Femtosecond laser-induced damage on the end face of an As2S3 chalcogenide glass fiber

Abstract

In this study, we investigated femtosecond laser-induced damage on the end face of an As2S3 chalcogenide (ChG) glass fiber by repeatedly inducing 1 kHz ultrashort pulses with 150 fs duration at 800 nm wavelength in comparison with the bulk As2S3 glass. The damage size, geometries, and morphology changes under different laser powers were measured and analyzed with optical, and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). The laser-induced damage threshold on the end face of three As2S3 fibers calculated using the linear regression method was 32.15 mJ/cm2, whereas that of As2S3 bulk glass was approximately 24.32 mJ/cm2. The femtosecond laser-induced damage on the As2S3 bulk glass at 800 nm wavelength was also compared with that in the mid-infrared (MIR) region, which indicates a decrease in the damage threshold and an aggravation in the morphologies of damage craters under an irradiation of 800 nm femtosecond pulsed laser. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the interaction of femtosecond laser with the end face of ChG glass fiber. This work provides scientific guidance for the fabrication of novel photonic devices based on ChG glass fibers.