Lightrun Popularization: Fiber Combiners
Dual Protection for Efficiency & Power;Core Performance Lays the Foundation.
The performance of fiber combiners directly dictates the efficiency, stability, and reliability of high-power laser systems. Among various parameters, transmission efficiency and carrying power are the two core indicators, while additional factors such as excess loss, beam quality, and temperature stability also need to be comprehensively evaluated.
(I) Transmission Efficiency: The Core Guarantee for System Energy Efficiency and Stability
Transmission efficiency refers to the ratio of output power to total input power (expressed as a percentage). It is a key indicator for measuring the energy coupling performance of fiber combiners and directly affects the energy conversion efficiency and operational stability of laser systems.
1. Influencing Factors
lused Taper Process Precision: Including the uniformity of taper region gradient and geometric errors in fiber alignment.
lFiber Mode Matching Degree: Related to the degree of numerical aperture matching and core diameter adaptability.
lInherent Material Loss: Composed of absorption loss and scattering loss.
2. Impact on System Performance
lEnergy Efficiency: Improving transmission efficiency can reduce system energy consumption and minimize power redundancy of laser sources.
lOperational Stability: Inefficient ports easily cause heat accumulation, leading to a temperature rise in the fused taper region, accelerating fiber aging and even causing fiber combiner failure.
3. Optimization Strategies
Using UV lithography alignment technology to improve fused taper precision, optimizing fiber selection to achieve mode matching, and improving material processes to reduce losses can make the transmission efficiency exceed 95%, and reach more than 98% under high-precision conditions, thus extending the service life of laser systems.
(II) Carrying Power: The Key Constraining Factor for System Power Capacity
Carrying power refers to the maximum total input power that a fiber combiner can withstand during long-term stable operation, determining the upper limit of the power capacity of laser systems.
1. Calculation Model
The overall carrying power of the fiber combiner≈Single-arm carrying power x Number of input fibers, where the single-arm carrying power is the maximum withstand power of a single input fiber.
2. Technical Approaches for Improvement
lSingle-arm Power Improvement: Enhance the power tolerance of a single input fiber by using high-power tolerant fibers (such as high-temperature resistant quartz fibers, surface-coated damage-resistant fibers), optimizing the heat dissipation structure of the fused taper region, and reducing local energy density.
lExpansion of Input Channels: On the premise of ensuring process precision and mode matching, expand the number of input channels from 19 to 37, 61, etc., to achieve linear power increase.
3. Additional Requirements
While increasing the carrying power, beam quality and temperature stability need to be taken into account. For example, when increasing the number of input fibers, the arrangement of the fiber array needs to be optimized to avoid beam quality degradation caused by mode superposition; at the same time, an efficient heat dissipation system needs to be matched to prevent excessive temperature in the fused taper region during high-power operation and ensure the long-term stable operation of the fiber combiner.
As the core performance indicators of fiber combiners, transmission efficiency and carrying power directly determine the operational efficiency and performance upper limit of high-power laser systems. However, in practical applications, focusing only on these two core indicators is far from sufficient, and parameters such as excess loss, polarization maintaining ability, and environmental adaptability also need to be considered.
Lightrun's customized solutions for fiber combiners can synergistically optimize core and auxiliary performance indicators through multiple dimensions, build a technical system covering energy efficiency, power, and stability, and provide guarantees for the reliable operation of high-power laser systems in scenarios such as material processing and space communication.
