Measuring Small-Beam MFD: Overcoming the Challenges

Author: Derrick Peterman, Northern California Sales Manager, Ophir
Friday, May 3, 2019
MKS Ophir, Light & Measurement

Small beams are used in many critical applications, such as such as fiber optic coupling efficiency, defect scanning, optical design, and optical fabrication process control. Yet often, they are not directly profiled because determining the size of the beam emerging from a waveguide or fiber – often referred to as the mode field diameter (MFD) — is difficult. While obtaining good beam profiling data on beams under 10 µm has its challenges, they can be overcome with near-field profiling and far-field profiling.