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OFS Fiber and the World's Largest Laser

The football stadium-sized National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is one of the most complex experimental facilities in scientific history, and the largest laser ever constructed. Scientists interested in the behavior of materials at high temperatures and pressures will be able to explore new states of matter and generate accurate data at temperatures and pressures that are comparable to what's inside the Sun.

Optical fiber from OFS Specialty Photonics is integral to the precise diagnosis and control of 192 laser beams that deliver 1.8 million joules of ultraviolet laser energy and 500 terawatts of power to compress and heat small capsules of fusion fuel to create thermonuclear ignition. This awesome power begins, however, with an initial 1 billionth of a joule pulse which is amplified 10,000 times, then split into 48 separate laser pulses. Each of these pulses is further amplified 20 billion times, then split 4 ways to create 192 pulses which are each amplified another 15,000 times. World's Largest Laser >>

HCXtreme^™Optical Fibers for Improved
High-Power Performance in Tight Bends

HCXtreme fibers have been optimized to enhance the performance characteristics of the fibers in laser power delivery under tight bend. These four new multimode step-index fibers are designed for use with higher power lasers in medical applications such as Lithotripsy, BPH treatment, and laser-based cosmetic procedures.

"Advances in laser technology and the increasing flexibility of the scopes used to introduce many of these fibers make it critical that fibers can handle higher energy at extreme bends," said Mick Speciale, OFS Medical Market Manager.

Available in core diameters of 272 µm, 365 µm, 550 µm, and 940 µm, HCXtreme fibers are coated with a fluoroacrylate coating that is similar to the coating used in the HCS^® optical fiber product line. This coating has a lower refractive index than that of silica, so it also acts a second cladding that will guide light in the silica cladding of the fiber. The active performance of these fibers depends on the launch condition and the type of laser used.

Recent studies by OFS Specialty Photonics demonstrate that fibers with a low bend loss and optimized low-index coating are better suited for handling higher energy at extreme bends. "The combination of a low bend loss design and optimized coating that has an increased laser-induced damage threshold has been shown to increase the reliability of fiber under power and tight bends," added Speciale.

Enhanced Customer Support

OFS Specialty Photonics is constantly changing to offer the best customer service and support. Here are some recent examples.

Medical Sales Team
A new medical sales team is now in place, providing highly focused support to the growing medical device industry. The team members include: Mick Speciale (Medical Market Manager), Jonathan Loft (Medical Account Manager), Paul Toller (Technical Sales Engineer - Medical) and Kathy DeVaux (Customer Service Representative - Medical). This team has over 60 combined years of fiber optic experience, including a majority of that time working with medical customers. According to John Earnhardt, Senior Sales Manager, "OFS recognizes the opportunities for expanded use of fiber optics in medical devices. We have established an outstanding customer support team to address the specific needs of medical customers. In addition, we have a strong product portfolio and technical capabilities to meet a wide range of fiber optic applications in medical laser delivery, imaging, sensing, and datacom."
Better Customer Service >>

Tradeshow Update


MD&M East
OFS, Specialty Photonics Division, followed its parent company’s lead, exhibiting for the first time at MD&M East at the Javits Center in New York City (June 12-14, 2007). Furukawa showed its Nickle Titanium alloys used for catheter guidewires in various medical procedures. OFS, Specialty Photonics Division, showcased its breadth of integrated capabilities for producing medical-grade optical fibers, factory-extruded tubing, sterile packaged probes, and more. OFS’s exhibition comes quickly on the heels of its latest announcement to the medical industry on specialty fibers designed and manufactured to withstand high powers in tight bends. John Earnhardt, OFS’s Senior Sales Manager, manned the show and said, “Companies seemed very surprised and receptive to our wide range of capabilities. We’ve been in the medical business for over 20 years, but there are still companies out there who don’t know the full range of possibilities we offer from preform design to assembly and packaging in our environmentally controlled rooms. We’ll keep getting out there, welcoming new medical design companies to OFS and expanding our business with current customers. There are just so many new ways to use fiber optics in medicine; we’re excited to be in this business.”

Laser 2007 Show Report
The Laser 2007 exhibition in Munich was an opportunity for all of us in the Specialty Photonics Division—Somerset, Avon and Denmark—to get together with representatives from our parent company, Furukawa Electric to show our wares. We have quite a breadth of products and capabilities among us. There was considerable interest in OFS products from large OEMs but also from new fiber laser companies. Fiber lasers, as was pointed out during sessions, are clearly the fastest growing part of the laser market, outpacing semi-conductor lasers in growth and accounting for an overall growth in the laser industry. OFS introduced at the show our fiber laser components based on our new HOM-ULMA™ and HOM-FemtoComp Module™ technology.