Etched tapered fiber bundle and method of making the same
US7209615B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 4, 2004 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 11, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/255
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A tapered fiber bundle is formed by first etching the end portions of each fiber within the group so as to remove a selected amount of outer cladding material from each fiber. The assembled, etched fibers are then fused together in conventional fashion to form a fiber bundle. By first etching the fibers to form a “tapered” structure, the core diameter of the tapered fiber bundle remains intact; in the prior art, the tapering process of drawing down the fused collection of fibers would reduce the core diameter. Preferably, the outer cladding of the central single mode fiber is modified to exhibit the same etch rate as the outer cladding layer of the remaining fibers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.