High-performance stretched flexible hollow fiber

The spectral broadening of both UV and high-energy IR pulses requires large-aperture, long hollow fibers with high transmission.
Standard, rigid hollow fibers are usually available with lengths up to ∼1 m. Their transmission usually remains well below the theoretical limit, due to their local curvatures caused by the imperfect mechanical support.
In order to overcome these limitations, we follow a new concept and use stretched flexible hollow fibers (see figure below).

Flexible fiber assembly

We have demonstrated that such fibers of up to 3 m length can reach the theoretical performance regarding both transmission and output beam quality.

Beam quality of the output beam.
a. Measured beam size (dots) as a function of the propagation distance behind the fiber exit, compared with the diffraction limit (solid line). b. Radial distribution of the beam profile 500 mm behind the fiber exit.

Further information:
          T. Nagy et al.
          Flexible hollow fiber for pulse compressors
          Appl. Opt. 47, 3264 (2008)