Abstract
We perform a detailed theoretical and experimental investigation of supercontinuum generation in large-mode-area photonic crystal fibers pumped by a high-energy, high-repetition rate picosecond Nd:YVO4 laser, with the goal of using it as the Stokes beam in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering setup. We analyze the influence of fiber structure and length on the supercontinuum power, spectral shape, and group delay dispersion. We identify the experimental conditions for stable supercontinuum generation, with microjoule-level pulse energy and the spectrum extending beyond 1600 nm, which allows excitation of Raman frequencies up to 3000 cm−1 and beyond. We demonstrate reliable and efficient operation of a coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy and microscopy setup using this supercontinuum source.
Highlights
The past decades have seen significant development in supercontinuum (SC) generation
Such characterization will serve as a useful reference for other applications of SC generation in large mode area (LMA) photonic crystal fiber (PCF)
It should be noted that SC power scaling is not straightforward: for a given pulse duration, pump power is narrowly constrained by the fiber used, and in order to, for example, scale up the generated SC power, the whole experiment, including the fiber, needs to be redesigned. Another advantage is that the large core sizes of these fibers allow less complicated optics and easier alignment for light in-coupling, as compared to small-core fibers; and the LMA fibers are easier to process in terms of splicing and connectorization, allowing implementation in an all-fiber setup[24]
Summary
The past decades have seen significant development in supercontinuum (SC) generation. It should be noted that SC power scaling is not straightforward: for a given pulse duration, pump power is narrowly constrained by the fiber used, and in order to, for example, scale up the generated SC power, the whole experiment, including the fiber, needs to be redesigned Another advantage is that the large core sizes of these fibers allow less complicated optics and easier alignment for light in-coupling, as compared to small-core fibers; and the LMA fibers are easier to process in terms of splicing and connectorization, allowing implementation in an all-fiber setup[24]. A list of abbreviations used in the paper has been given in Table 1 for easy reference
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