Chalcogenide Glass Fibers and Their Advanced Optoelectronic Applications: Developments, Challenges, and Innovations

ABSTRACT Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) have attracted growing interest in modern optoelectronics due to their unique combination of broad infrared transmission window, low phonon energy, high optical nonlinearity, and semiconductivity. In particular, fibers fabricated from ChGs have advanced rapidly and now serve as promising platforms for a variety of emerging applications, attracting widespread attention across multiple fields. This review provides an overview of the scientific progress in ChG fibers, covering historical evolution, fundamental properties, fabrication strategies, and their expanding roles in advanced optoelectronic applications. We begin with their historical origins and development trajectory, describing the evolution from the earliest ChG fibers to modern sophisticated architectures, and analyze the interplay between fiber structures, intrinsic properties, and device performance. We then discuss the advantages and limitations of different ChG fiber fabrication technologies, in order to clarify optimal processing strategies for targeted uses. We also provide a comprehensive overview of recent achievements in optoelectronic applications of ChG fibers, including mid‐infrared photonics, nonlinear optics, optoelectronic sensing, and flexible electronics. The remaining scientific challenges, such as the critical trade‐offs between different properties in multifunctional ChG fiber design, are also highlighted. Addressing these fundamental issues would provide a clearer pathway toward next‐generation ChG fibers for advanced optoelectronic applications.