This work treats of two different applications of optical fiber Bragg grating sensors. The first application consists of a pH sensing technique that employs optical fiber to permanent and continuously monitor the pH in depleted and injection oil wells. In this application, the Bragg gratings are coupled by a transduction mechanism to a polymeric system which responds to pH variations with a large volume change. The response time as well as the swelling factor of the polymeric system at pH 3, 4, 5, and 6 have been characterized in aqueous solutions with dissolved salts in concentrations typical of those found in formation waters. Experiments have been carried out at room temperature and pressures, in the presence of oil, and after pressurization up to 5000 psi. Several mechanisms of transduction have been designed, constructed, and tested in solutions similar to the formation waters. The sensitivity of the technique and the main sources of uncertainties related to the pH measurement have been investigated. Also, the functionality of the mechanisms has been evaluated aiming at a future installation in the petroleum wells. The second application investigated is a technique for in situ measurement of the residual stress induced in hard thin films during deposition by RF magnetron sputtering. The sensing technique consists of a cantilever steel beam. One of the surfaces of the beam is instrumented using optical fiber Bragg gratings; the opposite face is exposed to the ion flux that originates the thin film. The sensing system is installed in a vacuum chamber while the interrogating apparatus remains outside. The prototype has been characterized with respect to variations of the magnetic field and the temperature inside the chamber. Measurements of the beam strain have been carried out during deposition of silica, indium- titanium oxide, and silicon carbide thin films. The residual stresses have been calculated and the results compared with data obtained using perfilometry. Residual stress values varying from 6 MPa up to 200 MPa have been obtained during the different deposition processes.