The Sensitivity Enhancement of Fiber-Based Bragg Sensors with Resonant Nano-Scale Coatings

Fibre Bragg grating sensors have emerged as a simple, inexpensive, accurate, sensitive and reliable platform, a viable alternative to the traditional bulkier optical sensor platforms. In this work we present an extensive theoretical analysis of the tilted fibre Bragg grating sensor (TFBG) with a particular focus on its polarization-dependent properties. We have developed a highly efficient computer model capable of providing the full characterization of the TFBG device in less then $3$~minutes for a given state of incident light polarization. As a result, the polarization-dependent spectral response, the field distribution at the sensor surface as well as the fine structure of particular resonances have become accessible for theoretical analysis. As a part of this computer model we have developed a blazingly fast full-vector complex mode solver, capable of handling cylindrical waveguides of an arbitrary complex refractive index profile. Along with the theoretical study we have investigated optical properties of the TFBG sensor with application to polarisation-resolved sensing. We proposed a new method of the TFBG data analysis based on tracking the grating transmission spectra along its principle axes, which were extracted from the Jones matrix. In this thesis we also propose a new method of enhancing the TFBG sensor refractometric sensitivity limits, based on resonant coupling between the TFBG structure resonances and the local resonances of nanoparticles deposited on the sensor surface. The $3.5$-fold increase in the TFBG sensor sensitivity was observed experimentally.