3D direct laser writing of microstructured optical fiber tapers on single-mode fibers for mode-field conversion.

We present a design and fabrication approach for 3D printed polymer microstructured optical fiber tapers on standard single-mode glass fibers for efficient and compact mode-field conversion. This paves the way towards complex functionalized fiber tips for various applications, like sensors and beam shaping components, currently limited by the mode-field size and distribution of standard optical fibers. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of mode-field converting tapers for relaxing the misalignment tolerance in fiber-to-fiber connections and maximizing the coupling efficiency in fiber-to-chip connections.

Vertical liquid controlled adiabatic waveguide coupler.

A broadband vertical liquid controlled optical waveguide coupler (LCC) is demonstrated. The fabricated vertical LCC with silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides can switch light between 2 stacked photonic circuit layers with zero energy consumption in a steady switch state. In combination with low-loss interlayer waveguide crossovers they enable large scale non-volatile switch circuits with low loss.

Oil-in-water emulsion impregnated electrospun poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber mat as a novel tool for optical fiber cleaning.

Hypothesis: The complete removal of remaining polymer debris after stripping of optical fiber cables is essential for high precision connection between two fibers. It can be anticipated that electrospun porous membranes as cleaning wipes are able to trap and retain polymer debris within their pores. Impregnation of an oil-in-water emulsion as cleaning agent lowers the interfacial tension between debris and the optical fiber thereby enabling the straightforward removal of polymer debris from the optical fiber.

Design and tolerance analysis of a low bending loss hole-assisted fiber using statistical design methodology.

We present the design of a low bending loss hole-assisted fiber for a 180?-bend fiber socket application, including a tolerance analysis for manufacturability. To this aim, we make use of statistical design methodology, combined with a fully vectorial mode solver. Two resulting designs are presented and their performance in terms of bending loss, coupling loss to Corning SMF-28 standard telecom fiber, and cut-off wavelength is calculated.