US20070273056A1 - Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same - Google Patents
Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same Download PDFInfo
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- US20070273056A1 US20070273056A1 US11/820,213 US82021307A US2007273056A1 US 20070273056 A1 US20070273056 A1 US 20070273056A1 US 82021307 A US82021307 A US 82021307A US 2007273056 A1 US2007273056 A1 US 2007273056A1
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
- G02B6/4202—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details for coupling an active element with fibres without intermediate optical elements, e.g. fibres with plane ends, fibres with shaped ends, bundles
- G02B6/4203—Optical features
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
- B29D11/00—Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms
- B29D11/00663—Production of light guides
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
- G02B6/262—Optical details of coupling light into, or out of, or between fibre ends, e.g. special fibre end shapes or associated optical elements
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a lensed fiber and the method of making the same, particularly to a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same.
- lensed fibers For optimal performance in fiber-optic communication system, efficient coupling between diode laser and fiber is essential.
- various types of lensed fibers are provided as follows.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,609 disclosed a method of making a lensed fiber comprising the following steps.
- a fiber 10 was pulled to form a tapered end that has a flat end face 12 or a rounded tip.
- a lens 14 is formed by immersing the tapered end of the fiber 10 in molten glass and then withdrawing the tapered end from the molten glass.
- the dimensions and the shape of the lens 14 can be influenced by the immersion depth, the angles of the tapered end, the shape of the tapered end and the temperature of the molten glass, which cause the manufacturing process to be complicated, time consuming and difficult to control, which are the disadvantages of this method.
- the rounded lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of low aspect ratio.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,174 disclosed a method for making a tapered fiber comprising the following steps.
- a fiber was drawn to be separated into two parts by jerking separation and little heat of arc energy, and a tapered extension 22 and a nipple-like extension 24 were formed on the end of one part.
- the application of a burst of arc softened the nipple-like extension 24 to form a hyperbolic shaped fiber lens 26 .
- the disadvantage of this method is that the dimensions and the shapes of the tapered extension 22 and nipple-like extension 24 are difficult to control and unstable during the manufacturing process.
- the rounded lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of low aspect ratio.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,851 disclosed a method for making a tapered fiber comprising the following steps.
- a fiber 30 was rotated along the axis thereof, and then a CO 2 laser controlled by computer program was applied to the fiber 30 to form a lens consisting of a hyperbolical portion 32 on an axis and a spherical portion 34 on another axis.
- Such a fiber lens has high coupling efficiency, but it is very difficult to fabricate a fiber lens having a highly asymmetric curve.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,879 disclosed a double wedge-shaped optical fiber having a lens of a wedge-shaped external form having two-stage tapered portions and with different angles of ⁇ 1 and ⁇ 2 between the two slants and the axis 42 , respectively, wherein the intersection of the two slants must be controlled to be within the scope of the core of the fiber.
- the radius of the core of the fiber is usually 4 to 6 ⁇ m, it is very difficult to control the intersection of the two slants to be within the scope of the core of the fiber.
- the lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of high aspect ratio.
- the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, which has simplified fabricating process and needs not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the fiber. Therefore, the fabricating time and cost are reduced, and the coupling efficiency of the lensed fiber is up to 90%.
- Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber.
- the advantages of the present invention are the ability to control over two axial curvatures and the small fiber offset in grinding and polishing processes, resulting in producing a good elliptical microlens in the fusing process.
- the present invention provides a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, comprising the following steps:
- FIG. 1 shows a conventional lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,609
- FIG. 2 shows a conventional method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,174, in which the tapered fiber is fabricated by arc welding;
- FIG. 3 shows a conventional asymmetric lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,851;
- FIG. 4 shows a conventional wedge lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,879;
- FIG. 5 a is a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 5 b is a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a;
- FIG. 5 c is a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a;
- FIG. 5 d is a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a;
- FIG. 6 a is a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 6 b is a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a;
- FIG. 6 c is a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a;
- FIG. 6 d is a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a;
- FIG. 7 shows the machining apparatus of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 shows the relative position between a laser and a optical fiber.
