Month: July 2022

Cladding Power Strippers And Their Benefits

The function of a cladding power stripper is to take out any light that travels in the cladding and only measure the light that travels through the core of an optical fiber. This ensures accurate results when measuring how much light is transferred through the core itself, without interference from the surrounding.

Using it can guarantee a wide area for optical power absorption and the safe dissipation of generated heat without harming or damaging the surrounding components.

Benefits of Cladding Power Strippers

Not all power strippers are created equal, and not all customers have the same needs when it comes to stripping or cleaning their cladding panels. In this blog, we’ve put together this list of the top seven benefits of cladding power strippers.

1)   High Stripping Efficiency

Cladding power strippers offer a high stripping efficiency, meaning that they can quickly and easily remove the insulation from wires. This is a huge benefit, as it can save you time and money in the long run. Additionally, cladding power strippers are much more precise than other types of strippers, so you can be sure that you’re not damaging the wire underneath the insulation.

2)   Low Signal Loss and Beam Quality Degradation

If you’ve ever worked with fiber optics, you know that cladding is an important part of the system. Cladding is a thin layer of material that surrounds the core of the fiber and helps to keep the light contained within the core. One of the benefits of cladding is that it helps to reduce signal loss. When light travels through the fiber, some of it is lost due to scattering and absorption. Cladding helps to reduce this loss by keeping the light confined to the core.

3)   High Extinction Ratio 

One of the most important benefits of cladding is its high extinction ratio. This means that when light hits the cladding, very little of it is reflected back into the core.

4)   Stable and Reliable 

When it comes to cladding power strippers, there are many benefits that you may not be aware of. For one, they are much more stable and reliable than other types of strippers on the market. This is due to their unique design and construction. 

5)   Excellent Temperature Stability 

Cladding power strippers have excellent temperature stability, which makes them more resilient and reliable. They are also much more durable than other types of power strippers, making them ideal for use in harsh environments. 

6)   Easy to Use 

Cladding power strippers are much easier to use than other types of power strippers. They can be quickly and easily installed, and they require little maintenance.

7)   High Power Absorption

Did you know that cladding power strippers have the ability to absorb high levels of power? This means that they can be used in a variety of applications where high levels of power are required, such as in industrial settings.

Conclusion

So, with all these benefits, investing in cladding power strippersis a wise choice. If you’re looking for the best cladding power strippers, get in touch with DK photonics. They offer quality and affordable passive optical products. 

A Definitive Guide to Faraday rotation

Introduced by Michael Faraday in 1845, the Faraday rotation or Faraday effects is a magneto-optical phenomenon. The phenomenon means an interaction between light and a magnetic field in a medium. 

Faraday rotation was not a direct development by Michael Faraday. He was searching for experimental evidence that the forces in nature were interconnected. In this process, he made a remarkable discovery by carefully examining the polarization of light when it passed through a transparent material in the presence of a magnetic field. It was observed by him that linearly polarized light propagated through matter parallel to a static magnetic field, causing a rotation of the plane of polarization. Here, the effect was very small. But, with his knowledge and experience, Michael Faraday identified the phenomenon, which is known as Faraday Rotation or Faraday Effect. 

Generally, the Faraday rotation occurs in optically transparent dielectric materials, including liquids, under the influence of magnetic fields. 

What is the physical interpretation of Faraday rotation?

The linear polarization that rotates in the Faraday Effect consists of the superposition of a right and left-circularly polarized beam. The direction of the electric field rotates at the frequency of the light in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction in the circularly polarized light. 

When you use material, the electric field causes a force on the charged particles known as electrons. The motion effect is circular, circular moving charges creating their own magnetic field along with the external magnetic field. 

This creates two conditions: one, the created field is parallel to the external field for one circular polarization and in the opposing direction for the other polarization direction. Here, the net field is enhanced in one direction and diminished in the opposite direction. This leads to dynamic changes in the interactions for each beam. One of the beams slows down more than the other, causing a phase difference between the left and right-polarized beams. When the two beams are added after the phase shift, it results in a linearly polarized beam with a rotation in the polarization direction. 

