Nondestructive measurement of nanofiber diameters using microfiber tip

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Accurate nanofiber diameter measurement is crucial for applications in optical sensing, quantum optics, and quantum information processing.
• Existing methods for nanofiber characterization can be destructive or lack precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a convenient and non-destructive method for determining nanofiber diameters.
• To establish a reliable technique for nanofiber characterization using near-field optical probes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a hemispherical microfiber tip probe to induce scattering losses in nanofiber transmission.
• Employed three-dimensional numerical simulations to establish the relationship between loss and nanofiber diameter.
• Measured nanofiber transmittance to estimate diameter based on simulated loss-diameter correlations.

Main Results:

• Achieved a diameter measurement precision of 9.8 nm (1.5% of the measured diameter).
• Demonstrated that scattering losses are dependent on nanofiber diameter but insensitive to alignment.
• Experimental results showed strong agreement with established nanofiber characterization methods.

Conclusions:

• The developed near-field probe approach provides a reliable and convenient non-destructive technique for nanofiber diameter determination.
• This method has potential applications across various scientific and technological fields, including optical sensing and quantum information processing.