Silica hollow core microstructured fibers for beam delivery in industrial and medical applications
Silica hollow core microstructured fibers for beam delivery in industrial and medical applications
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DOI：
10.3389/fphy.2015.00024
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发表时间：
2015-04
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
J. Shephard;A. Urich;R. Carter;P. Jaworski;R. Maier;W. Belardi;F. Yu;W. Wadsworth;J. Knight;D. Hand
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Shephard;A. Urich;R. Carter;P. Jaworski;R. Maier;W. Belardi;F. Yu;W. Wadsworth;J. Knight;D. Hand
这篇综述的重点是我们最近的工作，开发微结构空芯光纤的两个应用中的灵活传输的单模光束是理想的。此外，还包括对其他基于纤维的解决方案的评论。高功率、短脉冲激光器广泛用于微加工，提供高精度和高质量。然而，缺乏真正灵活的光束传输系统限制了它们在相对较小的平面部件的加工中的应用。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了1 μm和绿色波长范围的空芯光纤。空心光纤克服了传统石英光纤由于非线性效应和实心光纤中材料损伤而产生的功率传输限制。我们的特点是这样的光纤的功率处理能力，损伤阈值，弯曲损耗和色散，并实际证明了高峰功率脉冲从纳秒到飞秒制度的交付。这种光纤是工业激光加工应用的理想候选者。同时，在激光手术应用中，Er：YAG激光（2.94 μm）通常是首选激光，因为组织中含有的水强烈吸收该波长。如果该激光束被精确地递送，则可以最小化对周围组织的损伤。在手术室中使用的手术激光的常见输送方法是铰接臂，其体积大、笨重并且不适合于内窥镜手术。为了满足这种灵活的中红外传输需求，我们开发了基于二氧化硅的空芯光纤。通过最小化光与玻璃的重叠，可以克服二氧化硅的材料吸收限制并实现低衰减。此外，即使具有非常小的弯曲半径，也可以输送适合于硬组织和软组织消融的脉冲能量。基于这些纤维的系统的灵活性和小的物理尺寸将使新的微创外科手术成为可能。
The focus of this review is our recent work to develop microstructured hollow core fibers for two applications where the flexible delivery of a single mode beam is desired. Also, a review of other fiber based solutions is included. High power, short-pulsed lasers are widely used for micro-machining, providing high precision and high quality. However, the lack of truly flexible beam delivery systems limits their application to the processing of relatively small planar components. To address this, we developed hollow-core optical fibers for the 1 μm and green wavelength ranges. The hollow core overcomes the power delivery limitations of conventional silica fibers arising from nonlinear effects and material damage in the solid core. We have characterized such fibers in terms of power handling capability, damage threshold, bend loss and dispersion, and practically demonstrated delivery of high peak power pulses from the nanosecond to the femtosecond regime. Such fibers are ideal candidates for industrial laser machining applications. In laser surgical applications, meanwhile, an Er:YAG laser (2.94 μm) is frequently the laser of choice because the water contained in tissue strongly absorbs this wavelength. If this laser beam is precisely delivered damage to surrounding tissue can be minimized. A common delivery method of surgical lasers, for use in the operating theatre, is articulated arms that are bulky, cumbersome and unsuitable for endoscopic procedures. To address this need for flexible mid-IR delivery we developed silica based hollow core fibers. By minimizing the overlap of the light with glass it is possible to overcome the material absorption limits of silica and achieve low attenuation. Additionally, it is possible to deliver pulse energies suitable for the ablation of both hard and soft tissue even with very small bend radii. The flexibility and small physical size of systems based on these fibers will enable new minimally invasive surgical procedures.