UV laser for FBG writing
Facility for the Production of Fibre Bragg Grating
Since 2010, a key part of the technological infrastructure for the research, development, and production of sensor systems at NETWORK GROUP has been its facility for the production of Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG). The company thus became — and remains to this day — the only manufacturer of these fiber structures in the Czech Republic. In-house production and development of FBG structures are of great importance, particularly in terms of independence and the ability to optimally tailor FBG structures to specific sensor applications.
A Coherent pulsed UV excimer KrF laser is used to write fiber gratings, with lateral exposure of the fiber through a phase mask. The parameters of the written gratings are monitored in real time, ensuring high precision and repeatability of production. This facility is used primarily for the serial production of FBGs for sensors, but also for custom applications.
We manufacture FBGs as standard in the telecommunications O, S, C, and L bands, i.e., in the 1310 nm, 1520 nm, 1550 nm, and 1600 nm ranges for various types of SM fibers.
In addition to our own UV laser writing system, we also have hydrogenation chambers, which we use to increase the photosensitivity of standard G.652.D, G.657.A fibers, and other telecommunications fibers. In these chambers, the fibers are saturated with hydrogen under high pressure, which allows diffraction structures to be created in them. Other necessary equipment includes stations for removing of the primary protection of acrylic and polyamide fibers, as well as devices for recoating both types of primary protection.
