Fiber Optic Taper Vapor-phase Etching Method Research

In the early 1960s, the invention of the laser and the maturity of the optical fiber manufacture technology, make it play a role in practical application. Optical fiber is widely used in communication, optical storage, optical fiber sensors, because it has good stability, high speed transmission of high quality and high sensitive sensors. The limitation of the fiber in use also gradually emerges, like most of science and technology. In order to break through the limit of fiber optic, scientists set out to optical fiber micro processing, thus greatly expand the application field of optical fiber.Fiber optic taper production is one of the many optical fiber micro-processing technologies, which gets much better in the actual production process. Optical fiber cone has been widely used in many fields, because of its unique structure, high sensitivity sensing and the micro performance advantages. Its application areas include physical, material, chemistry, medicine and life science, etc.Aiming at the defects of existing methods that in the optical fiber taper production, the paper puts forward a method based on the traditional chemical corrosion. Vapor-phase etching is based on the traditional chemical etching method and the pipe corrosion method adopted in the coating layer of fiber processing, as well as the method of using micro convection in the gas of HF to make the optical fiber taper. This method can make fiber optic taper with different size. At the same time, it has simple operation, low production cost, high experimental repeatability etc.In the first chapter, we firstly introduce the performance of the optical fiber taper, scope of application. Then, we introduce the several current fiber cone production methods. However, there still exist some production problems and the insufficiency of these methods. Finally, the research significance of this paper is briefly elaborated.In the second chapter, we introduce the structure and characteristics of optical fiber and optical fiber taper, as well as several optical fiber taper making methods. This paper emphatically analyzes the heated pulling method and the principle, processing and matters needing attention, advantages and disadvantages of chemical etching method, etc.In the third chapter, we firstly introduce the theoretical basis and feasibility of the new method for optical fiber taper, which is based on the traditional chemical etching method. Then we introduce the production technology and process of the method. In the end, the paper mainly explains for the theoretical analysis and interpretation of the process.In the fourth chapter, we firstly introduce the chemical etching method and the heated pulling method, and then analyze and compare their coupling characteristics. Finally, the related theoretical analysis and simulation results are presented,In the fifth chapter, we introduce the summary and review of this paper, and then put forward the outlook of the follow-up research works.