Progress in Quantum Electronics 28 (2004) 145–164 Review Hollow waveguide delivery systems for laser technological application Helena Jel ! ınkov ! a a, *, Michal N$ emec a , Jan $ Sulc a , Pavel $ Cern ! y a,1 , Mitsunobu Miyagi b , Yi-Wei Shi b , Yuji Matsuura b a Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University, B$ rehov ! a 7, Prague 1 115 19, Czech Republic b Department of Electrical Communications, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan Abstract Hollow waveguides with internal coatings can be an attractive alternative to solid-core fibers. This paper reviews the results with the cyclic olefin polymer coated metal hollow glass waveguides which can be used as a delivery instrument in a wide band of wavelengths—from the visible up to the infrared. These waveguides have been shown to be capable of transmissions up to the 1.36 GW of Nd:YAG peak power and 5.8 W or 5.1 W of alexandrite or Er:YAG mean power, respectively. They can be utilized in many branches of medical or industrial applications. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. PACS: 42.79 Gn Keywords: Laser radiation delivery; Hollow waveguides; Cyclic olefin polymer coating; Solid-state lasers ARTICLE IN PRESS Contents 1. Introduction ............................. 146 2. Basis of hollow waveguide ...................... 148 *Corresponding author. Tel.: +420-221912243; fax: +420-221912252. E-mail address: hjelin@troja.fjfi.cvut.cz (H. Jel ! ınkov ! a). 1 Pavel $ Cern ! y is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Institute of Photonics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. 0079-6727/$-see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pquantelec.2003.11.001