Abstract

Optical fibres are a powerful tool in astronomical applications, routinely used in spectroscopy and interferometry [1, 2]. Fibres can also be post-processed to create transitions in size, which adds functionality. Transitions (also known as ‘tapers’) describe regions of fibre where the scale changes along a length. If the change is gradual, the mode field diameter of the guided light can change adiabatically. This is necessary for devices such as photonic lanterns, fused fibre couplers and fibre sensors. We present an all-fibre wavefront sensor, to sense the local tip-tilt of a wavefront, as an example of a fibre transition for astronomical applications.

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