Note: Fabrication of tapered fibre tip using mechanical polishing method

Y K Cheong; K S Lim; W H Lim; W Y Chong; R Zakaria; H Ahmad

doi:10.1063/1.3627374

Note: Fabrication of tapered fibre tip using mechanical polishing method

Rev Sci Instrum. 2011 Aug;82(8):086115. doi: 10.1063/1.3627374.

Authors

Y K Cheong¹, K S Lim, W H Lim, W Y Chong, R Zakaria, H Ahmad

Affiliation

¹ Photonics Research Centre, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PMID: 21895293
DOI: 10.1063/1.3627374

Abstract

Tapered fibre tips fabricated using mechanical polishing method is studied. The fibre tips are formed by sequential polishing flat-ended single mode fibres with decreasing aluminium oxide polishing film grit size. Based on the proposed technique, tapered fibre tips with cone angle ranging from 30° to 130° are fabricated by controlling the polishing angle. Besides the variety of cone angle, considerable smoothness of the fibre tip surface may assist in good metal coating and hence a well-defined aperture can be obtained. In addition, this paper presents a two-step hybrid fabrication method combining the proposed polishing method with chemical etching method to increase the possible fibre tip cone angles achievable by chemical etching method.