TY - JOUR A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Sauer, Theresia A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Kaloudis, Michael A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Microstructure-Based Fiber-to-Chip Coupling of Polymer Planar Bragg Gratings for Harsh Environment Applications JF - Sensors (Basel) N2 - This article proposes and demonstrates a robust microstructure-based fiber-to-chip coupling scheme for planar Bragg grating devices. A polymer planar Bragg grating substrate is manufactured and microstructured by means of a micromilling process, while the respective photonic structures are generated by employing a sophisticated single-writing UV-exposure method. A stripped standard single mode fiber is inserted into the microstructure, which is filled with a UV-curable adhesive, and aligned with the integrated waveguide. After curing, final sensor assembly and thermal treatment, the proposed coupling scheme is capable of withstanding pressures up to 10 bar, at room temperature, and pressures up to 7.5 bar at an elevated temperature of 120 °C. Additionally, the coupling scheme is exceedingly robust towards tensile forces, limited only by the tensile strength of the employed single mode fiber. Due to its outstanding robustness, the coupling scheme enables the application of planar Bragg grating devices in harsh environments. This fact is underlined by integrating a microstructure-coupled photonic device into the center of a commercial-grade carbon fiber-reinforced polymer specimen. After its integration, the polymer-based Bragg grating sensor still exhibits a reflection peak with a dynamic range of 24 dB, and can thus be employed for sensing purposes. KW - Bragg grating sensors KW - cyclic olefin copolymers KW - fiber-to-chip coupling KW - microstructures KW - micromilling Y1 - 2020 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/19/5452/htm U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195452 VL - 20 IS - 19 SP - 5452 EP - 5452 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Pape, Dominik A1 - Roth, Gian-Luca A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Schmauss, Bernhard A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Micromilling-assisted fabrication of monolithic polymer ridge-type waveguides with integrated photonic sensing structures JF - Optical Materials Express N2 - This study demonstrates and discusses a novel approach for the fabrication and rapid prototyping of monolithic photonic platforms comprising a ridge-type waveguide with integrated sensing structures. First, the bulk injection-molded cyclic olefin copolymer substrates are micromilled in order to define the physical extension of the ridge structure. Cross-sections down to 30 × 30 µm2, exhibiting a mean surface roughness of 300 nm, are achieved with this process. Subsequently, UV radiation is used to modify the ridge structure’s refractive index, which leads to the formation of an optical waveguide. By employing a phase mask, it is possible to equip the photonic platform with a Bragg grating suitable for temperature measurements with a sensitivity of −5.1 pm K-1. Furthermore, an integrated Fabry-Pérot cavity, generated during the micromilling step as well, enables refractive index measurements with sensitivities up to 1154 nm RIU-1. KW - Cyclic Olefin Copolymers KW - Micromilling KW - Bragg Grating KW - Fabry-Pérot Etalon KW - Bragg-Reflektor KW - Optischer Sensor Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.osapublishing.org/ome/fulltext.cfm?uri=ome-11-8-2389&id=453071 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.425778 VL - 11 IS - 8 SP - 2389 EP - 2400 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Rosenberger, Manuel A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Girschikofsky, Maiko A1 - Belle, Stefan A1 - Roth, Gian-Luca A1 - Schmauß, Bernhard A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Fabrication and Applications of Polymer Planar Bragg Grating Sensors based on Cyclic Olefin Copolymers T2 - 2019 Photonics & Electromagnetics Research Symposium - Fall (PIERS - Fall) N2 - This contribution reviews recent advancements, current research and possible applications of polymer planar Bragg grating (PPBG) sensors with a focus on the utilization of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) substrates. COC-PPBGs can be handled and fabricated efficiently by employing a single writing step procedure which features simultaneous generation of waveguide and Bragg grating structure within an injection molded substrate. The resulting photonic structures exhibit an attenuation as low as 1.2 dB cm-1 and a reflectivity up to 99 %. The potential of COC-PPBGs for high-temperature applications is proven by demonstrating temperature measurements up to 160 °C. Moreover, it is possible to employ single PPBGs for multidimensional stress and strain sensing or even three-dimensional shape reconstruction. Due to their excellent properties, it is feasible to integrate COC-PPBGs into commercial-grade carbon fiber reinforced polymer workpieces for structural health monitoring. Furthermore, utilization of appropriate coatings enables functionalization of PPBGs for refractive index sensing and thus biochemical applications. Beside the fabrication and characterization of COC-based PPBGs, this contribution exemplifies and reviews such applications. KW - Bragg gratings , Gratings , Optical waveguides , Temperature sensors , Substrates KW - Optischer Sensor KW - Bragg-Reflektor Y1 - 2020 UR - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9021801 SN - 978-1-7281-5304-9 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/PIERS-Fall48861.2019.9021801 SP - 647 EP - 655 PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Sauer, Theresia A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Kaloudis, Michael A1 - Schmauß, Bernhard A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Robust Polymer Planar Bragg Grating Sensors Embedded in Commercial-Grade Composites JF - Polymers