Antimony selenide core fibers

A new type of thermally sensitive fibers with an antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) core and phosphate glass cladding is demonstrated. The fibers were fabricated by a molten core method and maintained overall diameters ranging from 250 to 800 μm and core diameters of 35–200 μm. A 2.8 cm long Sb2Se3 core fiber, electrically contacted to external circuitry through fiber end facets, exhibited a four orders of magnitude change in conductivity after the whole fiber was heated from 25 to 195 °C. In addition, the fiber exhibited enhanced photoconductivity under illumination. These results indicate that Sb2Se3 core multimaterial fibers have promising applications in temperature sensing, optical switches and photodetectors.