Patent Description:
Guiding of relatively high powers in an optical fiber may have relevance for several commercial applications such as such as guiding of surgical and/or therapeutic light, optical sensing, and materials processing. Among such applications is transport of optical energy and utilizing non-linear effects in the fiber which are commonly more pronounced with higher optical power inside the fiber. The optical power may be continuous wave (CW), pulsed or a mixture thereof. High optical power inside a fiber may be particularly pronounced with pulsed light where a high peak power may be obtainable even while having a relatively modest average power.

One limitation of the average power/spectral density carried by an optical fiber is the damage threshold of the fiber. The input facet or the first few millimeters of fiber may be destroyed if the optical power (CW, peak power or pulse energy) is above the bulk glass or glass-air interface damage threshold. It has been observed by the present inventors that even when the optical power is below this threshold the optical fiber may still be observed to degrade over time. This degradation is often observed as increased absorption in the visible over time. For commercial applications a long lifetime may be critical.

<CIT> describes various methods to fabricate optical fibers with reduced radiation sensitivity. Optical fibers are treated to one or more secondary or post-processing "conditioning" steps to create and anneal residual defects in the glass for improved radiation insensitivity. A method for fabricating radiation-hardened optical fibres are described, where the method comprising drawing the optical fibre from a preform, chemically treating the fibre to create defects, photo-conditioning the defects by launching light down the fibre.

<CIT> describes method of manufacturing a silica glass article comprising: (<NUM>) placing a starting silica glass article in an atmosphere containing hydrogen molecules to introduce hydrogen molecules into said starting silica glass article at a concentration of not lower than <NUM> × <NUM><NUM> molecules/cm<NUM>; (<NUM>) taking said hydrogen-introduced silica glass article out of the atmosphere containing hydrogen molecules; and (<NUM>) irradiating said silica glass article with at least <NUM><NUM> pulses of an excimer laser beam having an energy of <NUM> mJ per pulse within a period in which the concentration of hydrogen molecules remaining in said silica glass article is not lower than <NUM> × <NUM><NUM> molecules/cm<NUM>, to obtain a processed silica glass article which causes substantially no increase in its light absorption in an ultraviolet region.

Supercontinuum fibre systems using a pump laser and a length of microstructured optical fiber coupled thereto are for example known from <NPL> and <NPL>.

Loading an optical fibre material with hydrogen to improve transmission losses in the UV, visible, and infrared is known from e.g., <CIT>.

The present specification provides a method of producing a supercontinuum light source as defined in claim <NUM>.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other stated features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

The invention will be explained more fully below in connection with preferred embodiments and with reference to the drawings in which:.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and should not be taken to limit the inventions as set forth by the appended set of claims.

Loading by deuterium is sometimes applied in the art in order to overcome absorptions in the so-called water-band, which increases when the fiber is subjected to hydrogen-rich environments, such as found for undersea communication cables. This issue is not similar to the present problem. The fiber may therefore be applied in an environment where it is subjected to a medium with a content of H<NUM> and/or H+-ions of less than <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM>. Loading by deuterium is sometimes applied in the art in order to increase the photosensitivity of the fiber in order to enable changing its refractive index, e.g. to induce a Bragg grating in the fiber by exposure through an external light source perpendicular to the fiber. This issue is not similar to the present problem. The fiber is annealed prior to usage, where said anneal significantly reduces the fibers photosensitivity. The photosensitivity of the pre and/or post annealed fiber may be less than <NUM>% of that of a typical fiber used for producing fiber Bragg gratings, such as less than <NUM>%, such as less than <NUM>%, such as less than <NUM>%, such as less <NUM>%, such as less than <NUM>%, such as less than <NUM>%. In one embodiment the photosensitivity is substantially zero.

Water-band absorption (such as the peak absorption peak around <NUM>) may be undesirable. In such a case it may be preferable to load the fiber with as little hydrogen as possible so that the loaded fiber comprises bound deuterium relative to bound hydrogen (and/or their corresponding ions) of more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% by atom. However, hydrogen may be preferable for applications where such absorption is either insignificant or even preferable, particularly when it is noted that hydrogen is commonly significantly cheaper than deuterium. Hydrogen may also be preferable for applications where the deuterium induced OD-absorption around <NUM> is undesirable.

