High-sensitivity vector bend sensor based on a fiber directional coupler inscribed by a femtosecond laser

In this Letter, we demonstrate a high-sensitivity vector bend sensor based on a fiber directional coupler. The fiber directional coupler is composed of two parallel waveguides inscribed within a no-core fiber (NCF) by a femtosecond laser. Since the two written waveguides have closely matched refractive indices and geometries, the transmission spectrum of the fiber directional coupler possesses periodic resonant dips. Such a fiber directional coupler exhibits a good bending-dependent spectral shift response due to its asymmetric structure. Experimental results show that bending sensitivities of −97.11 nm/m⁻¹ and 58.22 nm/m⁻¹ are achieved for the 0° and 180° orientations in the curvature range of 0–0.62 m⁻¹, respectively. In addition, the proposed fiber directional coupler is shown to be insensitive to external humidity changes, thus improving its suitability in high-accuracy bending measurements.