TY - GEN
T1 - Fabrication of polymer microlens at the apex of optical fiber
AU - Ma, Nan
AU - Ashok, Praveen C.
AU - Gunn-Moore, Frank J.
AU - Dholakia, Kishan
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - We report a simple, inexpensive fabrication method to fabricate polymer microlens at the apex of optical fiber. When compared to other established protocols for fabricating microlensed fiber, this procedure allows simple and inexpensive microlensed fiber fabrication with high reproducibility. Also it is possible to tune the focal length and working distance of the fabricated lens in a wider range by controlling the curing parameters such as curing power, beam shape of the curing beam and curing time. The novel curing procedure, where a specially structured curing laser beam of wavelength 405nm was used for curing, is the key factor for this extended flexibility. Once cured, the UV curable adhesive used for fabricating these lenses had a very good transmission in visible and near-IR region, making it ideal for communication and biophotonics applications. This fabrication technique can be used in a variety of applications owing to its ability to achieve customized microlenses for specific applications.
AB - We report a simple, inexpensive fabrication method to fabricate polymer microlens at the apex of optical fiber. When compared to other established protocols for fabricating microlensed fiber, this procedure allows simple and inexpensive microlensed fiber fabrication with high reproducibility. Also it is possible to tune the focal length and working distance of the fabricated lens in a wider range by controlling the curing parameters such as curing power, beam shape of the curing beam and curing time. The novel curing procedure, where a specially structured curing laser beam of wavelength 405nm was used for curing, is the key factor for this extended flexibility. Once cured, the UV curable adhesive used for fabricating these lenses had a very good transmission in visible and near-IR region, making it ideal for communication and biophotonics applications. This fabrication technique can be used in a variety of applications owing to its ability to achieve customized microlenses for specific applications.
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U2 - 10.1117/12.899114
DO - 10.1117/12.899114
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:80052560178
SN - 9780819488008
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Photonics 2010
T2 - Photonics 2010: 10th International Conference on Fiber Optics and Photonics
Y2 - 11 December 2010 through 15 December 2010
ER -