| 摘要 |
A method including the steps of providing a light-diffusing optical fiber (12a) having a glass core (20), a cladding (40) surrounding the core (20), and a plurality of nano-sized structures in the form of voids (32) situated within said core (20) or at a core-cladding boundary; cleaving the light-diffusing fiber (12a), thereby forming a cleaved end face (66); and applying energy to one or more of 1) the cleaved end face (66) and 2) the light-diffusing fiber (12b) along a portion of the length thereof adjacent the cleaved end face (66), the amount of energy being sufficient to collapse and seal the voids (32) exposed at the cleaved end face (66), leaving a sealed cleaved end face (68). A lens may then be attached to the sealed cleaved end face (68), or the sealed cleaved end face (68) may be softened sufficiently to induce formation of a lensing surface such as a convex lensing surface (60) on the sealed end face (68). |
| 主权项 |
1. A method of providing a light-diffusing fiber having a core and a cladding with a core-cladding boundary therebetween and plurality of nano-sized structures situated within said core at the core-cladding boundary; cleaving the light-diffusing fiber, thereby forming a cleaved end face; and applying energy to one or more of the 1) the cleaved end face and 2) the light-diffusing fiber along a portion of the length thereof adjacent the cleaved end face, the amount of energy being sufficient to collapse and seal the voids exposed at the cleaved end face leaving a sealed cleaved end face, wherein applying energy comprises applying energy to the light-diffusing fiber along a portion of the length thereof adjacent the cleaved end face so as to seal the voids, at the end face, to a depth of more than 10 um; further comprising softening the light-diffusing fiber at or near the sealed end face thereof sufficiently to induce formation of a convex lensing surface on the sealed end face of the fiber; wherein the step of softening comprises inducing formation of a spherical convex lens surface having a radius of length R, when the fiber has a radius, of the glass components of the fiber, of length r, and wherein the step of applying energy comprises apply energy so as to seal the voids to a distance S along the fiber, from the sealed cleaved end face, of at least S=(R3/r2). |
