Recent progress in chalcogenide fiber technology at NRL

The chalcogen glasses (i.e., glasses based on the elements S, Se, and Te) are transparent in the infrared (IR), possess low phonon energies, are chemically durable, and can be drawn into fiber. We review our recent research progress at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to develop chalcogenide glass fibers for applications in the mid- and long-wave IR wavelength regions from 2 to 12μm. Our recent effort in the development of low loss chalcogenide fibers, by describing the synthesis and purification methods, fiber drawing techniques, and highlighting the best results, is summarized. Various applications of these high quality chalcogenide fibers, including multimode beam combiners, mid-infrared supercontinuum sources, fiber Bragg gratings, fiber bundles for IR imaging, anti-reflecting surface structures, and modal filters, are described. Novel infrared (IR) lenses that enable a reduction in the size and weight of IR imaging optics through the use of layered glass structures with broad IR transmission are also presented.