Efficient multi-mode to single-mode coupling in a photonic lantern

We demonstrate the fabrication of a high performance multimode (MM) to single-mode (SM) splitter or photonic lantern, first described by Leon-Saval et al. (2005). Our photonic lantern is a solid allglass version, and we show experimentally that this device can be used to achieve efficient and reversible coupling between a MM fiber and a number of SM fibers, when perfectly matched launch conditions into the MM fiber are ensured. The fabricated photonic lantern has a coupling loss for a MM to SM tapered transition of only 0.32 dB which proves the feasibility of the technology. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America