A large number of power delivery applications for optical fibers require beams with very specific output intensity profiles; in particular applications that require a focused high intensity beam typically image the near field (NF) intensity distribution at the exit surface of an optical fiber. In this work we discuss optical fiber designs that shape the output beam profile to more closely correspond to what is required in many real world industrial applications. Specifically we present results demonstrating the ability to transform Gaussian beams to shapes required for industrial applications and how that relates to system parameters such as beam product parameter (BPP) values. We report on the how different waveguide structures perform in the NF and show results on how to achieve flat-top with circular outputs.

Date Published: 12 March 2014
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 8961, Fiber Lasers XI: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 89612U (12 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2041992

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8961:
Fiber Lasers XI: Technology, Systems, and Applications
Siddharth Ramachandran, Editor(s)