Abstract
Improving the coupling efficiency between a semiconductor light source and optical fiber is generally achieved by the use of a microlens formed on the end of the fiber [1]. The lens serves to match the modes of the laser and the fiber. The most common way to fabricate microlenses is by tapering the fiber down to a point and melting the end [2]. The resulting lenses are hemispherical in shape and typically collect less than 50% (−3 dB) and at best 55% (−2.5 dB) of the available laser radiation [3]. We have designed and fabricated optimal microlenses for laser-to-fiber coupling that have achieved efficiencies of 90% (−0.45 dB). Nearly 100% coupling is theoretically achievable with this design.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
Herman M. Presby
MD.1 Optical Design for Photonics (ODP) 1993
V. Shah, L. Curtis, D. D. Mahoney, C.-E. Zah, and W. C. Young
ThI3 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 1992
Yu-Da Liu, Yu-Kuan Lu, Ying-Chien Tsai, Li-Jin Wang, Szu-Ming Yeh, and Wood-Hi Cheng
JThA4 National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) 2011