Low-loss mid-IR microstructured optical fibers

Chalcogenide glasses are known for their large transparency in the mid-infrared and their high refractive index (>2). They present also a high non-linear coefficient (n₂), 100 to 1000 times larger than for silica, depending on the composition. An original way to obtain single-mode fibers is to design microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). These fibers present unique optical properties thanks to the high degree of freedom in the design of their geometrical structure. A classical method to realize MOFs is the stack-and-draw technique. However, with chalcogenide glasses, that technique induces optical losses at the interfaces in the stack of capillaries. In consequence, we have developed a new casting method to fabricate the chalcogenide preform. This method permits to obtain optical losses less than 1 dB/m at 1.55 μm and 0.1 dB/m in the mid-IR region. Various chalcogenide microstructured fibers working in the IR range were prepared in order to take advantage of the non-linear properties of these glasses and of the original MOF properties. For example, fibers with small effective mode area (A_eff <; 10 μm²) have been realized to exacerbate the non-linear optical properties. Such fibers will find applications for signal regeneration in telecom, and for the generation of supercontinuum sources. On the contrary, for military applications in the 3-5 and 8-12 μm windows, large effective mode area and single mode fibers have been designed to permit the propagation of high-power Gaussian laser beams.