- the conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 is fabricated by machining, such as polishing, an end of an optical fiber 51 having a core and a cladding to form a conical-wedge-shaped appearance.
- the conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 comprises an optical fiber 51 and a tapered region 52 .
- FIG. 5 b a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a is shown. As shown in the figure, there is an inclination angle ⁇ between the first surface 52 a and the third surface 52 c , wherein ⁇ is 10 degrees to 170 degrees.
- FIG. 5 c a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a is shown.
- the second surface 52 b and the fourth surface 52 d are curved surfaces.
- the intersecting line 52 e is a straight line and perpendicular to the central axis 56 .
- FIG. 5 d a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber of FIG. 5 a is shown. Because the first surface 52 a and the third surface 52 c are flat planes, and the second surface 52 b and the fourth surface 52 d are curved surfaces, the intersecting lines between the first surface 52 a and the second surface 52 b and the fourth surface 52 d respectively are curved lines; and the intersecting lines between the third surface 52 c and the second surface 52 b and the fourth surface 52 d respectively are also curved lines.
- FIG. 6 a a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.
- a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber 60 is formed by fusing the neighborhood area of the intersecting line 52 e of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 .
- the elements in FIGS. 6 a to 6 d are substantially same as those in FIGS. 5 a to 5 d , and are designated by the reference numbers of FIGS. 5 a to 5 d plus 10.
- the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber 60 comprises an optical fiber 61 , a tapered region 62 and a lens 63 .
- the optical fiber 61 has a central axis 66 and an end, wherein the central axis 66 extends in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 61 .
- the tapered region 62 is at the end of the optical fiber 61 .
- the sides of the tapered region 62 are a first surface 62 a , a second surface 62 b , a third surface 62 c and a fourth surface 62 d in sequence.
- the top of the tapered region 62 is the lens 63 .
- the lens 63 is semi-ellipsoidal.
- the first surface 62 a and the third surface 62 c are flat planes and the extensions of the first surface 62 a and the third surface 62 c intersect at an intersecting line (not shown) that is perpendicular to the central axis 66 .
- the second surface 62 b and the fourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces and they do not intersect.
- FIG. 6 b a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a is shown. As shown in the figure, there is an inclination angle ⁇ ( ⁇ is equal to ⁇ ), wherein ⁇ is 10 degrees to 170 degrees. D is the depth of fusing, which is 1 to 125 ⁇ m.
- FIG. 6 c a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a is shown.
- the second surface 62 b and the fourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces.
- FIG. 6 d a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber of FIG. 6 a is shown. Because the first surface 62 a and the third surface 62 c are flat planes, and the second surface 62 b and the fourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces, the intersecting lines between the first surface 62 a and the second surface 62 b and the fourth surface 62 d respectively are curved lines; and the intersecting lines between the third surface 62 c and the second surface 62 b and the fourth surface 62 d respectively are also curved lines.
- the lens 63 is at the top of the tapered region 62 , and the geometric center of the lens 63 is on the central axis 66 .
- the appearance of the lens 63 can be semi-ellipsoidal or hemispherical.
- the present invention also relates to a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, comprising:
- the above-mentioned machining step of step (c) is a grinding step and comprises the following steps (taking the fabrication of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 for example):
- machining plate 73 for example, lapping plate, grinding plate or polishing plate
- step (d) comprises the following steps:
- step (e) comprises the following steps:
- the above-mentioned step (f) is fusing the neighborhood area of the intersecting line 52 e by electric arcs so that the neighborhood area of the intersecting line 52 e is melted to become liquid state and then forms a lens 63 ( FIG. 6 a ) by surface tension, wherein the appearance of the fiber lens is like the above-mentioned quadrangular-pyramid-shaped lensed fiber 60 of FIG. 6 a.
