A microlens is affixed in the far field of an optical fiber to spatially
transform a beam either entering or exiting the fiber. In a first
embodiment, a droplet of photo polymer is placed on the end of an optical
fiber and the fiber is spun to create an artificial gravity. The droplet
is cured by UV radiation during the spinning. In a second embodiment,
nanoparticles are mixed into the droplet to increase the refractive index
of the photo polymer. A third embodiment employs artificial gravity to
attach a microsphere to the end of the optical fiber. A fourth embodiment
chemically treats the surface of the microsphere so that the requirement
of artificial gravity is either reduced or eliminated. In a fifth
embodiment the droplet is cured under equilibrium or nonequilibrium
conditions to obtain different final shapes for the lenslet. A sixth
embodiment discloses fabrication of microlens arrays.