Innovative Designs of Optical Fiber Components, Devices, and Sources Compatible with the Mid-Infrared

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) components, devices, and sources in the 2-25 µm molecular fingerprint region are in high demand for a wide range of applications including optical coherence tomography, remote sensing, molecular spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging. For instance, chemical substances exhibit vibrational and rotational absorption bands in the mid-IR, and the unique signature left by these fundamental bands provides a universal means for their identification and quantification. Despite a vast range of applications, photonics technologies in the mid-IR have barely emerged with respect to widespread photonics technologies in the near-IR (0.7-2.0 µm). This is due to the optical transmission of silica fiber, a fundamental component of fiber optics, that is limited to the spectral range of 0.4-2.0 µm. Fiber optics in the mid-IR therefore require transmission media other than silica to become viable. In the past years, my research has successfully demonstrated new designs of optical fiber components, optical fiber devices, and optical fiber sources (OF-CDS) such as couplers, wavelength converters, fiber lasers, and supercontinuum sources. Chalcogenide glasses have been central to the fabrication of those OF-CDS, mainly because of their high-nonlinearity. However, chalcogenide glasses also provides OF-CDS a good degree of compatibility with the mid-IR, thanks to their transparency in this wavelength range. In response to the current need of mid-IR photonics and taking advantage of the strong momentum of my research group for the fabrication of OF-CDS using chalcogenide glasses, my research program for the next 5 years will consist into the development of innovative designs of OF-CDS compatible with the mid-IR. Building blocks that will be used for the fabrication of OF-CDS include new chalcogenide fiber compositions to extend the transparency at long wavelengths, fluoride fibers for the gain they can provide, and recently developed fiber couplers to build laser cavities. The proposed program addresses a growing concern across Canada, that is, the development of monitoring and sensing tools for health services, environment, and industry. This program harnesses current photonics technologies and scientifically mature optical materials, namely chalcogenide and fluoride glasses, to close an important gap in the market offerings of mid-IR fiber optics. Innovative OF-CDS will emerge from this program, leading to intellectual property and maintaining the Canadian industry at the forefront of photonics technologies. The proposed program will also contribute to the training of at least 18 HQP at the PhD, MEng, and BEng levels, in both fundamental and applied aspects of photonics. The budget is mostly devoted to training HQP, a reflection that one of the most important outcome of the program will be the HQP that contribute to continued Canadian innovation and leadership in high technologies at the service of industry, health services, and environment.