Non-Destructive Testing of Mid-IR Optical Fiber Using Infrared Imaging

Optical fiber lasers offers the advantage of being relatively compact and efficient. However, the materials such as fluoride and chalcogenide glasses used for their fabrication must be exempt of defects in order to make efficient laser systems. However, most existing quality control techniques are not compatible with chalcogenide fibers because of their limited transparency in the visible spectral range. For this reason, the Universite Laval's Centre d'optique, photonique et laser (COPL), in Quebec City, Canada, has developed a novel non-destructive testing (NDT) methodology based on infrared imaging to address this problem. The results show how this simple screening technique eases the selection of high-quality fibers for the design of high-power mid-IR lasers.