Observation of polymer optical fiber fuse

Although high-transmission-capacity optical fibers are in demand, the problem of the fiber fuse phenomenon needs to be resolved to prevent the destruction of fibers. As polymer optical fibers become more prevalent, clarifying their fuse properties has become important. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a fuse propagation velocity of 21.9 mm/s, which is 1–2 orders of magnitude slower than that in standard silica fibers. The achieved threshold power density and proportionality constant between the propagation velocity and the power density are 1/180 of and 17 times the values for silica fibers, respectively. An oscillatory continuous curve instead of periodic voids is formed after the passage of the fuse. An easy fuse termination method is also presented.