Patent ID: 8818151

Claim:
A fiber pump signal combiner comprising: a fiber bundle including: a signal fiber having a core and cladding; and a plurality of pump fibers; the signal fiber and plurality of pump fibers encased within a capillary tube; a double-clad fiber having a core disposed within an inner cladding and an outer cladding; and a taper section having: an inner signal fiber; a tapered outer surface that extends from a wide end to a narrow end of the taper section; the wide end of the taper section connected to one end of the fiber bundle; and the narrow end of the taper section connected to one end of the double-clad fiber, wherein the inner signal fiber couples the core of the signal fiber of the fiber bundle to the core of the double-clad fiber, and wherein the wide end of the taper section covers the plurality of pump fibers in the fiber bundle and does not cover the capillary tube of the fiber bundle, and wherein the narrow end of the taper section covers the inner cladding of the double-clad fiber and does not cover the outer cladding of the double-clad fiber, and wherein the taper section is formed by etching away portions of a fiber rod to produce the tapered outer surface without altering the diameter of the taper section inner signal fiber.