"Design and fabrication technology of optical fiber components for lasers and amplifiers"
PRELUDIUM BIS Project
The Project aims to develop simple and low-cost fabrication technologies for various fiber-optic components, crucial for developing compact, next-generation laser sources.
State-of-art laser sources require specific, high-quality components, like couplers, pump-signal combiners, mode-field adapters, end-caps, etc. Nowadays, novel laser sources and photonic systems require more advanced structures, like: in-fiber-integrated micro-optical structures, tapered fiber tips with microlenses, evanescent-field-based couplers, or efficient light coupling from fibers to waveguides (crucial for the development of photonic integrated circuits). We observe a great demand for easy and low-cost fabrication technologies of such fiber-based structures.
We propose a 4-year research program for a doctoral student, devoted to the fundamental investigation of light propagation in various fiber-based structures. The research program includes both theoretical (numerical) and experimental investigations. The direct outcome will be a simple, low-cost fabrication technology of various components, based on well-established fiber processing equipment.
The 4-year research plan is divided into four tasks, and each task focuses on a specific scientific problem related to the design and fabrication of fiber structures:
- Design and modeling of various optical fiber lensed tips – based on numerical modeling using beam propagation method (BPM) and Eigenmode Expansion method (EME).
- Fabrication technology of fiber lensed tips – using a three-electrode fiber processing workstation with a “ring of fire” heat zone around the fiber.
- Development of a side-combiner for double-clad fiber – in a novel configuration with the pump fiber bent around the double-clad fiber.
- Application of developed structures in lasers and photonic devices – such as waveguide-based supercontinuum generators, fiber amplifiers, photonic crystal fibers, fiber-based probes for optical sensors, etc.
Since we aim to solve several existing problems and limitations, we believe that the Project results will strongly contribute to the current knowledge in photonics and laser technology.
The Project is carried out at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. The team members involved in the project are:
- Szymon Matczak
- Grzegorz Soboń
The project is funded by the National Science Centre (NCN)
Project duration: 1.10.2022 - 30.09.2026
Amount of funding: 688 080,00 PLN
Contract no.: UMO 2021/43/O/ST7/00757
