How can I get a good fiber end facet? I'm now use a 3SAE LCC-II fiber cleaver to cleave photonic crystal fiber, however it does not work very well, every time I cleave the fiber, I aways see some little damage on the fiber end facet（Some mists and hackles）, which have already affected my experiment! So I want to know is there anyone who also use the same cleaver?And if you have a other good method to get a good fiber end facet such as grinding,you could also tell me how to do it, thank you very much!
Did you try to finish it off with a thin sandpaper (glass paper) ?.. you must keep the fiber surface vertically to the sand paper when you rub it
After cleaving the fibre, use a Kimwipe lint-free wiper soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Hold the soaked paper in your left arm horizontally, hold the fibre end between 2 fingers of your right hand 5-7 cms from the end and gently move the cleaved end across the wiper surface (touching it) 2-3 times, with the fibre being at 45-70 degrees to the plane of wiper. The dust pieces will be cleaned off effectively.
First did you try to rotate your cleaver blade? There's a video on youtube for my cleaver which explain how to do.
If it is not working, I also polish the tip. For your case, you can go straight to the 1 or 0.3 micron grit:
http://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=1350
Thank you for your advices !Once I get a good endface I will first inform you guys！
The reaserchers of Shenzhen Lightcomm Technology Co. use the same type fiber cleaver, I remember the problem of this fiber cleaver is that the fiber can not be hold tight enough while being cleaved.I guess that's why you can not get a clean facet.Besides, you can use those small fiber cleavers of Fitel or Fujikura for single mode fibers to cleave your PCF.
Sometimes the cleaver has the issue. May be correcting that first might help.
Perhaps the cleaving problem is due to residual stresses within the photonic crystal fibre. I have no experience of these.
With conventional optical fibres, cleaving will give the best results if you set up the conditions correctly (e.g. tension). Basically it requires more energy to create a rough cleave (Hackle), than a flat one. If you have a slight bend with minor tension, and a tiny scratch, then only a perfect cleave can propagate across the fibre. The minimum energy condition is a perfectly flat end perpendicular to the fibre axis. The damage due to the initiating scratch should not penetrate to the core.
Polishing with abrasive is time consuming and usually requires the fibre to be potted/supported in some way. It is very difficult to get a finish as good as with a clean cleave. If your photonic crystal fibre has voids, I wonder if residue from the abrasive material can enter the voids and be difficult to remove? this would cause optical loss.
Have you spoken to the fibre supplier. They must know a good solution to your problem.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Bioecology
- Systems Ecology
- Landscape Ecology
- Connectivity