Bundled hollow optical fibers for transmission of high-peak-power Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulses

Abstract

A hollow-fiber bundle was designed and used to deliver high-peak-power pulses from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. An 80 cm long bundle with a total diameter of $5.5\mathrm{mm}$ was composed of 37 glass capillaries with bore diameters of $0.7\mathrm{mm}$. Beam-resizing optics with two lenses were used to couple the laser beam into the bundle. The measured coupling loss due to the limited aperture ratio of the bundle was $2.3\mathrm{dB}$, and the transmission loss at wavelengths of 1064 and $532\mathrm{nm}$ was $0.3\mathrm{dB}$. When an inert gas flowed through the bores of the capillaries, the maximum output pulse energy was $200\mathrm{mJ}$, which was the limit of the laser used in the experiment. Hollow-fiber bundles withstand irradiation better than single hollow fibers and silica-glass optical fibers do. They are suitable for many dermatological applications because they can be used to irradiate a large area.

© 2006 Optical Society of America

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