LPFG based Fiber Optic Sensor for Magnetic Field Measurement

Abstract

The design and modelling of a novel magnetic field sensor based on a long period fiber grating coated with a thin film of N doped ZnO is reported. The parameters of both, the grating and the thin film were carefully chosen to operate in the transition mode and near to the dispersion turning point. At this point, an LPFG shows its maximum sensitivity to external refractive index variations. The magnetic field induces variations in the coating refractive index, which changes the effective refractive index of the cladding mode and the consequent spectral response. In this work a sensitivity to the surrounding magnetic field of 2.9 nm/mT is reported with a maximum theoretical resolution of 2 mu T.