Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Optical "bres for material processing lasers

Th. Beck , N. Reng , H. Weber
*
Laser- und Medizin- Technologie GmbH Berlin, Germany

Optisches Institut der TU-Berlin, Stra}e des 17. Juni 135, D-10623 Berlin, Germany

Abstract

Fibre transmission of high-power radiation has opened the laser a new dimension of material
processing applications. The three-dimensional treatment revolutionised a far "eld of the
production technology. One impressed example is the laser welding process in the automotive
industry. The Nd}YAG solid state laser in combination with the optical "bre increase the
automation and the #exibility of a whole industry. The next generation of Audis aluminium
alloy car body is mainly welded by "bre-guided Nd}YAG laser beams. Since the past 10 years
the maximum average laser power transmitted through optical "bres increase from some 100 W
up to 10 kW. For industrial application only Nd}YAG lasers and recently the diode lasers are
economically suited for "bre transmission.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Fibre optics; Optical coupling; Beam parameter product; Numerical aperture

1. Introduction

The English physicist John Tyndall demonstrated 1870 that light can be guided in
a stream of water. His experiments utilized the principle of total internal re#ection,
which is also applied in today's optical "bres. After the "rst laser was demonstrated by
Maiman strong e!orts on the development of a beam guiding medium started. In 1970
the "rst step-index "bre was manufactured and achieved attenuation values of less
than 20 dB/km at the wavelength of 633 nm [1].
Today "bres for laser beam handling are used in material processing. Only because
of the "bre can the high-power Nd}YAG laser be a serious competitor to the CO


* Corresponding author. Tel.: #49-30-314-23-586; fax: #49-30-386-27 850.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (T. Beck), [email protected] (N. Reng), weber@physik.
tu.berlin.de (H. Weber).
 Now with Siemens AG, KWU, Rohrdamm 7, HAlle W547, D-13629 Berlin, Germany.
 Now with Carl Zeiss, Dept. HL-EL, D-73446, Oberkochen, Germany.

0143-8166/00/$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 4 3 - 8 1 6 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 8 1 - 6
256 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

laser. Meanwhile 10 kW laser power can be transmitted through all-silica "bres [2] of
1 mm core diameter.
Another growing "eld for "bre delivery is the direct coupling of diode laser beams.
Because of its low beam quality and especially of the di!erent beam parameter
products of the fast and the slow axis thicker "bres with higher numerical aperture
(NA) and speci"c coupling units are necessary. Meanwhile more than 3 kW diode
laser radiation can be transmitted [3]. In future these systems will replace the
Nd}YAG lasers for several applications. New solid state laser systems in the high-
power range, for example the disc laser, with lower beam parameter product (higher
beam quality) will enable smaller "bre core diameters.
Additional "elds of "bre use in laser application are the "bre laser [4], "bres for
phase conjugation, "bres to increase the resonator length, "bres for medical applica-
tions and especially the broad "eld of the optical communication technology.
In each case the same properties for the coupling conditions and the beam guidance
hold. Studies of optical "bres for material processing are often concerned with power
transmission only. Although the aim is to deliver as much laser power through optical
"bres with as low losses as possible, for industrial applications it is of equal interest to
know the beam parameters, waist diameter, d, divergence, h, and the intensity
distribution within, behind the "bre and on the work piece. Therefore, it is necessary
to investigate the dependence of the "bre output beam parameters on the input
parameters and to know the in#uence of the "bre type (step- or graded-index "bre)
and "bre geometry. That is for example the cladding to core diameter ratio CCDR, or
the coating material.
Furthermore, the technical assembly of a high-power light guide cable is im-
portant for industrial in-line operations. Special devices and interlock routines
protect the "bre from re#ections from the work piece surface and also faulty user
operations.

