Pulsed infrared radiation transmission through hollow silica waveguides

Transmission measurements of Q-switched and free-running Er:YAG laser radiation, at 2.94 μm and free-running Ho:YAG laser radiation, at 2.06 μm, through hollow silica waveguides of 750 and 1000 μm core diameter were performed. Attenuation measurements were obtained as a function of the laser energy input and as a function of the bending curvature. The output beam quality was also studied as a function of the focal length of the coupling lens and the overall launching conditions for straight waveguides using the appropriate beam profiler.