[17p-P4-1~7] 3.14 Optical control devices and optical fibers

[17p-P4-5] Tapering a silica optical fiber based on meniscus etching in phosphoric and hydrofluoric acid

〇Shuji Mononobe¹ (1.Toyo Univ.)

Keywords:optical fiber, near-field scanning optical microscopy, etching

Meniscus etching where silica fibers are etched under the meniscus of an HF solution is known as a convenient method for fabricating tapered fibers. However generated dust in the floated silicone oil seriously affects reproducibility of the method. To improve reproducibility, the author proposes HF acid mixed with phosphoric acid for meniscus etching. The obtained results show that adding phosphoric acid to the etchant improves reproducibility of tapering silica fibers.