  Three different types of Er doped photosensitive fibers, germanium/erbium
(Ge/Er) fiber, tin/germanium/erbium fiber (Sn/Er) and antimony/germanium/erbium
fiber (Sb/Er) have been manufactured and studied for use in optical sensor
systems. Their characteristics of photosensitivity, the temperature
sustainability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) written into these fibers and the
fluorescence emission from the Er dopant were investigated and compared. It has
been shown in this work that these fibers all show a satisfactory degree of
photosensitivity to enable the fabrication of FBGs and a significant level of
fluorescence emission within the 1550 nm band for sensor use. The high
temperature sustainability of the FBGs written into these fibers was
investigated and seen to be quite significant at temperatures as high as 850
^{\circ}C, in particular for the Sn/Er and Sb/Er fibers. A fiber laser using
the Sb/Er fiber as the gain medium was demonstrated, giving evidence of the
strong fluorescence emission from the Er dopant. These fibers are all suitable
for use in a variety of sensing applications for the simultaneous measurement
of temperature and strain by means of monitoring both the fluorescence
characteristics and the peak wavelength shift of the FBGs formed in fiber laser
sensor application.
