Nanogrinding of microprofiles and microlenses on optical fibers endfaces for use in optical-fiber sensors

This paper presents nanogrinding as an alternative technique for the fabrication of optical fiber micro profiles. Grinding of these lenses is carried out on a nanogrinding machine (NGM) specially built for this purpose. Cleaved single mode optical fibers with core diameter of 9 mm and outside diameter of 125 mm were used. Optical fiber endfaces with a multitude of micro profiles were successfully made. This includes conical lenses, tapered lenses, D-shaped endfaces, and fibers with oblique endfaces. The results are presented in the form of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images of the produced lenses.