Flexible and robust low-loss selenium-based multimaterial infrared fibers towards CO2 laser ablation
Yuqi Zou,
Chao Liu,
Zhihe Ren,
Yuqi Zhang,
Zichang Liu,
Yinsheng Xu,
Chong Hou,
Lvyun Yang,
Sheng Liang,
Guangming Tao
Affiliations
Yuqi Zou
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Chao Liu
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Zhihe Ren
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Yuqi Zhang
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Zichang Liu
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Yinsheng Xu
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Chong Hou
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China; School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Lvyun Yang
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Sheng Liang
Key Laboratory of Education Ministry on Luminescence and Optical Information Technology, National Physical Experiment Teaching Demonstration Center, Department of Physics, School of Physical Science and Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Guangming Tao
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sport and Health Initiative, Optical Valley Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China; State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China; Corresponding author
Summary: A small-scale delivery medium for CO2 laser energy with stable performance, flexibility, and high-strength is crucial in extreme laser processing environments, especially for minimally invasive surgery in high-humidity, twisty and narrow channels. Here, flexible and robust multimaterial infrared fibers made of selenium-based chalcogenide glasses and thermoplastic polymer were developed with a low loss of 7.18 dB/m at 10.6 μm. The resulting fibers were capable of stably delivering single-mode CO2 laser with 0.42 W average power. Moreover, to achieve precise control over the fibers in the practical clinical environment, customized co-polymers of polyphenylene sulfone resin and polyvinylidene fluoride were used as the fiber built-in jackets. Consequently, the fibers exhibited hydrophobicity, thermostability, high tensile strength, and low bending stiffness. The results demonstrated that the fibers can be used to deliver CO2 laser energy for fabric cutting and bio-tissues ablation, making them attractive for CO2 laser material processing and minimally invasive laser surgery.
