Transmission characteristics of optical nanofibers in metastable xenon

Abstract

We study the transmission characteristics of sub-wavelength diameter silica optical nanofibers (ONF's) surrounded with a xenon plasma produced by a low-pressure inductive RF discharge. In contrast to related experiments using rubidium vapor, we find essentially no degradation of optical transmission through the ONF's as a function of time. We also observe a pronounced ONF transmission modulation effect that depends on the conditions of the xenon plasma.

4 pages, 5 figures