- the embodiment further comprises a step of chemically etching the intersecting line 52 e to form a concave shape.
- the chemically etching step can improve the radius of curvature of the lens 63 and raise the coupling efficiency of the quadrangular-pyramid-shaped lensed fiber 60
- the advantage of the present invention is simplified fabricating process and that it need not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the optical fiber 51 . That is, after the conical region is formed in step (c), the optical fiber 51 is fed to the machining plate 73 directly to formed the first surface 52 a , and need not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the optical fiber 51 . Then, in step (e), the optical fiber 51 is rotated with 180 degrees and machined to form the third surface 52 c . Therefore, the fabricating time and cost are reduced, and the coupling efficiency of the lensed fiber is up to 90%.
- a 980-nm high-power diode laser with a typical far-field divergence of 7° (horizontal) ⁇ 30° (vertical) is used, and the fiber used in this example is a 980-nm step-index single-mode fiber (produced by Prime Optical Fiber Corporation) with the mold field radius of 5.7 ⁇ m, while the refractive index of the core is 1.416.
- the relative position between the laser and the fiber is defined.
- the x direction is perpendicular to the paper, and the distance between the laser and the fiber along z direction is defined as the working distance d. From the simulation result diagram, the coupling efficiency is 90% when the working distance d is 6.0 ⁇ m.
Abstract
The present invention relates to a conical wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same. The method comprises: (a) providing an optical fiber having a central axis and an end; (b) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a flat end face; (c) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a conical region; (d) machining one side of the conical region to form a flat first surface; (e) machining another side of the conical region to form a flat third surface, wherein the first surface and the third surface intersect at a intersecting line that is perpendicular to the central axis; and (f) fusing the intersecting line to form a lens. The method has simplified fabricating processes and need not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the fiber. Therefore, the fabricating time and cost are reduced, and the coupling efficiency of the lensed fiber is up to 90%.
Description
- The present invention relates to a lensed fiber and the method of making the same, particularly to a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same.
- For optimal performance in fiber-optic communication system, efficient coupling between diode laser and fiber is essential. In order to enhance the coupling efficiency between diode laser and fiber, various types of lensed fibers are provided as follows.
- Referring to
FIG. 1 , U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,609 disclosed a method of making a lensed fiber comprising the following steps. Afiber 10 was pulled to form a tapered end that has aflat end face 12 or a rounded tip. Alens 14 is formed by immersing the tapered end of thefiber 10 in molten glass and then withdrawing the tapered end from the molten glass. The dimensions and the shape of thelens 14 can be influenced by the immersion depth, the angles of the tapered end, the shape of the tapered end and the temperature of the molten glass, which cause the manufacturing process to be complicated, time consuming and difficult to control, which are the disadvantages of this method. In addition, the rounded lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of low aspect ratio. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,174 disclosed a method for making a tapered fiber comprising the following steps. A fiber was drawn to be separated into two parts by jerking separation and little heat of arc energy, and atapered extension 22 and a nipple-like extension 24 were formed on the end of one part. Then, the application of a burst of arc softened the nipple-like extension 24 to form a hyperbolicshaped fiber lens 26. The disadvantage of this method is that the dimensions and the shapes of thetapered extension 22 and nipple-like extension 24 are difficult to control and unstable during the manufacturing process. In addition, the rounded lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of low aspect ratio. - Referring to
FIG. 3 , U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,851 disclosed a method for making a tapered fiber comprising the following steps. Afiber 30 was rotated along the axis thereof, and then a CO2 laser controlled by computer program was applied to thefiber 30 to form a lens consisting of ahyperbolical portion 32 on an axis and aspherical portion 34 on another axis. Such a fiber lens has high coupling efficiency, but it is very difficult to fabricate a fiber lens having a highly asymmetric curve. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,879 disclosed a double wedge-shaped optical fiber having a lens of a wedge-shaped external form having two-stage tapered portions and with different angles of θ1 and θ2 between the two slants and theaxis 42, respectively, wherein the intersection of the two slants must be controlled to be within the scope of the core of the fiber. In addition, as the radius of the core of the fiber is usually 4 to 6 μm, it is very difficult to control the intersection of the two slants to be within the scope of the core of the fiber. Furthermore, the lensed fiber fabricated by this method is only suitable for the laser of high aspect ratio. - Consequently, there is a need for improved lensed fiber and the method of making the same to solve the above-mentioned problem.
