We report on the investigation of a 7-core Yb-doped fiber laser based on femtosecond pulse written fiber Bragg gratings. The fabricated FBG arrays are used as a complex high-reflective mirrors, whereas output coupling is provided by ~4% Fresnel reflection from the normally cleaved end of the fiber. At cladding pumping by a 976-nm laser diode, the cores generate independently with linear total power growth up to 33 W at 50 W pump power. The individual generation spectra slowly broaden to ~0.15 nm whereas net spectrum at maximum power is ~0.2 nm broad thus demonstrating high-power narrowband generation in multicore active fiber.
The doping of nanoporous glass (PG) is a prospective technique for producing bismuth (Bi)-doped optical fibers. The refractive index of sintered PG is lower than pure silica glass because of PG high residual content of boron (2 to 3 at.%). This fact impedes the choice of fiber cladding for building a light-guiding structure. We have chosen the microstructured optical fiber with the core from Bi-doped nanoporous glass to overcome this problem. We have studied the glass composition and controlled the luminescent properties of bismuth active centers at each step of the fiber fabrication. The PG is suitable for the production of microstructured fibers.
We present the results on fabrication of 3D fiber Bragg grating (FBG) arrays in specialty 7-core optical fibers with straight or twisted (spun) cores. Femtosecond laser inscription technology allowed us to modify the fibers through the acrylate or polyimide protective coatings that significantly increases the durability of the FBG sensors as compared to conventional UV inscription approach, requiring the coating removal. Custom-made 7-core fiber with polyimide coating opens up new prospects for shape sensors operating in high-temperature environment. Twisted-core fiber makes it possible to measure not only the shape, but also the direction of fiber torsion that is essential for a free-standing sensors. A novel method enabling core-selective FBGs inscription in a 7-core spun optical fiber is presented in this work. By using the created sensors bending radii down to several millimeters can be measured with a high precision. Separation of different core FBGs by wavelength makes it possible to combine several cores during their interrogation, which allows for sensor measurements through a single optical port.
Chirped pulse monolithic fiber amplifier based on a newly developed tapered polarization maintaining Yb-doped fiber has been developed and optimized. A novel amplification regime in a relatively long (220 cm) tapered fiber of improved design, which has been theoretically predicted, allowed us to achieve an ultimate high peak power. In this regime, the signal propagates most of the fiber without amplification and growths very rapidly only in the last 80 cm of the tapered fiber, which has a mode field area of approximately 1000 μm2 near the output. We have demonstrated amplification of 20 ps chirped pulses centered at 1056-nm with spectral width of 20 nm to 0.7 MW peak power directly from the tapered fiber amplifier. The pulses had a diffraction limited quality (M2 ~ 1.124) and could be compressed down to 350 fs with 50% efficiency. In addition, amplification of narrow-band 9 ps pulses centered at 1064 nm to a peak power of 1.8 MW directly from the tapered fiber amplifier was demonstrated.
Using neighboring cores with different mode propagation constants (indexes) is a well-known way to reduce crosstalk in multicore fiber (MCF). However, in actual field-deployed fiber, random bends can cause a reduction in the difference between the mode indexes of neighboring cores, which consequently increases crosstalk. The level of crosstalk induced by bending in both rectangular cross-section and circular cross-section heterogeneous MCF with cores arranged in a line was investigated. The experimental results obtained indicate that in contrast to circular cross-section MCF, no bending-induced crosstalk occurs in rectangular cross-section MCF wound on the mandrel without special control of cross-section orientation. Thus, to eliminate undesirable bending-induced crosstalk in heterogeneous MCF a rectangular cross-section should be employed.
We describe composite optical fibers with rare-earth co-doped phosphate-glass core in a silica-glass cladding. High RE-ion concentrations in the phosphate core of the composite fiber allow fiber length reduction in comparison with silica fibers. The silica cladding provides high mechanical strength and protects the phosphate core from air moisture while making it easier to splice with silica fibers.
