An optical fiber is tapered, for example, by heating it with a CO2
laser. The tapering process is controlled such that the taper transition regions
have taper angles selected to minimize loss. The taper waist has a diameter selected
to introduce desired dispersion properties and desired nonlinearity. The optical
fiber can be used as a dispersion compensator in a fiber laser or other fiber optic
system. The nonlinearity in the tapered optical fiber allows the generation of
ultrashort light pulses.