- The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, which has simplified fabricating process and needs not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the fiber. Therefore, the fabricating time and cost are reduced, and the coupling efficiency of the lensed fiber is up to 90%.
- Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber. In comparison to other fabrication techniques of lensed fiber used in high-power diode lasers, the advantages of the present invention are the ability to control over two axial curvatures and the small fiber offset in grinding and polishing processes, resulting in producing a good elliptical microlens in the fusing process.
- To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, comprising the following steps:
-
- (a) providing an optical fiber having a central axis and an end;
- (b) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a flat end face;
- (c) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a conical region;
- (d) machining one side of the conical region to form a flat first surface;
- (e) machining another side of the conical region to form a flat third surface, wherein the first surface and the third surface intersect at an intersecting line that is perpendicular to the central axis; and
- (f) fusing the intersecting line to form a lens.
-
FIG. 1 shows a conventional lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,609; -
FIG. 2 shows a conventional method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,174, in which the tapered fiber is fabricated by arc welding; -
FIG. 3 shows a conventional asymmetric lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,851; -
FIG. 4 shows a conventional wedge lensed fiber of U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,879; -
FIG. 5 a is a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 5 b is a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a; -
FIG. 5 c is a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a; -
FIG. 5 d is a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a; -
FIG. 6 a is a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 6 b is a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a; -
FIG. 6 c is a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a; -
FIG. 6 d is a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a; -
FIG. 7 shows the machining apparatus of the present invention; and -
FIG. 8 shows the relative position between a laser and a optical fiber. - Referring to
FIG. 5 a, a conical-wedge-shaped fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 is fabricated by machining, such as polishing, an end of anoptical fiber 51 having a core and a cladding to form a conical-wedge-shaped appearance. The conical-wedge-shaped fiber 50 comprises anoptical fiber 51 and atapered region 52. - The
optical fiber 51 has acentral axis 56 and an end, wherein thecentral axis 56 extends in the longitudinal direction of theoptical fiber 51. The taperedregion 52 is at the end of theoptical fiber 51. The sides of the taperedregion 52 are afirst surface 52 a, asecond surface 52 b, athird surface 52 c and afourth surface 52 d in sequence. The top of the taperedregion 52 is an intersectingline 52 e. Preferably, the intersectingline 52 e is a straight line and its length is 10 to 40 μm, most preferably, 30 μm. Thefirst surface 52 a and thethird surface 52 c are flat planes and intersect at the intersectingline 52 e. Thesecond surface 52 b and thefourth surface 52 d are curved surfaces and they do not intersect. - Referring to
FIG. 5 b, a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a is shown. As shown in the figure, there is an inclination angle α between thefirst surface 52 a and thethird surface 52 c, wherein α is 10 degrees to 170 degrees. - Referring to
FIG. 5 c, a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a is shown. As shown in the figure, thesecond surface 52 b and thefourth surface 52 d are curved surfaces. There is an inclination angle β between the tangent line of thesecond surface 52 b and the tangent line of thefourth surface 52 d, wherein β is 10 degrees to 170 degrees. The intersectingline 52 e is a straight line and perpendicular to thecentral axis 56. - Referring to
