title: Single-body lensed photonic crystal fibers as side-viewing probes for optical imaging systems.
abstract: We report the fabrication and performance of a lensed photonic crystal fiber (PCF) designed as a compact but effective side-viewing optical imaging probe. The lensed-PCF probe was implemented in a single body without using any other fibers or additional optics. The beam expansion region and a focusing ball lens, necessary for a focuser, were simultaneously formed along a small piece of PCF by applying arc discharges. The side-viewing ability was provided by polishing the ball lens with a femtosecond laser to form a total internal reflection surface. The working distance and the transverse resolution of the fabricated single-body lensed-PCF were experimentally measured to be 570 and 6.8 microm, respectively. With the proposed lensed-PCF probe, optical coherence tomography images of an in vitro biological sample were successfully obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communications, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Seon Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Jihoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Byeong Ha
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ik-Bu
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Young-Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Jongmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee