For starters, a Faraday isolator is considered to be a kind of optical isolator, which is a device that transmits light in a certain direction while blocking the light in the opposite direction at the same time. Faraday isolators are mostly based on Faraday rotators, and are known to be the most important kind of optical isolators.

Faraday rotators and isolators are both used in electronics, telecommunications, and various other industries. However, there are some companies that tend to offer high-power Faraday rotators and isolators. Well, the terms “high” and “power” do have significance as you might be wondering already. So, if you want to get rid of this curiosity about a high-power Faraday rotator and isolator, and get some answers then you are at the right place.

faraday rotator

Although by definition, high power Faraday rotators and isolators seem quite similar to the regular ones, it is not really the case. There are certain high optical power levels that are needed to be fulfilled by a rotator or isolator, which are done by these kinds of rotators and isolators. The following are some of the effects that have to be considered for such a high power operation.

  • For high peak powers, you can expect optical damage to occur. However, you can prevent this by having a sufficiently large input aperture.
  • High power devices such as high power Faraday rotators and isolators tend to consist of exit ports for the rejected light instead of internal absorbers so as to avoid the associated heating inside the device.
  • Moreover, high peak powers can also lead to self-focusing at times. This is because the power limit doesn’t only depend on the input beam radius but also depends heavily on the length of the device.

When are high power Faraday rotators and isolators used?

As mentioned earlier, there is a certain level of risk of damage and disruption in the operation of the laser system at high power. However, there is a way to reduce this possibility, and that is by inserting a high power Faraday isolator. Since these are known to be based on Faraday Effect (hence the name) and are passive, nonreciprocal, and unidirectional devices that support the magneto-optic rotation phenomenon, they have the ability to isolate the source effectively as well as protect the laser oscillator from reflections in an optical system. All in all, these devices tend to work as optical diodes, which allow the propagation of light in just a single direction.

Now there are various applications of Faraday rotators and isolators in laser technology but let’s just take a look at one of the important ones. Several types of interferometers and other devices in fiber-optic form or in bulk tend to use Faraday isolators and rotators for separating reflected light from the forward-propagating beam.

So, now that you know enough about high power Faraday rotators and isolators, you can make a well-informed decision regarding them.