FORMATION AND MEASUREMENT OF TAPERS IN OPTICAL FIBERS

A simple fabrication method is described which is capable of producing physically repeatable biconical tapers in optical fibers. A resistive ly heated platinum wire furnace provides the heat with standard fiber- optic positioning equipment to secure the fiber. The method does not r equire computer control and has the advantages of low cost, fast sampl e turn-around time, and the ability to concatenate multiple tapers on a single fiber. Experimental results demonstrating repeatable taper fo rmation and the wavelength filtering property of the tapers is shown. Issues of varying the taper shape are addressed and measurement method s of the physical and optical characteristics are presented. Limited c ontrol of the taper symmetry is discussed, and recommendations for enh ancement at the cost of simplicity are included.