OPTICAL MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AT NRL

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing chalcogenide glass fibers for applications in the IR wavelength region from 1-12 µm. The chalcogenide glasses (i.e., glasses based on the elements S, Se, and Te) are transparent in the IR, possess low phonon energies, are chemically durable, and can be drawn into fiber. Purification techniques have been developed to make high quality glasses from which low loss fibers have been drawn. Both conventional solid core/clad and microstructured fibers have been developed.  Chalcogenide glass compositions have been developed which allow Rare Earth doping to enable Rare-Earth -doped fiber sources and potentially lasers in the IR. Also, highly nonlinear compositions have been developed with nonlinearities ~1000x silica which enables nonlinear wavelength conversion from the near IR to the mid and long wave IR. 

Speaker: Dr. Jas Sanghera, Head, Optical Materials, Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Room 115