Delivery of high energy Er:YAG pulsed laser light at 2.94 µm through a silica hollow core photonic crystal fibre

Hundred-meter-scale, kilowatt peak-power, near-diffraction-limited, mid-infrared pulse delivery via the low-loss hollow-core fiber

We report a high-power single-mode mid-infrared (MIR) pulse delivery system via anti-resonant hollow-core fiber (HCF) with a record delivery distance of 108 m. Near-diffraction-limited MIR light was transmitted by HCFs at wavelengths of 3.12-3.58 µm using a tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO) as the light source. The HCFs were purged beforehand with argon in order to remove or reduce loss due to parasitic gas absorption (HCl, CO₂, etc.). The minimum fiber loss values were 0.05 and 0.24 dB/m at 3.4-3.6 µm and 4.5-4.6 µm, respectively, with the 4.5-4.6 µm loss figure representing, to the best of our knowledge, a new low loss record for a HCF in this spectral region. At a coupling efficiency of ∼70%, average powers of 592 mW and 133 mW were delivered through 5 m and 108 m of HCF, respectively. Assuming the 120-ps duration of the MIR pulses remained constant over the low-dispersion HCF (theoretical maximum: 0.4 ps/nm/km), the corresponding calculated peak powers were 4.9 kW and 1.1 kW.

Wideband, large mode field and single vector mode transmission in a 37-cell hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber

Stable generation and propagation of ultrafast high-order mode beams has become an important research direction. A core diameter not more than 10 times the wavelength is regarded as the upper limit for single mode transmission. However, a high-power laser requires a core diameter 20 to 40 times the wavelength to achieve high-power and stable output, which exceeds the design limit of the traditional fiber. In this paper, a novel 37-cell hollow core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBF) that only supports pure TE₀₁ mode over a bandwidth of 50 nm with the lowest loss of 0.127 dB/km is proposed. The HC-PBF has a core diameter of more than 40 μm. Single mode guidance is achieved by adjusting the lattice size in a particular of the cladding. The best single mode performance with a loss ratio as high as 150,000 between TE₀₁ mode and other modes with minimum loss is obtained. The fiber also has low bend-loss and thus can be coiled to a small bend radius of 1 cm having 1.6 dB/km bend loss. The tunability of the single-mode window and the manufacturing feasibility of the proposed fiber are also discussed.

A Dual Hollow Core Antiresonant Optical Fiber Coupler Based on a Highly Birefringent Structure-Numerical Design and Analysis

With the growing interest in hollow-core antiresonant fibers (HC-ARF), attributed to the development of their fabrication technology, the appearance of more sophisticated structures is understandable. One of the recently advancing concepts is that of dual hollow-core antiresonant fibers, which have the potential to be used as optical fiber couplers. In the following paper, a design of a dual hollow-core antiresonant fiber (DHC-ARF) acting as a polarization fiber coupler is presented. The structure is based on a highly birefringent hollow-core fiber design, which is proven to be a promising solution for the purpose of propagation of polarized signals. The design of an optimized DHC-ARF with asymmetrical cores is proposed, together with analysis of its essential coupling parameters, such as the extinction ratio, coupling length ratio, and coupling strength. The latter two for the x- and y-polarized signals were ~2 and 1, respectively, while the optical losses were below 0.3 dB/cm in the 1500–1700 nm transmission band.

Low-loss single-mode negatively curved square-core hollow fibers

We introduce a novel design of anti-resonant fibers with negative-curvature square cores to be employed in 1.55 and 2.94 μm transmission bands. The fibers have low losses and single-mode operation via optimizing the negative curvature of the guiding walls. The first proposed fiber shows a broadband transmission window spanning 0.9-1.7 μm, with losses of 0.025 and 0.056 dB/m at 1.064 and 1.55 μm, respectively. The second proposed fiber has approximately a 0.023 dB/m guiding loss at 2.94 μm with a small cross-sectional area, useful for laser micromachining applications.

Modal content in hypocycloid Kagomé hollow core photonic crystal fibers

The modal content of 7 and 19 cell Kagomé anti resonant hollow core fibers (K-ARF) with hypocycloid core surrounds is experimentally investigated through the spectral and spatial (S²) imaging technique. It is observed that the 7 and 19 cell K-ARF reported here, support 4 and 7 LP mode groups respectively, however the observation that K-ARF support few mode groups is likely to be ubiquitous to 7 and 19 cell K-ARFs. The transmission loss of the higher order modes (HOMs) was measured via S² and a cutback method. In the 7 cell K-ARF it is found that the LP₁₁ and LP₂₁ modes have approximately 3.6 and 5.7 times the loss of the fundamental mode (FM), respectively. In the 19 cell it is found that the LP₁₁ mode has approximately 2.57 times the loss of the FM, while the LP₀₂ mode has approximately 2.62 times the loss of the FM. Additionally, bend loss in these fibers is studied for the first time using S² to reveal the effect of bend on modal content. Our measurements demonstrate that K-ARFs support a few mode groups and indicate that the differential loss of the HOMs is not substantially higher than that of the FM, and that bending the fiber does not induce significant inter modal coupling. A study of three different input beam coupling configurations demonstrates increased HOM excitation at output and a non-Gaussian profile of the output beam if poor mode field matching is achieved.

