Binary III-V semiconductor core optical fiber.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Optical fibers traditionally use silica or polymer cores.
• Semiconductor-based optical fibers offer potential for novel functionalities.
• Previous attempts at semiconductor core fibers faced fabrication challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a glass-clad optical fiber with a crystalline binary III-V semiconductor core.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of using conventional fiber drawing techniques for complex semiconductor cores.
• To explore the potential of such fibers for future nonlinear optical devices.

Main Methods:

• A molten core approach was employed to draw a phosphate glass-clad fiber.
• An indium antimonide (InSb) semiconductor was used as the core material.
• Characterization of the core's crystallinity and composition was performed.

Main Results:

• A glass-clad optical fiber with a highly crystalline InSb core was successfully fabricated.
• Evidence of oxygen and phosphorus diffusion from the cladding into the core was observed.
• Optical transmission measurements were hindered by free carrier absorption in the conductive InSb core.

Conclusions:

• This work presents a proof-of-concept for fabricating optical fibers with complex crystalline semiconductor cores.
• Conventional fiber fabrication techniques can be adapted for advanced semiconductor materials.
• These binary semiconductor-based fibers could enable future fiber-based nonlinear optical applications.