The physical properties of the material affect the direction and the intensity of polarization rotation. 

Which devices are based on Faraday rotation?

Faraday isolator- Faraday rotation is needed in Faraday isolators to protect lasers and amplifiers against back-reflected light. For the right use in Faraday isolators, the rotation angle should be close to 45 degrees in the spectral region of interest. It’s said a large attenuation for back-reflected light is obtained by a highly uniform polarization rotation. 

Ring laser resonator– In a ring laser resonator, a Faraday effect or rotation is used to introduce round-trip losses, depending on the direction. This enforces unidirectional operation. A Faraday rotator provides only a very small rotation angle but it’s sufficient because a very small loss difference is considered sufficient.  

Faraday mirror– When a 45-degree rotator combines with an end mirror, it forms a Faraday mirror. A laser beam sent through some amplifier, then reflected at a Faraday mirror and sent back through the amplifier has a polarization directional on returning, which is orthogonal to that of the input beam. This happens even if the polarization state is not preserved within the amplifier. 

Faraday rotation is a big achievement in the science industry. If you want to get devices that are based on Faraday rotation, connect with DK Photonics. 

Important Things to Know About Fiber Lasers

Fiber Bragg Gratings for fiber laser

Fiber lasers are ubiquitous in today’s environment. They are frequently used in industrial settings to carry out cutting, marking, welding, cleaning, texturing, drilling, and much more due to the various wavelengths they can produce. They are also employed in other industries, like telecommunications and medical.

Fiber lasers transmit light along an optical fiber cable consisting of silica glass. Due to its straighter and smaller shape compared to other types of lasers, the resulting laser beam is more precise. Additionally, they feature a compact design, outstanding electrical efficiency, require little maintenance, and have cheap operating expenses.

What Are the Different Types of Fiber Lasers?

In general, the following attributes can be used to classify fiber lasers:

  • Laser Source:

The substance that the laser source is combined with determines the characteristics of a fiber laser. Due to the fact that each of these laser types produces a different wavelength, they are all used for various applications.

  • Mode of Operation:

Different laser designs emit laser beams in various ways. When using “q-switched,” “gain-switched,” or “mode-locked” lasers, high-peak powers can be achieved by pulsing laser beams at a predetermined repetition rate. Alternatively, they might convey the same amount of energy continuously if they were continuous (continuous-wave fiber lasers).

  • Laser Power

The average power of the laser beam is measured in watts or laser power. Compared to low-power lasers, high-power lasers produce more energy more quickly.

  • Mode:

The model describes the size of the optical fiber’s core, which is where light travels. Single-mode fiber lasers and multi-mode fiber lasers are the two different kinds of modes. Single-mode lasers typically transmit laser light more effectively and produce superior beams.

The Benefits of Fiber Lasers

Fiber lasers have advanced significantly and now offer a number of intriguing advantages as a result of the diligent effort of numerous academic and commercial researchers and engineers.

Convenience:

In general, fiber lasers are more compact than conventional lasers of comparable power, and the fact that the laser is housed in a flexible fiber makes beam distribution easier.

  • High power:

Having the gain medium dispersed across a wide area has two implications. First of all, you can get a lot of amplification, and secondly, since there is so much usable surface, dispersing heat is not a problem.

  • Consistent beam quality:

When heat and vibration are present in the environment, fiber lasers still create and deliver high-quality beams.

What Is the Lifespan of a Fiber Laser?

According to many online sources, CO2 lasers only last 30,000 hours while fiber lasers last 100,000 hours. These figures pertain to a quantity known as “mean time between failures” (MTBF), which varies depending on the specific fiber laser in question. For various fiber laser types, you will actually see different numbers.

The MTBF calculates a laser’s dependability by stating the anticipated number of hours of operation before a failure. It is calculated by testing several laser units, adding up the results, and dividing the result by the total number of failures.

