In-situ investigation of coupling between a fibre and a slab waveguide

The mode coupling between a fibre and a slab waveguide was experimentally investigated during the formation of the slab. A thin film has been deposited on a polished fibre close to the core-clad interface. By monitoring the optical transmittance of the fibre during the film deposition the coupling efficiency between the formed slab and the fibre has been studied as a function of the film thickness. Strong attenuation in the fibre output has been observed for thickness values at which the propagation constants of the optical mode in the fibre match those of the slab waveguide.