OFS explores new applications for higher-order mode fiber laser technology

Avon, CT--OFS Specialty Photonics is inviting collaborators to develop new applications that are based on two breakthroughs from its laboratories in higher-order mode (HOM) technology. OFS Laboratories has pioneered development of dispersion control technologies leading to ultra-fast pulse generation. The other is ultralarge mode area fibers.

According to Dr. David DiGiovanni, President of OFS Laboratories, these new technologies help overcome barriers for advanced applications. "Fiber lasers are now optimized to the point where conventional approaches are running into some fundamental issues. The way around these roadblocks is to exploit propagation in higher-order modes. There are two ways we are doing this: one is dispersion control and the other is ultra-large mode area fibers," he said.

Based on OFS Laboratories' innovations in HOM fiber and mode conversion technologies, the HOM-FemtoComp module has recorded the shortest pulse generation (60 femtoseconds) with the broadest spectrum (57 nm) from passively mode-locked ytterbium fiber lasers demonstrated by Laser Zentrum Hannover. The HOMFemtoComp module is the only all-fiber based dispersion compensator available at 1 µm wavelength. A commercial version of the HOM-FemtoComp module is now available on a sample basis.

HOM technology has also enabled a breakthrough in ULMA (ultra large mode area) Optical Fibers which overcome the limitations of mode instability that limits conventional large mode area fiber. Preliminary ULMA fiber has demonstrated the largest effective areas for robust propagation over long fiber lengths, ranging from 2100 um2 (for LP07) to ~3200 um2 (for LP04). In addition, mode converters that convert from a Gaussian mode to a single desired HOM and back ensure the mode purity required for many laser applications.

With substantial progress having been made in the lab, OFS Specialty Photonics is now welcoming partners to guide designs for specific applications in the next stages of development. "We are actively collaborating with application development for these new technologies," said Tomoko Ohtsuki, Marketing Manager for High Power Products for OFS Specialty Photonics. "We see potential in defense and homeland security, highly challenging industrial processes, and some medical applications."

Potential collaborators should contact OFS Specialty Photonics at www.specialtyphotonics.com.