The lifetime of a fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced according to the invention has been found to increase with increased ambient temperature during loading (see <FIG>). This dependency indicates that providing energy during loading benefits the lifetime. The extended lifetime may depend on a chemical process occurring between the material of the fiber and Hydrogen/Deuterium being loaded. The lifetime has been found to increase by introducing energy subsequent to loading by providing "subsequent irradiation" which is the term used throughout the application for the provision of energy to loaded material during and/or subsequent to loading. Subsequent irradiation is taken to mean introducing energy at a rate higher than provided by the general environment subsequent to loading, i.e. energy provided by keeping the fiber at room temperature or energy provided by normal lighting is not subsequent irradiation. This introduction of energy can stimulate the chemical process between unbound Hydrogen/Deuterium and the material. It may therefore be preferable that subsequent stimulation comprises localized contribution of energy. Said chemical process may be binding of at least part of the loaded Hydrogen and/or Deuterium to the material of the fiber. The fiber is being loaded by subjecting it to hydrogen and/or deuterium under loading conditions suitably to allow hydrogen and/or deuterium to bind chemically to said material(s). The loading condition comprising at least raised temperature T, subsequent irradiation and optionally raised pressure P. Where the fiber is a silica fiber, said chemical process may be binding of at least part of the loaded Hydrogen and/or Deuterium to the silica matrix, such as forming an OH- or OD- bond. By providing such loading conditions a fiber comprising an increased amount of bound hydrogen and/or deuterium is obtained so that the loaded material obtained by the method of the invention may comprise more than <NUM> atom percent (at%) bound hydrogen and/or deuterium, such as more than <NUM> at%, such as more than <NUM> at%, such as more than <NUM> at%, such as more than <NUM> atom percent, such as more than <NUM> at%.

In contrast to photosensitizing of fibers via loading, the temperature T may be more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>, such as more than or equal to <NUM>.

The fiber may and may not comprise a coating, such as a polymer coating. In the case where the fiber comprises a polymer coating the loading temperature for loading deuterium and/or hydrogen is kept below the melting point of the polymer, such as below the softening temperature of the polymer. The practical upper limit for increasing the loading temperature is likely set by the coating of the fiber. A high temperature coating may extend the possible deuterium loading temperature to above <NUM> or even higher. One example of a high temperature coating is DeSolite® DF-<NUM> or DeSolite® DF-<NUM> manufactured by DSM Desotech Inc. which are designed for high temperature fiber applications up to about <NUM>.

Alternatively fibers without coating may be produced allowing even higher loading temperature e.g. up to and above <NUM> and/or loading of the core (and optionally cladding) material may be performed prior or during the process of forming the fiber i.e. prior to coating. The fibre can be stripped of its coating and subsequently recoated.

The chemical reaction time depends on the temperature and/or pressure. The loading time during which the fiber is loaded may be least sufficient to ensure that thermal equilibrium has occurred. The loading time may be less than <NUM> days, such as less than or equal to <NUM> days, such as less than or equal to <NUM> days, such as less than or equal to <NUM> day, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> minutes, such as less than or equal to <NUM> minute.

An increased pressure of the loading gas is utilized to provide a higher concentration of indiffused hydrogen and/or deuterium in the fiber. The pressure P may be more than or equal to <NUM> bars, such more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such more than or equal to <NUM> bars, such more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar, such as more than or equal to <NUM> bar.

The above mentioned subsequent irradiation is light. Said subsequent irradiation may alter the glass structure such as by creating and/or activating defects which interact with hydrogen/deuterium. Further details of defects in glass may for example be found in the paper "<NPL>). In use of the fiber, the pump light, i.e. the light by which the fiber is pumped may provide sufficient energy to allow unbound hydrogen/deuterium to interact with the fiber and/or create new defects with which remaining unbound hydrogen/deuterium may interact. In cases where the fiber is subjected to signal light and pump light or signal light alone, pump light may also refer to signal light or pump and signal light in combination. Such subsequent irradiation of the fiber may be referred to as photo activation. However, in principle any types of irradiation of the fiber providing sufficient energy may be applied. UV radiation can be applied as subsequent irradiation, since its higher photon energy enables chemical reactions.

The fiber can be cooled subsequent to annealing in order to reduce diffusion out of the fiber prior to subsequent irradiation. Accordingly, the fibre may be stored at reduced temperature (cold storage) for a period in the time from production, i.e. loading, to subsequent irradiation. The reduced temperature is less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>, such as less than -<NUM>. Storing at reduced temperature can preserve or limits the loss of deuterium and/or Hydrogen over time. Cold storage may be applied substantially until the fiber is subjected to subsequent irradiation. The fiber may be stored at reduced temperature after loading either before and/or after anneal. Storing at reduced temperature can be applied at least part of the time between loading and/or anneal and subsequent irradiation. The fiber can be subjected to storing at reduced temperature during operation.

The term subsequent in subsequent irradiation, e.g. photo activation, may refer to a maximum time between loading and subsequent irradiation less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hours, such as less than or equal to <NUM> hour, such as less than or equal to <NUM> minute. If the maximum time between loading and subsequent irradiation is exceeded, this will lead to that the lifetime extension effect of the loading is decreased relative to subjecting the fiber to irradiation immediately after loading. Storing the fiber at reduced temperature significantly reduces the effects which cause this decrease in lifetime. The time where the fiber has been stored at reduced temperature is therefore not counted in the calculation of the maximum time as described above. In other words, maximum time between loading and subsequent irradiation refers to a maximum accumulated time, not counting time wherein said fiber has been stored at reduced temperature, between loading and subsequent irradiation. The term stored refers to the fiber not being used while in storage, whereas in other cases stored refers to the fiber being in use while in storage.

