Shaping Beam Profiles Using Plastic Optical Fiber Tapers with Application to Ice Sensors

Sensors

Nikolaos Kourkoumelis¹  Georgia Kioselaki²  Aris Ikiades²  Kostas Amoiropoulos² 

[1] Department of Medical Physics, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece;Physics Department, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece;

关键词: plastic optical fiber tapers;    beam profile;    ice sensor;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s20092503

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Using either bulk or fiber optics the profile of laser beams can be altered from Gaussian to top-hat or hollow beams allowing enhanced performance in applications like laser cooling, optical trapping, and fiber sensing. Here, we report a method based on multimode Plastic Optical Fibers (POF) long-tapers, to tweak the beam profile from near Gaussian to a hollow beam, by generating surface irregularities on the conical sections of the taper with a heat-and-pull technique. Furthermore, a cutback technique applied on long tapers expanded the output beam profile by more than twice the numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber. The enhanced sensitivity and detection efficiency of the extended profile was tested on a fiber optical ice sensor related to aviation safety.

【 授权许可】

Unknown