Flexible Mid-IR fiber bundle for thermal imaging of inaccessible areas

Abstract

We present a flexible coherent Mid-Infrared (Mid-IR) fiber bundle for thermal imaging made of 1200 Ge30As13Se32Te25 glass cores embedded in a Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) polymer cladding. The high index contrast between the chalcogenide glass and the polymer cladding helps minimizing inter-pixel cross-talk, while the low Young's modulus of the polymer cladding gives the bundle good flexibility despite its millimeter scale outer diameter. The deliver of high contrast and high spatial resolution thermal images of a human hand through a 62.5 cm long bundle indicates its excellent imaging potential.