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Commercialization of Improved Optical Fiber Expands Capabilities

  • Published
  • By Dr. Jonathan Goldstein
  • Directed Energy
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  An AFRL-managed Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has developed a new kind of optical fiber that enables the commercialization of high-power, two-micron Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) sources.

AdValue Photonics of Tucson, Ariz., developed the new fiber, which allows for the broadest bandwidth, near infrared wavelength range, customized center wavelength, and high-output power. The ASE source has more than twenty times the power of previously available sources.

ASE is useful for a variety of optical tasks. Researchers use ASE to characterize laser components such as Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs), and to monitor the wavelength and reflectivity of the FBGs. ASE also facilitates characterization of other infrared optical component parameters such as optical insertion loss and polarization. Researchers also use ASE for optical tomography - a procedure to obtain the dimensions of an object's internal structure by analyzing light beamed through it from several angles. ASE is also useful for gas sensing, spectrum analysis, bio-medical applications, and scientific measurements. Thus, the commercialization of the two-micron ASE source enables the further development of two-micron fiber lasers and a variety of infrared optical systems.

The improved ASE source, at eighty-eight nanometers (nm), has twice the bandwidth of previously available commercial two micron ASE sources. The new commercialized version ASE is available in 50 milli-Watts (mW) and 500 mW versions. The 500mW power source has more than twenty times the power of previously available power sources. The increased power source and bandwidth capability extend the range of accessible measurements for optical characterization and chemical detection.

AdValue has also developed Silicate fiber, an alternative to Thulium-doped silica fiber. The Silicate fibers can be easily fusion-spliced with Thulium-doped silica fiber, making them desirable for fiber-based device design. They are also immune from the photo-darkening associated with heavily rare-earth doped silica fiber.