Ultralow-loss fusion splicing between negative curvature hollow-core fibers and conventional SMFs with a...

Negative curvature hollow-core fibers (NC-HCFs) can boost the excellent performance of HCFs in terms of propagation loss, nonlinearity, and latency, while retaining large core and delicate cladding structures, which makes them distinctly different from conventional fibers. Construction of low-loss all-fiber NC-HCF architecture with conventional single-mode fibers (SMFs) is important for various applications. Here we demonstrate an efficient and reliable fusion splicing method to achieve low-loss connection between a NC-HCF and a conventional SMF. By controlling the mode-field profile of the SMF with a two-step reverse-tapering method, we realize a record-low insertion loss of 0.88 dB for a SMF/NC-HCF/SMF chain at 1310 nm. Our method is simple, effective, and reliable, compared with those methods that rely on intermediate bridging elements, such as graded-index fibers, and can greatly facilitate the integration of NC-HCFs and promote more advanced applications with such fibers.