Patented Technology

When using an optical fiber for high power transmission, one of the main topics is to handle power losses due to misalignment, back reflections or damaged optics in the beam path. Generally the main weak points in the fiber itself are the entrance and exit surfaces, and the area where the buffer and jacket enter the fiber.

Modestripping

In all Optoskand fiber optic cables a modestripper solution is used to clean the cladding from unwanted back-reflected radiation before the buffer/jacket enters the fiber. It makes the radiation leak out of the cladding where it is easier to dissipate and cool away.

This technology has been used since the very first generation of Optoskand fiber cables and was patented in 1987.

Quartz Block

All Optoskand fiber optic cables are also equipped with a quartz block at the fiber end¹. This results in three main advantages:

  • Larger entrance surface is giving a lower power density on the fiber end surface.  
  • Mechanical mounting of the fiber is easier and results in a more precise position of the fiber.
  • Enable the use of AR coating, thereby decreasing transmission losses to the order of 1-2%. 

The larger end surface technology was patented in 1997 and the delivery of fibers with this technology started in 1994.

Internal Cooling

In some of the Optoskand fibers (QBH and QD) the volume behind the quartz block is filled with circulating cooling water. This means that the radiation removed from the cladding by the modestripper is directly absorbed in water, rather than being absorbed in a metal part that is water-cooled. This patented technology has proved to be very efficient and power losses in the range of kilowatts can be cooled away.

The technology with internal water-cooling was patented in 2000.

¹ There are a few exceptions.
patented-tech.jpg

Modestripper and Quartz Block are two of Optoskand´s patented technologies.