We proposed and investigated a novel tapered ytterbium-doped fiber design. The tapered fiber has length of 2.1 m, single-mode thin end and thick end with core/clad diameter of about 50/430 µm. Master-oscillator power-amplifier monolithic fiber scheme have been developed using this fiber and 5 ps duration, 28 nm spectral width and 0.5 MW peak power pulses was achieved at the output. FROG measurements reveal linear chirp that allow one to expect decompression of these pulses down to sub-100 fs duration.
Theoretical aspects of microstructured fibers fabrication from preforms with sealed holes at the top end are discussed. Dependences of the holes blowing degree on their diameters, on a ratio of the preform top end temperature to temperature in the center of a furnace and on other parameters are estimated. Experimental results of different microstructured fibers drawing in such a regime are presented. We have drawn the simplest microstructured fiber with one hole from a tube with outside diameter 6.2 mm and inner diameter 4.4 mm (capillary drawing). Also we have drawn MSFs from preforms with 6 and 60 small holes. To check the results of the theoretical analysis we have prepared a preform with different size holes and then drew it into a fiber. In all cases experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical estimations. Thus this method of fabrication gives the possibility to manufacture long length microstructured fibers with stable internal structural parameters, high reproducibility, ease of controlling and changing the fibers parameters and opportunity to make structures with holes of different sizes. The observed changes of the holes blowing degree in our experimental samples can be easily compensated with the help of additional heating of the preform top end. Besides, such heating makes it possible to control and change the holes blowing degree, particularly during the fibers drawing process.
A procedure for the preparation of optically homogeneous glass for fiber preforms through sintering of coarse oxide
particles and further processing of the resultant glass, including several drawing and stacking steps, is described.
Reducing the pressure to 10-2 Torr during sintering considerably reduced the amount of gas bubbles in Yb/Al-doped
silica glass and decreased the background loss to 100 dB/km after the third drawing-stacking-consolidation cycle. For
comparison, a fiber singly doped with alumina was fabricated by the same procedure as above. The level of wavelength-
independent losses in that fiber was 65 dB/km.
The paper compares the absorption and emission properties of bulk glasses prepared by sintered in an iridium crucible
and optical fibers fabricated by the powder-in-tube method. Both the bulk glasses and fibers were prepared from
identical mixtures. The emission properties of the bulk samples and fibers were similar, while the "gray losses" in the
fibers were an order of magnitude lower than those in the crucible melted glasses.
The features of the Furnace Chemical Vapor Deposition (FCVD) method of manufacturing preforms for special
optical fibers are considered. It is shown that misalignment of substrate silica tube and furnace hole axes has a negative
effect on the quality of fabricated preforms, leading to angular and radial asymmetry of the refractive index profile.
Ways of getting rid of this and other disadvantages of the FCVD method are described. Some advantages of the FCVD
method over the MCVD method are shown. It was demonstrated that the FCVD method, despite some drawbacks, allows
to manufacture high-quality fiber preforms with good symmetry of the refractive index profile, and thus it is promising
for fabrication of dispersion, dispersion varying and active fibers.
A novel design of polarization-maintaining microstructured fiber is presented. A solid core is surrounded by two or more
concentric rings of holes of constant diameter. The distance between adjacent holes in the first ring is constant except for
one or two pairs of holes, for which the spacing is increased. It is found that the fiber of such a design can demonstrate
high birefringence (up to 5x10-3) and simultaneously low azimuthal asymmetry of the mode shape. An experimental
sample was fabricated. The measured value of birefringence is in excellent agreement with the calculated one. The
results of the h-parameter measurement demonstrate the capability of the novel fiber to maintain the polarization state of
the guided light along the fiber length.
Manufacturing processes for different types of hermetically coated fibers are described. Optical and mechanical
properties of metal and carbon coated fibers are compared. Prospects of application of both types of hermetically coated
fibers in special applications are discussed.
Photonic bandgap Bragg fibers are promising for designing
large-mode-area structures owing to their high bend
immunity. However, at a large core diameter, filtering of high-order modes (mainly, the LP11 mode) becomes difficult,
because the propagation constant of such modes is close to that of the fundamental LP01 mode.