Subsequent irradiation may be performed by applying irradiation to an end facet of the fiber by coupling light into the fiber. Said irradiation may be side coupled to the fiber. The fiber can be subjected to subsequent irradiation prior to annealing the fiber. The fiber ends of the fiber may be annealed to allow splicing of the fiber. Said light may be coupled into the fiber by splicing the fiber to a light source of delivery fiber. Light may be coupled into the fiber via free-space or butt-coupling.

Subsequent irradiation, e.g. photo activation, comprises pumping the fiber with light having a peak power density within said fiber equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>. The subsequent irradiation may comprise pumping said fiber with irradiation having an average power of 50mW or more, such as 100mW or more, such as 500mW or more, such as <NUM> W or more, such as more than <NUM> W or more, such as <NUM> W or more, such as <NUM> W or more, such as <NUM> W or more, such as <NUM> W or more. The subsequent irradiation may have a duration of more than <NUM>/<NUM> of a second, such as more then <NUM>/<NUM> of a second, such as more than <NUM>/<NUM> of a second, such as more than <NUM> second, such as more than <NUM> minute, such as more than <NUM> hour, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> week.

In principle the materials may be loaded at anytime in the process of forming the fiber. However, consideration may have to be taken to ensure that processes following the loading do not disrupt the achieved extension of the lifetime of the final fiber. Such a disruption may occur if a process following the loading comprises conditions which allow the loaded hydrogen/deuterium to escape from the fiber e.g. a sufficiently high temperature over a sufficiently long time. Accordingly, the loading of the core material, and optionally of said cladding material, being performed prior to forming said fiber, during forming of said fiber and/or after forming said fiber. Furthermore, as shown in <FIG> discussed below, fibers may, at least partially, be regenerated so that the fiber may be loaded after use.

After deuterium and/or hydrogen loading, the fiber is annealed. The anneal enables splicing the fiber to other fibers (plasma heating of hydrogen/deuterium, such as in fusion splicing, may be explosive) and reduces any added photosensitivity due to these molecules. However, as discussed below, an anneal also serves other functions. The fiber anneal can be a part of the drawing process. The fiber can be annealed between pulling the fiber and coating of the fiber. The temperature of this anneal may be equal to or less than the temperature applied to the preform when pulling the fiber, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less of that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less that temperature, such as <NUM>% or less that temperature. The anneal can be a flash anneal providing a relatively brief high energy irradiation.

Excessive anneal temperature above approximate <NUM>° C may lead to out diffusion of the bound hydrogen/deuterium and is therefore often undesirable. The anneal may be performed for more than <NUM> minutes, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more <NUM> hours. The anneal is a flash anneal of the fiber with or without coating. The anneal is performed at a temperature Tanneal of more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>, such as more than <NUM>. The anneal may be performed in a chamber comprising an atmosphere adapted to be less aggressive with respect to the materials of the fiber, such as its coating, relative to atmospheric air. Surrounding the fiber with such an atmosphere during the anneal may provide a reduction in damage to the fiber and/or its coating due to the raised temperature relative to atmospheric air. Said atmosphere of the chamber may comprise a mixture of gasses that have low tendency to interact chemically with the optical fiber and/or its coating. The anneal may be performed in an atmosphere which is essentially free of oxygen or other free radicals. The anneal may be performed in an atmosphere substantially formed by Nitrogen, Argon, an inert gas, or a mixture thereof.

The anneal may be performed in the same chamber that is used for loading. The fiber may be subjected to subsequent irradiation during the anneal. The fiber may be exposed to a flash irradiation in the chamber. The irradiationmay be coupled into the fiber such as by irradiating the fiber end inside or outside the chamber. A piece of transport fiber may be spliced to the fiber to allow the entire fiber to reside in the chamber. The fiber end which the transport fiber is spliced to is annealed sufficiently to allow splicing. The irradiation is a general irradiation of at least part of the fiber surface such as via a light source in the chamber and/or through a window in the chamber.

The lifetime of the fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced may be extended relative to the lifetime of an otherwise identical fiber not subjected to loading by deuterium and/or hydrogen by more than <NUM>%,such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%. The absolute lifetime of a fiber subjected to light for generating a supercontinuum may vary depending on the application as well as on the particular material of the fiber core. The lifetime of a fiber of a supercontinuum light source produced by the method may be more than <NUM> operating hours, such as more than <NUM> operating hours, such as more than <NUM> operating hours, such as more than <NUM> operating hours, such as more than <NUM> operating hours.

In one case, the lifetime of a fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced has been found to scale inversely with the peak power of the guided light to the fourth power. Accordingly, in such cases, a reduction of the peak power by a factor of <NUM> may extend the lifetime of the fibre by a factor <NUM>.

