Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies

Technical Data
DESCRIPTION
REFERENCE SUMMARY Multimode, step-index optical fibers offer the most efficient and flexible delivery of high power laser beams.
The correct components should be selected for minimizing beam quality degradation and optimum robustness.
Product Category: Smaller fibers tend to produce less degradation to beam quality but the minimum usable fiber size is limited by
Assembly the quality of the laser beam, focusing optic and the numerical aperture (N.A.) of the fiber. Selection of the
appropriate fiber type is an important consideration because the characteristics of the output beam will enhance
or degrade the utility of the fiber optic delivered beam for different applications. The other components of the beam
delivery system also impact performance: High power handling requires high quality end face surface finish and
specially designed connectors that can withstand heating which comes from the absorption of spurious reflections
or refractions at the fiber end faces. The fiber optic delivery system allows the laser beam to be transmitted in a
small, flexible cable and is ideal when the laser beam must be delivered along a complex path or processing
requires complicated manipulation of the beam delivery optics.

Standard SMA nut

(5/16" hex w/ø.250-36 thd)

Aluminum
heatsink
Copper nose adapter
w/air gap

No epoxy in this
section of nose Adapter
threaded
Fibers larger to SMA
than 200µm
SST support tube
around fiber

FEATURES
Fibers 200µm • Laser polished fiber ends.
and smaller • High power applications employ a high conductivity copper ferrule in the nose of the connector allowing for
Copper or SST nose greater heat dissipation in event of scattered energy at tip.
• Heat sink designed to pull heat away from fiber by being thermally and mechanically connected to HP-SMA
connector and allows for handling ruggedness, prevent bending of the fiber and maintain beam quality.
• HP-SMA (High Power) connector utilizes well type “air gap” ferrule technology that holds the fiber tip in air to
eliminate energy absorbing materials at fiber end.
• Cantilevered fiber end is able to accept very high powers.
• Smaller fiber diameters incorporate a pure fused silica sleeve at the tip to support fiber without addition of
Glass tubes with energy absorbing materials.
no epoxy in nose • Conservatively accommodates peak power densities of 1.3KW/mm2 for CW applications and 5MW/mm2 for
pulsed applications.
• Incorporated into and designed into customer specific applications.
• Standard core diameters of 200µm to 1500µm.
• Numerical aperture (N.A.) of 0.12, 0.22. 0.26, 0.37 and 0.39.
• Plastic Clad Silica (PCS), Hard Clad Silica, Hard Coated Silica/Silica, and Polymer Coated Silica/Silica fiber
in standard OH and low OH versions.
• Wide variety of sheathings/protective jackets.

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
1
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
SOME LASER INDUCED DAMAGE THRESHOLD VARIABLES
REFERENCE SUMMARY Launch Conditions End Connector Method Laser Parameters
• Beam uniformity • Epoxy, crimp, friction • Total power density
Product Category: • Spot size • High power connector • Peak power and pulse width
Assembly • Non-gaussian distribution Medical Characteristics End Finish
• Total accumulated pulses • Silica quality/purity • Mechanical or laser
• Alignment and focusing • Attenuation of laser wavelength
• Input N.A. Cleanliness
• Cleaved
APPLICATIONS
Scientific Military • Dentistry for Caries removal,
• Wide variety of interferometer • Defense counter measures from endotonic/periodontic
techniques compact, low power infrared procedures, tooth whitening
• Raman spectroscopy counter measures to high power, and oral surgery
• Laser induced breakdown airborne laser systems • Photobiomodulation
spectroscopy (LIBS) (e.g.:MTHEL) (i.e. laser therapy)
• Atmospheric remote sensing • Targeting such as laser • Imaging
• Investigating nonlinear optic range-finder (LIDAR) • “No-touch” removal of tumors,
phenomena • Target designator especially of brain and
• Holographic techniques Medical spinal cord
employing lasers • Cosmetic surgery • Acupuncture
• Laser (LADAR) technology (Ruby - 694nm); Industrial and Commercial
in geology, seismology, (Alexandrite - 755nm); • Cutting and peening of metals
remote sensing, and (Pulsed Diode Array - 810nm); and other material, welding,
atmospheric physics (Nd:YAG- 1064nm); marking, etc.
• Astronomy to create (Ho:YAG - 2090nm) • Guidance systems such as ring
“laser guide stars” • Eye surgery such as LASIK, laser gyroscopes
• Photochemistry to analyze details LADEK, PRK • Rangefinder/surveying
of protein folding and function • Laser scalpel for gynecology, • LIDAR/pollution monitoring
• Laser cooling to slow down ions urology, laparoscopy • Holography
or atoms by shining particular • Photolithography
wavelength of laser light at them • Optical tweezers
• Nuclear fusion
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
General Information
Industrial and medical laser delivery systems increasingly employ fiberoptics to carry light energy to remote
targets. They provide freedom of movement and reliability unmatched by articulated arm laser delivery systems,
they can handle high power, and their low cost makes them disposable.
Useful laser properties include (see glossary):
• High radiance
• High power
• Narrow spectral width
• Polarized output
The fiber output radiance determines the minimum focused spot diameter or conversely, the maximum collimated
beam irradiance possible in the system. Lenses can produce a spot smaller than the fiber core but only at the
expense of increasing the numerical aperture (NA) of the focused light. At best, output coupling lenses can
produce a beam with the same diameter-NA product with slightly lower power then the fiber output.
High input power can damage a fiber. The following factors must be considered when selecting a fiber for a
specific application:
Laser Fiber
• Energy per pulse • Core diameter
• Pulse duration/average power • Core and cladding material
• Beam diameter and divergence • Numerical aperture
fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
2
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
FIBER SELECTION
REFERENCE SUMMARY This note provides a nomograph that relates three critical factors: energy per pulse, fiber diameter, and pulse
duration. Also included are lines corresponding to laser power and laser irradiance.
Product Category: The nomograph on the next page is based on nine sets of data obtained from six independent laser delivery system
Assembly manufacturers for lasers operating between 470nm and 2145nm. Each set consists of operating parameters found
to result in reliable long term operation of the delivery system. Single shot damage thresholds may be three to six
times higher than the recommended levels based on these sets.
On the fiber core diameter scale, the graduations were chosen to correspond to fiber core diameters available
from Figerguide as standard products. Many other diameters can be produced.
The available data sets show that the laser induced damage threshold decreases with decreasing wavelength,
but they are too scattered to make specific fiber recommendations. The following scaling factors are presented
as guidelines.
Wavelength 400 350 300
Increase fiber diameter or decrease 2 3.5 7
energy per pulse by a factor of
OR
Increase pulse duration 4 12 50
by a factor of

