title: Small-bore hollow waveguides for delivery of 3-µm laser radiation.
abstract: Flexible hollow glass waveguides with bore diameters as small as 250 µm have been developed for 3-µm laser delivery. All the guides exhibit straight losses between 0.10 and 1.73 dB/m, and the loss increases to between 2.4 and 5.1 dB/m upon bending 1 m of the guides into 15-cm-diameter coils. This behavior is shown to depend strongly on the launch conditions and mode quality of the input beam. The waveguides are capable of efficiently delivering up to 8 W of Er:YAG laser power with proper input coupling, and they are suitable for use in both medical and industrial applications.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Kozodoy
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Pagkalinawan
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Harrington