Microlens for efficient coupling between LED and optical fiber

A new fabrication method of a microlens is proposed that can be easily applied to optical devices and microlens systems. The proposed microlens is formed by self-surface tension and cohesion of UV curing material. Since the microlens is hardened by short time UV exposure, the fabrication process is very simple. Integration with surface emitting-light emitting diode (SE-LED) results in enhanced coupling to optical fiber with coupling efficiency larger than the conventional case by 1.5 times. We also made a hemispheric microlensed fiber using this method. Compared with a typical arc-lensed fiber and a flat-end fiber, the coupling efficiency is improved to 18% and 40%, respectively.