Patent ID: 7760976
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: G01S,G02B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus comprising: a first fiber bundle having a plurality of light-transmitting fibers including a first fiber, a second fiber, and a third fiber, the first fiber bundle having a first end and a second end, wherein the plurality of light-transmitting fibers in at least the second end of the first fiber bundle are fused such that, as viewed from the second end of the first fiber bundle, each one of the plurality of light-transmitting fibers forms a hexagonal shape that is tightly packed against its neighbors, wherein at the second end of the first fiber bundle, each one of the plurality of light-transmitting fibers has a generally hexagonal core that is surrounded by a generally hexagonal cladding that is between and touching that core and each of its neighboring fibers, and wherein the hexagonal core is formed from a fiber having a core diameter and a total cladding thickness, and the core diameter is about 10 times the total cladding thickness.