A fiber-optic probe for optical coherence tomography (OCT) applications is typically includes a short section of graded index (GRIN) fiber fused onto a single-mode (SM) fiber. The GRIN fiber acts as a lens to focus the output of the SM fiber and to collect the reflected light from the sample. In this paper we will use the beam propagation method (BPM) to analyze the output beam characteristics such as beam radius and working distance, and then compare these with the measured results. With this tool we can design a GRIN fiber lens to achieve a long working distance without degrading the system performance.
