KEYWORDS: Optical fibers, Silica, Semiconductor lasers, Failure analysis, Reliability, Cladding, High power lasers, Laser systems engineering, Optics manufacturing, Laser energy
The high power diode laser systems with their laser diode bars and arrays not only require
special fibers to couple directly to the diode emitters, but also require special fibers to couple from
the laser to the application sites. These power delivery fibers are much larger than the internal
fibers, but must be flexible, and have not only good strength but also good fatigue behavior. This is
particularly important for industrial systems using robotic arms or robots to apply the high power
laser energy to the treatment site. The optical properties of hard plastic clad silica (HPCS) fibers
are well suited for the needs of delivery of high power from diode laser bars and arrays to an
application site. New formulations for HPCS fibers have been developed which have demonstrated
fibers with good mechanical strength in preliminary tests. A systematic study has been undertaken
to determine the strength and fatigue behavior of three 'new' HPCS fibers and to compare them with
results for earlier HPCS fibers. Benefits of stronger median dynamic strengths and tighter flaw
distributions have been found. Short to medium length time to failure results, indicate that the static
fatigue parameters of the new high numerical aperture (NA) optical fibers are at least as good as
those for standard NA HPCS fibers, which is an advance from previous results on the older
formulation clad fibers.
Typically, output from high power, diode lasers and arrays must be transported to a final application/treatment site, whether the application is industrial, military or medical. Many demands are placed on optical fibers to couple the laser output into their structures and to transmit the power to the application site. All silica fibers become much more expensive as the diameter of the fiber increases to handle larger spot sizes and higher NA beams, especially from diode arrays. High strength, low fatigue Hard Plastic Clad Silica fibers provide benefits of larger Numerical Aperture (NA), more flexibility and less strain at the core-clad interface. Fibers with these characteristics and available in both high OH and low OH versions for UV and NIR spectral regions are described. Short and long term strength, and spectral properties are presented. Results for a new high NA version are also presented.
Vjacheslav Artioushenko, V. Ionov, Karen Kalaidjian, Alexander Kryukov, E. Kuzin, Alexander Lerman, A. Prokhorov, Eugene Stepanov, Kevin Bakhshpour, Kelly Moran, Wolfgang Neuberger
The enhancement of polycrystalline MIR-fibers for 4 - 16 um range allows to spread their practical usage in medicine. The improved parameters of core/clad MIR-fibers are considered for the main areas of medical applications: power delivery for CO2-laser surgery; fiber probes for IR-spectroscopy diagnostics; and fiber pyrometry or IR-imaging with fiber bundles.
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