title: Gradually tapered hollow glass waveguides for the transmission of CO2 laser radiation.
abstract: Hollow glass waveguides with bores tapered from 1000 to 500 microm and from 700 to 500 microm over a length of 2 m were coated with silver and silver iodide inner films. These waveguides were designed for low attenuation at the 10.6-microm CO2 laser wavelength. The straight losses, which were measured to be 0.8 and 1.6 dB/m, respectively, decreased when the guides were bent. A simple ray-trajectory model is presented to explain this unexpected behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 607 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Harrington