Optical fibre long period grating spectral actuators utilizing ferrofluids as outclading overlayers

Results are presented on the spectral tuning of optical fibre long period gratings utilizing water and oil based ferrofluids as outclading overlayers, under static magnetic field stimulus. Two approaches are adopted for modifying the ambient refractive index at the position of the long period grating. In the first approach, a water based ferrofluid is controllably translated along the length of the grating via a magnetic field. Changes as high as 7.5 nm and 6.5 dB are monitored in the wavelength and strength, respectively, of the attenuation bands of the grating. The repeatable performance of this device for repetitive forward and backward translation verifies that no ferrofluidic residue is left on the fibre, due to silanization cladding functionalisation. In the second approach, the refractive index of an oil based ferrofluidic overlayer is modified through the magneto-optical effect. For an applied static magnetic field in the order of 400 Gauss the strength of the attenuation band of the grating is modified by more than 10% while its spectral position remains unaffected. Accordingly for the implementation of the last approach, the magnetically induced refractive index changes of ferrofluids of different solution concentrations are studied by employing diffraction efficiency measurements. [DOI: 10.2971/jeos.2011.11007]