Open AccessEfficient coupling of a quantum cascade laser to a few-mode chalcogenide fiber
Author(s) -
Justin Cook,
Felix Tan,
Ahmed Al Halawany,
Alex Sincore,
Lawrence Shah,
Ayman F. Abouraddy,
Martin Richardson,
Kenneth L. Schepler
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.027682
Subject(s) - materials science , optics , chalcogenide , photonic crystal fiber , optoelectronics , multi mode optical fiber , optical fiber , core (optical fiber) , quantum cascade laser , plastic clad silica fiber , fiber , laser , fiber laser , single mode optical fiber , plastic optical fiber , wavelength , terahertz radiation , physics , composite material
We report efficient coupling of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) into step-index chalcogenide fibers (As 2 S 3 ). Mechanically robust and low-loss chalcogenide fibers were fabricated using a hybrid, multi-material thermal drawing process. With suitable free-space optics, more than 160 mW of optical power was coupled into the fiber with predominantly single-mode excitation. Antireflection coatings on the fiber facets enabled 88.9% transmission with strong core confinement. By accurately tailoring the core diameter and antireflection-coating thickness, these fibers offer a versatile platform for high-power and low-loss transmission across the infrared spectrum. This work introduces an attractive alternative to the use of hollow-core fibers or multimode solid-core fibers for diffraction-limited infrared beam delivery.