title: Polycrystalline silicon optical fibers with atomically smooth surfaces.
abstract: We investigate the surface roughness of polycrystalline silicon core optical fibers fabricated using a high-pressure chemical deposition technique. By measuring the optical transmission of two fibers with different core sizes, we will show that scattering from the core-cladding interface has a negligible effect on the losses. A Zemetrics ZeScope three-dimensional optical profiler has been used to directly measure the surface of the core material, confirming a roughness of only ~0.1 nm. The ability to fabricate low-loss polysilicon optical fibers with ultrasmooth cores scalable to submicrometer dimensions should establish their use in a range of nonlinear optical applications.
authors: Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. nvh@orc.soton.ac.uk
authors: Noel
authors: N
authors: Healy
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Lagonigro
authors: Justin R
authors: JR
authors: Sparks
authors: Stuart
authors: S
authors: Boden
authors: Pier J A
authors: PJ
authors: Sazio
authors: John V
authors: JV
authors: Badding
authors: Anna C
authors: AC
authors: Peacock