Abstract

In lightwave communications, the high-power-efficiency coupling between a laser diode (LD) and a single-mode fiber (SMF) is indispensable. This paper proposes an imaginative two-microlens-array (MLA) coupling scheme whereby two revolved hyperboloid MLAs were used back-to-back between the LD and the SMF, and a coupling efficiency of 83.4% (-0.79 dB) has been achieved. The study also employs a cost-effective fabrication method, with a combination of the sample-inverted reflow technique and the soft lithography replication method, to fabricate revolved hyperboloid MLAs in inorganic-organic hybrid silica-zirconia sol-gel material. As a result, the fabricated MLAs have excellent smooth profiles and negligible discrepancies from the profiles of the ideal hyperboloid MLAs.

© 2006 IEEE

Sample-inverted reflow technique for fabrication of a revolved-hyperboloid microlens array in hybrid solgel glass

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