Single- and few-moded lithium aluminosilicate optical fiber for athermal Brillouin strain sensing

Results are presented toward realizing a true single-mode fiber whose Brillouin frequency shift is independent of temperature, while its dependence on strain is comparable to conventional high-silica-content single-mode fibers. Demonstrated here is a fiber with a negative thermal sensitivity dν/dT of -0.26  MHz/K and a strain sensitivity of +406  MHz/%. The suppression of the Brillouin thermal response is enabled by the large thermal expansion coefficient of the group I oxide-containing silica glass network.