Abstract
M-type fibers have the exceptional property that the higher-order LP0n modes are core-confined and easily excited, while the LP01 and other modes are confined to a high-index ring surrounding the core, so they are not easily excited. This has profound consequences for mid-infrared supercontinuum sources, where the high zero-dispersion wavelength of chalcogenide and ZBLAN fibers means that exotic pump sources have so far been necessary. We show here that in chalcogenide and ZBLAN M-type fibers the lower ZDW of the core-confined higher-order LP02 mode can be in the range of 2 to 3 µm (around 1.55 µm), while the fiber still has a large core diameter and thus supports high average power. This will allow established pump laser technology to be used in future high-power mid-infrared supercontinuum sources.
Highlights
Optical fibers have revolutionized human life via their utility in several applications, such as communication, sensing, light sources, and medical equipment etc
The main scope of this paper is to explore the M-type fiber design for shifting the zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) of non-silica fibers, like chalcogenide and ZBLAN fibers, towards shorter wavelengths for application in mid-infrared (IR) supercontinuum (SC) generation
Our results have demonstrated that M-type fibers have tremendous potential for mid-IR supercontinuum generation applications through the capability of having higher-order modes (HOMs), such as the LP02 or LP03 modes as a fundamental mode and having shorter ZDWs with larger core diameters
Summary
Our results have demonstrated that M-type fibers have tremendous potential for mid-IR supercontinuum generation applications through the capability of having HOMs, such as the LP02 or LP03 modes as a fundamental mode and having shorter ZDWs with larger core diameters. Due to the shorter ZDW of the M-type fiber compared to its counterparts such as SIFs or suspended core fibers, more solitons from a supercontinuum pump source (such as a supercontinuum output from ZBLAN fiber) can be pushed into anomalous dispersion leading to more output power towards longer wavelengths. Further investigations revealed the tremendous potential of using a 1.55 μm laser source as a direct pump source for ZBLAN based fiber with a dramatic increase in core diameter. The M-type fiber can prove a milestone in the development of all-fiberized high power supercontinuum sources pumped by a low cost. M-type fibers will offer the advantages of easy fabrication and handling compared to air-hole based photonic crystal fibers
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