  Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors have been so far mainly used in high energy
physics (HEP) as high precision positioning and re-positioning sensors and as
low cost, easy to mount, radiation hard and low space- consuming temperature
and humidity devices. FBGs are also commonly used for very precise strain
measurements. In this work we present a novel use of FBGs as flatness and
mechanical tensioning sensors applied to the wide Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM)
foils of the GE1/1 chambers of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN. A network of FBG sensors has been used to
determine the optimal mechanical tension applied and to characterize the
mechanical stress applied to the foils. The preliminary results of the test
performed on a full size GE1/1 final prototype and possible future developments
will be discussed.