The lifetime of a fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced may be measured after an initial burn out time of more than <NUM> minute, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> hours, such as more than <NUM> days, such as more than <NUM> days. An initial burn out time of a fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced in one casewas observed to impose a decrease of <NUM>% of the spectrum in the visible emitted by a supercontinuum light source. In this context "burn out time" is understood as an initial time of operation where after the system/fiber/light sources reaches a steady state operation. In this context steady state is taken to mean that performance changes are slow relative to the performance change during the burn out time, such as at least <NUM>% or lower, such as at least <NUM>% slower, such as at least <NUM>% slower. In one such example a laser has an output power which increases <NUM>% and thereafter reduces about <NUM>% during the initial two days of operation after which it has a <NUM>% reduction of output power during the next <NUM> days of operation all else maintained equal. In such an example "burn out time" may be defined as the first two days of operation. Lifetime could be defined relative to the initial output power and relative to the maximum output power and relative to the output power after two days of operation.

The lifetime of a fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced may be defined as time in which the fiber may be operated according to its operational purpose. The lifetime of a fiber of a supercontinuum light source produced may be defined as the time after which the absorption has increased by more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%. The lifetime of the fiber of the supercontinuum light source is defined as the time after which the optical output power of the light source or system is reduced by more than or equal to <NUM>% all else equal, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%. The optical output of said light source and/or system emitting light may be pulsed, in which case the optical output power may be taken to be the peak power, average power and/or pulse power. For example, the optical output power may relate to the contribution of pump energy to the light source and/or system emitting light either via optical power (such as via a pump laser) or electrically or by other means. The lifetime may be defined as more than or equal to a <NUM>% increase in pump energy is required to maintain the same optical output power, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%. Said absorption or reduction of optical power output increase may be within more than or equal to <NUM> % of the range of wavelengths for which the fiber/system/light source is operated, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %, such as more than or equal to <NUM> %.

The amount of bound Deuterium and/or Hydrogen may be determined by spectroscopy. Such determination may comprise determining the height of the absorption peak around <NUM> of the OH- bond and/or the absorption peak at <NUM> of the OD- bond. As the absorption cross section of these bonds are known the measured peak height may be used to determine the concentration of such bonds. Said peak(s) may be applied to determine an overrepresentation of Hydrogen and/or deuterium relative to an unloaded fiber.

The amount of bound Deuterium and/or Hydrogen may be determined by spectroscopy of the UV spectrum particularly around <NUM>. As glass is highly absorbent in this region only a fairly short fiber may often be investigated at a time. Further details of such measurements may be found in <NPL>.

An over representation of bound Deuterium relative to an unloaded fiber, consistent with loading of the fiber according to the method of the invention, may be determined at least partially by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). In one such case the amount of OD- is determined. In one case the amount of SiD- is determined as the measurement chamber may comprise gaseous oxygen whereas there is commonly little or no gaseous silicium in the measurement chamber. In one case the determination is performed relative to an unloaded fiber as variations in isotope concentration etc. may be cancelled.

In one case determination of whether a fiber has been loaded is performed by observing changes in the lifetime of the fiber pre and post an anneal designed to reduce bound deuterium and/or hydrogen. The fiber may be annealed at a temperature where the stability of the components of the fiber, such as the coating, is ensured while the duration of the anneal may be determined by this temperature and the knowledge of the activation energy for breaking the bond in question. A drop in lifetime due to the specially designed anneal is consistent with a loading of the fiber. Such a drop in lifetime may be a change in absorption spectrum or a change in the emission spectrum for a supercontinuum light source (such as discussed below).

The supercontinuum light source produced may be an optical system comprising the optical fiber and a feeding unit wherein said feeding unit is adapted to feed said fiber with light with a peak power density within said fiber equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>. Application where such high peak power density in the fiber are in the present document referred to as high power applications. It should be noted, that while reference is made to peak power which commonly is a feature of pulsed light, peak power may in this context refer to CW light as well.

Said feeding unit may comprise a pump light source and in one embodiment the feeding unit also comprises one or more amplifiers. In principle the feeding unit may be any optical system feeding light to the fiber.

As the fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced by the method according to the invention has no or reduced degradation due to exposure to high peak power such a system may have an extended lifetime of operation depending on the significance of the fiber performance and life-time relative to that of other components in the system.

The supercontinuum light source produced can be incorporated into an apparatus. The apparatus may constitute a system for performing one from the group of laser precision spectroscopy, various forms of fluorescent microscopy, guiding of surgical and/or therapeutic light, astronomy (guide star generation), confocal microscopy endoscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and combinations thereof.

In the following some examples will comprise discussion of the invention based on measured data. The conclusions drawn from these should not necessarily be considered limited to the specifics of the underlying experiments.

