Abstract
We examine the effect of photodarkening-induced pump light absorption on Yb-doped fiber thermal loading. In these experiments, the fiber is cladding pumped at , air cooled by natural convection, and monitored with a midinfrared thermal camera. The fiber temperature is found to correlate with progressive photodarkening. The maximum observed fiber temperature was , recorded at a pump power of . The observed increase in fiber temperature can be explained by a model that takes into account the combined effects of the Yb-silica quantum defect, the temperature dependence of the Yb-absorption cross section, and photodarkening-induced loss at . We hypothesize that the latter effect results in the progressive activation of temperature-dependent photochemical processes (e.g., bleaching) and is an important consideration with regard to the accurate modeling of Yb-doped fiber photodarkening kinetics.
© 2010 Optical Society of America
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