FIG. 5 d, a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped fiber ofFIG. 5 a is shown. Because thefirst surface 52 a and thethird surface 52 c are flat planes, and thesecond surface 52 b and thefourth surface 52 d are curved surfaces, the intersecting lines between thefirst surface 52 a and thesecond surface 52 b and thefourth surface 52 d respectively are curved lines; and the intersecting lines between thethird surface 52 c and thesecond surface 52 b and thefourth surface 52 d respectively are also curved lines. - Referring to
FIG. 6 a, a perspective view of a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, a conical-wedge-shapedlensed fiber 60 is formed by fusing the neighborhood area of the intersectingline 52 e of the conical-wedge-shapedfiber 50. The elements inFIGS. 6 a to 6 d are substantially same as those inFIGS. 5 a to 5 d, and are designated by the reference numbers ofFIGS. 5 a to 5 d plus 10. In the embodiment, the conical-wedge-shapedlensed fiber 60 comprises anoptical fiber 61, a taperedregion 62 and alens 63. - The
optical fiber 61 has acentral axis 66 and an end, wherein thecentral axis 66 extends in the longitudinal direction of theoptical fiber 61. The taperedregion 62 is at the end of theoptical fiber 61. The sides of the taperedregion 62 are afirst surface 62 a, asecond surface 62 b, athird surface 62 c and afourth surface 62 d in sequence. The top of the taperedregion 62 is thelens 63. Preferably, thelens 63 is semi-ellipsoidal. Thefirst surface 62 a and thethird surface 62 c are flat planes and the extensions of thefirst surface 62 a and thethird surface 62 c intersect at an intersecting line (not shown) that is perpendicular to thecentral axis 66. Thesecond surface 62 b and thefourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces and they do not intersect. - Referring to
FIG. 6 b, a top view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a is shown. As shown in the figure, there is an inclination angle γ (γ is equal to α), wherein γ is 10 degrees to 170 degrees. D is the depth of fusing, which is 1 to 125 μm. - Referring to
FIG. 6 c, a side view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a is shown. As shown in the figure, thesecond surface 62 b and thefourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces. There is an inclination angle δ (δ is equal to β) between the tangent line of thesecond surface 62 b and the tangent line of thefourth surface 62 d, wherein δ is 10 degrees to 170 degrees. - Referring to
FIG. 6 d, a front view of the conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber ofFIG. 6 a is shown. Because thefirst surface 62 a and thethird surface 62 c are flat planes, and thesecond surface 62 b and thefourth surface 62 d are curved surfaces, the intersecting lines between thefirst surface 62 a and thesecond surface 62 b and thefourth surface 62 d respectively are curved lines; and the intersecting lines between thethird surface 62 c and thesecond surface 62 b and thefourth surface 62 d respectively are also curved lines. - The
lens 63 is at the top of the taperedregion 62, and the geometric center of thelens 63 is on thecentral axis 66. The appearance of thelens 63 can be semi-ellipsoidal or hemispherical. - The present invention also relates to a method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, comprising:
- (a) providing an optical fiber having a central axis and an end;
- (b) machining (for example, cutting) the end of the optical fiber to form a flat end face;
- (c) machining (for example, lapping, polishing or grinding) the end of the optical fiber to form a conical region;
- (d) machining (for example, lapping, polishing or grinding) one side of the conical region to form a flat first surface;
- (e) machining (for example, lapping, polishing or grinding) another side of the conical region to form a flat third surface, wherein the first surface and the third surface intersect at a intersecting line that is perpendicular to the central axis, and the appearance of the optical fiber is like the above-mentioned conical-wedge-shaped
fiber 50; and - (f) fusing the intersecting line to form a lens, wherein the appearance of the lensed fiber is like the above-mentioned conical-wedge-shaped
lensed fiber 60. - Referring to
FIG. 7 , in the embodiment, the above-mentioned machining step of step (c) is a grinding step and comprises the following steps (taking the fabrication of the conical-wedge-shapedfiber 50 for example): - (c1) fixing the
optical fiber 51 in afixture 72 above a machining plate 73 (for example, lapping plate, grinding plate or polishing plate); - (c2) adjusting the inclination angle between the