In this paper, we demonstrate the possibility to suppress high-order modes in Bragg fibers by introducing low-index
inclusions into the Bragg fiber core. Numerical analysis shows that an appropriate choice of the position and types of
such inclusions allows one to increase the LP11 mode radiation loss without increasing the optical loss of the fundamental
LP01 mode. The Bragg fiber with two B-doped and two
F-doped rods in the core was fabricated and studied. The
fundamental LP01 mode at 1064 nm had a mode-field area of about 340μm2 and an optical loss below 0.2 dB/m at a
bending radius of 15 cm. The LP11 mode was not observed in both bent and straight fibers at this wavelength. Only the
LP21 mode was detected in a straight fiber; however, it was completely suppressed after propagating a length of 60 cm in
a fiber bent with a radius <50 cm.
Prospects of fabrication of solid-core photonic bandgap fibers with a large mode area (LMA) are discussed. Properties
of solid-core photonic bandgap fibers with a small ratio of the cladding element diameter d to the distance Λ between
neighboring cladding elements are studied. The range of fiber parameters at which the fiber is single-mode over the
fundamental band gap is found.
Although singlemode fiber lasers become a mature technology, enhancements, in terms of output power, spatial beam
quality, bend insensitivity are still required. A major trend is to increase the active core area to increase the thresholds of
nonlinear effects while ensuring a transverse singlemode behavior. Actually, increasing the active ions' concentration is
also demanded since it allows a drastic reduction of the fiber length, everything being equal. Two non-exclusive
strategies are laid out to overcome fiber laser limitations. On the one hand, it is demonstrated that surrounding a highly
multimode active core by a properly designed microstructured cladding, exhibiting specific resonant features, allows the
fiber laser to be operated in the singlemode regime. On the other hand, a large mode area photonic bandgap fibre is
shown to lead to a transverse singlemode fiber laser with very good lasing efficiency.
The delivery or generation of high power in optical fibre requires the increase of the core size to increase the threshold of
nonlinear effects and the damage threshold. However the bend loss strongly limits the increase of the effective area
(Aeff). All-solid photonic bandgap fibres are attractive for the delivery of power since they can be made singlemode
whatever the core diameter is. Moreover the silica core can be doped with rare-earth ions. A Bragg fibre is a bandgap
fibre composed of a low index core surrounded by N concentric layers of high and low index. We have fabricated Large
Mode Area Bragg fibres by the MCVD process. These Bragg fibres present a ratio Aeff/λ2 close to 500. A first Bragg
fibre, defined by N = 3 and an index contrast between the cladding layers Δn = 0.01, exhibits a measured critical bend
radius Rc close to 16 cm (bend loss equal to 3 dB/m). Increasing the index contrast Δn leads to a tighter field
confinement. The field distribution of the guided mode strongly decays in the periodic cladding and is thus less sensitive
to bending. We propose here the design of an improved Bragg fibre with a very large index contrast Δn = 0.035 which
leads to a dramatic reduction of the bend loss. The critical bend radius was measured to be lower than 3 cm. This fibre is
less bend sensitive than an equivalent solid core fibre, either a step-index fibre or a photonic crystal fibre.
Photonic bandgap fibers have already proved their huge potential for guiding light in air over kilometric lengths.
Nowadays, solid-core bandgap fibers draw considerable attention due to their unusual properties. For instance, the
bandgap effect may lead to very large mode area operation, management of the chromatic dispersion curve, spectral
filtering or bend loss reduction, all features that could enhance fiber laser performances. Recent results about the design,
fabrication and characterization of large mode area solid-core bandgap fibers are presented. Prospects of further
development of bandgap fiber lasers are discussed.
