An Automated Setup for the Manufacture of Tapered Optical Fibers with a Submicron Diameter

A methodology for the fully automated production of optical fibers with a subwavelength diameter has been developed. A detailed description of the implemented automated setup is provided, which enables the production of quartz fibers with a record-breaking small waist diameter of 400 nm, a taper length of up to 100 mm, and a transmission loss level of 0.4 dB at a wavelength of 1550 nm. The reproducibility of the fiber parameters with a desired geometry is ±30%. The proposed methodology for fully automated production allows the significant simplification and standardization of the production of fiber-optic elements of subwavelength diameter for creating efficient coupling elements for optical microresonators with a giant quality factor, as well as for manufacturing subwavelength fibers for optical filtering and absorption spectroscopy applications.