2. Fibre manufacturing, assembly and preparation

Optical "bres are manufactured in several production steps, making it possible to

selectively optimise mechanical, geometric and optical properties of the "bre. With all
of the techniques in use today a preform is produced "rst. This is a glass rod consisting
of core and cladding glass. The cross-section of the preform shows a scaled model of
the geometric dimension and refractive index pro"le of the optical "bre which can be
made from it. While one end is heated the preform is drawn out to a "bre and at the
same time the coating is applied as a protective cover (Fig. 1).
The e!ect of total internal re#ection of light rays is used in optical "bres, having
a core glass with a refractive index n and around it cladding glass with a refractive
!
index n , with n being slightly higher than n (Fig. 2). Total internal
!   ! !  
re#ection requires

n
sin a * !   . (1)
 n
!
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 257

Fig. 1. Assembly of an optical "bre.

Fig. 2. Light guidance in an optical wave guide by total internal re#ection.

The angle of total re#ection depends on the refractive index di!erence between core
and cladding glass, which can be `adjusteda by appropriate doping during the
preform manufacturing process, i.e. by adding precise amounts of oxides. For example
by incorporating #uorine (F) or boron trioxide (B O ) the refractive index can be
 
reduced as required for the cladding glass.
From the requirement sin sin a "n /n it follows that all rays which
 !   !
diverge from the "bre axis by less than (903!a ) will be guided in the core. In order to

launch light from outside into the core, the angle h between the light ray and the "bre
axis can be determined according to the law of refraction:

sin h n
" ! , (2)
sin (903!a ) n
 
sin h"n cos a "n (1!sin a ,
!  ! 
which with Eq. (1) delivers the greatest possible angle h :

sin h "(n !n . (3)
 ! !  
h is the acceptance angle, the sine of the acceptance angle is called the numerical

aperture NA of the "bre,

NA"sin h . (4)

Beside the core diameter the numerical aperture is of major importance for launching
light into optical "bres. Because of index step core-cladding, these "bres are called
step-index "bres.
If the refractive index, n, of the core depends on the radius, r, the "bre is called
graded-index "bre. The refractive index remains constant (n "n ) in the core only
P !
in the step index "bres. For all other pro"les, the refractive index in the core rises
258 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Fig. 3. Refractive index pro"le of an optical "bre. gPR: step-index "bre, g"2: graded-index "bre.

gradually from the value n , of the cladding glass to the value n on the axis of
!   !
the "bre (Fig. 3).

3. Coupling conditions

Low coupling losses require that the beam diameter is equal or smaller than the
core diameter
d (d (5)
 
and the full laser beam divergence smaller than the 2NA of the "bre
h (2NA. (6)

Both beam parameters have to be adapted by an optical system to the "bre para-
meters. But it has to be considered that the beam parameter product of a laser beam
BPP, de"ned by
d h
BPP"   (7)
4
is constant and cannot be reduced by optical systems without losses. Eqs. (5)}(7)
deliver
d NA
BPP(  . (8)
2
Eq. 8 is the crucial condition for laser}"bre coupling. High-power lasers mostly produce
beams with poor quality, high BPP and need for loss free "bre coupling (Fig. 4)
which leads to large core diameters. Some numbers are compiled in Table 1.
The BBP of a laser system strongly depends on the de"nition of d and h .
 
Often they are measured as power-content values. To achieve high coupling e$ciency
and to avoid damage of the "bre, 98%-power content values are used for high-power
systems. It means that 98% of the total power is within a circle d .

 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 259

Fig. 4. Coupling conditions.

Table 1
Beam parameter product of di!erent systems

System BPP (mm mrad)

HeNe laser 0.2

500 W-disc laser 3
4 kW Nd}YAG laser (diode pumped) 15
Monomode "bre, d "5 lm 0.3
 
Quartz * 100 lm "bre, NA"0.2 10
High-power 600 lm "bre, NA"0.2 60

4. Transmittance of beam parameters

4.1. Step-index xbres

Even if the input beam diameter d , in is smaller than the core diameter d , the
 
output diameter will be equal to the core diameter, whereas the beam divergence
remains unchanged
d "d *d ,
    
h "h )2 NA.
   
