Mechanical fabrication of precision microlenses on optical fiber endfaces

Gareth Milton; Yousef Gharbia; Jayantha Katupitiya

doi:10.1117/12.560264

14 October 2004 Mechanical fabrication of precision microlenses on optical fiber endfaces

Gareth Milton, Yousef Gharbia, Jayantha Katupitiya

Proceedings Volume 5523, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering V; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.560264
Event: Optical Science and Technology, the SPIE 49th Annual Meeting, 2004, Denver, Colorado, United States

Abstract

This paper presents a purely mechanical means of producing highly concentric spherical lenses at the endfaces of optical fibers. The production process has two stages. First conical lenses are produced in a grinding process that ensures excellent concentricity. Then the conical lenses are transformed to spherical lenses using a novel process called loose abrasive blasting. The cone grinding is carried out on a micro-grinding machine that has a sophisticated control system that enables the production of precision conical lenses. The blasting is carried out on a diamond blasting machine. Plots showing automatic centering performance of the micro-grinding machine and scanning electron microscopy photographs of the conical and spherical lenses are presented.

Citation Download Citation

Gareth Milton, Yousef Gharbia, and Jayantha Katupitiya "Mechanical fabrication of precision microlenses on optical fiber endfaces", Proc. SPIE 5523, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering V, (14 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.560264

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available