Abstract
The residual stress (RS) and refractive index (RI) distributions of
large-mode-area (LMA) erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) are measured for the first
time using a high-resolution three-dimensional index-stress distribution measurement
method. The effects of fiber manufacturing, cleaving, and arc fusion splicing
of a commercially available LMA EDF are concurrently characterized at state-of-the-art
stress, index, and spatial resolutions. RS induced via fiber manufacturing
results in RI changes as large as 1.2 × 10-4 RI units through the photo-elastic effect.
The relaxation of RS within ~30μm of a cleaved end-face reverses the stress-induced RI changes formed
during fiber manufacturing. After fusion splicing, an even larger stress-induced
RI change of 3.5 × 10-4 RI units results over an axial distance on the order
of millimeters. The diffusion of core dopants reduces the maximum core RI
by as much as 21.7% along a transition region length of ~400μm. These measurements represent the
first of many required to develop future ultra LMA EDFs where RS effects and
dopant diffusion are absolutely critical for fiber design and performance.
© 2013 IEEE
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