Fiber Coupling Optimization

Fibers are some of the most versatile components in modern optics. One of their most valued characteristics is their capacity to transport optical energy with very low losses over very long distances. On the flip side, coupling light into a fiber in a way that achieves as high an efficiency as possible is often a very delicate endeavor: selecting the right optical components for the coupling and aligning the system well are, among others, fundamental steps to ensure a satisfactory coupling efficiency.

The fast physical optics modeling and design software VirtualLab Fusion enables its users to simulate and optimize core components such as the incoupling lenses, in order to design the coupling system and analyze its performance and robustness. As an introduction to this topic, in this week’s newsletter, we demonstrate two examples where the working distance and the incoupling lens are optimized using VirtualLab Fusion’s Parameter Run and Parametric Optimization tools to increase the coupling efficiency of a single-mode fiber almost to 100%.