Overview
ABSTRACT
This article reviews the current state of the art in the field of chalcogenide glasses. It deals especially with the preparation of these non-conventional glasses, together with the shaping methods implemented in the making of optical fibers or planar waveguides, and with the domains of application related to their optical properties: infrared devices for thermal imaging, optical-fiber or planar-waveguide sensors for medical diagnosis or environmental monitoring, and infrared interferometry in space.
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Catherine BOUSSARD-plédel: CNRS Research Engineer, Glass and Ceramics Team, Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences, UMR CNRS 6226, Rennes 1 University, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
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Virginie NAZABAL: Directrice de recherche CNRS Équipe verres et céramiques, Institut des sciences chimiques de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6226, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
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Johann TROLÈS: Professor at the University of Rennes 1 Glass and Ceramics Team, Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences, UMR CNRS 6226, University of Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
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Bruno BUREAU: Professor at the University of Rennes 1 Glass and Ceramics Team, Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences, UMR CNRS 6226, University of Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
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Xiang-Hua ZHANG: CNRS Research Director, Glass and Ceramics Team, Institut des sciences chimiques de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6226, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
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Jean-Luc ADAM: CNRS Research Director, Glass and Ceramics Team, Institut des sciences chimiques de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6226, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
INTRODUCTION
Compared with common silica-based glasses (silicon oxide, SiO 2 ), chalcogenide glasses are formed from elements such as sulfur, selenium or tellurium. This particular chemical composition results in exceptional optical properties, particularly in terms of infrared light transparency. So, while silica-based glasses are transparent down to wavelengths of around 3 μm, chalcogenides are transparent down to 6-10 μm for sulfur glasses, over 11 μm for selenium glasses and up to 18-25 μm for tellurium-rich glasses.
Moreover, like all stable glasses, characterized by a low tendency to evolve towards the crystalline state, chalcogenide glasses can be shaped by press-molding to produce lenses, for example, or by drawing to produce optical fibers, or by deposition to produce thin films and planar waveguides.
The combination of shaping possibilities and infrared transmission properties opens up a vast field of applications for these materials resulting from academic research: infrared devices for thermal imaging (surveillance, defense, medical), fiber optic or integrated optics sensors for medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring, infrared interferometry in the space field. Some of these applications are developed within companies created specifically to exploit the results obtained in the laboratory: Umicore IR-Glass (2004), DIAFIR (2011), and SelenOptics (2015).
In this article, we present the state of the art in chalcogenide glasses, in particular the preparation conditions for these unconventional glasses, the shaping methods used to produce optical fibers or planar waveguides, and the fields of application related to their optical properties.
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KEYWORDS
infrared imaging | infrared sensors | shaping | chalcogenide glass
Planar chalcogenide glass fibers and guides for infrared optics
Chalcogenide glass
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