Highly Efficient Fiber Cladding Light Stripper Fabricated by Chemical Mask Etching Method

Abstract

We presented the chemical mask etching method to fabricate an all-fiber cladding light stripper (CLS). The morphology and density of the micron-sized microstructures generated on the fiber surface could be flexibly controlled in fabrication process, which was beneficial to the temperature performance and high-power operation capacity of the device. Based on the method, a theoretical model was developed to optimize the structure of the CLS. Initial experimental processing parameters were also obtained to realize uniform scattering and high attenuation coefficient. An all-fiber cladding light stripper with a high attenuation coefficient of 42 dB was achieved when the stripped cladding light was 1.117 kW. The temperature rising rate was only 0.011 °C/ input-Watt under the condition of air cooling, thanks to all-fiber structure and the uniform scattering design. The average stripped power density reached 9.19 × 106 W/m2 within a 135 mm long CLS. The CLS fabricated by this technique has great application in the high power fiber laser system.