Smooth end face termination of microstructured, graded-index, and step-index polymer optical fibers
Oliveira, R.
;
Bilro, L.
;
Nogueira, R.N.
Applied Optics Vol. 54, Nº 18, pp. 5629 - 5633, June, 2015.
ISSN (print): 2155-3165
ISSN (online): 1559-128X
Scimago Journal Ranking: 0,84 (in 2015)
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1364/AO.54.005629
Abstract
A new technique, based on a partially automated process, for smooth end face termination of three types of plastic optical fibers (microstructured, graded-index, and step-index) is presented. The cross-sectional shape of the fibers is preserved, and the structure in microstructured plastic optical fibers (POFs) is of good quality, showing no plastic deformations. The termination is achieved in a fast and easy way, independent of material properties or structures inside the fiber. The process is reproducible and it shows that thin-diameter POFs can be used. The POFs’ near-field pattern and the insertion loss are also analyzed, showing good coupling capabilities.
