High-resolution chalcogenide fiber bundles for infrared imaging

Abstract

An ordered chalcogenide fiber bundle with a high resolution for infrared imaging was fabricated using a stack-and-draw approach. The fiber bundle consisted of about 810,000 single fibers with an As2S3 glass core of 9 μm in diameter and a polyetherimide (PEI) polymer cladding of 10 μm in diameter. The As2S3/PEI fibers showed good transparency in the 1.5-6.5 μm spectral region. It presented a resolution of ∼45 lp/mm and a crosstalk of ∼2.5%. Fine thermal images of a hot soldering iron tip were delivered through the fiber bundle.