Photodarkening kinetics as a function of Yb concentration and the role of Al codoping

We investigated the photodarkening (PD) kinetics of two fiber series with variation of the Yb content for constant Al concentration or constant ratio of Al/Yb, respectively. The results show the outstanding importance of the absolute value of Al concentration also in the case of fibers with strongly reduced Yb content. An Al/Yb ratio of 5 to 6 is not sufficient to mitigate PD loss. Moreover, a model to describe PD loss and rate constant as functions of Yb concentration and excitation is suggested that links measurements of PD in single fibers of the same type (variation of Yb inversion) and in fiber series (constant Yb inversion). (C) 2012 Optical Society of America