Optical fiber cleaved at an angle by CO2 laser ablation: Application to micromachining

Lévesque, Luc; Jdanov, V.

doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2010.01.032

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…We then experimentally investigate the control we have over the ablation depth, profile symmetry, cleave reproducibility and demonstrate the capability to fabricate flat angle cleaves. We demonstrate a surface topography of <400 nm over the entire diameter of a 400 µm fibre with minimal edgerounding effects -this is more than an order of magnitude improvement on currently reported state-of-the-art CO 2 laser processing solutions [16][17][18][19] and also an improvement by a factor of 5 on typical state-of-the-art mechanical cleaving solutions [1][2][3]. We also demonstrate a reproducibility of better than 200 nm in fibre surface preparation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…A high level of heat deposition during the cleave process will also cause substantial diffusion and potentially deform the core, which will contribute to splice loss and mode-coupling effects. Consequently, current CO 2 laser fibre end-face preparation is more suited for use in free-space propagation applications, for use in fibre connectors or for the preparation of fibres prior to subsequent mechanical polishing [16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High precision 96 µm CO_2 laser end-face processing of optical fibres

Boyd¹,

Rees²,

Simakov³

et al. 2015

Opt. Express

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Reproducible, precise cleaving of optical fibres is of great importance to the fibre laser and telecommunications industries. We present a novel approach to the end-face processing of optical fibres using a 9.6 µm CO 2 laser to produce flat, smooth and symmetric fibre end-face profiles with no rounding or melting at the edges of the fibre. As a demonstration, precision cleaving of a 400 µm diameter optical fibre is reported. For this fibre a topographical profile height of <400 nm (0.06°) and a reproducibility better than 200 nm (0.03°) was achieved. To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of a CO 2 process that has generated a fibre endface topography substantially smaller than a typical mechanical cleave. Highlighting the flexibility of this system, we have also demonstrated the generation of near arbitrary fiber end-face profiles such as discrete phase steps and non-spherical surface profiles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High precision 96 µm CO_2 laser end-face processing of optical fibres

Boyd¹,

Rees²,

Simakov³

et al. 2015

Opt. Express

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“…[1][2][3] The removal of pump light from the cladding is usually achieved by a high refractive index polymer coating on the cladding of the optical fibre. In the case of high power lasers the power in the cladding mode can be significant and can destroy the polymer coating.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel technique for the CO<inf>2</inf> laser fabrication of optical devices with sub-micrometer ablation depth precision

Boyd

Simakov

Daniel

et al. 2014

2014 the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC)

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We present novel techniques for the processing of fibre end face and cladding surfaces using a 9.6 µm CO 2 laser. We investigate the effects of pulse duration on process parameters. IntroductionLaser processing of glass for the fabrication of optical components has been an area of great interest for the telecommunications and laser industries as it can facilitate rapid, reproducible and precise production of devices with laser polished surface qualities.In this article we demonstrate a novel technique that achieves sub-micrometer control over ablation depth using a 9.6 μm CO 2 laser, and we then demonstrate the advantages of our technique in fabricating flat angle optical fibre cleaves and cladding mode strippers.

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“…A study conducted by Udrea et al with a low-power-density continuous-wave (CW) CO 2 laser demonstrated a decrease of the surface roughness by more than one order of magnitude on 0º angle tips, but no other angle tips were mentioned [6]. In a more recent paper it was demonstrated that different angle tips could be obtained with a 10.6 μm laser, but without any indication about surface quality [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Polishing is another common method that involves a holder supported at an angle, but unfortunately it is time consuming and generally increases the cost o f the final product. CO 2 lasers were only recently introduced to obtain angle cleaving [4] and, even if they require a relatively high initial expense, they make it possible t o automate the process and hence considerably decrease the cost of bulk manufacturing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%