This can be easily explained in a simple geometric model of the laser beam, valid for
multimode laser beams propagating in large core optical "bres [5]. Every portion of
the beam is represented by a ray pointing in a direction within the divergence angle,
260 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

h , of the laser beam. The rays are totally re#ected at the core to cladding interface,

resulting in a zigzag path. Because of the di!erent optical path lengths for rays
pointing into di!erent directions, at the end of the "bre the core is entirely "lled by the
laser beam, the beam diameter d being independent from the input beam
 
diameter d . Due to the internal total re#ections the output divergence h re-
  
mains approximately constant, i.e. h +h . This is more or less independent of "bre
 
bending as long as the bending radius is not too small (larger than 500 times core
diameter).

4.2. Graded-index xbres

For a graded-index "bre (Fig. 5), with the normally used parabolic refractive index
pro"le the beam parameters at the output are correlated to the beam parameters at
the input. A ray in the core is smoothly bent, when approaching the core-cladding
interface, therefore showing an undulating ray propagation. An ideal graded-index
"bre operates as a lens-line and the BPP should be constant. According to [6] the
optimum refractive index pro"le, resulting in equal optical path lengths for every ray,
depends upon the launching conditions. There exist di!erent, slightly deviating
solutions for rays, which pass the "bre axis (meridional rays: hyperbolic secant
refractive index pro"le), and other rays, which only enclose the "bre axis (skew rays:
Lorentzian refractive index pro"le). Furthermore, because of the "nite dimensions of
core and cladding and because of the presence of beam distortions due to in-
homogeneities, spherical aberrations and bending of the "bre, the BPP will increase
[7].

Fig. 5. Beam propagation in a step- and in a graded-index "bre.

 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 261

The following approximately holds:

d d *d ,
    
h 2NA*h
   
d NA
BPP  *BPP .
 2 

The near-and far "eld behind the graded-index "bre are more or less bell shaped or
parabolic, like the refractive index pro"le.

5. Fibre-end surface preparation

The damage threshold very much depends on the "bre-end surface preparation.
A less careful surface preparation reduces the damage threshold. Then the power and
energy densities, which can be achieved for example with Q-switch lasers, will destroy
the "bre. Optical "bres with large diameters ('500 lm) have to be cleaved with
di!erent commercially available cleavers and polished automatically or by hand. Only
"bres with a cladding diameter below 500 lm can be cleaved without subsequent
polishing. There is no signi"cant in#uence of the "bre-end surface preparation on the
transmission properties. Cleaved "bres are extremely smooth and nearly plane as is
shown in Fig. 6. Polished "bre-end surfaces are plane, but can be approximated by
a spherical surface to a high degree of accuracy. A spherical surface changes slightly
the coupling conditions (!7% for the e!ective angles h ).


Fig. 6. Scanning electron microscope images of a cleaved (upper row) and a polished (lower row) "bre
end-surface at two magni"cations. The pictures in the third column shows the interference fringes of the
"bre-end surfaces.
262 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Fig. 7. Scattered light of a polished "bre-end surface dependent on the size of the polishing grain.

The amount of scattered light (Fig. 7) depends on the quality of polishing, mainly on
the size of the polishing grain and is measured with an Ulbricht sphere. With 0.3 lm
"ne polishing grain the scattered light is negligible.

6. Maximum power transmission

In the cw-mode of operation the upper limit of the transmitted power is still given
by the BPP of the laser. If condition Eq. (8) is not ful"lled, too much power will hit the
outer cladding of the "bre and destroy it. Sophisticated constructions of the "bre
holder (gold-coated mode scrapers) can prevent damage, even if misalignment of the
beam occurs. Up to 10 kW have been transmitted by 1 mm "bres without damage [2].
Even this intensity of &3 MW/cm is far below the break down intensity of quartz
surfaces, which is about 1 GW/cm (Fig. 8).
More critical is the transmission of Q-switch pulses. Experiments were performed
with a commercially available laser, acousto-optically modulated. 500 W average
power with 100 kW peak power ( f"10 kHz) and 50 mJ pulse energy have been
transmitted (Fig. 9) by a 200 lm "bre (NA"0.2), corresponding to an intensity of
300 MW/cm [8]. For higher peak powers "bre bundles can be used, increasing the
output BPP (reduced beam quality).

