ZnCl2 glass: A potential ultralow-loss optical fiber material

Abstract

Zinc chloride glass is a potentially useful medium for ultralow-loss (∼1 dB/103 km) optical fibers for wavelengths in the 3.5–4-μm region. In this region, intrinsic absorption, scatter, and material dispersion are all expected to be small, and the common fully oxidized transition metal impurities and H2O should exhibit extremely weak absorption as well.