CN111478165A - Cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of laser technology, in particular to a cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module, comprising a passive optical fiber hose, wherein a first three-ring light guide hose is arranged inside the passive optical fiber hose, and the A passive optical fiber is arranged inside the first three-ring type light guide hose; the gain optical fiber hose is provided with a second three-ring type light guide hose inside, and the second three-ring type light guide hose is soft There is a gain fiber inside the tube, and the metal porous straight tube includes a fusion point formed by the passive fiber and the gain fiber, so that the optical power amplifier changes from a fixed cube module to a cable-shaped bendable module, not only The use of the laser is convenient, and the laser output can be directly output to the processing area. The passive optical fiber cable-shaped part of the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module provided by the present invention can be extended, and when the laser and the object to be processed cannot be approached, it can be extended. Passive fiber optic cable-like section, so that the laser output position is close to the processing area.

Description

Cable Bendable High Power Fiber Amplifier Module

technical field

The invention relates to the field of laser technology, in particular to a cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module.

Background technique

Doped optical fiber is an optical fiber with special properties formed by doping a trace amount of rare earth elements into the silica glass matrix of the optical fiber. The rare earth element can transform the passive transmission fiber into an active optical fiber with signal amplification characteristics, and the characteristics of the rare earth doped fiber will change with the It changes with the concentration, types and properties of doped rare earth elements; with the continuous deepening of research on rare earth doped fiber lasers, it has rapidly entered the stage of practical use. The advantages of low loss and easy coupling have been widely used in many fields, such as optical fiber communication, optical fiber sensing, industrial processing, medical and national defense and other fields. With the continuous improvement of fiber coupling technology, rare earth-doped fiber technology, and single-mode low-loss fiber technology, fiber lasers have made breakthroughs in high-power laser technology. In the field of high-power laser technology at home and abroad, peak Value-power double-clad fiber lasers have received extensive attention from researchers.

The thermal damage of the double-clad fiber coating is one of the main limiting factors for the operation of high-power CW fiber lasers. At present, the usual practice is to use a metal heat sink to conduct the heat emitted by the fiber, and then use air cooling or water cooling to transfer the heat. Out of the module or equipment, such as the flat-wound optical fiber heat dissipation technology and the stacked-wound optical fiber technology, a grooved metal heat sink is introduced to cool the optical fiber, and the optical fiber and the heat sink are filled with good thermal conductivity and coated on the optical fiber. The harmless thermal interface material reduces the thermal resistance between the optical fiber and the heat sink, which is beneficial to the efficient heat transfer between the optical fiber and the heat sink.

However, the above methods also have shortcomings. Metal structural parts are required to make a large module box to encapsulate a fixed module. The input of the module adopts the optical fiber light guide method, and the output can pass through the optical fiber (generally non-doped). fiber) or multiple mirrors (fixed or relatively fixed) for output. If fiber is used as the output method, the optical path will be extended to a certain extent, which increases the length of the optical path of the fiber and reduces the ability of the optical path to withstand nonlinearity. It is difficult to apply in the laser field; in the existing fiber amplifier, the pump combiner, gain fiber and collimator are placed on the metal heat sink to form an independent main amplifier module, and the output passes through the compressor and then passes through multiple fixed amplifiers. Reflectors, using multiple fixed reflectors to guide light, must have poor portability and mobility. If a relatively fixed light guide arm is used, not only does it require high machining accuracy, but also its flexibility is not ideal. When the laser and the object to be processed cannot be approached, the existing fiber amplifier has poor applicability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aiming at the above-mentioned shortcomings of the existing optical fiber amplifiers, the present invention provides a cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifying module, which solves the problem of using optical fibers as the output mode in the existing optical fiber amplifiers. , the optical path will be extended to a certain extent, which increases the length of the optical path of the optical fiber, reduces the ability of the optical path to withstand nonlinearity, and is difficult to apply in the field of ultrafast lasers. When a reflector is used to guide light, the portability and mobility are poor. For example, using a relatively fixed light guide arm not only requires high machining accuracy, but also has poor flexibility. When the laser and the object to be processed cannot be approached, The technical problem of poor applicability of existing fiber amplifiers.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

A cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module, comprising:

a passive optical fiber hose, the inside of the passive optical fiber hose is provided with a first three-ring type light guide hose, and the inside of the first three-ring type light guide hose is provided with a passive optical fiber;

a gain optical fiber hose, the inside of the gain optical fiber hose is provided with a second three-ring type light guide hose, and the inside of the second three-ring type light guide hose is provided with a gain optical fiber;

The metal porous straight pipe has several holes in the inside of the metal porous straight pipe, and the metal porous straight pipe includes an optical fiber fusion point, and the optical fiber fusion point is formed by fusion of the passive optical fiber and the gain optical fiber.

