CPC G02B 6/02328 (2013.01) [G02B 27/0012 (2013.01)] | 6 Claims |
1. A method of splicing a coupler between fibers, the method comprising:
providing a multi-mode fiber (MMF) configured to include a first core diameter;
providing a single mode fiber (SMF) configured to include a second core diameter, the second core diameter being less than the first core diameter;
providing a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) coupler with a hollow core, the PCF coupler configured to include a mode field diameter (MFD) in a range of 16 to 19 microns which is a diameter size between the first core diameter and the second core diameter; and
splicing the PCF coupler between the SMF and the MMF;
wherein a splice coupling between the PCF coupler and the SMF is tapered to avoid signal losses at a transition between the PCF coupler and the SMF;
wherein a splice coupling between the PCF coupler and the MMF is actively aligned to minimize misalignment at a transition between the PCF coupler and the MMF;
wherein the splice coupling between the PCF coupler and the MMF is actively aligned by maximizing an overlap integral of a fundamental mode of the PCF coupler with a fundamental mode of the MMF while also minimizing power transmissions in non-fundamental modes within the MMF.
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