Design tradeoffs of ring-core fibers (RCFs) for discriminative strain and temperature sensing

Brillouin scattering in optical fibers is widely harnessed for various sensing applications, particularly strain and temperature monitoring. Fiber design/engineering is crucial for optimizing the potential of Brillouin scattering in specialty optical fibers. In this work, we numerically investigate the design recommendations involved in optimizing ring core fibers (RCFs) for discriminate strain and temperature sensing, and additionally, we explored the key design guidelines for achieving high sensitivity in strain and temperature measurements. Our investigation showed that an RCF with a large ring layer, high refractive index contrast, and multiple ring layers portrays enhanced sensitivities to strain and temperature variations.