Dual Clad HPCF for Laser Power Delivery

Optical fibers with a glass core, glass clad and a secondary hard polymer clad, known as Dual Clad fibers, have been successfully used for years for laser power delivery in minimally invasive medical treatments, such as laser lithotripsy. The dual clad is capable of delivering increased laser power compared to regular single clad hard polymer clad silica optical fiber (HPCF) that has a glass core and polymer cladding. This is because the glass is much more heat resistant than the polymer that forms the cladding in the single clad HPCF. The dual clad has a secondary polymer clad that confines some of the cladding mode light in the fiber, which otherwise might escape under bend conditions.