Experimental data on the fiber fuse

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:552047

Davis, D D; Mettler, S C ^[1]; DiGiovanni, D J ^[2]

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1. AT & T Bell Labs., Norcross, GA (United States)
2. AT & T Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ (United States)

A phenomenon which results in the catastrophic destruction of an optical fiber core has been observed at laser powers on the order of 3x10{sup 6} watts/cm{sup 2} in the core. This phenomenon is characterized by the propagation of a bright visible light from the point of initiation toward the laser source. The term {open_quote}fiber fuse{close_quote} has been used because of the similarity in appearance to a burning fuse. The fiber fuse has been shown to occur when the end of the fiber is contacted, and it has also initiated spontaneously from splices and in-core fiber gratings. This paper will report experimental data gathered on the nature of the fiber fuse, and will discuss their relevance to the mechanisms which have been proposed to date.

• Research Organization: International Society for Optical Engineering, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 552047
• Report Number(s): CONF-9510106--Vol.2714
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
DAMAGE
FOCUSING
LASER RADIATION
OPTICAL FIBERS