Infra Red: A band of the electromagnetic spectrum between the visible and the microwave. Photons of infrared light are less energetic than photons of visible light. The invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum whose rays have wavelengths longer than those of the red end of the visible spectrum. Some of the uses are in ir spectroscopy, aka infrared spectroscopy, and other infra red medical devices using infrared optical materials, etc. applied in fibre optics.

Mid Infra Red: (MIR) a wavelength region between 2µm and 5.5µm. It is sometimes called the Far Infra Red.

Laser: It is an acronym that stands for Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A device that produces coherent light with a narrow range of wavelengths. A laser is an instrument that produces a powerful beam of light that can vaporize tissue.

Mid Infra Red Optical Material: A material that is transparent to wavelengths above 2,000 nm or 2.0µm.

Optical Fiber: Filament of quartz or other optical material that has the ability to guide light along its axis and launch it at the end. The three parts of an optical fiber are the core, the cladding, and the coating or buffer. The light traveling through the optical fiber can be a source of energy or can be an encoded optical signal for communications.

Mid Infra Red Optical Fiber: Mid Infrared (MIR) optical fibers are defined as fiber optics that can transmit radiation with wavelengths from approximately 2µm to 5.5µm. They can generally be divided into three broad categories: glass, crystalline (such as sapphire), and hollow waveguides (such as photonic crystal fibers). Within each category various subdivisions can be made depending on the fiber material and the structure of the material. All fibers can be characterized by their optical, environmental and mechanical specifications.

Single Mode Fiber: An optical fiber that supports only one mode of light propagation above the cutoff wavelength. It typically has an 8-10µm core within a 125µm cladding.

Multi Mode Fiber: An optical fiber which supports the propagation of multiple modes. Multimode fiber may have a typical core diameter of 50 to 800µm with a refractive index that is graded or stepped. Multimode optical fibers have a much larger core than single mode fibers.

Fluoride Glass: Is made of only fluoride chemicals (no oxides). Fluoride glasses are one of the five members of the halide family of glasses. They are transparent to light from the Ultra Violet (300 nm) to 6,500 nm. ZBLAN glass is the most common composition but depending on the specifications required, other compositions can be made to obtain different mechanical (Tg, Young’s modulus for example) , environmental and optical properties ( NA, attenuation, spectra for example).

Fluoride Fiber: Is drawn from a fluoride glass preform. Fluoride have losses of at least one order of magnitude less than competing technologies. Furthermore, depending on the manufacturing process, all glass fibers contain varying quantities of water (OH impurities). These impurities absorb energy and therefore create additional attenuation at different wavelengths. The wavelength at which the absorption is the most important is at 2,94 µm which is critical for certain medical applications. IRphotonics has developed a new fluoride glass synthesis process that will allow the manufacturing of glasses and fibers with a minimal amount of impurities and a very low OH content.

ZBLAN: It is a standard fluozirconate glass system composition (ZrFM4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF). It is one of many fluoride glass composition used to make fluoride glass and fiber.

Verre Fluoré: Fluoride Glass can be translated to Verre Fluoré in French. The term is often used because fluoride glass was discovered and initially developed in France.

Erbium Laser: Erbium is a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium. Erbium is an excellent laser crystal which is used to make an Er:YAG laser (or Erbium Laser) that emits light at a wavelength of 2,940 nm or 2.94µm. Light at that wavelength is readily absorbed by water.

Er:YAG: An Er:YAG laser is the same as a Erbium laser. Er is an abbreviation for Erbium. YAG stands for Yttrium Aluminum Garnet.

Cr,Er:YSGG: Yittrium Scandium Gallium Garnet (YSGG) doped with Chromium and Erbium provides an efficient laser crystal to generate light at 2,800 nm. (Where there is a high level of water absorption)

Holmium Laser: Holmium is a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs together with yttrium; forms highly magnetic compounds. Holmium is a laser crystal which is used to make Ho:YAG lasers that emits light at a wavelength of 2,078 nm or 2.078µm. Light at that wavelength is not as readily absorbed by water. Erbium lasers will eventually replace Holmium lasers.

Ho:YAG: A Ho:YAG laser is the same as a Holmium laser. Ho is an abbreviation for Holmium. YAG stands for Yttrium Aluminum Garnet.