Chalcogenide Glass Microfibers for Mid-Infrared Optics

With diameters close to the wavelength of the guided light, optical microfibers (MFs) can guide light with tight optical confinement, strong evanescent fields and manageable waveguide dispersion and have been widely investigated in the past decades for a variety of applications. Compared to silica MFs, which are ideal for working in visible and near-infrared regions, chalcogenide glass (ChG) MFs are promising for mid-infrared (mid-IR) optics, owing to their easy fabrication, broad-band transparency and high nonlinearity, and have been attracting increasing attention in applications ranging from near-field coupling and molecular sensing to nonlinear optics. Here, we review this emerging field, mainly based on its progress in the last decade. Starting from the high-temperature taper drawing technique for MF fabrication, we introduce basic mid-IR waveguiding properties of typical ChG MFs made of As2S3 and As2Se3. Then, we focus on ChG-MF-based passive optical devices, including optical couplers, resonators and gratings and active and nonlinear applications of ChG MFs for mid-IR Raman lasers, frequency combs and supercontinuum (SC) generation. MF-based spectroscopy and chemical/biological sensors are also introduced. Finally, we conclude the review with a brief summary and an outlook on future challenges and opportunities of ChG MFs.