Abstract

Photodarkening (PD) is a very critical factor for the long-term stability of Yb fiber lasers and amplifiers, especially for the high power range. There have been done a lot of investigations to develop reliable techniques to examine the PD evolution in optical fibers (e.g. [1]) and to understand this pump-induced process. A reliable comparison of different fiber types is only possible on the basis of measurements approaching the PD equilibrium [2], and moreover, the knowledge of this “worst case” of PD loss is most desirable for fiber applications under defined conditions to predict the long-term performance of commercial devices.

© 2009 IEEE