Dominic Brady, N. Fagan, D. Harwood, M. Hesford, Daniel Hewak, T. Hudson, R. Moore, David Payne, Thorsten Schweizer, Elizabeth Taylor, J. Tucknott, C. Voyce, E. Weatherby, Yvonne West
We are currently investigating two infrared glasses for active applications. Gallium lanthanum sulphide (GLS) glass is investigated as a potential host material for rare-earth doped mid-infrared fiber lasers. We have fabricated gallium lanthanum sulphide glass by melt quenching and drawn it into fibers using the rod-in-tube technique. Fluoroaluminate glasses (ALF) are being prepared in planar form by spin coating and clad waveguides have been achieved. The quality of waveguides from both these materials is gradually being improved as methods to eliminate transition metals and other impurities, understand crystallization and reduce the imperfections at the core/clad interface are developed. Although initially motivated by the demand for a practical 1310 nm amplifier, interest has now extended further into the infrared. We describe recent progress in these glasses, their properties and applications.
At Southampton, our work has focused on gallium lanthanum glass and fiber, for both active and passive applications. As part of our ongoing program, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of these glasses are under study. In parallel with this, fiber drawing is being refined in a quest for practical fibers. Over the past year, improvements have been made in understanding and eliminating the sources of loss in these glasses. In this paper, we describe the current specifications of fibers based on this material group. Recent progress in several applications, in particular those extending into the IR will be reported and the prospects for a future generation of sulphide-fiber based devices examined.
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