Semiconductor core fibers have numerous potential applications in optoelectronics and photonics, and the key to realizing these opportunities is controlled processing of the material. We present results on laser treatments for manipulating the core structure as well as the glass cladding. More specifically, using quasi-CW 10.6 µm radiation, the clad glass can be softened and the core can be controllably melted. This is shown to permit tapering, localized formation of optical resonators, and stress modification of the as-drawn fiber and structures within it. Shown for the first time to the authors' knowledge are Bragg gratings written by modification of the silicon/glass interface using fs laser illumination at 517 nm. The cores of these fibers show stress alterations, with indications of quasi-periodic stress relief in the glass.

Semiconductor-core optical fibres have potential applications in photonics and optoelectronics due to large nonlinear optical coefficients and an extended transparency window. Laser processing can impose large temperature gradients, an ability that has been used to improve the uniformity of unary fibre cores, and to inscribe compositional variations in alloy systems. Interest in an integrated light-emitting element suggests a move from Group IV to III-V materials, or a core that contains both. This paper describes the fabrication of GaSb/Si core fibres, and a subsequent CO 2 laser treatment that aggregates large regions of GaSb without suppressing room temperature photoluminescence. The ability to isolate a large III-V crystalline region within the Si core is an important step towards embedding semiconductor light sources within infrared light-transmitting silicon optical fibre.

Glass-clad, GaSb-core fibers were drawn and subsequently laser annealed. The asdrawn fibers were found to be polycrystalline, possess Sb inclusions, and have oxide contamination concentrations of less than 3 at%. Melting and resolidifying regions in the cores using 10.6 µm CO 2 laser radiation yielded single crystalline zones with enhanced photoluminescence (PL), including the first observation of strong room temperature PL from a crystalline core fiber. Annealed fibers show low values of tensile strain and a bandgap close to that of bulk GaSb.

CO 2 laser annealing of SiGe core, glass-clad optical fibers is a powerful technique for the production of single-crystal cores with spatially varying Ge concentrations. Laser power, laser scan speed and cooling air flow alter the Ge distribution during annealing. In this work, near-single crystal fibers exhibiting a central axial feature with peak Ge concentration ∼15 at% higher than the exterior of the semiconductor core have been prepared. Preferential transmission of near infrared radiation through the Ge-rich region, and spectral data confirm its role as a waveguide within the semiconductor core. This proof-of-concept step toward crystalline double-clad structures is an important advancement in semiconductor core optical fibers made using the scalable molten core method.

Silicon waveguide structures are a viable alternative for the transmission of signals over a wide range of frequencies, and new fabrication methods are key to increased applications. In this work, THz transparency of silicon-core, silica clad fibers, refined using a traveling solvent method, is demonstrated. The ≈ 200 µm core of these fibers is shown to have good transmission from 4.8-9 µm and 1-7 THz. Fibers were drawn on a conventional optical fiber tower using the scalable molten core technique and CO 2 laser annealed, resulting in large-grain crystalline cores with broadband transmission. The spectral properties are comparable to those of rectangular guides of similar cross-sectional area cut from high resistivity float zone silicon wafers.