Beam delivery characteristics of optical fibres for carbon monoxide lasers

An experimental investigation has been conducted of the propagation characteristics of several types of optical fibres which are candidates for use in optical beam delivery systems for carbon monoxide lasers. Both solid core (chalcogenide) fibres and hollow core (with dielectric or dielectric coated metal) waveguides have been investigated. Such experiments have included an assessment of both the power transmission characteristics, and the effects of waveguide transmission on the optical quality of the beam at the exit of the fibre. The experiments indicated lowest loss for the chalcogenide solid core fibre with a value of 0.4 dB m⁻¹.