The increasing fields of applications for modern optical fibers present great challenges to the material properties and the processing technology of fiber optics. This paper gives an overview of the capabilities and limitations of established vapor deposition fiber preform technologies, and discusses new techniques for improved and extended doping properties in fiber preparation. In addition, alternative fabrication technologies are discussed, such as a powder-based process (REPUSIL) and an optimized glass melting method to overcome the limits of conventional vapor deposition methods concerning the volume fabrication of rare earth (RE)-doped quartz and high silica glasses. The new preform technologies are complementary with respect to enhanced RE solubility, the adjustment of nonlinear fiber properties, and the possibility of hybrid fiber fabrication. The drawing technology is described based on the requirements of specialty fibers such as adjusted preform and fiber diameters, varying coating properties, and the microstructuring of fiber configurations as low as in the nanometer range.

In this paper we report on an alternative technique for the preparation of ytterbium (Yb)-doped silica fibers and their characteristics compared to the conventional modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process in combination with solution doping and powder sinter technology (REPUSIL). In the case of the technique applied here, the active core diameter in the preform can be significantly increased via the deposition of Yb and the most important codopant, aluminum (Al), in the gas phase through the high-temperature evaporation of the Yb chelate compound and Al chloride in the MCVD process. The prepared preform shows a homogenous distribution of the refractive index and dopant concentration. The background loss of the drawn fiber was measured to be 25 dB km −1 at 1200 nm. Efficient lasing up to 200 W, showing a slope efficiency of about 80%, was demonstrated, which is comparable to fibers made via MCVD/solution doping and the REPUSIL technique.

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In this work, a Fabry-Perot cavity based on a new silica tube design is proposed. The tube presents a cladding with a thickness of ~14 μm and a hollow core. The presence of four small rods, of ~20 μm diameter each, placed in diametrically opposite positions ensure the mechanical stability of the tube. The cavity, formed by splicing a section of the silica tube between two sections of single mode fiber, is characterized in strain and temperature (from room temperature to 900 °C). When the sensor is exposed to high temperatures, there is a change in the response to strain. The influence of the thermal annealing is investigated in order to improve the sensing head performance.

A newly designed all-solid step-index Yb-doped aluminosilicate large mode area fiber for achieving high peak power at near diffraction limited beam quality with local adiabatic tapering is presented. The 45µm diameter fiber core and pump cladding consist of active/passively doped aluminosilicate glass produced by powder sinter technology (REPUSIL). A deliberate combination of innovative cladding and core materials was aspired to achieve low processing temperature reducing dopant diffusion during fiber fabrication, tapering and splicing. By developing a short adiabatic taper, robust seed coupling is achieved by using this Yb-doped LMA fiber as final stage of a nanosecond fiber Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) system while maintaining near diffraction limited beam quality by preferential excitation of the fundamental mode. After application of a fiber-based endcap, the peak power could be scaled up to 375 kW with high beam quality and a measured M value of 1.3~1.7.