Purification of Ge-As-Se ternary glasses for the development of high quality microstructured optical fibers

The production of chalcogenide microstructured optical fibers with low optical losses, due to the broad transparency window of these glasses in the mid-IR, can allow for new breakthroughs in various research fields, e.g. new mid-IR laser sources and mid-IR spectroscopy. In this framework, high purity chalcogenide glasses are needed in order to minimize absorption losses. In this study, Ge10As22Se68 samples were prepared using a double distillation method, using different combinations of chlorides and metals as getters for the physico-chemical elimination of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen impurities. Comparing the attenuation spectra of the different samples, the choice of the getters seems to be indeed a significant factor in the quality of the glass. A holey fiber has been realized by casting method using the best sample, showing that the method is suitable for this composition and that the attenuation before and after the casting are comparable.