0000000000286066
AUTHOR
Dominic F. Murphy
Fibres Are Looking Up: Optical Fibre Transition Structures In Astrophotonics
Recent developments in the astrophotonic applications of optical fibre taper transitions are discussed. For example, transitions between single multi-mode and multiple single-mode cores can help suppress the atmospheric OH emission that hampers ground-based IR astronomy.
Multicore optical fibres for astrophotonics
We report progress towards multimode (MM) fibre filters for suppressing the OH emission that hinders ground-based observation of the early Universe. Fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) can filter these narrow spectral lines in single-mode (SM) fibres [1]. Implementing them in MM fibres well-matched to astronomical instruments requires transitions between the MM fibre and several SM fibres [2]. Such hand-crafted “photonic lanterns” require many identical FBGs to be made and spliced in place. Instead we are pursuing the idea in multicore (MC) fibres, Fig. 1(a). The FBG is written at once in all the SM cores. The fibre is jacketed with low-index glass and tapered to form the core and cladding of a MM …
"Photonic lantern" spectral filters in multi-core fibre
Fiber Bragg gratings are written across all 120 single-mode cores of a multi-core optical Fiber. The Fiber is interfaced to multimode ports by tapering it within a depressed-index glass jacket. The result is a compact multimode "photonic lantern" filter with astrophotonic applications. The tapered structure is also an effective mode scrambler.