TeX Glass Fibers Research Articles

TeX-glass infrared optical fibers delivering medium power from a CO 2 laser

Infrared glasses based on tellurium halides (TeX-glasses) present a wide transmission window ranging from 1 μm to more than 18 μm, depending on the compositions, for few millimeters thick samples. They present very good chemical durability against water or usual atmospheric conditions. These glasses can be drawn into optical fibers transmitting CO 2 laser radiations. The fibers can be monoindex ones or present a core-clad structure. A polymer that increases their flexibility can coat them. The minimum attenuation obtained for these infrared fibers is 0.5 dB/m in the 7–9.5 μm range. Radiation from a tunable CO 2 laser, operating around 9.3 μm and delivering a maximum output power of 7 W, has been injected in a 1 m long, 600 μm outer diameter, TeX-Glass fiber. The obtained output power of the fiber is 2.6 W.

Tellurium halide optical fibers

New infrared fibers, the TeX glass fibers, operating from 3 to 13 μm, have been developed. Tellurium halide based glasses have been optimized to produce low loss optical core-clad fibers in the 7–9.5 μm domain, and two drawing techniques are described. IR spectroscopy of organic species have been performed with core-clad fibers.

Tellurium halide glass fibers: preparation and applications

Tellurium halide (TeX) glasses were prepared from high-purity raw materials which were purified in a silica set-up in order to eliminate the surface oxides. All the starting elements were then distilled. The rod in tube method was used to obtain TeX glass fibers having a core-cladding structure. The fiber attenuation was measured by using a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The fiber losses, regularly obtained, were < 1 dB/m in the 5–9 μm range for mono-index fibers and about 1 dB/m for core-clad fibers. CO2 laser power delivery has been performed using a TeX glass fiber. More than 2.6 W has been obtained through a 1 m long fiber. These fibers have a wide optical window and were used in remote spectroscopy to analyze chemical species which absorb between 3 and 13 μm. Different fermentation processes were monitored by this method which allows a quantitative and qualitative analysis after calibration of the system. Potential applications are discussed.