P

The power density describes how much energy is being delivered into the fiber in terms of the area the light propagates; if the mode is focused over a small core region then the power density will be high. This means that high NA fibers with small cores tend to have lower damage threshold than other fibers, because the power density is high. The average power density in a fiber can be estimated by dividing the transmitted power by the effective area.

Related Terms: Energy, Power, Power Density