Cryogenic Temperature Response of Reflection-Based Phase-Shifted Long-Period Fiber Gratings

In this study, we investigated the temperature behavior of phase-shifted long-period fiber gratings (PS-LPFGs) inscribed in two types of optical fiber: B/Ge and SMF28. The experiments were carried out from 5 to 305 K using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The average temperature sensitivity obtained of -0.43 nm/K for PS-LPFGs inscribed in the B/Ge fiber is one order of magnitude larger than for PS-LPFGs inscribed in the SMF28 fiber, in the 60-240 K range. Values ranging from -0.08 nm/K up to 0.2 nm/K were obtained in the 5-35 K temperature range, which are considerably better than previous results achieved for metal-coated FBGs and also for LPFGs inscribed in a similar B/Ge codoped fiber. Nevertheless, further work is required in order to correctly address sensor reliability.