Etching Bragg gratings in Panda fibers for the temperature-independent refractive index sensing

We demonstrate the evolution of the Bragg gratings inscribed in Panda fibers with chemical etching. The resonance wavelengths can blueshift with cladding reduction similar to the conventional counterparts. But the wavelength separation between the two polarizations is co-determined by the stress and the asymmetric shape effects. The fast and slow axes of the fiber can be reversed with each other and zero birefringence can be achieved by chemical etching the structure. When the stress-applying parts of the fiber are removed, the finalizing grating can be exploited for the temperature-independent refractive index sensing, since the modes corresponding to the two polarizations exhibit the dissimilar responses to the external refractive index change but the same response to temperature. Our device is featured with easy achievement, spectral controllability, and relative robustness. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America