CO2 laser splicing of dissimilar materials

CO₂ laser fusion splicing is a technique for joining optical components, offering precise, non-contact material processing. Due to the high absorption of glasses at 10.6 μm wavelength, this approach enables controlled localized heating and is well suited for materials that are difficult to process using conventional arc-based splicing methods. As photonic circuits, integrated optics, and nonlinear optical materials continue to advance, the demand for splicing dissimilar materials has increased substantially. Such materials often exhibit mismatched physical properties such as thermal expansion coefficients, melting temperatures, and optical properties, requiring specific procedural changes that depend on the materials, fibers and component sizes. In this work, we demonstrate that axicon-based CO₂ laser splicing, made using a NYFORS’ SMARTSPLICER™, provides an effective solution for joining standard optical fibers to dissimilar materials. By generating a uniform circular heating profile around the fiber and enabling precise spatial offset to mitigate thermal damage, this method accommodates differences in material properties and supports the fabrication of functioning hybrid photonic systems.