Dielectric waveguide and method of making the same

Abstract

In general, in one aspect, the invention features a waveguide that includes a first portion extending along a waveguide axis including a first chalcogenide glass, and a second portion extending along the waveguide axis including a second chalcogenide glass, wherein the second chalcogenide glass is different from the first chalcogenide glass.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A waveguide, comprising: 
 a first portion extending along a waveguide axis comprising a first chalcogenide glass; and    a second portion extending along the waveguide axis comprising a second chalcogenide glass, wherein the second chalcogenide glass is different from the first chalcogenide glass.    
     
     
         2 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass has a different refractive index than the second chalcogenide glass.  
     
     
         3 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass comprises As and Se.  
     
     
         4 . The waveguide of  claim 3 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass comprises As 2 Se 3 .  
     
     
         5 . The waveguide of  claim 3 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass further comprises Pb, Sb, Bi, I, or Te.  
     
     
         6 . The waveguide of  claim 1  or  3 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass comprises As and S.  
     
     
         7 . The waveguide of  claim 6 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass comprises As 2 S 3 .  
     
     
         8 . The waveguide of  claim 1  or  3 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass comprises P and S.  
     
     
         9 . The waveguide of  claim 8 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass further comprises Ge or As.  
     
     
         10 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , further comprising a hollow core.  
     
     
         11 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass has a refractive index of 2.7 or more.  
     
     
         12 . The waveguide of  claim 11 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass has a refractive index of 2.7 or less.  
     
     
         13 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the first chalcogenide glass has a T g  of about 180° C. or more.  
     
     
         14 . The waveguide of  claim 13 , wherein the second chalcogenide glass has a T g  of about 180° C. or more.  
     
     
         15 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the waveguide has a loss coefficient less than about 2 dB/m for electromagnetic energy having a wavelength of about 10.6 microns.  
     
     
         16 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the first portion surrounds a core.  
     
     
         17 . The waveguide of  claim 16 , wherein the second portion surrounds the core.  
     
     
         18 . The waveguide of  claim 16 , wherein the second portion surrounds the first portion.  
     
     
         19 . The waveguide of  claim 16 , wherein the core has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of at least about 10 λ, where λ is the wavelength of radiation guided by the waveguide.  
     
     
         20 . The waveguide of  claim 19 , wherein the minimum cross-sectional dimension of the core is at least about 20 λ.  
     
     
         21 . The waveguide of  claim 16 , wherein the core has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of at least about 50 microns.  
     
     
         22 . The waveguide of  claim 21 , wherein the core has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of at least about 100 microns.  
     
     
         23 . The waveguide of  claim 22 , wherein the core has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of at least about 200 microns.  
     
     
         24 . The waveguide of  claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is a photonic crystal fiber.  
     
     
         25 . The waveguide of  claim 24 , wherein the photonic crystal fiber comprises a confinement region and the first and second portions are part of the confinement region.  
     
     
         26 . The waveguide of  claim 24 , wherein the photonic crystal fiber is a Bragg fiber.  
     
     
         27 . A method comprising: 
 providing a waveguide comprising a first portion extending along a waveguide axis including a first chalcogenide glass and a second portion extending along the waveguide axis; and    guiding electromagnetic energy from a first location to a second location through the waveguide.    
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the second portion includes a second chalcogenide glass different from the first chalcogenide glass.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the electromagnetic energy has a wavelength of between about 2 microns and 15 microns.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the electromagnetic energy has a power of more than about one Watt.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the electromagnetic energy has a power of more than about 10 Watts.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the electromagnetic energy has a power of more than about 100 Watts.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising coupling the electromagnetic energy from a laser into the waveguide.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the laser is a CO 2  laser.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the waveguide is a photonic crystal fiber.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the photonic crystal fiber is a Bragg fiber.  
     
     
         37 . An apparatus, comprising 
 a dielectric waveguide extending along an axis and configured to guide electromagnetic radiation along the axis, wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a power greater than about 1 Watt.    
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength greater than about 2 microns.  
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength greater than about 5 microns.  
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength less than about 20 microns.  
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength less than about 15 microns.  
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 39 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength from about 10 microns to 11 microns.  
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 42 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelength of about 10.6 microns.  
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein electromagnetic radiation has a power greater than about 5 Watts.  
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 44 , wherein electromagnetic radiation has a power greater than about 10 Watts.  
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 45 , wherein electromagnetic radiation has a power greater than about 100 Watts.  
     
     
         47 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the dielectric waveguide comprises a first portion extending along the waveguide axis comprising a first chalcogenide glass.  
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the dielectric waveguide further comprises a second portion extending along the waveguide axis, the second portion having a different composition than the first portion.  
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 48 , wherein the second portion comprises a second glass different from the first chalcogenide glass.  
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , wherein the second glass is a chalcogenide glass.  
     
     
         51 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , wherein the second glass is an oxide glass.  
     
     
         52 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the waveguide is a photonic crystal fiber.  
     
     
         53 . The apparatus of  claim 52 , wherein the photonic crystal fiber is a Bragg fiber.  
     
     
         54 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the waveguide comprises a hollow core.