Attenuation of incoherent infrared radiation in hollow sapphire and silica waveguides.

The attenuation of incoherent infrared radiation for wavelengths from 6 to 20 microm was investigated for hollow sapphire and silica waveguides suitable for applications in spectroscopy and thermometry. A low-attenuation region was exhibited between 9.6 and 17.2 microm for hollow sapphire fibers and between 7.25 and 9.5 microm for hollow silica fibers as a result of the cladding index of refraction dipping below that of the air core (n approximately 1). Losses have been characterized as a function of fiber diameter, launch conditions, and waveguide bend radius for cladding regions of both n > 1 and n < 1. In addition, the remote infrared sensing capability of the hollow waveguides was demonstrated by the detection of CO(2) in N(2) by utilizing hollow sapphire fibers capped with ZnSe windows.