Transmission of free-running and Q-switched Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser energy through germanium oxide/silica fibers

Nathaniel M. Fried; Yubing Yang; Kyunhee Lee; Hussain Arbab Tafti

doi:10.1117/12.586355

23 March 2005 Transmission of free-running and Q-switched Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser energy through germanium oxide/silica fibers

Nathaniel M. Fried, Yubing Yang, Kyunhee Lee, Hussain Arbab Tafti

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5691, Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications V; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.586355
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2005, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Endoscopic Erbium laser applications have been limited by the lack of a suitable optical fiber. This study describes a hybrid germanium oxide/silica fiber for transmission of Q-switched and free-running Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser radiation. Hybrid fibers consisted of a 1-meter-long germanium trunk fiber connected to a 1-cm-long silica fiber tip using PTFE, PET, or PTFE/FEP heat-shrink tubing. Maximum transmission of Er:YAG energy through fiber trunk/tip diameters of 250/365, 350/365, and 450/550 μm were recorded. The transmission rates through 450/550 μm fibers using Q-switched (500 ns) and free-running (300 μs) Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser pulses were also measured. Maximum free-running Er:YAG pulse energies (fluences) measured up to 103 mJ (98 J/cm²), 112 mJ (107 J/cm²), and 233 mJ (98 J/cm²), respectively, through 250/365, 350/365, and 450/550 hybrid fibers. Free-running Er:YAG and Er:YSGG transmission averaged 56% and 65%, with an attenuation of 1.1 ± 0.1 dB/m and 0.6 ± 0.1 dB/m, respectively, after correction for Fresnel losses (n = 7). Q-switched Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser transmission averaged 55% and 62%, with an attenuation of 1.1 ± 0.2 dB/m and 0.9 ± 0.3 dB/m, respectively. Both Q-switched lasers transmitted a maximum pulse energy of 13 mJ (n = 7). The germanium/silica fiber is promising for use with the Erbium laser in applications requiring contact laser tissue ablation through a flexible endoscope.

Citation Download Citation

Nathaniel M. Fried, Yubing Yang, Kyunhee Lee, and Hussain Arbab Tafti "Transmission of free-running and Q-switched Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser energy through germanium oxide/silica fibers", Proc. SPIE 5691, Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications V, (23 March 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.586355

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