fixture 72 and themachining plate 73 to form a first angle θ between theoptical fiber 51 and the surface of themachining plate 73, and then positioning the end of theoptical fiber 51 at the surface of themachining plate 73; and - (c3) rotating the
optical fiber 51 along thecentral axis 56, feeding theoptical fiber 51 to themachining plate 73, and preferably rotating themachining plate 73 simultaneously so as to form a conical region at the end of theoptical fiber 51. - Then, in the embodiment, the above-mentioned step (d) comprises the following steps:
- (d1) stopping the
optical fiber 51 from rotating; - (d2) rotating the
machining plate 73, and feeding theoptical fiber 51 to themachining plate 73 so as to form thefirst surface 52 a. - Then, in the embodiment, the above-mentioned step (e) comprises the following steps:
- (e1) elevating the
optical fiber 51 with respect to machiningplate 73; - (e2) rotating the
optical fiber 51 along thecentral axis 56 with 180 degrees; and - (e3) feeding the
optical fiber 51 downward to themachining plate 73 to form thethird surface 52 c, and forming the intersectingline 52 e. So far, the appearance of theoptical fiber 51 is like the above-mentioned conical-wedge-shapedfiber 50. - Finally, in the embodiment, the above-mentioned step (f) is fusing the neighborhood area of the intersecting
line 52 e by electric arcs so that the neighborhood area of the intersectingline 52 e is melted to become liquid state and then forms a lens 63 (FIG. 6 a) by surface tension, wherein the appearance of the fiber lens is like the above-mentioned quadrangular-pyramid-shapedlensed fiber 60 ofFIG. 6 a. - Preferably, after the step (e), the embodiment further comprises a step of chemically etching the intersecting
line 52 e to form a concave shape. The chemically etching step can improve the radius of curvature of thelens 63 and raise the coupling efficiency of the quadrangular-pyramid-shapedlensed fiber 60 - The advantage of the present invention is simplified fabricating process and that it need not to set up any particular angle of rotation of the
optical fiber 51. That is, after the conical region is formed in step (c), theoptical fiber 51 is fed to themachining plate 73 directly to formed thefirst surface 52 a, and need not to set up any particular angle of rotation of theoptical fiber 51. Then, in step (e), theoptical fiber 51 is rotated with 180 degrees and machined to form thethird surface 52 c. Therefore, the fabricating time and cost are reduced, and the coupling efficiency of the lensed fiber is up to 90%. - An example is described below. In the example, a 980-nm high-power diode laser with a typical far-field divergence of 7° (horizontal)×30° (vertical) is used, and the fiber used in this example is a 980-nm step-index single-mode fiber (produced by Prime Optical Fiber Corporation) with the mold field radius of 5.7 μm, while the refractive index of the core is 1.416.
- Then, the relative position between the laser and the fiber is defined. As shown in
FIG. 8 , the x direction is perpendicular to the paper, and the distance between the laser and the fiber along z direction is defined as the working distance d. From the simulation result diagram, the coupling efficiency is 90% when the working distance d is 6.0 μm. - While several embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art. The embodiments of this invention are therefore described in an illustrative but not restrictive sense. It is intended that this invention may not be limited to the particular forms as illustrated, and that all modifications that maintain the spirit and scope of this invention are within the scope as defined in the appended claims.
Claims (20)
1. (canceled)
2. (canceled)
3. (canceled)
4. (canceled)
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. (canceled)
10. (canceled)
11. (canceled)
12. A method for making a conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber, comprising:
(a) providing an optical fiber having a central axis and an end;
(b) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a flat end face;
(c) machining the end of the optical fiber to form a conical region;
(d) machining one side of the conical region to form a flat first surface;
(e) machining another side of the conical region to form a flat third surface, wherein the first surface and the third surface intersect at a intersecting line that is perpendicular to the central axis; and
(f) fusing the intersecting line to form a lens.
