Fabrication of single-polarisation single-mode-fibre couplers

Abstract
Fused biconical taper fibre couplers have been fabricated from single-polarisation single-mode fibres. A CVD technique is applied to permit maintenance of parallel alignment of the fibres in the coupler fabrication process. The couplers can hold linear polarisation along the principal axis of the fibre branches, showing an extinction ratio of about −15dB.