Quantitative Evaluation of Fiber Fuse Initiation Probability in Typical Single-mode Fibers

At least 5.5 W of light (1480 nm) was needed to initiate a fiber fuse in an SMF-28e+ fiber in a static condition where the fiber end is placed on a highly Co-doped borosilicate glass surface for five seconds. The minimum initiation power, P_init, decreased with the mode field diameter for three fibers including two dispersion-shifted samples. However, P_init did not decrease when the local temperature at the fiber end was increased to 550 degC. This suggests that initiation requires a steep temperature gradient around the fiber core rather than the external application of heat.