Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery device, comprising a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation device and a second length of fiber having a second RIP coupled to the first length of fiber, the second RIP formed to confine at least a portion of the modified beam characteristics of the optical beam within one or more confinement regions.

Additive manufacturing systems and methods for fabricating an article are provided. The additive manufacturing system may include a substrate and a layering device configured to fabricate a first layer of the article on the substrate. The layering device may include an optical beam source configured to generate an optical beam and a variable beam characteristics (VBC) fiber operably coupled with the optical beam source and configured to modify one or more beam characteristics, such as a wavelength, of the optical beam.

An optical beam delivery device is configured to generate, from an optical beam, selectable intensity profiles. The device has a first length of fiber having a first refractive index profile (RIP), and a second length of fiber having second RIP that is different from the first RIP. The second length of fiber includes coaxial confinement regions arranged to confine at least a portion of an adjusted optical beam. The confined portion corresponds to an intensity distribution of different intensity distributions. The intensity distribution is established by a corresponding state of different states of perturbation that is applied to the device such that the confined portion is configured to provide, at an output of the second length of fiber, a selected intensity profile of the selectable intensity profiles.

Systems and methods for modifying an optical beam and adjusting one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam are provided. The system may include a first length of fiber operably coupled with an optical beam source and configured to receive an optical beam therefrom. The system may also include a perturbation device operably coupled with the first length of fiber and configured to modify the optical beam traversing therethrough, and a second length of fiber operably coupled with the first length of fiber and configured to receive the modified optical beam therefrom. The system may further include a beam shaping assembly configured to receive the modified optical beam from the second length of fiber, adjust one or more beam characteristics of the modified optical beam, and direct the adjusted optical beam to a downstream process.

In a multi-panel display device in which plural individual display devices are joined, it is possible to guarantee image continuity in panel junction areas of the multi-panel display device by disposing a frame-type optical member, which includes a frame section having plural optical fibers and a central light-transmitting area, on the front surface of the multi-panel display device and optimizing structures of an inner inclined surface of the frame section of the frame-type optical member and optical fibers included in the frame section.

A method for forming an article includes providing a material having a first material property; forming a melt pool by exposing the material to an optical beam having at least one beam characteristic, wherein the melt pool has at least one melt pool property determinative of a second material property of the material; and modifying the at least one beam characteristic in response to a change in the melt pool property.

An optical beam delivery device establishes, from an optical beam, an optical trap that is moveable to different optical trap locations. The device has a first length of fiber through which the optical beam propagates along a propagation path and which has a first refractive index profile (RIP) enabling modification of the propagation path to form an adjusted optical beam movable to propagate along different propagation paths in response to different states of applied perturbation. The device also has a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having confinement cores defining a second RIP. The confinement cores occupy different positions in, and correspond to the different optical trap locations at an output of, the second length of fiber.

A method of tailoring beam characteristics of a laser beam during fabrication of an electronic device. The method includes: providing a substrate comprising one or more layers; adjusting one or more characteristics of a laser beam; and impinging the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics on the substrate to carry out at least one process step for fabricating the electronic device. The adjusting of the laser beam comprises: perturbing the laser beam propagating within a first length of fiber to adjust the one or more beam characteristics of the laser beam in the first length of fiber or a second length of fiber or a combination thereof, the second length of fiber having two or more confinement regions; coupling the perturbed laser beam into the second length of fiber; and emitting the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics from the second length of fiber.

A fused-biconical-taper bend-insensitive single mode optical fiber includes a core and a cladding. The core is a fluorine-germanium co-doped silicon-dioxide quartz glass layer, a diameter D.sub.core thereof is 7-10 m, and a relative refractive index difference 1 thereof is 0.20% to 0.40%. A range of Ge is 0.30% to 0.60%, and a range of F is 0.05% to 0.15%. The cladding includes three layers. A first layer is a fluorine-germanium co-doped silicon-dioxide quartz glass layer, a relative refractive index difference 31 thereof is 0.02% to 0.10%, and a diameter D31 thereof is 15-30 m. A second layer is a fluorine-doped silicon-dioxide quartz glass layer, a relative refractive index difference 32 thereof is 0.01% to 0.05%, and a diameter D32 thereof is 30-50 m. A third layer is a pure silicon-dioxide quartz glass layer, and a diameter D33 thereof is 124-126 m.

An optical module includes a single-mode optical fiber; a high relative refractive-index difference optical fiber having a larger core-to-cladding relative refractive-index difference than that of the single-mode optical fiber fusion-spliced to a first end of the high relative refractive-index difference optical fiber; a planar lightwave circuit that includes an optical waveguide having a core of quartz-based glass doped with a refractive-index raising dopant and a cladding of quartz-based glass, and is connected at a first end thereof to a second end, opposite to the first end, of the high relative refractive-index difference optical fiber; and a silicon thin-wire waveguide element that includes a silicon thin-wire waveguide having a silicon core and a cladding whose refractive index lower than that of the silicon core, and is connected to a second end, opposite to the first end, of the optical waveguide of the planar lightwave circuit.