Single-ring hollow core optical fibers made by glass billet extrusion for Raman sensing

We report the fabrication of the first extruded hollow core optical fiber with a single ring of cladding holes, and its use in a chemical sensing application. These single suspended ring structures show antiresonance reflection optical waveguiding (ARROW) features in the visible part of the spectrum. The impact of preform pressurization on the geometry of these fibers is determined by the size of the different hole types in the preform. The fibers are used to perform Raman sensing of methanol, demonstrating their potential for future fiber sensing applications.

Preclinical investigations of articular cartilage ablation with femtosecond and pulsed infrared lasers as an alternative to microfracture surgery

Microfracture surgery is a bone marrow stimulation technique for treating cartilage defects and injuriesin the knee. Current methods rely on surgical skill and instrumentation. This study investigates the potential useof laser technology as an alternate means to create the microfracture holes. Lasers investigated in this study include an erbium:YAG laser (λ = 2.94 μm), titanium:sapphire femtosecond laser system (λ = 1700 nm), and Nd:glass femtosecond laser (λ = 1053 nm). Bovine samples were ablated at fluences of 8 to 18 J∕cm2 with the erbium:YAG laser, at a power of 300 ± 15 mW with the titanium:sapphire femtosecond system, and at an energy of 3 μJ∕pulse with the Nd:glass laser. Samples were digitally photographed and histological sections were taken for analysis. The erbium:YAG laser is capable of fast and efficient ablation; specimen treated with fluences of 12 and 18 J∕cm2 experienced significant amounts of bone removal and minimal carbonization with saline hydration. The femtosecond laser systems successfully removed cartilage but not clinically significant amounts of bone. Precise tissue removal was possible but not to substantial depths due to limitations of the systems. With additional studies and development, the use of femtosecond laser systems to ablate bone may be achieved at clinically valuable ablation rates.

Low-loss and low-bend-sensitivity mid-infrared guidance in a hollow-core-photonic-bandgap fiber

Hollow-core-photonic-bandgap fiber, fabricated from high-purity synthetic silica, with a wide operating bandwidth between 3.1 and 3.7 μm, is reported. A minimum attenuation of 0.13 dB/m is achieved through a 19-cell core design with a thin core wall surround. The loss is reduced further to 0.05 dB/m following a purging process to remove hydrogen chloride gas from the fiber-representing more than an order of magnitude loss reduction as compared to previously reported bandgap-guiding fibers operating in the mid-infrared. The fiber also offers a low bend sensitivity of <0.25 dB per 5 cm diameter turn over a 300 nm bandwidth. Simulations are in good agreement with the achieved losses and indicate that a further loss reduction of more than a factor of 2 should be possible by enlarging the core using a 37-cell design.

Picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery through a hollow-core Negative Curvature Fiber for micro-machining applications

We present high average power picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery at 1030 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths respectively through a novel hollow-core Negative Curvature Fiber (NCF) for high-precision micro-machining applications. Picosecond pulses with an average power above 36 W and energies of 92 µJ, corresponding to a peak power density of 1.5 TWcm⁻² have been transmitted through the fiber without introducing any damage to the input and output fiber end-faces. High-energy nanosecond pulses (>1 mJ), which are ideal for micro-machining have been successfully delivered through the NCF with a coupling efficiency of 92%. Picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery have been demonstrated in fiber-based laser micro-machining of fused silica, aluminum and titanium.

Spectral attenuation limits of silica hollow core negative curvature fiber

In this paper we discuss the limits of attenuation of silica hollow core negative curvature fibers in the wavelength range from 800 nm up to 4.5 µm. Both numerical and experimental results are presented and show good agreement. A minimum attenuation of 24.4 dB/km was measured at around 2400 nm wavelength, while 85 dB/km was measured at 4000 nm.

Light transmission in negative curvature hollow core fiber in extremely high material loss region

In this paper we demonstrate the light transmission in a spectral range of 2.5 to 7.9 µm through a silica negative curvature hollow core fiber (NCHCF) with a cladding consisting of eight capillaries. A separation between the cladding capillaries was introduced to remove the additional resonances in the transmission bands. The measured optical loss at 3.39 µm was about 50 dB/km under a few modes waveguide regime.