7. Fibre losses

Four main loss mechanisms exist:

* Wrong adaptation of the laser to the "bre. The aperture of the "bre diameter is
exceeded by the laser beam.
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 263

Fig. 8. Optical "bre connector.

Fig. 9. Transmission properties of an optical "bre for high peak power Q-switch radiation.

* Losses due to misalignments or due to mandatory tolerances for a su$cient

beam parameter product.
* Re#ection losses at each end surface of about 3.5% at the interface quartz glass
to air.
* Material speci"c losses such as scattering and absorption. These losses are
normally indicated in dB/km. The losses due to absorption are negligible at "bre
lengths of several 10 m with loss coe$cient of typically less than 5 dB/km at
a wavelength of 1064 nm.

7.1. Temperature increase in the xbre

A parabolic radial temperature pro"le is predicted by heat #ow theory

for homogeneous absorption in the "bre. The resulted temperature of the
cladding is
a P
¹ "¹ # , (9)
!    n 4d c
!  
where ¹ is the temperature outside, a the absorption coe$cient, P the transmitted

power and c the heat transfer coe$cient for "bre coating to air.
264 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

A rough estimation with a"1.5 dB/km, ¹ "203C, ¹(d /2)"803C and

  
c"20 W/(3C m) leads to the conclusion that through 400 lm core diameter "bres
with commercially available cladding diameters of 440}560 lm one can transmit
about 7}9 kW average Nd : YAG laser power, through 600 lm "bres with 660}840 lm
cladding diameters about 11}14 kW and through 1 mm "bres more than 20 kW.

7.2. Bending losses

According to Gloge [9] parts of the evanescent waves, propagating outside the "bre
core, are no longer guided, if due to "bre bending with bending radius R the phase
velocity at a certain distance from the "bre axis exceeds the velocity of light in this
material c/n. These waves are radiated o! in tangential direction. Especially higher
order "bre modes with large "eld spread are weakly guided and radiated o! at
comparatively low bending radii, R.
The bending losses *P/P can be estimated by adding the transmission losses of
the laser beam I (h ) at all angles h , which are coupled into a "bre with bending
$  
radius R.
Eq. (4) fails at angles approaching h +h , with h the critical angle, for which the
  
bending losses increase rapidly. The critical angle h is de"ned as




d n 
h "NA 1!   (10)
 1' R NA
for step-index "bres and


d n 
h "NA 1!   (11)
 %' R NA
for graded-index "bres. The attenuation constant a for step-index "bres is given by
) 1'
   B


a "2n k
NA!h \L I0 ,L\F
e


 \
0
 (12)
) 1'  n

and
B 

a "2n k
NA(NA!h ) \L I0
 e

,,\F 
LAMPC \
0
 (13)
) %'  n

for graded-index "bres. For estimating the bending losses a Gaussian far-"eld inten-
sity distribution I (h )"I exp[!2(h/h )] is assumed. The numerical calculations
$   
are performed for a step-index "bre (NA"0.22, n "1.45 and l"10 m)

and a graded-index "bre (NA"0.25, n "1.471 and l"10 m). The results are

summarized in Fig. 10. Although the numerical apertures are not identical, it is
obvious that graded-index "bres have higher bending losses than step-index "bres
because of the lower number of modes, which can be guided in the "bre. Fibres with
thin core diameters have the lowest losses. The 1% bending losses are indicated by the
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 265

Fig. 10. Comparison of the bending losses *P/P of step- and graded- index "bres with di!erent core

diameters d and numerical apertures NA.


dashed curve. Assuming this is the maximum acceptable loss, then the highest bending
losses occur with 600 lm graded-index "bres with a numerical aperture of 0.25 at
a bending radius of about 135 mm, which in an industrial environment is not applied
for safety reason. The smallest bending radii are in the range of 300 mm.

