Automatic fiber Bragg grating fabrication system for mass Production

The large multiplexing number of FBGs exposes a requirement for the effective and repeatable fabrication method. In this paper we report the development of an automatic FBG fabrication system, which meets the requirement of mass production. There are four major functional parts in the system: fiber feeding system, CO₂ laser coating removal system, FBG writing system and fiber collecting system. The fiber feeding system uses motors and gears to accurately move an optical fiber to where the FBGs will be made. The coating removal system is based on the heat effect of a CO₂ laser, which will decompose and evaporate the selected coating of the optical fiber. The FBG writing system is based on the UV photosensitivity of the fiber. A phase-mask is placed between the UV light and the optical fiber to produce periodic interference pattern, which further modulates the refractive index along the fiber periodically. The fiber collecting system is driven by a linear motor and the fiber can be wound around a spool tightly and smoothly at a moderate speed. The whole FBG fabrication system is controlled and synchronized by a computer via some interface circuits and a Graphical User Interface (GUI). With this system, it takes 48 seconds to fabricate one FBG, and up to 500 FBGs can be made continuously, which is limited by the leakage of the gas inside the excimer laser. This mass production line not only improves the fabrication efficiency but also contributes to the multiplexing capability by reducing the splicing loss.