An overview of a maskless optical fiber micromachining technology was presented. When germania is doped into silica glass, the etching rate of silica changes when exposed to the etching medium such as HF or buffered HF. Introduction of germania in silica glass thus allows for controlled formation of micro cavities and similar structures at the tip of optical fiber. When such micro-machined fibers are further combined or spliced, various micro-optic devices can be created inside or at the tip of an optical fiber.
COBISS.SI-ID: 14880534