8. Fibre coupling

Conventional stable resonators change their beam parameter products with the
average output power. Focusing with standard optics results in a power-dependent
focus diameter and divergence. The usually used symmetrical plane resonator has its
beam waist d on the output mirror. The beam parameters d and h must be
  
transformed by an optical system to "t to the optical "bre and ful"l the coupling
condition Eqs. (5)}(7) (Fig. 11).
The propagation of the laser beam from the plane 1 (mirror) to the plane 2 ("bre end
surface) can be described by the ABCD-formalism [10]. Taking into account the
power-dependent beam parameters an optical system can be designed to couple the
varying beam parameters nearly loss-free into the "bre. The ABCD-law for a waist
d on the output-mirror reads:

d "Ad #Bh ,
   (14)
h "Cd #Dh .
  
ABCD are the elements of the optical systems as shown in Fig. 12.
In Fig. 12, two di!erent coupling systems are described. The telescopic system 12a
reproduces the "eld distribution at the output mirror on the "bre surface, scaled by
the ratio of the focal lengths. Independent on the varying BPP, a waist is produced on
the "bre end. This coupling device is called near-"eld coupling.
266 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Fig. 11. The ABCD-system for "bre coupling.

Fig. 12. ABCD-matrix for two "bre coupling systems.

In the other case, where the "bre is placed near the focal length behind a single lens,
the far-"eld distribution is generated on the "bre.
But for both coupling systems the "bre-coupled power is strongly in#uenced by the
spherical aberrations of the lens. The typical focal length of these lenses are between 20
and 50 mm. Especially at high laser powers, when the beam diameter approaches the lens
diameter the spherical aberrations can violate the coupling conditions. Therefore, spheri-
cal aberrations have to be corrected, using multi-lens systems (achromatic systems).

9. Power transmission properties

For ideal beam coupling and short "bre length only the re#ection losses of about
7% reduce the transmitted power. But for real coupling systems misalignment and
wrong diameter adaptation can increase the power losses. A common method to
de"ne the beam parameters (Figs. 13 and 14) is the power content value. By the
generally used 86.5% power content measurement the distribution of the remaining
13.5% is not quite clear. The real beam diameter at the "bre entrance surface can
exceed the core diameter. As a rule of thumb: the 86% power content diameter must
be smaller than 75% of the core diameter. A total power transmission laser output to
power on the work piece of 88}92% is then possible.
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 267

Fig. 13. Beam parameter product and beam parameters (radius and divergence, half angle) in front of and
behind a step- and a graded-index "bre, both with 0.6 mm core diameter and a NA of 0.22.

10. Material processing with diode lasers

Diode lasers are compact, low-weight lasers with a high electrical}optical e$ciency
(up to 50%). In recent years prices have gone down and output powers have increased.
Systems with several kW output power are available now, and already they are used
for material processing. The disadvantage is their poor beam quality, resulting in BPP
of approximately 250 mm mrad in the fast axis and about 600 mm mrad in the slow
axis. This means that the diode laser beam is astigmatic. The intensity distribution and
the BPP factors for the slow and fast axes are di!erent. This leads to two-line focii at
268 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Fig. 14. Beam intensity distribution in front of and behind a step- and a graded-index "bre (0.6 mm core
diameter, NA"0.22). The laser power in front of the "bre was 2050 W.

Fig. 15. Fibre coupled diode laser with up to 2.2 kW laser power on the work piece. The "bre core diameter
is 1.5 mm and the NA is 0.37. The "bre can be placed very easily in a simple `plug and playa technique
(DILAS, Mainz, Germany).

two positions in the beam path and makes the "bre coupling of these laser types much
more di$cult. For low-loss "bre coupling, the core diameter must match the max-
imum beam diameter, and the NA must be high enough to launch the higher
divergence angle of the radiation (Fig. 15).
To guide beams with such a high beam parameter product through optical "bres,
a high NA is necessary. The required high refractive index step between "bre core and
"bre cladding is only possible by using plastic as the cladding material. Because of
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 269

Fig. 16. Beam twister and beam caustic behind the beam twister.

