Abstract
A new type of launching coupler for small-bore, hollow fibers, consisting of a lens and a tapered hollow waveguide, is proposed to increase the alignment tolerance between an input laser beam and small bore fibers. First, we designed the structural dimensions of the coupler by using a ray-tracing method. Then, a series of experiments employing tapered hollow waveguides made of Pyrex glass was performed to investigate the effectiveness of the new coupler. It is shown that the coupler has a high efficiency with attenuation of around 0.5 dB, especially when the inside of the taper section is coated with a polymer and silver film. In addition, we also show that the coupler has great tolerance for the transverse displacement of a waveguide axis, which gives a 0.1-dB loss increase for a 300-ॖm displacement.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7818-7821 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Applied optics |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 30 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1997 Oct 20 |
Keywords
- Hollow waveguide
- Infrared fiber optics
- Infrared laser
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Engineering (miscellaneous)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering