Microlens for efficient coupling between LED and optical fiber

A new fabrication method of a microlens is proposed that can be easily appl ied to optical devices and microlens systems. The proposed microlens is for med by self-surface tension and cohesion of UV curing material. Since the m icrolens is hardened by short time UV exposure, the fabrication process is very simple, Integration with surface emitting-light emitting diode (SE-LED ) results in enhanced coupling to optical fiber with coupling efficiency la rger than the conventional case by 1.5 times. We also made a hemispheric mi crolensed fiber using this method. Compared with a typical are-lensed fiber and a flat-end fiber, the coupling efficiency is improved to 18% and 40%, respectively.