Modeling the growth of a polymer microtip on an optical fiber end

Manufacturing end-of-fiber optical components able to realize optical functions ranging from a simple lens to more complex functions such as mode-selective components is a decisive but a priori complex task owing to the fiber-core dimensions. Effective low-cost methods allowing researchers to grow polymer components by free-radical photopolymerization using the light coming out of the fiber have recently been reported. A novel, to our knowledge, phenomenological model of the underlying photopolymerization process is here given and used to simulate the polymer-component growth in a three-dimensional time-resolved manner. The simulation results are thus used to understand and optimize the component growth conditions, focusing particularly on the role of oxygen either present in the atmosphere or dissolved in the solution. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.