DELIVERY OPTIMIZATION
Demanding laser delivery applications require several conditions to be carefully optimized to achieve the highest
performance possible. These include the fiber to laser physical interface conditions, the irradiance distribution at
the fiber input surface, the fiber input surface polish, and the irradiance fluctuations during the pulse.

RECOMMENDED LAUNCH CONDITIONS

Input beam spot diameter at the interface
• 0.7d for d ≤ 600µm
• d-200µm for d ≥ 600µm
(where d is the fiber core diameter)
Input numerical aperture
• 0.3NAf ≤ input beam NA ≤ 0.9NAf
(where NAf is the fiber numerical aperture)

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
First order (thin lens large focal length) lens formulas are usually inadequate to calculate spot sizes reliably for
fiber optic applications. When simple lenses are used, spherical aberration causes significant amounts of power to
fall outside the spot diameter estimated from first order approximations. This can damage the fiber and sometimes
the connector.
All of the energy must be focused into the core of the fiber. Energy that is focused into the cladding or outside
of the fiber can cause catastrophic failure near the end of the fiber, especially at high power levels. Therefore, the
diameter of the focused spot must be smaller than the core diameter of the fiber, and the spot must be aligned
to the center of the core.
None of the energy can arrive at an angle greater than the acceptance angle of the fiber. Any energy arriving at
a greater angle will not be completely reflected at the first core-clad intersection; the energy escaping into the
cladding will be lost, and may also cause catastrophic failure. Therefore, the cone angle of the input beam
(determined by the size of the beam at the focusing lens, and the focal length of the lens) must be less than
the acceptance angle of the fiber.

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
3
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS, CONTINUED
REFERENCE SUMMARY Lenses used to focus multimode lasers often form irradiance profile peaks in the focal plane. Backing the fiber
away from the focal plane defocuses these peaks resulting in more uniform irradiance.
Product Category: Other beam smoothing techniques have been developed including “channel integrators” and “distributed
Assembly phase plates.”5
The input surface of laser delivery optical fibers must have a particularly high quality polish. After fine grinding,
subsurface cracks remain that can extend four to six times as deep as the peak to valley surface roughness.
These cracks should be completely polished out an optically smooth surface may not be sufficient for high
energy laser delivery if subsurface damage is not removed.2 Laser polish offers the optimum surface condition for
high power laser applications.
Some researchers have found that coupling energy into fibers through pressurized gasses, vacuum, water, or
other materials can alter the damage threshold.4

GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Irradiance
A measure of the rate at which energy falls on or is radiated from a given area. MKS units: watts per
square meter.
Multimode Fiber
Fiber that transmits more than one guided mode.
Numerical Aperture (NA)
The sine of the angle between a ray of light and the optical axis multiplied by the refractive index of the
medium in which the angle is measured.
A fiber’s numerical aperture is the sine of the greatest angle from the axis at which a ray of light can pass
through the fiber axis and still be guided multiplied by the refractive index of the material in which the angle is
measured. It is usually calculated from the refractive indices of the core and cladding materials as follows:
NA = (n2core - n2clad)1/2
Brightness Radiance
A measure of the rate of energy falling on or radiating from a given area from within a given solid angle.
MKS units: watts per square meter per steradian.
Single Mode Laser
A laser in which only one transverse mode experiences gain.
Laser Spectral Width
The range of wavelengths present in a laser’s output.

