Coupling and Multiplexing Between Single Mode Optical Fibers

Abstract

Perhaps more than in the field of single mode optical communications, single mode fiber applications in sensors will require a whole set of functions that should be performed directly on the optical wave sensing a physical quantity. These are usually expected to be achieved by having recourse to the possibilities offered by integrated optics. However there still are a number of problems associated with the insertion of, say, a lithium niobate chip in a fiber sensor system, such as the difficulty in achieving an easy and straightforward fiber-film connection, the losses of such a junction due to the geometrical mismatch between the two guiding structures and also the additional problem caused by the reflection of coherent light due to the electromagnetic mismatch.