This value gives you a good indication of the fiber laser’s dependability even though it cannot precisely tell you how long it can operate.

How Do Fiber Lasers Operate?

Pump light for fiber lasers comes from so-called laser diodes. The light that is sent into the fiber-optic cable is emitted by these diodes. The subsequent step involves creating and amplifying a certain wavelength using optical components. The final step is to shape and release the generated laser beam.

Step 1: The Laser Diodes Produce Light

Step 2: The Fiber-Optic Cable Guides the Pump Light

Step 3: The Laser Cavity Amplifies Light

Step 4: Produce Laser Light with a Specific Wavelength

Step 5: Shape and Release of the Laser Beam

DKphotonic offers a comprehensive range of laser power measurement solutions for various laser types, including fiber lasers.

How to Choose a Suitable Beam Splitter?

Modern laser measurement and positioning systems depend heavily on optical beamsplitters. Although a conventional beamsplitter’s operation is conceptually straightforward, the precision and repeatability of the entire system can be significantly impacted by the performance parameters of the device.

What is a Beamsplitter?

An optical device known as a beamsplitter splits an incident beam of light into two portions. The splitter transmits one part while reflecting the other. If the splitter or reflecting surface is positioned at an angle with respect to the incident light, the reflected light will exit in a desirable direction rather than returning to the source.

Beamsplitters come in two different fundamental categories:

  • NPBSs (non-polarizing beamsplitters):

This kind of splitter divides (splits) a beam into two beams, each of which, independent of polarization, is a portion of the incoming beam. In many optical instrumentation applications, non-polarizing beamsplitters are utilized to disperse portions of a laser beam to other optical sub-assemblies.

  • PBSs, or polarizing beamsplitters:

The S- and P-polarization components of a beam are separated using a splitter of this kind. Optical instrumentation, laser interferometry, and biomedical applications are just a few of the uses for polarizing beamsplitters. Although polarizing beamsplitters frequently come in cube shapes, unique geometries are also available.

Significant Characteristics

In addition to the qualities relating to a beam splitter’s fundamental function, the splitting ratio, other beam splitter parameters might be significant in applications:

  • While some devices are only capable of operating within a specific wavelength range, others are built to operate across the entire visible spectrum. Similar to this, only a limited range of incidence angles may allow beam splitters to function properly.
  • The optical losses differ dramatically between various device kinds. For instance, metallic-coated beam splitters have very substantial losses, whereas dichroic-coated devices may have very low losses, meaning that the total output power is almost equal to the input power.
  • The damage threshold may also be a factor in the losses, and it can be crucial when used with Q-switched lasers.
  • Applications may depend on the spatial layout. Others demand two parallel outputs or some other configuration, while some require that the output ports be positioned at 0° and 90° in relation to the input beam.
  • Sometimes a big open aperture is required for bulk optical devices.

How Should I Choose a Beamsplitter?

  • Application

The application will decide if the objective is to merely divide and/or combine a single beam of light or whether the objective is to filter by wavelength. Choose a plate or cube-type beamsplitter to divide or combine a light beam. A suitable coating on a dichroic filter is required for wavelength separation. Consider the gradient’s steepness when selecting a dichroic beamsplitter because a steeper gradient offers more distinct demarcation between the wavelengths.

  • Source of light

The choice of the beamsplitter is also influenced by the incident light source. A plate beamsplitter will have less chromatic aberration than a cube for white light. Monochromatic light sources give the best performance with cube beamsplitters. A plate beamsplitter would be a better option if the light source is a high-power laser, as the laser light will produce less internal heat.

  • Packaging

Another factor to consider is the packaging. There is sometimes insufficient room to accommodate the offset caused by a plate-type splitter as well as its inclination in various devices, such as interferometers. A cube beamsplitter is recommended in these circumstances.

You must take the form factor, glass homogeneity, coating, transmission range, and damage threshold into account when choosing a beamsplitter. Today, you can find a variety of polarisation beamsplitters online.