Optical bend sensor based on measurement of resonance mode splitting of long-period fiber grating

We report an effective new method of realizing optical bend sensing based on the measurement of bending-curvature encoded resonance mode splitting of long-period fiber grating. The bending induced mode splitting exhibits a near-linear response and the bending sensitivity achieved by this method is nearly four times higher than the previously reported wavelength shift detection method. The evolution of the transmission loss under bending appears dependent on the initial mode coupling strength.