings
The change in refractive index ∆n ( that affects the value of q), is multiplied by L.
The product qL is therefore an important quantity with which you describe the
behaviour of a fibre grating. It is called the strength of the grating. Note that there
are a number of equivalent expressions for the strength of the grating.

where M is the number of periods, and d = one period. It is interesting to see how
the shape of the reflectivity graph changes as the
situation changes from a weak grating (qL<< 1) to a strong grating (qL >> 1).
Reflection spectrum of an FBG with varying strength
 Reflection Bandwidth of an FBG

The reflection bandwidth ∆λ of a fiber grating is typically well below 1 nm.

∆λ depends on both the length of the grating and the strength of the refractive
index modulation. The narrowest bandwidth values, as are desirable e.g. for
the construction of single-frequency fiber lasers or for certain optical filters, are
obtained for long gratings with weak index modulation.
One method of measuring ∆λ is to measure the wavelengths at which the inner
maximum falls to half its peak value. This gives full width at half maximum
(FWHM) of the photonic bandgap.

Another definition of ∆λ is the separation between two

minimas

Approximately given by:

Example:
Design an FBG at 800 nm that should have a reflectivity of 90% with a length of 25 mm.
(assume I=0.5)

Example:
Design an FBG filter at 1550 nm with peak reflection of 99% and a bandwidth of 1 nm.
(Neff = take as 1.45).
Example1: Consider a fiber with an effective index neff
equal to 1.45. Find the period (d or Λ) of the grating so
that Bragg wavelength (λ λB)=1550 nm. If the grating
length is 2 cm and ∆n=8 x 10-5, find the peak reflectivity
and the bandwidth.

Therefore period = 0.534 µm.

Peak reflectivity≅
≅99.4%.
Bandwidth ≅0.12 nm
[Hint: assume a reasonable value of I, between 0.5 and 1]

Note the very small bandwidth, → FBGs are very narrowband

reflectors.
Example 2:
Design an FBG filter at 1550 nm with peak reflection of
99% and a bandwidth of 1 nm.
(Neff = take as 1.45).
 FBG Applications
(1) Add-drop multiplexer/demultiplexer in WDM Optical Communication Systems

Tunable
FBG
(2) Dispersion Compensation using Chirped FBG and Circulator
• FBG is linearly chirped, i.e. the period of the grating varies linearly with
position. This makes the grating to reflect different wavelengths at
different points along its length. Therefore, introducing different delay
to different wavelengths.

• In a standard fibre, Chromatic dispersion introduces larger delay for

lower frequency (high wavelength) components of a pulse.

• Chirped FBG introduces

larger delay for the higher
frequency components, thus Chirped FBG
compensating for the
dispersion effect (i.e.
compressing the pulse) 2
Fast λ
Slow λ

Input 1 3 Output
 (3) Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

The Bragg wavelength of an FBG is also sensitive to strain and temperature. This
means that fiber Bragg gratings can be used as sensing elements in optical fiber
sensors. In a FBG sensor, the measurand causes a shift in the Bragg
wavelength, ∆λB.

The relative shift in the Bragg wavelength, ∆λB / λB, due to an applied strain (ε)
and a change in temperature (∆T) is approximately given by

Here,CS is the coefficient of strain, and CT is the coefficient of temperature.

 (3) Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Structural Monitoring: some examples