evanescent "elds on the interface core-cladding and the higher absorption of the
plastic material the aim of research and development is to substitute these materials
by glass.
Di!erent coupling methods for diode laser radiation are in use. One solution for the
coupling problems caused by the astigmatic laser radiation is a specially shaped
optical component, the beam twister [11]. It transforms the astigmatic laser beam of
a stacked diode array into a symmetrical laser beam with waist position, beam
parameter, beam propagation factor of both axes the same. The distinction between
fast and slow axis disappears, and the intensity distribution of the laser beam is of
circular symmetry. The beam twister (Fig. 16) can be designed for any astigmatic light
source.

11. Coupling of several laser systems and matrix focus technique

In order to increase the laser power for material processing, especially for welding
applications, di!erent set-ups for beam addition are applied. A widely used method is
to superimpose the beams of two or more independent lasers directly onto the work
piece (Fig. 17 top) [12]. Each laser beam is coupled into a single "bre with a process-
ing optic at the end. The BPP of the resulting beam is the sum of the individual
products or more. The spot size on the work piece increases with the cosine of the tilt
angle between the optics. A deterioration of the beam quality occurs by the o!set
angle between the optics. The BPP may be di!erent in the processing direction and
perpendicular to it. To obtain the same welding results it is necessary to move the
heavy and clumsy optics always in direction of the tilt angle. For edge welding this
kind of beam addition can be helpful.
Another possibility for increasing the laser power is the focus matrix technique.
Several laser beams are coupled into a single "bre. All "bres deliver to one processing
optics (Fig. 17 middle). Additionally, this technique allows in a simple way for varying
the intensity distribution on the work piece. One example is the two-beam technique,
270 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272

Fig. 17. Top: beam addition of two laser beams directly on the work piece. Middle: matrix focus technique,
several laser beams are collected in one optical system. Bottom: coupling unit to combine several laser
beams in a single "bre.

with two "bres placed side by side with a gap as small as possible. Because this causes
an enlarged key hole this method has been successfully applied in the welding of
aluminium giving higher process stability and reduced faults such as pores or
eruptions.
But the highest #exibility for material processing is achieved by a single "bre. To
enable higher powers on the work piece, several laser beams must be coupled into
a single "bre. Di!erent methods for the power increase behind a single "bre have been
investigated [12]. In Fig. 17 (bottom) a system is shown, which collected the beams
from three high-power lasers into a single "bre. Each laser beam was coupled at "rst
 Th. Beck et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 255}272 271

Fig. 18. Coupling of two (left) and three (right) laser beams side by side into a single "bre.

into a step index "bre with 0.6 mm core diameter. In a coupling unit the three beams
were imaged by a telescopic system onto the end surface of a "bre with 1 mm core
diameter. The total laser power is the sum of the single laser powers. The losses
of the coupling unit are approximately 5% additionally 7% re#ection losses of the
second "bre. The ideal beam parameter product of such systems increases with the
square root of the number of laser beams. By using three lasers with a BPP of 25 mm
mrad each resulting beam parameter product for the coupled system of 43.3 mm mrad
is expected. A BPP on the work piece of 55 mm mrad was realized [13].
Di!erent optical designs of the coupling unit are conceivable. The three "bres can
be parallel bundled side by side and imaged by a Kepler-telescope onto the end
surface of the second "bre. Fig. 18 shows such an arrangement. With an additional
mirror between the telescope and the second "bre the intensity distribution is
observed by a CCD-camera. The dark areas indicate the limited "lling factor of the
second "bre, responsible for the increase of the BPP.
Another possibility is to adapt the single "bre diameter to the diameter of the larger
"bre and to superimpose all three "bres. Then a higher "lling factor results, but the
individual "bres have to be tilted slightly. This tilt increases again the resulting BPP.

12. Conclusion

The physical and technological basics about optical "bres were described. Fibre
coupling conditions, the transmission properties through optical "bres and the loss
mechanism were theoretical and practical represented. The main interest concerned
the Nd}YAG and the diode lasers.

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