Fabrication and study of bent and coiled free silica nanowires: Self-coupling microloop optical interferometer

We fabricated nanometer- and micrometer-order diameter optical fibers (NMOFs) by drawing them in a microfurnace comprising a sapphire tube heated with a CO2 laser. Using very short - a few mm long - fiber biconical tapers having a submicron waist, which can be bent locally in a free space by translation of the taper ends, we studied the effect of bending and looping on the transmission characteristics of a free NMOF. In particular, we have demonstrated an optical interferometer built of a coiled self-coupling NMOF. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.