3D investigation of photonics elements by means of interferometric and photoelastic tomography

Abstract

In the paper we present interferometric and photoelastic tomography methods applied for the 3D studies of refractive index (n) and birefringence (B) in photonics components such as optical fibres and microelements produced or replicated by a variety of novel technologies including deep proton writing (DPW) and hot embossing technology. The enhanced automated measurement and data analysis procedures are described and the experimental results obtained for microobjects working in transmission are given. Also the methodology to combine the tomographic data for full characterization of internal structure of 3D photonics elements is provided. The main samples under test are: microlens fabricated by DPW, Panda fibre and massive waveguide microinterferometer in the form of cuboids produced by hot embossing process.