3D Laser Engineering of Molten Core Optical Fibers: Toward a New Generation of Harsh Environment Sensing Devices

Aluminosilicate glasses offer wide-ranging potential as enabling materials for a new generation of optical devices operating in harsh environments. In this work, nonconventional manufacturing process, the molten core method, is employed to fabricate and study sapphire (Al2O3) YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) derived all-glass silicate fibers which femtosecond (fs) laser used imprint oriented nanostructures inside fiber cores. Both writing kinetics thermal stability laser-modified regions are investigated over wide temperature range (20–1200 °C). The laser-imprinted modifications these high alumina-content exhibit improved with respect commercial pure silica GeO2-doped analogs. Furthermore, form Rayleigh backscattering Bragg grating sensors fabricated demonstrate high-temperature sensitivity fibers. This functionalization aluminosilicate by fs-laser direct opens door suitable operation.