The optical fiber of the supercontinuum light source produced by the method is a microstructured optical fiber. Microstructured optical fibers are a relatively new technical field where the properties of the waveguide may be designed with a relatively large degree of freedom. Such fibers are commonly made of pure silica comprising a pattern, often made of holes or doped glass, extending in the longitudinal direction of the fiber. The freedom of design makes such fibers interesting for application requiring specific non-linear properties of the fiber. One such application is supercontinuum generation wherein a fiber based source is cable of generating a wide spectral output. Supercontinuum (SC) generation in microstructured fibers has been studied for several years as a source of broadband light (termed white light or supercontinuum). While new applications of such sources are continuously discovered, several have already been identified, such as various forms of fluorescent microscopy, laser precision spectroscopy, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). High brightness emission in the visible part of the spectrum is especially important for confocal fluorescent microscopy. SC-generation with relatively high power in the visible has been targeted in the experiments presented here. Most research has so far been based on seeding the microstructured fiber with femtosecond (fs)-lasers but SC-generation using nanosecond- and picosecond (ps)-lasers has also been demonstrated.

As microstructured fibers often guides by holes extending in the cladding such fibers often consist entirely of un-doped silica (i.e. both core and cladding are made of silica) in opposition to e.g. standard single mode communication fibers where the core is commonly doped with germanium in order to change the refractive index. The core of the fiber comprises a Germanium content of less than or equal to <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM> at%, such as less than <NUM> at%.

According to the method of the invention, submitting the fiber to subsequent irradiation may significantly improve the lifetime of the fiber. Experimental results have shown a reduction of optical power of a supercontinuum light source of <NUM>% after <NUM> hours of operation when the fiber has not been loaded, <NUM>% after <NUM> hours when the fiber has been loaded and the ends subsequently sealed and the fiber stored at room temperature for over <NUM> month and only <NUM>% after <NUM> hours when the fiber was loaded and photo activated within <NUM> week of load with the ends sealed. It may be noted that experiments have shown that the above degradation scales with applied peak power to the fourth power. Accordingly, the above periods may be extended by e.g. a factor of <NUM> by reducing the applied optical peak power with <NUM>%. The latter result was found to drop approximately <NUM>% over the first <NUM> hours where after the source showed this stability.

The application of irradiation of the fiber subsequent to loading may utilize gaseous hydrogen/deuterium residing in the microstructures formed by holes of a microstructured fiber. The fiber may be annealed to improve the life time of the fiber and to allow splicing of the end, such as discussed above. However it may be preferable to allow gaseous hydrogen/deuterium to reside in the holes of the microstructure just prior to or during subsequent irradiation, such as photo activation. In such cases it may be preferable to seal one or both ends of the fiber. Said sealing is performed prior to storage at reduced temperature and/or prior to loading. Sealing may be performed by supplying sufficient thermal power, such as by an arch or fusion splicer. Sealing may be performed by applying a resin, such as epoxy to the fiber ends. Said resin may be UV cured. As shown in <FIG>, the initial absorption shown by the dip in transmission around <NUM> (<NUM>) is substantially unchanged for a fiber just after loading (B) and <NUM> hours post loading with sealed ends (C). On the other hand the same peak is shown to be substantially gone after just <NUM> hours when the ends are left unsealed (A). It is preferred that the irradiation is performed subsequent to loading, however; it can be performed during loading.

Sealing of the fiber ends may be preferable to minimize the entrance of impurities into the fiber via the microstructures. ISuch impurities may comprise water, which may condensate on the fiber post having the fiber stored at reduced temperature. Said water may otherwise travel to the inside of the fiber via capillary forces and/or diffusion.

This specification describes a method of producing a supercontinuum light source comprising a pulsed pump light source and a microstructured optical fiber, wherein said pump source is adapted to provide light with a peak power density within said fiber equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> W/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, such as equal to or higher than <NUM> kW/µm<NUM>, and wherein said pump and fiber is adapted to provide an output spanning over at least one octave with at least <NUM>µW/nm. Said pump and said fiber can be adapted to provide a maximum modulation instability gain Ωmax such as larger than <NUM>, such as larger than <NUM>.

Here the modulation instability gain Ωmax is given by <MAT> where β<NUM> is the group velocity at the pump wavelength, Ppeak is the peak power of the pump and γ is the pump wavelength.

In one example more than one octave span has been achieved with the microstructured nonlinear fiber SC-<NUM>-<NUM> from the Danish company Crystal Fiber A/S. Using this fiber with a peak power of <NUM> W pumped at <NUM> provided Ωmax = <NUM> (A peak power of <NUM> W is e.g. obtained).

The pump light source can comprise a laser which may be pulsed or continuous wave. The laser may in principle be any suitable laser to provide the desired wavelength(s), power and/or temporal performance (i.e. pulse length, repetition rate etc.). Said laser can be a fiber laser, such as a mode locked fiber laser. The pump light source can further comprises one or more amplifiers arranged to amplify the output of said laser. The laser light source can be formed by a so-called MOPA configuration.

