Understanding the fiber tip thermal runaway present in 3 µm fluoride glass fiber lasers

When the tip of a fluoride glass fiber is exposed to ambient air, water vapor reacts with the glass constituents, increasing the OH contaminants at the surface. These OH impurities then diffuse inside the glass according to Fick's laws. Laser radiation at around 3 µm is strongly absorbed by the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2012-09, Vol.20 (20), p.22188-22194
Main Authors: Caron, Nicolas, Bernier, Martin, Faucher, Dominic, Vallée, Réal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Computer-Aided Design
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Fiber Optic Technology - instrumentation
Fluorides - chemistry
Glass - chemistry
Hot Temperature
Lasers
Models, Chemical
Thermal Conductivity
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Summary:When the tip of a fluoride glass fiber is exposed to ambient air, water vapor reacts with the glass constituents, increasing the OH contaminants at the surface. These OH impurities then diffuse inside the glass according to Fick's laws. Laser radiation at around 3 µm is strongly absorbed by the OH contaminants, causing local heating of the fiber tip resulting in an increase of the diffusion process which ultimately leads to fiber tip destruction. We accurately model this phenomenon by combining the diffusion theory with a basic thermal equation. Experimental measurements are in agreement with the model predictions for a good range of operating conditions.
ISSN:1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/OE.20.022188