OFS Innovations in Specialty Optical Fiber at SPIE Photonics West

New optical fiber research enables next-generation applications

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OFS, a leading manufacturer of fiber optic products and solutions, will display its technical expertise and industry leadership by presenting seven highly anticipated educational sessions at the annual SPIE BiOS Expo and Photonics West Exhibition in San Francisco, California, from 27 January through 1 February 2024.

With six technical presentations and a live technology demonstration, OFS research scientists and industry experts will highlight significant advances in multiple areas, including new fiber designs and device architectures for fiber lasers and amplifiers, enhanced fibers for sensing, and photonics components for an array of applications.

"We're excited to showcase OFS' industry-leading photonics research at the premier optics and laser conference this year," said David DiGiovanni, Chief Technology Officer at OFS, and President of OFS Laboratories."With breakthroughs in fiber laser power scaling, and integrated fiber optic sensors, our technical presentations demonstrate our commitment to developing innovative fiber products. These new technologies enable our customers to build next-generation systems for defense, materials processing, medical, and telecom applications."

OFS invites all conference attendees and media representatives to attend these presentations and engage with our experts to explore the latest advancements in photonics research. For more information about OFS and its contributions to the field of photonics, please visit with OFS personnel, who will be available to discuss the research presented at the OFS booth #8324 at BiOS and #4505 at Photonics West or visit www.ofsoptics.com/photonics-west.

Conference Presentations
Paper: 12866-4
Title: S2 Mode Content Measurement of a 7+1 to 1 Backward Pump-Signal Combiner
Highlight: We report a 7+1 to 1 pump-signal combiner designed for backward pumping with higher-order mode content 24 dB lower than the fundamental mode in the output pigtail. The mode content is measured using the S2 measurement technique. The high signal beam quality is attributed to a high-quality taper and low overlap splice loss between the tapered fiber bundle and the output fiber. The combiner output fiber is large mode area with an LP01 mode effective area of 584 µm² (MFD 27 µm). The large effective area of the output pigtail is ideal for low nonlinearity, high power delivery.
Presenter: Lalitkumar Bansal, OFS Senior Research and Development Scientist
Date and Time: Monday, 29 January 2024, 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 206 (Level 2 South)

Paper: 12865-7
Title: Single-Frequency Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier with High Energy Gain at Low Repetition Rates
Abstract: We report pulse energy of 1.6 mJ at 1 kHz repetition rate from a single-frequency 1560 nm fiber amplifier with high energy gain of 19 dB and in-pulse power fraction of 85%, using a 2.4 m long, very-large mode area polarization-maintaining Erbium-doped fiber with 50 µm core diameter and absorption of 50 dB/m, core-pumped with a CW 1480 nm Raman fiber laser. At 150 Hz repetition rate, 1 mJ was obtained, with energy gain of 17 dB and in-pulse power fraction of 72%. The output of the fiber amplifier was diffraction-limited, with mean beam quality factor, M2, of 1.04.
Presenters: Venkatapuram S. Sudarshanam, OFS Senior Research and Development Scientist
Date and Time: Monday, 29 January 2024, 11:20 AM - 11:40 AM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 203 (Level 2 South)

Paper: 12851-31
Title: Imaging Through Shape Sensing Fiber
Abstract: Measuring the transmission matrix of a multimode fiber allows for spot scanning at the distal end of the fiber through phase control at the proximal end. We demonstrate a modified shape-sensor fiber appropriate for both shape sensing and imaging within the same waveguide. The unification of these technologies opens the possibility of using the reconstructed fiber shape to mathematically update the calibration of the imaging waveguide in a dynamic environment, as has been proposed in the literature. Creating a robust method for maintaining knowledge of the fiber's transmission matrix in an in vivo setting is critical for clinical deployment of this technology.
Presenters: Erin S. Lamb, OFS Research and Development Scientist
Date and Time: Monday, 29 January 2024, 4:20 PM - 4:40 PM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 2004 (Level 2 West)
Part of: SPIE BiOS

Paper:12865-23
Title: 5.2 kW Single-Mode Output Power from a Yb 20/400 Fiber with Reduced Thermo-optic Coefficient
Abstract: We report the performance of an LMA Yb-doped fiber, designed for increasing the transverse mode instability threshold and minimizing nonlinear effects in multi-kilowatt class fiber lasers, by reducing the thermo-optic coefficient of the fiber core, compared with that of standard aluminophosphosilicate Yb doped fibers. A TMI free 5.2 kW single-mode output power from a Yb 20/400 fiber with a 17.5 µm mode-field diameter was achieved in a broad bandwidth, co-pumped amplifier with 78% optical-to-optical efficiency, while a 4 kW signal output was attained in a 26 GHz linewidth amplifier. Negligible photodarkening loss was observed during 150 hour laser operation at 2 kW.
Presenter: Andrea Rosales-García, OFS Development Engineer Manager
Date and Time: Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 4:00 PM - 4:20 PM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 203 (Level 2 South)

Paper: 12871-38
Title: Determination of a refractive index distribution along a SNAP microresonator from its single spectrum: temperature distribution measurement (Invited Paper)
Abstract: We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that it is possible to determine a nonuniform temperature distribution along a SNAP microresonator from a single measurement of its spectrum. In our experiment, we use a silica microcapillary containing a SNAP microresonator. The microcapillary is filled with water and locally heated with a moving heating source (light-pumped microfiber) introducing the temperature distribution parameterized as T(z)=T_0 exp(-|z-z_Q+iw|/L), where z is the coordinate along the microcapillary axis, z_Q is the heating source position, and w≪L is the width of the source. At each heating source position z_Q, we restore the parameters of this distribution from the SNAP microresonator spectrum. Our theoretical calculations are in a good agreement with the experimental data.
Presenter: Gabriella I. Gardosi, Aston University (United Kingdom)
Date and Time: Thursday, 1 February 2024, 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 103 (Level 1 South Lobby)

Paper: 12865-60
Title: 2mJ pulse energy, 420kW peak power, all-fiber amplifier with diffraction-limited beam quality (Invited Paper)
Abstract: We demonstrate a record high energy of 2 mJ, with four nanosecond pulses a peak power of ⪆420 kW, and average power of 660 W, in a fiber amplifier using a novel 26 μm mode-field diameter Yb-doped gain fiber. The TMI threshold for this fiber was measured to be 1kW. This is achieved at a diffraction limited beam quality of M2=1.14.
Presenter: Yaakov Glick, Senior Physicist at Soreq NRC in Israel. This work was performed while he was a visiting scientist at OFS Labs in New Jersey, USA.
Date and Time: Thursday, 1 February 2024, 3:40 PM - 4:10 PM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Room 203 (Level 2 South)

Demonstration
Paper: 12400-1
Title: Higher Order Mode content measurement of a 7+1 to 1 Backward Pump-Signal Combiner
Presenter: Lalitkumar Bansal, OFS Senior Research and Development Scientist
Session Date and Time: Tuesday, 30 January 2024,11:00 AM - 11:30 AM PST
Location: Moscone Center, Demo Area 2 (Hall D)

About OFS
OFS is a world-leading innovator, manufacturer, and provider of infrastructure solutions for communication networks and specialty fiber optic products. Our Furukawa Solutions brand is creating future-ready and sustainable solutions for customers in such areas as telecommunications, medicine, industrial networking, sensing, aerospace, defense, and energy. OFS is guiding light for a better life through the limitless possibilities of fiber optics.

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S.A., OFS is a global provider with facilities in several countries worldwide. OFS is part of Furukawa Electric Group, a multi-billion-dollar leader in optical communications.

Please visit www.ofsoptics.com/.

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