Flexible and robust low-loss selenium-based multimaterial infrared fibers towards CO2 laser ablation

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.