Mechanical reliability of silica optical fiber: a case study for a biomedical application

Yunn-Shin Shiue; M. John Matthewson

doi:10.1117/12.372762

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29 December 1999 Mechanical reliability of silica optical fiber: a case study for a biomedical application

Yunn-Shin Shiue, M. John Matthewson

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Proceedings Volume 3848, Optical Fiber Reliability and Testing; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.372762
Event: Photonics East '99, 1999, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

The mechanical reliability of optical fiber used in certain biomedical applications is extremely important because failure of the fiber during use might be fatal for the patient. Therefore, prediction of the lifetime of the fiber both in storage and during service is necessary before the fiber can be safely used. In this paper we study two commercially available optical fibers designed specifically for high power laser delivery. The fatigue parameters calculated from static fatigue data are used to estimate the maximum allowed stress that ensures survival for the deign life of the fiber. This work properly accounts for uncertainty in the predictions; uncertainty which arises not only from scatter in the experimental data, but also from uncertainty in the form of kinetics model to use for extrapolation (i.e. power law, exponential, etc.). This paper thus provides an outline for making lifetime predictions for a critical applications involving relatively short lengths of fiber, that does not bind in any questionable assumptions.

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Yunn-Shin Shiue and M. John Matthewson "Mechanical reliability of silica optical fiber: a case study for a biomedical application", Proc. SPIE 3848, Optical Fiber Reliability and Testing, (29 December 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.372762

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