Optical Coupling Methods for Cost-Effective Polymer Optical Fiber Communication

In this paper, we report cost-effective light coupling methods for polymer optical fiber (POF) communication. Here, we compare the various optical coupling schemes in detail. By optical simulations, we analyze the conventional light coupling schemes, namely the direct coupling, lens coupling, and lensed fiber coupling. The simulation studies reveal that a lensed fiber tip particularly at the receiver side improves the light coupling efficiency to a great extent. The optimized lensed POF design confers an 85% coupling efficiency. Lensed POFs are realized with two low-cost fabrication methods. The characterization of the lensed POF are carried out to evaluate the lensing properties and hence to optimize the fabrication process.