Optical fiber probe tips and methods for fabricating same
AssigneeUniversity of Maryland, College Park
InventorsDonald C. Schmadel, Howard Dennis Drew, Vivekananda Adiga, Anton Max CuBillos-Moraga
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Abstract
Optical fiber probe tips and methods for fabricating the same are presented. One method entails immersing a distal end of an optical fiber having a cladding and a core into an etching solution and simultaneously etching the cladding and the core using the etching solution for tapering the cladding and the core to form a tapered cladding and a tapered core tip. The optical fiber probe tips are suitable for near-field, scanning, optical microscopy (NSOM).
Claims23
A method for fabricating an optical fiber probe tip using an optical fiber having a cladding and a core, the method comprising:
- immersing a distal end including an initial end surface of the optical fiber into an etching solution in accordance with a predetermined height, wherein the predetermined height is measured from the initial end surface of the optical fiber to an interface between the etching solution and another solution placed over the etching solution;
- and
- simultaneously etching the cladding and the core using the etching solution for tapering the cladding and the core to form a tapered cladding and a tapered core tip.
An optical fiber probe tip comprising a tapered cladding and a tapered core tip fabricated by immersing a distal end including an initial end surface of an optical fiber having a cladding and a core into an etching solution in accordance with a predetermined height, wherein the predetermined height is measured from the initial end surface of the optical fiber to an interface between the etching solution and another solution placed over the etching solution, and simultaneously etching the cladding and the core using the etching solution for tapering the cladding and the core to form the tapered cladding and the tapered core tip.
A method for fabricating an optical fiber probe tip using an optical fiber having a cladding and a core, the method comprising:
- heating the distal end of the optical fiber prior to the immersing step;
- immersing a distal end including of the optical fiber into an etching solution;
- and
- simultaneously etching the cladding and the core using the etching solution for tapering the cladding and the core to form a tapered cladding and a tapered core tip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.