N2 - This contribution demonstrates the functionality of polymer planar Bragg grating (PPBG) sensors integrated into commercial-grade carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) components. Multiple CFRP specimens are generated by curing a stack of pre-impregnated fibers inside of a heated mechanical press, exposing the polymer sensor to a pressure of 7 bar and a temperature of 120 °C for 2 h. After integration, the sensor still exhibits a strong and evaluable signal. Subsequent flexural experiments reveal a linear response of the integrated sensor’s Bragg wavelength to the CFRP specimen’s maximum deflection. Additional findings demonstrate that the embedded PPBG can be used to detect plastic deformations of a CFRP workpiece, whereas a linear correlation of plastic deformation to the resulting Bragg signal offset is determined. A plausibility check of the obtained results is delivered by a comparison of three-point flexural experiments on bulk CFRP workpieces, without integrated sensors and additional specimens featuring external optical sensors affixed to their surface. It is found that PPBGs based on cyclic olefin copolymers are able to overcome the temperature-related limitations of traditional polymer-based optical sensors and can thus be directly integrated into commercial-grade composites during production. KW - Bragg grating sensors KW - carbon fiber reinforced polymers KW - cyclic olefin copolymers KW - Bragg-Reflektor KW - Optischer Sensor Y1 - 2020 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/3/715/htm U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030715 VL - 12 IS - 3 SP - 715 EP - 715 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roth, Gian-Luca A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Girschikofsky, Maiko A1 - Esen, Cemal A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Femtosecond laser inscription of waveguides and Bragg gratings in transparent cyclic olefin copolymers JF - Optics Express N2 - We report on a femtosecond laser based fabrication technique that enables simultaneous single-step generation of optical waveguides and Bragg gratings inside bulk cyclic olefin copolymers. Due to the nonlinear absorption of focused and spatially modulated laser radiation with a wavelength of 514 nm and a pulse duration of 450 fs, a modification concluding a refractive index shift increase inside the substrate can be achieved. A sophisticated characterization of the generated waveguides by means of an elaborate cut-back method reveals a maximum attenuation of 3.2 dB/cm. Additionally, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used to examine the waveguide’s refractive index profile. The integrated Bragg grating structures exhibit reflectivities up to 95 % and a spectral full width at half maximum of 288 pm, at a Bragg wavelength of 1582 nm, whereas the grating period can be deliberately chosen by adapting the fabrication parameters. Thus, due to its increased flexibility and the resulting dispensability of cost-intensive phase masks, this method constitutes an especially promising fabrication process for polymer Bragg gratings inside of bulk materials. KW - Femtosekundenlaser KW - Wellenleiter KW - Bragg-Reflektor Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.388364 VL - 28 IS - 12 SP - 18077 EP - 18084 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roth, Gian-Luca A1 - Kefer, Stefan A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Esen, Cemal A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Integration of Microfluidic and Photonic Components within Transparent Cyclic Olefin Copolymers by Using fs Laser JF - Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering N2 - In this study, we report on the integration of microfluidic channels and optical components by focusing femtosecond laser radiation inside transparent cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) bulk material. An internal localized material modification is triggered based on nonlinear absorption of the laser radiation's high intensities inside the focal volume. The size and shape of the three-dimensional internal modification are controlled by using an adaptive beam shaping setup. The irradiated areas show a positive refractive index shift and can be used as Type I internal optical waveguides. Furthermore, precise control of the spatial pulse-to-pulse distance in combination with a suitable beam profile enables the integration of functional photonic elements, e.g., Bragg gratings, into the waveguide. Thus, it also enables the generation of integrated photonic sensors. In addition, internal fs laser-induced modifications are characterized by a lower thermal stability as compared to the pristine polymer material. By performing a post-annealing process step, internal hollow microstructures are created by gaseous degradation of the exposed areas. Circular microchannels can be generated in a deliberately chosen layout by employing motorized 3D stages. In comparison to etching-based fabrication methods the proposed technology facilitates unlimited channel lengths, as it omits restrictions arising from an etching selectivity and duration. Altogether, this contribution paves the way towards the fabrication of internal three-dimensional optofluidic devices, equipped with a photonic sensor. In contrast, microfluidic and photonic structures are both created by femtosecond laser direct writing inside of transparent polymers. KW - Femtosekundenlaser Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2961/jlmn.2021.01.2009 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 6 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Koller, Georg A1 - Hessler, Steffen A1 - Rosenberger, Manuel A1 - Belle, Stefan A1 - Hellmann, Ralf T1 - Micro-structured optical waveguide fabrication in PMMA using low frequency reactive ion etching T2 - Proceedings of the XXVI International MicroCAD Conference – Sensing Technologies, Miskolc (Hungary) KW - waveguide fabrication KW - Wellenleiter Y1 - 2012 ER -