Fluorescent all-fiber light source based on micro-capillaries and on microstructured optical fibers terminated with a microbulb

An integrated fiber-optic fluorescent light source compatible with photonic-crystal and hollow-core fibers is presented in this paper. We have studied the dependence of the fluorescence spectra on the length of a micro-capillary filled with Rhodamine 6G dissolved in glycerin. As the capillary, we used a standard fiber-optic glass ferrule with two parallel holes having an inner diameter of 125 μm. One of the holes was filled with fluorescing solution, while an SMF-28 fiber polished at 45° with aluminum coating was placed in the second hole to serve as a pumping fiber. As the solution was pumped by continuous-wave laser light at 532 nm, the fluorescence was captured by a microstructured optical fiber immersed in the filled hole. To prevent the solution from penetrating into this receiving fiber, its end was capped by molten borosilicate glass forming a ball lens. Combining the spectra of several fluorescent organic dyes can create a broadband light source compatible with optical fibers that could be used for the development of compact photonic-crystal and hollow-core fiber sensors.