Diverging light from fiber optics illumination delivery systems

An illumination fiber optics for an ophthalmic device, prepared by a process comprising the steps of:

• providing an optical fiber, configured to receive illumination light at a proximal end from a light source;
• and
• creating a light-scattering element at a distal end of the optical fiber, configured to receive the illumination light from the optical fiber at a proximal end of the light-scattering element and to emit the illumination light at a distal end of the light-scattering element in a wide angle,
• wherein creating the light-scattering element comprises:
• (a) providing glass microspheres in a polymer matrix liquid bath;
• (b) dipping the optical fiber into the polymer matrix liquid bath;
• (c) extracting the optical fiber from the polymer matrix liquid bath, whereby surface tension forms a glass ball, including the glass microspheres, at the distal end of the optical fiber;
• and
• (d) sintering the glass ball with the microspheres via heating by a heat source, wherein sintering the glass ball reduces a polymer melt content of the glass ball.