Modelling of Multimode Selenide-Chalcogenide Glass Fibre Based MIR Spontaneous Emission Sources

Chalcogenide glass fibres have been demonstrated as a suitable medium for the realisation of spontaneous emission sources for mid--infrared photonics applications with a particular emphasis on sensor technology. Such sources give a viable alternative to other solutions due to their potentially low cost, high reliability and robustness when pumped using commercially available semiconductor lasers. We present a comprehensive analysis of the properties of selenide-chalcogenide glass fibres applied as spontaneous emission sources. We extract the modelling parameters from measurements using in house fabricated bulk glass and fibre samples. We apply the well-established rate equations approach to determine the level populations, the distribution of the photon intensity within the fibre and the output power levels. We compare the modelling results with experiment.