Further, the inside of the metal porous straight pipe is also provided with a water inlet pipe connection piece and a water outlet pipe connection piece.

Further, a first water inlet pipe and a first water outlet pipe are also arranged inside the first three-ring light guide hose, and a second water inlet pipe and a second water inlet pipe are also arranged inside the second three-ring light guide hose. A water outlet pipe, the first water inlet pipe and the second water inlet pipe are fixedly connected by a water inlet pipe connection piece, and the first water outlet pipe and the second water outlet pipe are connected by a water outlet pipe connection piece.

Further, the gain fiber is covered with thermally conductive silicone grease, and the fusion splicing point of the optical fiber is also covered with thermally conductive silicone grease.

Further, the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module further includes a monitoring optical cable and a monitoring cable, and a part of the monitoring optical cable and the monitoring cable are arranged on the inner wall of the passive optical fiber hose and the first three rings. between the outer walls of the optical fiber tube, and the whole piece passes through the hole opened in the porous metal straight tube, and the other part is arranged between the inner wall of the gain fiber tube and the outer wall of the second three-ring type light guiding tube.

Further, the monitoring optical cable and the monitoring cable are connected with the internal control system of the laser.

Further, the pipe wall of the passive optical fiber hose is composed of a first threaded steel pipe and a first plastic outer cladding arranged on the outside of the first threaded steel pipe, and the pipe wall of the gain fiber hose is composed of a second threaded steel pipe and a first plastic outer cladding. It is composed of a second plastic outer cladding on the outside of the second threaded steel pipe.

Further, the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module further includes a pump combiner for integrating the light beams.

Further, the light beam adopts pump light and signal light.

Further, the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module further includes a collimator and a compressor, and the collimator and the compressor are arranged at the end of the gain fiber hose.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

1. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided by the present invention makes the optical power amplifier change from a fixed cube module to a cable-shaped bendable module, which not only facilitates the use of the laser, but also can directly output the laser to the processing area. , the passive optical fiber cable-shaped part of the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided by the present invention can be extended. When the laser and the object to be processed cannot be approached, the passive optical fiber cable-shaped part can be extended, so that the laser output position is close to the processing area. .

2. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided by the present invention has a cable-shaped structure, so the collimator and the compressor can be moved in real time, with strong portability and mobility, high flexibility, and strong applicability. When the processing object is inconvenient to move, the laser output position is easy to move, which can be used in the field of ultrafast laser.

3. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided by the present invention adopts a bendable water-cooled cable tube, which has heat dissipation characteristics and can ensure long-term stable operation of the laser amplifier. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module has both optical power amplifiers. It also has the function of flexible conduction of light energy, and has strong applicability.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the passive optical fiber hose in the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module provided in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of a fusion splicer in the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the gain fiber hose in the cable-shaped bendable high-power fiber amplifier module provided in FIG. 1;

1-Passive optical fiber hose, 11-First water inlet pipe, 12-First water outlet pipe, 13-First three-ring light guide hose, 14-Passive optical fiber, 15-First threaded steel pipe, 16-No. 1-plastic outer layer, 2-metal porous straight pipe, 21-water inlet pipe connector, 22-water outlet pipe connector, 23-fiber fusion point, 24-thermal grease, 3-gain fiber hose, 31-second inlet Water pipe, 32-second water outlet pipe, 33-second three-ring light guide hose, 34-gain fiber, 35-second threaded steel pipe, 36-second plastic outer layer, 4-monitoring optical cable, 5-monitoring cable , 6-pump light, 7-signal light, 8-pump combiner, 9-collimator, 10-compressor.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described through exemplary embodiments. It should be understood, however, that elements, structures and features of one embodiment may be beneficially combined in other embodiments without further recitation.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "bottom", "inside", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and is only for the purpose of It is convenient to describe the present invention and to simplify the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operate in a particular orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection. Ground connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific situations.

In order to introduce the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided by the embodiments of the present invention in a clearer and detailed manner, the following will be described with reference to specific embodiments.