13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the step (b) is cutting the end of the optical fiber to form the flat end face.
14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the step (c) comprises:
(c1) fixing the optical fiber in a fixture above a machining plate;
(c2) adjusting the inclination angle between the fixture and the machining plate, and positioning the optical fiber at the surface of the machining plate; and
(c3) rotating the optical fiber along the central axis, and feeding the optical fiber to the machining plate so as to form a conical region at the end of the optical fiber.
15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the machining plate rotates simultaneously in the step (c3).
16. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the step (d) comprises:
(d1) stopping the optical fiber from rotating; and
(d2) rotating the machining plate, and feeding the optical fiber to the machining plate so as to form the first surface.
17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the step (e) comprises:
(e1) elevating the optical fiber with respect to machining plate;
(e2) rotating the optical fiber along the central axis with 180 degrees; and
(e3) feeding the optical fiber to the machining plate to form the third surface.
18. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the lens in the step (f) is semi-ellipsoidal.
19. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the machining step in steps (c), (d) and (e) is a grinding step.
20. The method according to claim 12 , wherein after the step (e) further comprises a step of chemically etching the intersecting line to form a concave shape.
Priority Applications (1)
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US11/820,213 US20070273056A1 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2007-06-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
TW094101850 | 2005-01-21 | ||
TW094101850A TWI255358B (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2005-01-21 | Conical wedge-shaped fiber lens and the method of making the same |
US11/183,406 US7295729B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2005-07-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
US11/820,213 US20070273056A1 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2007-06-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/183,406 Division US7295729B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2005-07-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20070273056A1 true US20070273056A1 (en) | 2007-11-29 |
Family
ID=37613224
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/183,406 Expired - Fee Related US7295729B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2005-07-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
US11/820,212 Expired - Fee Related US7515789B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2007-06-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
US11/820,213 Abandoned US20070273056A1 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2007-06-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US11/183,406 Expired - Fee Related US7295729B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2005-07-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
US11/820,212 Expired - Fee Related US7515789B2 (en) | 2005-01-21 | 2007-06-18 | Conical-wedge-shaped lensed fiber and the method of making the same |
Country Status (2)
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US (3) | US7295729B2 (en) |
TW (1) | TWI255358B (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TWI255358B (en) * | 2005-01-21 | 2006-05-21 | Univ Nat Sun Yat Sen | Conical wedge-shaped fiber lens and the method of making the same |
DE102009010232B4 (en) * | 2008-11-27 | 2011-02-03 | Jenoptik Laserdiode Gmbh | Multimode optical fiber, process for its preparation and diode laser module with such a multimode optical fiber |
TW201248228A (en) * | 2011-05-25 | 2012-12-01 | Univ Nat Sun Yat Sen | Double-variable-curvature fiber lens |
CN102914816A (en) * | 2011-08-03 | 2013-02-06 | 奥兰若技术有限公司 | Optical fiber and method for producing coupling device thereof |
US9090666B2 (en) * | 2012-06-27 | 2015-07-28 | Tiansong Wang | Lensed optical fiber for illuminating capillary tube |
JP6073636B2 (en) * | 2012-10-17 | 2017-02-01 | 株式会社フジクラ | Laser module |
EP3096163A1 (en) * | 2015-05-22 | 2016-11-23 | Corning Optical Communications LLC | Quantum cascade laser devices and methods for optical-fiber processing for connector applications |
