ROUNDED-END OPTICAL FIBER AND COLLIMATOR

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collimator using a rounded-end optical fiber which has a high manufacturing efficiency and has less shape variance.

SOLUTION: An optical fiber 2 which has a core larger than or equal to that of an optical fiber 1 which also has a core for transmitting light is connected to the front end of the optical fiber 1, and an optical fiber 3 which has a core larger than or equal to that of the optical fiber 2 is connected to the front end of the optical fiber 2. Only the optical fiber 3 is fused by heating to obtain a spherical end optical fiber having a spherical end portion completely made into a sphere. The outer diameter of the optical fiber 3 is made larger than that of the optical fiber 1. The outer diameter of the optical fiber 2 is made larger than that of the optical fiber 1 and smaller than that of the optical fiber 3. The outer diameter of the third optical fiber is so set that a vanishing volume when the spherical end portion having a desired radius of curvature is formed by heating by electric discharge is small.

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