Mid infrared and far infrared transmission

Mid-infrared and far-infrared transmission

In the near-infrared region of the optical spectrum, fundamental silica fiber attenuation is dominated by Rayleigh scattering and multiphonon absorption from the infrared absorption edge (see Figure 2.2). Therefore, the total loss decreases as the operational transmission wavelength increases until a crossover point is reached around a wavelength of 1.55 μm where the total fiber loss again increases because at longer wavelengths the loss is dominated by the phonon absorption edge. Since the near fundamental attenuation limits for near-infrared silicate class fibers have been achieved, more recently researchers have turned their attention to the mid-infrared (2 to 5 μm) and the far-infrared (8 to 12 μm) optical wavelengths.

In order to obtain lower loss fibers it is necessary to produce glasses exhibiting longer infrared cutoff wavelengths. Potentially, much lower losses can be achieved if the transmission window of the material can be extended further into the infrared by utilizing constituent atoms of higher atomic mass and if it can be drawn into fiber exhibiting suitable strength and chemical durability. The reason for this possible loss reduction is due to Rayleigh scattering which displays a λ−4 dependence and hence becomes much reduced as the wavelength is increased. For example, the scattering loss is reduced by a factor of 16 when the optical wavelength is doubled.

Thus it may be possible to obtain losses of the order of 0.01 dB km−1 at a wavelength of 2.55 μm, with even lower losses at wavelengths of between 3 and 5 μm. Candidate glass-forming systems for mid-infrared transmission are fluoride, fluoride–chloride, chalcogenide and oxide.

In particular, oxide glasses such as Al2O3 (i.e. sapphire) offer a near equivalent transmittance range to many of the fluoride glasses and have benefits of high melting points, chemical inertness, and the ability to be readily melted and grown in air. Chalcogenide glasses, which generally comprise one or more elements Ge, Si, As and Sb, are capable of optical transmission in both the mid-infrared and far-infrared regions.

A typical chalcogenide fiber glass is therefore arsenide trisulfide (As2S3). However, research activities into far-infrared transmission using chalcogenide glasses, halide glasses, polycrystalline halide fibers (e.g. silver and thallium) and hollow glass waveguides are primarily concerned with radiometry, infrared imaging, optical wireless, optical sensing and optical power transmission rather than telecommunications

The loss spectrum for a single-crystal sapphire fiber which also transmits in the midinfrared is also shown in Figure 2.6. Although they have robust physical properties, including a Young’s modulus six times greater as well as a thermal expansion some ten times higher than that of silica, these fibers lend themselves to optical power delivery applications [Ref. 27], not specifically optical communications. Chalcogenide glasses which have their lowest losses over both the mid- and far-infrared ranges are very stable, durable and insensitive to moisture. Arsenic trisulfide fiber, being one of the simplest, has a spectral range from 0.7 to around 6 µm. Hence it has a cut off at long wavelength significantly before the chalcogenide fibers containing heavier elements such as Te, Ge and Se, an attenuation spectrum for the latter being incorporated in Figure 2.6. In general, chalcogenide glass fibers have proved to be useful in areas such as optical sensing, infrared imaging and for the production of fiber infrared lasers and amplifiers.