Fiber waveguide formed from chalcogenide glass and polymer

1. A fiber waveguide having a waveguide axis, comprising:

a core extending along the waveguide axis; and

a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis surrounding the core, the confinement region comprising a periodic structure along a radial direction extending from the waveguide axis;

wherein each period in the periodic structure comprises a layer of a chalcogenide glass and a layer of a polymer.

2. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the core is hollow.

3. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein each period in the periodic structure comprises more than two layers.

4. The fiber waveguide of claim 3 , wherein each period in the periodic structure comprises three layers.

5. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the confinement region has a refractive index profile that varies discontinuously along the radial direction extending from the waveguide axis.

6. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the periodic structure forms a Bragg reflector for radiation at a wavelength λ.

7. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass is selected from the group consisting of As—Se, Ge—Se, As—Te, Sb—Se, As—S—Se, S—Se—Te, As—Se—Te, As—S—Te, Ge—S—Te, Ge—Se—Te, Ge—S—Se, As—Ge—Se, As—Ge—Te, As—Se—Pb, As—Se—Tl, As—Te—Tl, As—Se—Ga, and Ge—Sb—Se.

8. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass comprises an element selected from the group consisting of boron, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, gallium, arsenic, indium, tin, antimony, thallium, lead, bismuth, cadmium, lanthanum, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine.

9. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a polymer selected from the group consisting of carbonate-, sulfone-, etherimid-, acrylate-families, and fluoropolymers.

10. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass has a refractive index n 1 , the polymer has a refractive index n 2 , and |n 1 −n 2 |≧0.35.

11. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass has a refractive index n 1 , the polymer has a refractive index n 2 , and |n 1 −n 2 |≧0.5.

12. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass and the polymer can be co-drawn at a temperature, T d .

13. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide glass has a working temperature, T w , and a softening temperature, T s , and the polymer has a viscosity, η 2 , that varies as a function of temperature, T, and η 2 at T w is at least 10 3 Poise and no more than 10 6 Poise, and η 2 at T s is at least 10 5 Poise and no more than 10 13 Poise.

14. The fiber waveguide of claim 13 , wherein η 2 at T w is no more than 10 5 Poise.

15. The fiber waveguide of claim 13 , wherein η 2 at T s is at least 10 6 Poise.

16. The fiber waveguide of claim 15 , wherein η 2 at T s is at least 10 7 Poise.

17. The fiber waveguide of claim 13 , wherein η 2 at T s is no more than 10 10 Poise.

18. The fiber waveguide of claim 17 , wherein η 2 at T s is no more than 10 8 Poise.

19. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the chalcogenide layers and the polymer layers have an annular cross-section.

20. The fiber waveguide of claim 1 , wherein the fiber waveguide is a photonic crystal fiber.

21. The fiber waveguide of claim 20 , wherein the photonic crystal fiber is a Bragg fiber.

22. A fiber waveguide having a waveguide axis, comprising:

a core extending along the waveguide axis; and

a confinement region extending along the waveguide axis and configured to guide radiation along the waveguide axis through the core, the confinement region comprising: p 2 a first layer surrounding the core and extending along the waveguide axis, the first layer being formed from a chalcogenide glass having a refractive index n 1 ; and

a second layer surrounding the core and extending along the waveguide axis, the second layer being formed from polymer having a refractive index n 2 ,

wherein |n 1 −n 2 |≧0.35.