LARGE DIAMETER FIBER OPTIC TAPERS

FIBER OPTIC TAPERS ARE USED IN A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS INCLUDING: IMAGE INTENSIFIED NIGHT VISION DEVICES, INTENSIFIED LOW LIGHT LEVEL DEVICES FOR UV/IR SPECTROSCOPY, AND MEDICAL/SCIENTIFIC X-RAY IMAGING SYSTEMS, WHERE THE TAPER IS COUPLED TO A CCD. VIRTUALLY ALL THESE TAPERS ARE LESS THAN 50MM DIAMETER. THE LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGY, SPECIFICALLY IN FIBER FUSING AND STRETCHING PROCESSES (THE CRITICAL FACTORS), LIMIT THE SIZE OF THE TAPER. THE LARGEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE UNIT BEING 115MM DIAMETER. SUCH TAPERS ARE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO MAKE, FEW HAVE BEEN PRODUCED. HOWEVER, MANY EXISTING AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS REQUIRE TAPERS UP TO 200MM. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN MEDICAL IMAGING AND X-RAY AREA DETECTORS BASED ON CCD IMAGERS, WHERELARGER AND HIGHER RESOLUTION IMAGES ARE REQUIRED BUT PROGRESS HAS BEEN RESTRICTED DUE TO THE RELATIVELY SMALL SIZE OF THE CCD CHIPS AND NON AVAILABILITY OF LARGE TAPERS. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AT INCOM HAVE DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENTS IN CONTROLLING THE ABOVE MENTIONED CRITICAL FACTORS FOR REGULAR SIZE COMPONENTS. WE PROPOSE THEREFORE BY BUILDING ON THESE RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS, TO DEVELOP A COMPLETELY NEW PROCESS TO PRODUCE LARGE DIAMETER FIBER OPTICTAPERS. A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL ADVANCEMENTS IN MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC IMAGING.