Extremely large mode area optical fibers formed by thermal stress

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Abstract
We report a strictly single-mode optical fiber with a record core diameter of 84µm and an effective mode area of ~3600µm2 at 1µm. We also demonstrate fundamental mode operation in an optical fiber with a record core diameter of 252µm and a measured mode field diameter (MFD) of 149µm at 1.03µm, i.e. an effective mode area (Aeff) of ~17,400µm2 at 1.03µm, an Aeff of 31,600µm2 at 1.5µm. All these fibers have near parabolic index profiles with a peak refractive index difference ΔN≈~6×10-5, i.e. a record low numerical aperture (NA) of ~0.013 in an optical fiber. This low refractive index difference was achieved by frozen-in thermal stress as a result of two different types of glass in the fibers. When the fundamental mode was excited in the 252µm core fiber using a 1.03µm ASE source, the output beam was measured to have M2x=1.04 and M2y=1.18.

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