IRVINE, Calif. -- Newport Corporation has released a family of Ytterbium-doped PCF (photonic crystal fiber) products that offer superior performance to existing Yb-doped dual clad step index fibers for fiber laser applications. Specifically, these new F-DC dual clad fibers enable higher output power levels in a single spatial mode format. Some of these high-brightness fibers are even available co-doped with photosensitive materials, to allow fiber grating inscription with an ultraviolet laser. Newport offers these off-the-shelf catalog products in several core sizes of up to 40 microns.

This new F-DC series of PCF products is targeted at researchers involved with fiber laser development and applications. Many research groups believe this type of all-silica fiber will be a key technology platform in the development of higher power, next-generation fiber lasers. Fiber lasers currently serve growing markets in research, medicine, welding and materials processing.

These PCF products differ from conventional step-index Yb-doped fibers in several key aspects. First the outer cladding media is air rather than plastic. This means that pump light can be efficiently coupled into the inner cladding at a high numerical aperture (N.A.>0.6), allowing high pump powers to be easily launched into the fiber. Moreover, the absence of polymer cladding means that there is no danger of degrading the exposed end of the fiber by thermal damage to the polymer, even at high pump powers. The microstructured core also serves to scramble the pump modes in the inner cladding, leading to efficient coupling of the pump power into the active core.

Second, the core has a structured PCF cross-section rather than a simple cylinder of silica. This structure has been optimized to provide a large mode area, while still ensuring single spatial mode output. A large mode area enables high power (>500 watts CW), single mode operation without the non-linear optical effects that are problematic when operating step index fibers at these power levels.

Newport Corp.