The phrase spanning over at least one octave with at least a specific power value (per nm wavelength) is in this context of the present invention taken to mean that the optical spectrum of the output of the light source spans at least an octave defining the outer limits of said spectrum by said specific power value.

The output may span over at least one octave with at least <NUM>µW/nm, such as more than or equal to <NUM>µW/nm, such as more than or equal to <NUM> mW/nm, such as more than or equal to <NUM> mW/nm, such as more than or equal to <NUM> mW/nm.

The spectral degradation of a supercontinuum light source light comprising a non-linear microstructured fiber may be less than <NUM>% over more than <NUM> hours, such as over more than <NUM> hours, such as over more than <NUM> hours, such as over more than <NUM> hours. The light system with which the light source is made to interact may be recalibrated at least every <NUM> hours, such as at least every <NUM> hours, such as at least every <NUM> hours, such as at least every <NUM> hours. Anneal of the fiber is preferred in order to improve the spectral stability.

The non-linear fiber can be a polarization maintaining (PM) as this may provide a similar spectrum with a <NUM>% reduction of the necessary peak power. The degradation may scale with the applied peak to the fourth power so that a significant extension of the lifetime of the fiber and thereby the light source may be available.

The non-linear fiber and the feed system, i.e. feeding unit, can be coupled using bulk optics. However, as a bulk optic coupling system may provide many degrees of freedom and is often prone to mechanical and thermal instability splicing of the two components may be preferred. The feed system may be spliced to the non-linear fiber. The feed system may comprise an optical amplifier providing the output of the feed system into the non-linear fiber. There may be a significant mismatch in core size between the feed system (e.g. a diameter of <NUM>) and the non-linear fiber (e.g. a diameter of <NUM>). This mismatch may be reduced by allowing the core of the non-linear fiber to expand during splicing.

In the following measured data were obtained for a supercontinuum light source comprising a pump source and a non-linear microstructured silica fiber. The fiber was pumped at <NUM> with <NUM> ps pulses at a repetition rate of <NUM> providing a 15W input average power (23kW peak power). The fiber had a mode field diameter of <NUM>, and air-filling fraction of about <NUM>% and was approximately <NUM> meters in length. The pump light source was formed by a master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) design comprising a mode-locked laser, a preamplifier and a power amplifier followed by two preamplifiers.

The length of the fiber is preferable kept short to keep the consumption of fiber to a minimum while still providing sufficient length to allow the non-linear processes underlying a supercontinuum to provide a desirable spectrum. This length commonly depends on the shape of the pulses as shorter fiber is commonly sufficient for shorter pulses. The non-linear fiber can have a length of <NUM> or longer, such <NUM> or longer, such <NUM> or longer, such <NUM> or longer, such as <NUM> or longer, such as <NUM> or longer.

The non-linear microstructured fiber can be <NUM> or less, <NUM> or less, <NUM> or less, such as <NUM> or less, such as <NUM> or less.

<FIG> shows typical supercontinuum spectra in initial operation of a prior art microstructured optical fiber (A) and after <NUM> hours of operation (B) all else equal. The reduction in the visible portion of the spectrum extending from about <NUM> to about <NUM> testifies to the degradation of the fiber. The phenomenon is investigated further by the measurements shown in <FIG> showing attenuation for the prior art microstructured nonlinear fiber operated for <NUM> hours as a function of the position of the fiber from the entrance of the pump light. A is measured through the first <NUM> of the non linear fiber (NL-fiber), B is through <NUM>-<NUM>, C through <NUM>-<NUM> and D through <NUM>-<NUM>. The curves are obtained by subtracting a spectrum obtained with a <NUM> long reference non-linear fiber which has not been operated with high power for a longer duration of time. Very large absorption is observed in the visible part of the spectrum due to the degradation of the fiber. The dip at <NUM> and <NUM> likely stems from the single-mode cut-off for the microstructured nonlinear fiber and differences in O-H peak absorption for the microstructured nonlinear fiber and the reference fiber, respectively. If the degradation is caused by interaction with the relatively high peak powered pump pulse, then the degradation is expected to be larger closer to the pump laser where the peak power is maximal. As the pump pulses travel through the fiber their average power decreases due to attenuation. Furthermore, non-linear effects will tend to broaden the pulse to reduce the peak power of the pulses along the fiber. Therefore less degradation is expected along the fiber further from the injection of the pump pulses. This tendency is seen in this example as the absorption drops as the fiber sections are taken from parts which were operated further and further from the pump. This trend is also found in <FIG> showing that measurements of the absorption at <NUM> as a function of distance from the entrance of the pump light fit well to an exponential.