REFERENCES
1. J.R. Bettis, R.A. House II, Guenther (1976) “Spot size and pulse duration dependence of laser-induced damage,”
NBS Special Document #462 pp. 338-345
2. P. Paul Hed and David F. Edwards (1987) “Relationship between subsurface damage depth and surface
roughness during grinding of optical glass with diamond tools, Applied Optics Vol. 26 #13 p. 2491
3. S. Kubodera et al (1988) “Coupling of high-power radiation into fused silica fibers using pressurized gasses,”
Applied Optics, Vol. 27, No. 9 pp. 1638-1640
4. D. Kitriotis, L.D. Merkle (1989) “Multiple pulse laser induced damage phenomena in silicates,” Applied Optics
Vol. 28, N0. pp. 949-958
5. J.M. Geary (1988) “Channel integrator for laser beam uniformity on target,” Optical Engineering, Vol. 27,
No. 11 pp. 972-977

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
4
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
LASER DELIVERY NOMOGRAPH (PULSE LASERS)
REFERENCE SUMMARY Energy Per Pulse Irradiance
Joules 10 watts per mm2
Product Category: 8
Assembly 6 6
Fiber Core Peak Power Pulse Duration 8
Diameter µm Watts seconds 4 10
102
3
50 10-2 10 ms 1.5
2
103 1 KW 2
10-3 1 ms
100
1J 1 3
104 10-4 100 µs 800 mJ 0.8 4
200
600 mJ 0.6
★ 6
300 10-5 10 µs
400 mJ 0.4
400 105 8
300 mJ 0.3
10-6 1 µs 106
600
200 mJ 0.2
800 106 1 MW 1.5
1000 10-7 100 ns
2
1500 100 mJ 0.1
1000 10-8 10 ns 80 mJ 0.08 3
107
2000
60 mJ 0.06 4
10-9 1 ns
40 mJ 0.04 6
108
★ If the straightedge 30 mJ 0.03
10-10 100 ps 8
lines above this mark,
the nomograph will give 20 mJ 0.02 107
conservative values. 109 1 GW
1.5
10 mJ 0.01 2

This Nomograph is based on the relation E = adbtc.

Where E = energy per pulse in joules
d = fiber diameter in mm
t = pulse duration in seconds
a = 440*
b = 0.95*
c = 0.50*
* The constants were determined from a linear regression fit to nine sets of data.

Fiberguide Industries Customization Program

Fiberguide Industries is a full service custom fiber and value-added assembly provider. If you have unique requirements,
please contact us to discuss tailoring a product or design to optimize optical performance for your specific application.

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
5
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
ASSEMBLY WORKSHEET
REFERENCE SUMMARY Contact Information:

Your Name:
Product Category:
Assembly Company Name:

Address:

City: State / Province: Zip Code:

Country: E-Mail:

Telephone Number:

Facsimile Number:

1. Light Source:

LED Operating Window Power Level watts

Laser-Type nm Pulse Duration

CW Numerical Aperture Energy/Pulse joule

Pulsed Launch N.A.

2. Operating Specifications:

Operating Wavelength(s) Operating Temperature Range Minimum Bend Radius

nm °C to °C mm

Maximum Attenuation Other Environmental

dB/km

3.Fiber Type

Polymer Coated Silica/Silica Hard Coated Silica/Silica Or Specify a Fiber Part Number and

Std OH Low OH Std OH Low OH Description from our Catalog

Hard Clad Silica Plastic Clad Silica (PCS)

Std OH Low OH Std OH Low OH

4. Protective Outer Jacket/Sheathing:

Breakout Tubing - PVC with inner PVC/Monocoil SL - PVC tubing Other (please specify)

polypropylene tube and Kevlar™ over brass or stainless steel

strain relief interlocked coils

PVC/Monocoil - PVC tubing over Stainless Steel Monocoil -

flat steel coils Stainless steel interlocking coils

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
6
Fiberguide Industries High Power Laser Delivery Assemblies
Technical Data
ASSEMBLY WORKSHEET (Continued)
REFERENCE SUMMARY 5. Connector Type:

Proximal End Distal End

Product Category:
Assembly SMA SMA

Ferrule Ferrule

HPSMA HPSMA

HPSMA (w/copper ferrule) HPSMA (w/copper ferrule)

Cleave Cleave

Angle Polish Angle Polish

None None

Other (please specify) Other (please specify)

6. Quantity / Length:

Number of assemblies required Tolerance of total length required:

Standard -0 / + 5%

Overall length Other (please specify)

7. Application:

(To help us ensure we supply you with Sensing Sterilization required:

all the correct components, please Data Communications Yes

indicate the intended application of Power Delivery No

your assembly.) Medical Method:

Other (please specify) ETO

Gamma

Autoclave

Other

fiberguide
SM

industries Fiberguide Industries, Inc., 1 Bay Street, Stirling, NJ 07980

THE FIBER OPTIC SOLUTIONS COMPANY Phone: 908-647-6601 Fax: 908-647-8464 info@fiberguide.com www.fiberguide.com
Form No: REF 723 DS031, Rev. 2/28/2008, Printed in the U.S.A.
© Copyright 2007 Fiberguide Industries, Inc., Specifications subject to change without notice.
7