Specifically, a 100W CO2 laser. Are there any considerations other than the maximum power for a fiber?
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1$\begingroup$ What happened when you Google-searched for "CO2 laser fiber optic delivery system" ? $\endgroup$ – Carl Witthoft Feb 23 '18 at 16:40
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$\begingroup$ @CarlWitthoft, the search got flooded with fiber lasers. $\endgroup$ – Dmitry Fedorkov Feb 24 '18 at 21:54
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CO2 lasers cannot be coupled into standard silica-based fibres, because these fibres absorb light longer than 2.1um. You could use hollow silica fibres, but they are quite recently developed, so might be expensive. Otherwise I‘d just go with the standard approach of free propagation over mirrors OR use a solid state laser which can be coupled into standard fibres easily
Addition: For any laser, whether CO2 or solid state, the laser needs a minimum beam quality (minimum meaning the $M^2$ should be sufficiently small) so that you can guide it with a given fibre. The numerical aperture NA and the core diameter $d_k$ of the fibre are the important values, giving you the following condition for the maximum beam parameter product your laser beam is allowed to have if it should be coupled into a given fibre.
$NA \cdot \frac{d_k}{2} \geq \frac{d_f \cdot \Theta}{4}$
answered Feb 23 '18 at 14:49
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$\begingroup$ You mean longer than 2.1um? CO2 emits 1um. $\endgroup$ – Dmitry Fedorkov Feb 23 '18 at 14:53
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1$\begingroup$ but you are right, "longer" than 2.1um would be a better way to say it, I'll edit it $\endgroup$ – OpticalResonator Feb 23 '18 at 14:59
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2$\begingroup$ example: lasercomponents.com/de-en/product/fibers-for-co2-and-eryag , or lumenis.com/Solutions/Surgical/CO2-Products/CO2-Laser-Fibers $\endgroup$ – Carl Witthoft Feb 23 '18 at 16:42