<FIG> shows the supercontinuum spectra in the beginning of the experiment (A), after <NUM> hours were the visible dip is observed (B) and again after heating the fiber to <NUM> (C). The heating seems to partly regenerate the fiber. The inventors hypothesize that the regeneration of the fiber may be an indicator of the pump light altering the structure of at least a part of the glass. Allowing the glass to reach a higher temperature may allow the glass to resettle causing it to at least partly regenerate.

<FIG> shows supercontinuum spectra after <NUM> hours (A) where a visible dip is observed and again after heating the fiber to <NUM> (B) and after the fiber has been deuterium loaded and subsequently annealed (C). The deuterium loading clearly regenerated the fiber and the spectrum resembles the initial spectrum (see <FIG>) without any visible dip in the spectrum.

<FIG> shows measured visible power of a supercontinuum source as function of time for <NUM> pieces of identical microstructured nonlinear fibers deuterium loaded at <NUM> C (A), at <NUM> C (B) and not deuterium loaded (C). The lifetime of the deuterium loaded fibers is increased by at least <NUM> orders of magnitude compared to unloaded fibers. All fibers are loaded at <NUM> bar pressure with <NUM>% deuterium.

<FIG> shows lifetime extracted from <FIG> as a function of deuterium loading temperature (A) and an exponential fit to the measurements (B). In this example the lifetime was defined as the time where the visible power has decreased <NUM>%. Depending on the application the lifetime may be defined as where the visible power has decreased by more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%, such as more than <NUM>%. Visible light may in the context be defined as an integral of light in the range <NUM> to <NUM>. Alternatively, one or more wavelength values may be specified such as the power at <NUM> and/or at <NUM>. As discussed above these result may indicate that the lifetime of the fiber increases exponentially with loading temperature, at least for the temperatures applied here and that loading at increased temperature may be advantageous as long as practical factors such as the temperature tolerance of the coating is considered.

<FIG> shows measured spectra for a deuterium loaded microstructured nonlinear fiber after <NUM> hours (A), <NUM> hours (B), <NUM> hours (C), <NUM> hours (D) and <NUM> hours (E). The prominent broad dip for the non-loaded microstructured fiber in the visible spectrum from <NUM> to <NUM> is no longer observed. In addition, to increasing the lifetime of the microstructured nonlinear fiber the deuterium loading has also shown to significantly alter the spectral changes of the fiber under operation compared to unloaded fibers. Relative to an unloaded fiber the degradation is no longer observed as a dip in the visible spectrum, but as a broadening of the long wavelength peak around <NUM> and a slowly overall decrease of visible power.

<FIG> shows measured visible power as function of time for microstructured nonlinear fibers with less glass impurities for a Deuterium loaded (A) and unloaded (B) fiber. Again the lifetime of the deuterium loaded fiber (A) is significantly increased compared to the unloaded fiber (B). The increase in output power for the deuterium loaded fiber after <NUM> hours is due to an increase in pump power. Compared to <FIG> the lifetime is significantly extended indicating that the lifetime may also depend on the glass impurity level.

<FIG> shows one example of spectra obtained from a supercontinuum light source comprising a non-linear microstructured. The shown spectra are an initial spectrum (A) and a spectrum after a <NUM> hours of operation (B). It has been observed that in many supercontinuum light sources the spectrum shows a reduction in a peak at short wavelengths, commonly around <NUM>, whereas a peak rises from the remaining spectrum around <NUM>. This peak around <NUM> has not been observed for supercontinuum light sources comprising an unloaded non-linear microstructured fiber as evident from the other figures.

It has been observed that the increase in output power around <NUM> shown in <FIG> occurs simultaneously with a decrease in spatial mode quality of the output light at wavelengths lower than about <NUM>, i.e. the light is increasingly multimoded. This decreased beam quality may be identified in many ways, e.g. by measuring the coupling efficiency to a single-mode fiber or be measuring the M-square value. <FIG> shows the coupling efficiency from a super continuum source to a single mode fiber as a function of wavelength for <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> hours of operation. The measurement uncertainty is a few percent and thus the coupling efficiency above <NUM> is within the measurement uncertainty unchanged with time. However, below <NUM> the coupling efficiency drops with time.

<FIG> shows the M^<NUM> spectra for a supercontinuum source. The spectra are an initial spectrum (A) and a spectrum after <NUM> hours of operation where the fiber has degraded in the visible region (B). Notice that the time until degration occurs is much longer than in <FIG>. The differeence between <FIG> and <FIG> is that in <FIG> the nonlinear fiber has been annealed for <NUM> hours at <NUM> C in an atmosphere of nitrogen prior to use, whereas in <FIG> the nonlinear fiber has been annealed for <NUM> hours at <NUM> C in a standard atmosphere prior to use.

