TIO2-SIO2 BASED GLASSES FOR INFRARED HOLLOW WAVE-GUIDES

Hollow core waveguides made of TiO2-SiO2 based glasses have been proposed for the IR. A series of TiO2-SiO2 based glasses were prepared and their complex refractive indices measured by reflectometry. Using measured refractive indices, we calculated spectral losses of the TiO2-SiO2 hollow waveguides. With the waveguides, we can expect efficient transmission of mid-IR light including CO2 laser light, since refractive indices of the glasses become less than unity and the absorption coefficients become small in the 8-11-mu-m wavelength range.