Initial and radiation-induced optical loss spectra of multimode pure-silica-core holey fibers drawn at different regimes are analyzed and compared with those of a conventional POD-fiber with the same KU-1 silica in the core. It is shown that by filling the holes with H2 gas during fiber drawing, it is possible to fully suppress the drawing-induced 630 nm absorption band and to lower the amplitude of the radiation-induced 610 nm absorption band. The results of an experiment are discussed in which H2 gas was conducted through the holes of a multimode pure-silica-core holey fiber immediately in the process of its γ-irradiation. The dose evolution of the 610 nm absorption band and of the short-wavelength (≤ 550 nm) absorption associated with hydrogen incorporation into the glass network is analyzed. It is concluded that H2 gas is efficient at suppressing the 610 nm band in pure-silica-core holey fibers, but can cause a loss increase in the short-wavelength region, in case its pressure in the holes is not sufficiently high.
Optical losses induced in fibers at 300oC and in hydrogen atmosphere were studied. A non-linear dependence of hydrogen penetration through the carbon coating on hydrogen pressure was observed. It was demonstrated that carbon coating could not defend the fiber from hydrogen penetration for a long time period. At some time, the hydrogen presence in the fiber core resulted in high optical losses in all spectral range in the case of Ge-doped fibers. It was found that the short-wavelength loss edge (SWE) in a Ge-doped fiber co-doped with a small amount of phosphorus was significantly smaller than that in Ge-doped fibers without co-doping. Nevertheless, P-codoping effect did not decrease optical losses related with SWE completely.
Static fatigue of bare indented fibers in different environments was studied. It was found that the n-value in different pH-solutions did not significantly change and was higher than that for strong fibers and lower than that for bulk samples in similar conditions. All lifetime reduction with a pH increase was due to a change of the B-value. The results obtained were used for evaluation of the lifetime of weak fibers for different service environments.
A brief overview of some possible degradation mechanisms of Raman amplifiers and lasers is presented. It is demonstrated that further investigations are required to clear up all the open questions related with mechanical and optical reliability of such devices and their components.
The effect of the multi-region crack growth model on the fiber lifetime prediction in the optical communication systems and the problems to be solved before putting the new model into practice are discussed.
A novel method for incorporating static fatigue results into dynamic fatigue curves allows one to significantly extend the range of experimental fatigue results for further analysis. One obtains a power-law description of static fatigue data over a narrow range of time-to-failure and subsequently translates the data into this region into dynamic fatigue data. This recalculation method applies to data that does not follow the traditional power law model.
Comparison of high-speed strength data for weak (abraded, contaminated and indented) and pristine fibers was performed. It was shown that fatigue behavior of abraded fiber practically coincides with that of the fiber contaminated by zirconia powder and is close to that of indented fiber. The fatigue parameters obtained for strong pristine fiber cannot be used to obtain the correct prediction of fiber strength after proof testing. A two-region power law model was used for mathematical description of these results and the fatigue parameters for three types of weak fibers were obtained.
Highly phosphorus doped (7 - 17 mol%) single-mode fibers for the application in Raman laser have been manufactured. It has been established that with increasing the P2O5 concentration level, both optical losses and the fiber Raman gain coefficient increase. Using the fiber technology developed, the maximum efficiency of a single-cascaded Raman laser is achieved at a phosphorous pentoxide doping level of 12 - 14 mol% P2O5.
The influence of the fluorine-containing precursor type in the MCVD process on the size of soot particles is investigated by the method of laser ultramicroscope. The results of these measurements have shown that Freon-113 decreases the content of large soot particles, while SiF4 does not. These results suggest an explanation of the optical loss reduction in highly GeO2- or P2O5- doped single-mode fibers due to co-doping of the fiber core with fluorine.
A technology has been developed for fabrication of single- mode fibers with a high level of phosphorous doping (10 - 17 mol% P2O5) in the core. Characteristics of such fibers intended for use in Raman lasers operating at 1.24 and 1.48 micrometers are investigated. A reduction of fiber drawing temperature and additional doping of the fiber core with fluorine allowed a reduction of optical losses below 1 dB/km in wavelength range 1.1 - 1.5 micrometers .
The effect of using the multi-region crack growth model on the fiber lifetime prediction in an optical communication system is discussed. The weak flaw statistics model is compared with the safe stress model for mechanical reliability of optical fibers. Problems to be solved before putting the safe stress model into practice are analyzed.