The time of operation until the described change around <NUM> occurs depends on the anneal conditions of the fiber used to generate the super continuum, such as a microstructured or standard non linear fiber. Increased temperature of the anneal extends this time of operation before such changes around <NUM> are observed. The time during which the fiber is annealed has a similar effect. This correlation indicates that too much residual hydrogen or deuterium in the fiber may affect said time of operation. The fiber can be annealed after subsequent irradiation. This has the effect of allowing residual hydrogen and/or deuterium to provide a benefit during subsequent irradiation and subsequently to that removing at least part of the residual hydrogen/deuterium. The fiber can be annealed prior and post subsequent irradiation.

As the light below about <NUM> becomes more multimoded more optical energy may be coupled to these higher order modes. The fiber can be coiled to strip these higher order modes for wavelengths of less than about <NUM> and/or to prevent coupling to such higher order modes. The fiber can comprise a chirally coupled core to strip these higher order modes for wavelengths of less than about <NUM> and/or to prevent coupling to such higher order modes. <FIG> shows the output spectrum of a supercontinuum light source after <NUM> hours of operation. The microstructure fiber has been annealed for <NUM> hours at <NUM> C in an atmosphere of nitrogen prior to use. The spectra A is for a normal supercontinuum source, whereas in B the nonlinear fiber is coiled with a radius of <NUM>. It is observed that the coiling decreases the output power at the <NUM> peak and furthermore increases the short wavelength peak around <NUM> as well as restores the M<NUM> value.

The inventors have surprisingly found that a relatively narrow coil may be used but also that such a coil may function even when the fiber is a micro structured fiber, which would otherwise be considered sensitive to such mechanical stress. At least part of the fiber may be coiled with a minimum diameter R where R is less than or equal to <NUM>, such as less than or equal to <NUM> such as less than or equal to <NUM>, such as less than or equal to <NUM>, such as less than or equal to <NUM>, such as less than or equal to <NUM>, such as less than or equal to <NUM>. In a coil the radius of each winding may vary e.g. depending on the winding method and whether the winding is the inner most winding or not. In this case, the minimum radius R refers to the radius of the winding with the smallest radius.

The position of the coil relative to where the pump light is injected can affect the efficiency of the coil to prevent the drop in average optical output power. Closer to the injection of the pump light the peak power of the pump pulse are higher and the formation of the different wavelengths of the output spectrum of the super continuum source may be at least partly related to the position along the fiber. Accordingly, the fiber may have an input end coupled to said pump light source and an output end, wherein said coiling is performed less than <NUM> from the input end, such as less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM>. To use the stripping effect provided by the coil at a position where specific wavelengths of the output spectrum are generation the coil may cover at least a distance which is more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end, such as more than <NUM> from the input end. Little of the fiber may be coiled to reduce the said degradation at wavelengths below <NUM>. More of the fiber may be coiled, such as to prevent the degradation occurring in an uncoiled section of the fiber. More than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber may be coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as more than or equal to <NUM>% of said fiber is coiled, such as <NUM>% of the fiber is coiled. One winding can be sufficient to prevent the degradation discussed above and/or to strip higher order modes and/or suppress coupling of light from the fundamental mode to higher order modes. However, two or more windings may be required to provide sufficient effect. Accordingly, said coil may comprise <NUM> or more windings, such as <NUM> or more windings, such as <NUM> or more windings, such as <NUM> or more windings, such as <NUM> or more windings, such as <NUM> or more windings. The number of required windings decreases with the winding radius. It may be preferable to wind a long section, such as all, of the fiber with a lesser larger radius rather than submit the fiber to the mechanical stress imposed by a smaller radius.

As will be obvious to the skilled person, the detailed effects of increasing and decreasing peaks as well as the region of wavelengths for which the beam quality drops discussed here are exemplary. It is clear that one or more of the discussed effects may depend on the overall design of the supercontinuum light source such as pump properties (e.g. wavelength, peak power, pulse energy etc.) and/or fiber (e.g. material, core size, dopants, mode field diameter etc.).

Lifetime extension may be provided by bound deuterium/hydrogen relative to total number of impurities and/or defects in the core and in some application also in the cladding material. Accordingly, the core of the fiber may be a solid core (preferably silica) wherein the fraction of bound hydrogen and/or deuterium relative to the total number of impurities and/or defects is more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal to <NUM>%, such as more than or equal <NUM>%. In this context all compounds in the glass apart from SiO<NUM> is considered impurities.

Any reference numerals in the claims are intended to be non-limiting for their scope.

Claim 1:
A method of producing a supercontinuum light source comprising a pump light source and a microstructured optical fiber, the light source being adapted to provide an output spanning over at least one octave with at least <NUM>µW/nm, the microstructured optical fiber comprising a core and a cladding comprising a core material and a cladding material, respectively, wherein at least a part of the core comprises silica, said method being characterised by comprising loading said core material, and optionally said cladding material, with hydrogen and/or deuterium, and, after the hydrogen and/or deuterium loading, subjecting said fiber to an annealing at a temperature Tanneal of more than <NUM>.