High-power hollow fibers

Abstract
Hollow glass fibers for delivery of high-powered infrared lasers. The hollow fibers are consisted of a glass capillary tube and metal and polymer layer on the inside of the glass tube. As the dielectric layer, polymers that are transparent at the desired wavelength are utilized. The fibers are fabricated by a simple, liquid phase technique. Firstly, a silver film is formed inside the glass tubing by a mirror plating technique. Then a polymer film is formed on the silver by flowing a polymer solution and following dry and cure process. The delivery test using Nd:YAG ((lambda) equals 1.06 micrometer), CO (5 micrometer), and CO2 (10.6 micrometer) lasers as the light source show that the hollow fiber is a promising candidate as a transmission media of high-peak power, high-energy, infrared lasers for ablation.