Chalcogenide glass 1D photonic bandgap hollow fiber

Abstract

We propose a chalcogenide glass 1-D photonic bandgap (PBG) hollow fiber for the transmission of mid-IR radiation. Its structure consists of an air-core surrounded by alternating rings of high and low refractive index chalcogenide glass supported by a thick polymer coating. Theoretical calculations demonstrate the potential to achieve low transmission losses at 10.6 μm for the HE₁₁ mode. These calculations indicate that the chalcogenide glasses used in the PBG structure should have high index contrast and low extinction coefficients to minimize transmission losses. We present preliminary results of our ongoing efforts to identify a pair of chalcogenide glasses that meet this criterion. A strategy is developed for the fabrication of a drawable chalcogenide glass 1-D PBG hollow fiber preform.