The present invention relates to a surface interaction type multimode
optical fiber coupler. A representative embodiment of the present
invention comprises a plurality of optical fibers with at least one
having an expanded core section. Sections of the optical fibers including
at least a portion of the expanded core sections are fused together
forming a fused section. At least one of the optical fibers is suitable
for multimode operations. According to an embodiment of the present
invention, a method of fabrication an optical fiber coupler comprises:
providing a plurality of optical fibers with at least one having an
expanded core section; and maintaining sections of the optical fibers
including at least a portion of the expanded core sections in contact and
simultaneously heating at least a portion of the sections that are in
contact to form a fused section until a predetermined end condition is
reached.