This invention pertains to a glass fiber, a Raman device and a method. The
fiber is a hollow core photonic bandgap chalcogenide glass fiber that
includes a hollow core for passing light therethrough, a Raman active gas
disposed in said core, a microstructured region disposed around said
core, and a solid region disposed around said microstructured region for
providing structural integrity to said microstructured region. The device
includes a coupler for introducing at least one light signal into a
hollow core of a chalcogenide photonic bandgap fiber; a hollow core
chalcogenide photonic bandgap glass fiber; a microstructured fiber region
disposed around said core; a solid fiber region disposed around said
microstructured region for providing structural integrity to said
microstructured region; and a Raman active gas disposed in the hollow
core. The method includes the steps of introducing a light beam into a
hollow core chalcogenide photonic bandgap glass fiber filled with a Raman
active gas disposed in the core, conveying the beam through the core
while it interacts with the gas to form a Stokes beam of a typically
higher wavelength, and removing the Stokes beam from the core of the
fiber.