Hollow polycarbonate fiber for Er:YAG laser light delivery.
We developed hollow fibers with polycarbonate (PC) capillaries for use as a supporting tube. The PC capillaries were prepared by using a glass-drawing technique. Hollow PC fibers are safer and more flexible than hollow glass fibers because no fragments are released when the fibers are broken in various applications. Inner coating layers of silver and cyclic olefin polymer (COP) enhanced the reflection rate at the Er:YAG laser light wavelength. Using these fibers, we attained low loss for Er:YAG laser light transmission. By adjusting the drawing temperature in the fabrication of the PC capillaries, we created a smooth inner surface and uniform PC capillaries. We also demonstrated low-loss properties for visible pilot beams.
Nakazawa
Masayuki
M
Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Shi
Yi-Wei
YW
Matsuura
Yuji
Y
Iwai
Katsumasa
K
Miyagi
Mitsunobu
M
D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement / Q000737:chemistry*; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; C005506:polycarbonate