A multi-clad optical fiber design is described in order to provide low optical loss, a high numerical aperture (NA), and high optical gain for the fundamental propagating mode, the linearly polarized (LP) 01 mode in the UV and visible portion of the optical spectrum. The optical fiber design may contain dopants in order to simultaneously increase the optical gain in the core region while avoiding additional losses during the fiber fabrication process. The optical fiber design may incorporate rare-earth dopants for efficient lasing. Additionally, the modal characteristics of the propagating modes in the optical core promote highly efficient nonlinear mixing, providing for a high beam quality (M.sup.2<1.5) output of the emitted light.

The present disclosure relates more to mode mixing optical fibers useful, for example in providing optical fiber laser outputs having a desired beam product parameter and beam profile. In one aspect, the disclosure provides a mode mixing optical fiber for delivering optical radiation having a wavelength, the mode mixing optical fiber having an input end, an output end, a centerline and a refractive index profile, the mode mixing optical fiber comprising: an innermost core, the innermost core having a refractive index profile; and a cladding disposed about the innermost core, wherein the mode mixing optical fiber has at least five modes at the wavelength, and wherein the mode mixing optical fiber is configured to distribute a fraction of the light input at its input end from its lower-order modes to its higher-order modes.

In various embodiments, the beam parameter product and/or beam shape of a laser beam is adjusted by directing the laser beam across a path along the input end of a cellular-core optical fiber. The beam emitted at the output end of the cellular-core optical fiber may be utilized to process a workpiece.

A high bandwidth radiation-resistant multimode optical fiber includes a core and a cladding layer surrounding the core. The core is a fluorine-doped quartz glass layer with a graded refractive index distribution and a distribution power exponent of 1.7-2.2. The core has R1 of 15-35 m and 1%min of 0.8% to 1.2%. The cladding layer has an inner cladding layer having R2 of 15-38 m and 2% of 0.8% to 1.2% and/or a depressed inner cladding layer having R3 of 15-55 m and 3 of 1.0% to 1.4%, an intermediate cladding layer having R4 of 15.5-58 m and 4 of 0.7% to 0.2% a depressed cladding layer hasving R5 of 16-60 m and 5 of 0.8% to 1.2%, and an outer cladding layer sequentially formed from inside to outside. The outer cladding layer is a pure silica glass layer.

A small core-diameter graded-index optical fiber include a core layer and a cladding having an inner cladding layer, a depressed cladding layer, and an outer cladding layer from inside to outside thereof. The core layer has a parabolic refractive index profile with a distribution index in a range of 1.9-2.1, a radius in a range of 10-21 m, and a 1 max in a range of 0.7-1.7% at a core layer center, and is a silica glass layer co-doped with germanium, phosphorus, and fluoride. The inner cladding layer is a pure silica layer or an F-doped silica glass layer, and has a unilateral width in a range of 0.5-5 m and a 2 in a range of 0.4-0%. The depressed cladding layer has a unilateral width in a range of 2-10 m and a 3 in a range from 0.8% to 0.2%. The outer cladding layer is a pure silica glass layer.

The present disclosure relates more to mode mixing optical fibers useful, for example in providing optical fiber laser outputs having a desired beam product parameter and beam profile. In one aspect, the disclosure provides a mode mixing optical fiber for delivering optical radiation having a wavelength, the mode mixing optical fiber having an input end, an output end, a centerline and a refractive index profile, the mode mixing optical fiber comprising: an innermost core, the innermost core having a refractive index profile; and a cladding disposed about the innermost core, wherein the mode mixing optical fiber has at least five modes at the wavelength, and wherein the mode mixing optical fiber is configured to distribute a fraction of the light input at its input end from its lower-order modes to its higher-order modes.

An anti-resonant hollow core optical fiber having multiple resonant layers. The optical fiber comprises a low-refractive index core region (1) and a high-refractive index cladding region. The high-refractive index cladding region comprises an inner cladding region (4) and an outer cladding region (5). The outer cladding region (5) clads the inner cladding region (4) and the core region (1). The inner cladding region (4) comprises a first anti-resonant layer (2) and a second anti-resonant layer (3), and the first anti-resonant layer (2) and the second anti-resonant layer (3) surround the core region (1); and the first anti-resonant layer (2) comprises several layers of microcapillary tubes, and the second anti-resonant layer (3) supports the first anti-resonant layer (2). The optical fiber adopts a double-cladding structure and uses two or more anti-resonant layers such that theoretically simulated loss is reduced to 0.1 dB/km, and has the features of ultralow transmission loss, wide spectral bandwidth, low bending loss, low transmission loss, high damage threshold and single-mode transmission.

An optical fiber device may include a unitary core including a primary section and a secondary section, wherein at least a portion of the secondary section is offset from a center of the unitary core, wherein the unitary core twists about an optical axis of the optical fiber device along a length of the optical fiber device, and wherein a refractive index of the primary section is greater than a refractive index of the secondary section; and a cladding surrounding the unitary core.

In various embodiments, optical fibers have arrangements of core, annular core, and cladding regions enabling variation of beam shape and/or beam parameter product and may be utilized for the processing (e.g., welding, cutting, drilling, etc.) of various workpieces.

A multi-clad optical fiber design is described in order to provide low optical loss, a high numerical aperture (NA), and high optical gain for the fundamental propagating mode, the linearly polarized (LP) 01 mode in the UV and visible portion of the optical spectrum. The optical fiber design may contain dopants in order to simultaneously increase the optical gain in the core region while avoiding additional losses during the fiber fabrication process. The optical fiber design may incorporate rare-earth dopants for efficient lasing. Additionally, the modal characteristics of the propagating modes in the optical core promote highly efficient nonlinear mixing, providing for a high beam quality (M.sup.2<1.5) output of the emitted light.