• Infrared and Laser Engineering
  • Vol. 54, Issue 2, 20240468 (2025)
Yulong JIN, Xin ZHANG*, Jingyuan YAO, Shuai GU, and Pu WANG
Author Affiliations
  • Institute of Laser Engineering, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
  • show less
    DOI: 10.3788/IRLA20240468 Cite this Article
    Yulong JIN, Xin ZHANG, Jingyuan YAO, Shuai GU, Pu WANG. Low-loss mid-infrared composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber[J]. Infrared and Laser Engineering, 2025, 54(2): 20240468 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    ObjectiveThe hollow core anti-resonant fiber (HC-ARF) with a special cladding structure is designed to confine more than 99.99% of the transmitted optical energy within the air core, greatly reducing the influence of cladding material properties on fiber transmission performance. However, when the transmission wavelength exceeds 2.4 μm, the fiber absorption loss increases exponentially, and it becomes challenging to further reduce the transmission loss in the 3-5 μm wavelength range by optimizing the fiber structure and fabrication process. While using fluoride, telluride, and sulfide glasses with lower phonon energy can effectively reduce the transmission loss in the mid-infrared range, there are issues such as low optical damage threshold, poor mechanical performance, and difficulties in fabrication, which limit their practical applications. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber with a silica-based structure and a deposited layer of soft glass material as the cladding (Fig.1). This design effectively reduces the transmission loss in the mid-infrared range and provides a new solution for flexible transmission of mid-infrared lasers.MethodsThe transmission loss of hollow core anti-resonant fiber in the mid-infrared range is mainly caused by the absorption loss of the silica material. The fiber structure proposed in this paper addresses this issue by depositing optical materials with high transmittance in the mid-infrared range on the outer side of the silica cladding. This effectively reduces the mode field overlap between the transmitted optical field in the air core and the silica material, thereby reducing the transmission loss of the fiber in the mid-infrared range.Results and DiscussionsBy utilizing finite element analysis software, the research investigated the influence of factors such as the thickness ratio of the deposited layer material and the properties of the deposited layer material on the transmission performance of the mid-infrared composite material fiber in the proposed structure. The variations in the silica cladding mode field overlap, deposited layer mode field overlap (Fig.6), absorption loss, and transmission loss (Fig.7) of the composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber were studied for different scenarios with the deposited layer material being As2S3 and the silica cladding layer thickness being 100 nm, 200 nm, and 400 nm. The results indicate that the introduction of the deposited layer material can effectively reduce the mode field overlap between the silica material in the fiber and the transmission loss in the mid-infrared range. Furthermore, for a silica cladding thickness of 400 nm, the variations in the silica cladding mode field overlap, deposited layer mode field overlap, absorption loss, and transmission loss (Fig.9) were investigated for composite hollow core anti-resonant fibers with deposited layer materials of As2S3, CaF2, and InF3. The trends show that a smaller refractive index of the deposited layer material and a larger deposited layer thickness correspond to a more significant reduction in loss.ConclusionsThe proposed composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber can effectively reduce the transmission loss of mid-infrared lasers. Through simulation calculations, the influence of factors such as the thickness ratio and properties of the deposited layer material on the transmission performance of the composite fiber is investigated. The results show that the refractive index and transmittance of the deposited layer material in the mid-infrared range have a certain impact on the transmission performance of the composite fiber. Under other fixed conditions, a higher refractive index and transmittance of the deposited layer material result in a more significant reduction in loss. When the silica layer thickness is 400 nm and the deposited layer is made of InF3 with a thickness of 1022.98 nm, the transmission loss of the composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber at a wavelength of 5 μm is 0.83 dB/m, which is approximately 48.51% lower than that of the silica-based hollow core anti-resonant fiber with the same structural parameters. It is proved that the proposed structure can effectively reduce the effect of silica material absorption loss on the transmission performance of hollow core anti-resonant fiber, and provide a new idea for mid-infrared laser flexible transmission.
    Yulong JIN, Xin ZHANG, Jingyuan YAO, Shuai GU, Pu WANG. Low-loss mid-infrared composite hollow core anti-resonant fiber[J]. Infrared and Laser Engineering, 2025, 54(2): 20240468
    Download Citation