We study the theoretical and experimental effects of hole quantity and inter–inter-hole spacing on insertion loss for using femtosecond laser to make bend-sensitive multi-hole plastic optical fiber (POF), and also analyze the mechanism of bending loss in multi-hole POF. A force sensor based on bending loss of the multi-hole POF is fabricated. The measurement ranges from 0 to 65 N, and the maximum output change exceeds 15.51 dB with good linearity and repeatability, and the sensitivity is 0.24 dB/N.

A compact in-fiber refractive index (RI) sensor based on a step index multimode polymer optical fiber with a micro-hole drilled by a miniature numerical control machine is presented. A good linear relationship between the transmission and RI over a large operating range from 1.335 to 1.475 and a sensitivity of 36 071.43 mV/RIU (RI unit) are found. The relationship between the transmission and the RI of the hole depends on the micro-hole’s diameter and depth. The RI sensor developed in this letter is low-cost, easily fabricated, and capable of continuous measurement.