Mikhail Belovolov, A. Belanov, Mikhail Bubnov, Eugeni Dianov, Sergey Semjonov, S. Sinev, I. Krashchenko, V. Krivenkov, A. Belovolov, Alexei Guryanov, Vladimir Khopin
For the first time, two-channel concentric-core optical fibers consisting of a broadband central single-mode lightguide for the wavelength of 1.3 micrometers and a ring multimode lightguide, 10 micrometers in thickness, have been developed. The outer fiber diameter is 125 micrometers . The fibers are meant for two-channel communication systems. Optical losses of less than 1 dB/km for the both cores have been achieved, the channel-to-channel crosstalk being less than -40 dB. A dependence of optical losses in the ring lightguide on the radius of curvature and strain of a coiled fiber has been revealed. The optimal refractive index profile of the ring core has been found to minimize optical losses in coiled and straightened fibers. A fiber-optic communication link, 12 km in length, has been constructed, and the loss distribution along the link has been investigated using the OTDR-technique. It is shown that there is no distributed coupling between the two cores and the channels remain independent even at large distances.
It was obtained that (t2Si2)-((sigma) s/Si) and ((sigma) d/Si1)-((sigma) '/Si3) are universal coordinates for presentation of static fatigue and dynamic fatigue data respectively. Usage of these coordinates helps to correctly compare the results of tests of different kinds of fibers (strong and weak) regardless of the initial defect size. presentation of the dynamic fatigue data for pristine and indented fibers in universal coordinates showed a very similar behavior of both fiber types in spite of their difference in strength.
It is known that silica fiber strength and fatigue are sensitive to such environmental parameters as humidity and pH. However, there is no complete understanding of the mechanisms of their action. For this reason, static fatigue measurements with pH-value being controlled were performed. The results are interpreted in terms of activation of water molecules by OH- groups.
Optical glass fibers can exhibit a transition in slope of their static fatigue behavior ('knee' phenomenon). This effect was previously supposed to reduce fiber lifetime. The 'knee' phenomenon as well as the phenomenon of abrupt increase of the flaw size ('pop-in') are re- examined in this paper. It is shown that under normal proof-test conditions these two effects have no tangible impact on the fiber service life estimations.
The factors limiting the maximum strength of carbon coated fibers are considered. In spite of the variations in the inert strength, at room temperature the strength of fibers under investigation depends not on the drawing conditions, but on the properties of the carbon coating. The strength of weak carbon coated fibers with melted-in zirconia particles is also investigated. It grows with increasing carbon thickness (i.e. decreasing of fiber electrical resistance). When the carbon coating is thick enough (electrical resistance is less than 10 kOhm/cm), the fiber strength practically does not depend on the coating thickness and environment humidity and is more than two times higher than that of polymer coated fibers.
At temperatures higher than 400 degree(s)C the decrease of aluminum coated fiber strength due to interaction between glass and aluminum was observed. The rate of this decrease appears to depend on the interface between glass and metal. The influence of atmosphere above the metallizer at the application of a metal coating by the freezing method was investigated. Some decrease of the initial bending strength, yet longer lifetime at high temperatures, have been observed for fibers sealed in atmosphere containing oxygen, which can create an alumina layer between silica glass and aluminum. In order to exclude the chemical reaction between silica and aluminum, an intermediate layer of carbon was applied during the fiber drawing. Results of the carbon coating influence on strength and lifetime of aluminum coated fibers at high temperatures are presented.
Factors limiting the maximum strength of carbon coated fibers are considered. The ultimate inert strength of carbon coated fibers was estimated by using the strength reduction data at high temperature.
Proof testing is the principal technique for revealing the largest fiber flaws that reduce fiber strength below some definite level. At the same time the proof test does not guarantee long-term (25-50 yr) reliability of optical fibers due to the growth of surface defects during proof stress unloading. In the present paper we analyze the possibility of reducing unloading effects by means of shortening the unloading time or proof testing under inert conditions. We have also estimated the reliability of hermetically coated proof-tested optical fibers and obtained simple relations that take into consideration the proof test and service conditions when evaluating the fiber reliability.
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