Power transmission capacity of As-S glass fiber on CO laser delivery

In this paper we describe the performance of CO laser power delivery over an As-S glass fiber, which has a fluorinated ethylene propylene resin (Teflon FEP) cladding, as well as kinetics of melting break off of the fiber on power delivery. The maximum fiber power output of 15.3 W with an intensity of 12.2 kW/cm² was obtained by using a fiber whose core diameter was 400 μm and which was not forced cooled. Maximum transmission power was restricted by the thermal damage occurring at the end of the fiber. Kinetics of this thermal damage were investigated by measuring the temperature on the cladding surface and by estimating temperature distribution in the fiber through calculations. The localized heat input at the end of the fiber was estimated at approximately ten times higher than other portions of the fiber.