Ge-P-S Chalcogenide Glass Fibers

Abstract

Ge–P–S glass fibers have been drawn from glass rods prepared in sealed silica glass ampoules under a vacuum. The optical loss for the glass fiber has been as low as 0.4 dB/m at about 2.5 µm wavelength. The strong absorption peaks observed at 3 and 4 µm wavelengths originate from OH and SH impurities, respectively. The extrapolation of the measured loss curve in the near infrared region and the infrared absorption tail shows the minimum loss in the 5–6 µm wavelength region. Consequently, Ge–P–S glass fibers have the potential for low-loss optical fibers through reduction of OH and SH impurities.