介绍了两种可以增大单模光纤模场直径并出射准直平行光束的扩芯光纤(ECF)的原理和制作方法。分析了单模光纤熔接渐变折射率多模光纤法通过改变渐变折射率多模光纤的长度和自聚焦参量实现模场扩大缩小的原理,制作的扩芯光纤模场直径扩大到16.6 μｍ,出射光束平行效果较好,轴向耦合容限比单模光纤扩大了近6倍。加热扩芯光纤则是通过控制加热温度和加热时间直接使单模光纤掺杂物质发生扩散,从而实现扩束和光束准直,模场直径达到15.4 μｍ,横向、轴向耦合容限都比单模光纤有很大提高。因此扩芯光纤可以简化单模光纤的耦合对准过程,用来制作新型的单模光纤或掺铒光纤连接器,也可以用于其它光器件中与单模光纤的准直。

Two kinds of expanded core fibers (ECF) are fabricated, one is single-mode fiber cascaded gradual index (GI) fiber and the other is thermally diffused expanded core fiber (TEC). The testing shows that ECF can reduce loss in fiber-to-fiber coupling and increase the misalignment tolerance greatly, so that it make the alignment and adjustment easier than normal single mode fiber(SMF). The transmission characteristics of the two kinds of ECF are studied and the probable use in optical devices such as connector, isolator and optical filter working as collimator are analyzed.