Laser-to-optical-fiber connection
AssigneeCyclone Biosciences, LLC
InventorStephen E. Griffin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of manufacture including a fiber optic termination of a small core optical fiber for use with a surgical laser (characterized by a high M2 factor) or other high-power or high-energy pulse laser is configured for safe and efficient coupling of light at a large laser focal point and/or to enable the process of coupling of radiant intensities exceeding the silica fiber damage thresholds and/or those ionizing the air if fully focused therein. The termination includes a glass cylinder structured to include a core region and a glass cladding region the ratio of dimensions of which is substantially equal to the ratio of respectively-corresponding dimensions of the employed optical fiber. A method of coupling laser light characterized by an M2 factor of 25 or higher into an optical fiber with the use of same.
Claims19
An article of manufacture, comprising:
- an optical fiber having a fiber core and a fiber cladding, and
- an optical termination element in contact with an input surface of the optical fiber, the optical termination element having a front surface, a termination core, and a termination cladding,
- wherein a first ratio of a termination core diameter to a termination cladding diameter is substantially equal to a second ratio of a fiber core diameter to the fiber cladding diameter,
- wherein the article of manufacture is configured to receive an input beam of laser light having an M2 factor of 25 or higher at the front surface of optical termination element and to converge said input beam upon propagation inside the optical termination element while not totally internally reflecting said laser light at a boundary between the termination glass core and termination glass cladding,
- wherein the article of manufacture is configured to satisfy one or more of the following multiple conditions:
- (i) to accept said input beam of laser light at the front surface and transmit said input beam through the front surface into the optical termination element while changing a degree of convergence of the beam upon transmitting thereof through the front surface;
- and
- (ii) to converge the input beam of laser light, received at the front surface of the optical termination element, internally within the optical termination element such as to focus said input beam at a surface in which the termination core and the fiber core have substantially equal dimensions and the termination cladding and the fiber cladding have substantially equal dimensions;
- and
- (iii) to transmit the input beam of laser light through an optical lens, wherein the optical lens is a part of the optical termination element and is separated from the optical fiber by a portion of the optical termination element containing said termination core and termination cladding.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.