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US4118270A (en) * | 1976-02-18 | 1978-10-03 | Harris Corporation | Micro lens formation at optical fiber ends |
US4147402A (en) * | 1977-06-30 | 1979-04-03 | International Standard Electric Corporation | Process for manufacturing an optical fiber termination |
US4330965A (en) * | 1979-08-03 | 1982-05-25 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Tool for optically finishing connector-mounted optical fibers |
US4510005A (en) * | 1982-09-28 | 1985-04-09 | Allied Corporation | Method and apparatus for reshaping and polishing an end face of an optical fiber |
US4671609A (en) * | 1982-12-23 | 1987-06-09 | U.S. Philips Corporation | Coupling monomode optical fiber having a tapered end portion |
US5037174A (en) * | 1990-01-31 | 1991-08-06 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Optical fiber having an aspherical lens thereon and method of making same |
US5256851A (en) * | 1992-02-28 | 1993-10-26 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Microlenses for coupling optical fibers to elliptical light beams |
US5455879A (en) * | 1994-06-22 | 1995-10-03 | Corning Incorporated | Anamorphic microlens for coupling optical fibers to elliptical light beams |
US5845024A (en) * | 1994-09-16 | 1998-12-01 | Namiki Precision Jewel Co., Ltd. | Optical fiber with lens and method of manufacturing the same |
US20010012425A1 (en) * | 1997-05-07 | 2001-08-09 | The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd | Lensed optical fiber |
US20020031300A1 (en) * | 1999-12-17 | 2002-03-14 | Xu Jie | Lensed optical fiber, process of production and apparatus for production of same, and laser diode module |
US20020159693A1 (en) * | 2001-04-30 | 2002-10-31 | Jds Uniphase Corporation | Lensed optical fiber |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TWI255358B (en) * | 2005-01-21 | 2006-05-21 | Univ Nat Sun Yat Sen | Conical wedge-shaped fiber lens and the method of making the same |
-
2005
- 2005-01-21 TW TW094101850A patent/TWI255358B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2005-07-18 US US11/183,406 patent/US7295729B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2007
- 2007-06-18 US US11/820,212 patent/US7515789B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2007-06-18 US US11/820,213 patent/US20070273056A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (12)
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---|---|---|---|---|
US4118270A (en) * | 1976-02-18 | 1978-10-03 | Harris Corporation | Micro lens formation at optical fiber ends |
US4147402A (en) * | 1977-06-30 | 1979-04-03 | International Standard Electric Corporation | Process for manufacturing an optical fiber termination |
US4330965A (en) * | 1979-08-03 | 1982-05-25 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Tool for optically finishing connector-mounted optical fibers |
US4510005A (en) * | 1982-09-28 | 1985-04-09 | Allied Corporation | Method and apparatus for reshaping and polishing an end face of an optical fiber |
US4671609A (en) * | 1982-12-23 | 1987-06-09 | U.S. Philips Corporation | Coupling monomode optical fiber having a tapered end portion |
US5037174A (en) * | 1990-01-31 | 1991-08-06 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Optical fiber having an aspherical lens thereon and method of making same |
US5256851A (en) * | 1992-02-28 | 1993-10-26 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Microlenses for coupling optical fibers to elliptical light beams |
US5455879A (en) * | 1994-06-22 | 1995-10-03 | Corning Incorporated | Anamorphic microlens for coupling optical fibers to elliptical light beams |
US5845024A (en) * | 1994-09-16 | 1998-12-01 | Namiki Precision Jewel Co., Ltd. | Optical fiber with lens and method of manufacturing the same |
US20010012425A1 (en) * | 1997-05-07 | 2001-08-09 | The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd | Lensed optical fiber |
US20020031300A1 (en) * | 1999-12-17 | 2002-03-14 | Xu Jie | Lensed optical fiber, process of production and apparatus for production of same, and laser diode module |
US20020159693A1 (en) * | 2001-04-30 | 2002-10-31 | Jds Uniphase Corporation | Lensed optical fiber |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
TW200626978A (en) | 2006-08-01 |
US7515789B2 (en) | 2009-04-07 |
US20070274631A1 (en) | 2007-11-29 |
TWI255358B (en) | 2006-05-21 |
US7295729B2 (en) | 2007-11-13 |
US20070086714A1 (en) | 2007-04-19 |
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