Chalcogens based glasses for IR fiber chemical sensors

Among chalcogens based glasses, a new composition has been studied in the s ystem Te-As-Se. This glass is interesting for its good optical properties, especially in the mid-infrared region from 2 to 18 mum. Particularly, IR op tical fibers have been elaborated and optimized with the aim of using them as evanescent wave chemical sensors. For this kind of applications, a speci al fiber design, with a tapered zone, is required. This can be achieved by two different routes. The application to the detection of several compounds , such as ethanol, has been studied. More recently, detection experiments o f biological tissues have been successfully carried out. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.