Example 1

As shown in Figures 1-4, this embodiment provides a cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module, including:

A passive optical fiber hose 1, the passive optical fiber hose 1 is provided with a first three-ring type light guide hose 13 inside, and the first three-ring type light guide hose 13 is provided with a passive optical fiber 14 inside;

The gain fiber hose 3 is provided with a second three-ring light guide hose 33 inside, and the second three-ring light guide hose 33 is provided with a gain fiber 34 inside;

The metal porous straight pipe 2 has several holes in the inside of the metal porous straight pipe 2. The metal porous straight pipe 2 includes an optical fiber fusion point 23, and the optical fiber fusion point 23 is composed of the passive optical fiber 14 and the gain fiber. 34 is formed by welding. Since the welding point cannot be bent, a metal porous straight pipe is used in this embodiment to store the welding point of the passive optical fiber and the gain fiber, and the holes provided on the metal porous straight pipe can conduct the inlet and outlet pipes and Monitoring optical cables and monitoring cables, and the length of the metal porous straight tube is short, so it will not affect the bending performance of the entire optical fiber amplification module.

In this embodiment, the metal porous straight pipe 2 is also provided with a water inlet pipe connector 21 and a water outlet pipe connector 22, and the first three-ring light guide hose 13 is also provided with a first water inlet pipe 11 and a first water outlet pipe. A water outlet pipe 12, the second three-ring light guide hose 33 is also provided with a second water inlet pipe 31 and a second water outlet pipe 32, and the first water inlet pipe 11 and the second water inlet pipe 31 pass through the inlet and outlet pipes 31. The water pipe connector 21 is fixedly connected, and the first water outlet pipe 12 and the second water outlet pipe 32 are connected through the water outlet pipe connector 22. In this embodiment, the water inlet pipe connector 21 and the water outlet pipe connector 22 can be the same Connectors commonly used in the field for water pipe connection, such as quick-connect plugs, etc., the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module provided in this embodiment is provided with water inlet and outlet pipes, and the water inlet and outlet pipes are respectively connected to the water cooler. The heat of the fiber amplifier module is taken away, and the whole amplifier module is used for constant temperature treatment.

In this embodiment, the gain fiber 34 is covered with thermally conductive silicone grease 24, and a second three-ring light guide hose 33 is also arranged around the gain fiber 34. The second three-ring light guide hose 33 is also It has the function of heat dissipation, which is used to perform constant temperature treatment on the optical fiber amplification module, and the second three-ring light guide hose 33 also plays a role in the continuation of the gain optical fiber amplifying signal. After the grease 24 and the second three-ring light guide hose 33 are conducted, the heat is taken away by the water flow through the second water inlet pipe 31 and the second water outlet pipe 32 .

In addition, the optical fiber fusion splicing point 23 in this embodiment is also covered with thermally conductive silicone grease 24, and the thermal conductive silicone grease 24 is provided here to directly conduct the heat emitted by the optical fiber fusion splicing point 23 of the passive optical fiber 14 and the gain optical fiber 34 to the On the metal porous straight pipe, the heat is taken away by the water flow at the connection of the inlet and outlet pipes.

In this embodiment, the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module further includes a monitoring optical cable 4 and a monitoring cable 5 , and a part of the monitoring optical cable 4 and the monitoring cable 5 are arranged on the inner wall of the passive optical fiber hose 1 and Between the outer walls of the first three-ring light guide tube 13, and the whole piece passes through the hole opened inside the porous metal straight tube 2, and the other part is arranged on the inner wall of the gain fiber tube 3 and the second three-ring light guide tube. Between the outer walls of the optical hose 33, the monitoring optical cable 4 and the monitoring cable 5 are connected to the internal control system of the laser. The monitoring data is fed back, so that the laser can grasp the working data of this cable-shaped flexible high-power amplifier module in real time, and transmit the photoelectric signal used for output back to the control system inside the laser, which plays a feedback role.

In this embodiment, the wall of the passive optical fiber hose 1 is composed of a first threaded steel pipe 15 and a first plastic outer cladding 16 disposed outside the first threaded steel pipe 15 , and the pipe wall of the gain fiber hose 3 is composed of The second threaded steel pipe 35 and the second plastic outer layer 36 arranged on the outside of the second threaded steel pipe 35 are composed. The threaded steel pipe and the plastic outer casing provided in this embodiment are used to strengthen the structure, and can be bent, and the length can be increased or decreased to adapt to The distance from the laser to the processing area.

