MECHANICAL AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF SILVER-HALIDE INFRARED TRANSMITTING FIBERS

This article presents a review of the optical and mechanical propertie s of infrared transmitting fibers extruded from single crystals of sil ver-halides at the Applied Physics Group in Tel-Aviv University during the last decade. The optical properties of AgClxBr1-x crystals and fi bers include the spectral transmission window, laser power transmissio n, the change of the power distribution traveling along the fiber, and the laser-induced breakdown. The mechanical properties include the in vestigation of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) hardness, and the e lastic strain limits of these fibers and their composition dependence. The mechanical properties that involve single and multiple bending of fibers in the plastic and the elastic strain limits are also describe d.