Specific glass fiber technologies: Lensing and laser fusion

Besides the common fiber technologies like splicing, polishing and coating there is a demand for specific methods for advanced packaging solutions in the field of telecom and medical applications. We present here three of such methods for lensing glass fibers that can be used to increase optical performance and reliability as well as to reduce the packaging efforts. These technologies are very useful for micro optical assembly, i.e. fiber connectors for high power applications, collimators and telecom transceivers and endoscope imaging or sensor systems. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration Berlin special photonic packaging solutions are developed. Optical interconnects have been obtained a great importance for optical data transfer. Optical fibers are necessary for disturbance free communication of high data rates via long distances. Optical system components perform generation, distribution, transformation, amplifying and processing of optical signals. That's why optical systems are a assembly of different kinds of functional basic elements such as optical fibers, splitters, switches, modulators, transmitters and detectors. Furthermore, industrial applications need a reliable and cost effective coupling of optical fibers to those systems