Flat top, double-angled, wedge-shaped fiber endface
US6137938A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 7, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 24, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 7, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/147
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An improved fiber endface shape for increasing coupling of optical power from a source into fiber and its manufacture are disclosed. The inventive tip comprises a cleaved end surface that is preferably substantially orthogonal to the fiber's axis and a first and second polished, angled surfaces intersecting the end surface. Break-lines between the angled surfaces and the end surface fall near an edge of a cladding-core interface and preferably outside that interface when the fiber and transmitted light are such that a substantial portion of the light is transmitted in the cladding. A spatial intensity profile of light exiting from the tip is detected during manufacture and is used to monitor the polishing of the angled surfaces. Tests have shown that the inventive tip achieves the coupling efficiency associated with the double-angled wedge-shaped fiber tips while maintaining much of the ease of manufacture associated with the single-angle wedge tips.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.