Excellent Thermal Stability of Optical Fiber Grating Inscribed on Thermosetting Silicone

Optical fiber gratings inscribed on polymer fibers are more versatile compare with those in silica fibers due to the diversity of the polymers. However the present polymer fiber gratings have weak thermostability as they are made on thermoplastic materials. In this work, we have greatly improved their thermostability by developing a novel fiber grating on thermosetting silicone using deep ultraviolet (UV) laser induced refractive index (RI) increment and ablation. The spectra evolutions in high temperatures thermal treatment have been recorded in order to demonstrate the thermal stability. Nano silica particles dopant owing to the high wettability of silicone could further stabilize the grating. The Raman spectra show partial pyrolysis reactions of the silicone grating at high temperature, and the basis for stability.