title: Asymmetric double-clad fiber couplers for endoscopy.
abstract: We present an asymmetric double-clad fiber coupler (A-DCFC) exploiting a disparity in fiber etendues to exceed the equipartition limit (≤50% extraction of inner cladding multi-mode light). The A-DCFC is fabricated using two commercially available fibers and a custom fusion-tapering setup to achieve >70% extraction of multi-mode inner cladding light without affecting (>95% transmission) single-mode light propagation in the core. Imaging with the A-DCFC is demonstrated in a spectrally encoded imaging setup using a weakly backscattering biological sample. Other applications include the combination of optical coherence tomography with weak fluorescent or Raman scattering signals.
authors.forename: Wendy-Julie
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Madore
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Montigny
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ouellette
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lemire-Renaud
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leduc
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Daxhelet
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Godbout
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boudoux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D051379:Mice; D055100:Optical Fibers