The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifying module also includes a pump combiner 8 for integrating the light beams, the beams use pump light 6 and signal light 7, and the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifies. The module also includes a collimator 9 and a compressor 10 that set the end of the gain fiber hose 3 .

This embodiment provides a cable-shaped bendable high-power amplifying module. The pump light 6 and the signal light 7 respectively enter the pump combiner 8 from different optical fibers, and are then coupled into the passive optical fibers of the passive optical fiber hose 1 14, then enter the gain fiber 34 in the gain fiber hose 3 through the optical fiber fusion point 23 in the metal porous straight tube 2 to amplify the optical signal power, and finally become an ultra-short pulse through the compressor after collimating by the collimator. After directly acting on the processing area, both the passive optical fiber hose 1 and the gain optical fiber hose 3 are flexible and bendable, and since the optical signal power amplification is performed at the gain optical fiber hose 3, it is not performed at the passive optical fiber hose 1. Therefore, part 1 of the passive optical fiber hose can be infinitely extended according to actual needs. The laser amplified by the cable-shaped bendable high-power amplifying module provided in this implementation can directly reach the processing area without passing through a mirror, reducing reflections. The power loss of the mirror is reduced, and the amplifying module has a simple structure, which is especially suitable for the situation where the processing object is inconvenient to move.

Claims (10)

1. A cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module is characterized in that: comprising: A passive optical fiber hose (1), a first three-ring type light guide hose (13) is provided inside the passive optical fiber hose (1), and the inside of the first three-ring type light guide hose (13) A passive optical fiber (14) is provided; The gain fiber hose (3) is provided with a second three-ring light guide hose (33) inside the gain fiber hose (3), and the second three-ring light guide hose (33) is internally provided with gain fiber (34); A metal porous straight pipe (2), a plurality of holes are opened inside the metal porous straight pipe (2), and the metal porous straight pipe (2) includes an optical fiber fusion point (23), and the optical fiber fusion point (23) is formed by the The passive optical fiber (14) and the gain optical fiber (34) are formed by fusion splicing. 2. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 1, wherein the metal porous straight pipe (2) is further provided with a water inlet pipe connector (21) and a water outlet pipe connector (22) . 3. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 2, wherein the first three-ring light guide hose (13) is further provided with a first water inlet pipe (11) and a first water inlet pipe (11). A water outlet pipe (12), a second water inlet pipe (31) and a second water outlet pipe (32) are also arranged inside the second three-ring light guide hose (33), and the first water inlet pipe (11) and the The second water inlet pipe (31) is fixedly connected by a water inlet pipe connecting piece (21), and the first water outlet pipe (12) and the second water outlet pipe (32) are connected by a water outlet pipe connecting piece (22). 4. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 1, characterized in that: the gain optical fiber (34) is coated with thermally conductive silicone grease (24), and the optical fiber fusion point (23) is also Coated with thermally conductive silicone grease (24). 5. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 1, wherein the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module further comprises a monitoring optical cable (4) and a monitoring cable (5), the monitoring The optical cable (4) and a part of the monitoring cable (5) are arranged between the inner wall of the passive optical fiber hose (1) and the outer wall of the first three-ring type light guide hose (13), and the entire length is passed through. The other part is arranged between the inner wall of the gain fiber hose (3) and the outer wall of the second three-ring light guide hose (33). 6 . The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 5 , wherein the monitoring optical cable ( 4 ) and the monitoring cable ( 5 ) are connected to the laser internal control system. 7 . 7. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module according to claim 1, characterized in that: the pipe wall of the passive optical fiber hose (1) is composed of a first threaded steel pipe (15) and a first threaded steel pipe (15). (15) The outer first plastic outer cladding (16) is formed, and the pipe wall of the gain fiber hose (3) is composed of a second threaded steel pipe (35) and a second plastic outer layer provided on the outside of the second threaded steel pipe (35). The outer cladding (36) is composed. 8 . The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 1 , wherein the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module further comprises a pump combiner 8 for integrating light beams. 9 . 9 . The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplification module according to claim 8 , wherein the light beam adopts pump light ( 6 ) and signal light ( 7 ). 10 . 10. The cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module according to claim 1, wherein the cable-shaped bendable high-power optical fiber amplifier module further comprises a collimator (9) and a compressor (10), and the A collimator (9) and a compressor (10) set the end of the gain fiber hose (3).

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