Supercontinuum Spectrum Research Articles

Ultraflat, Monolithic, Highly Stable Supercontinuum Source Based on Fluorotellurite Fiber

Supercontinuum (SC) sources covering near‐infrared and midinfrared region have attracted enormous interest and found significant applications in tissue imaging, sensing, spectroscopy, defense, and environmental monitoring. Herein, an 8.45 W all‐fiber ultraflat SC source with a spectral range of 1.01–4.05 μm using a flat high‐power 1.9–2.7 μm SC fiber source to pump a piece of fluorotellurite fiber is presented. The SC spectrum exhibits a 3 dB bandwidth of 1850 nm, ranging from 1870 to 3720 nm, and a 10 dB bandwidth of 2770 nm, ranging from 1120 to 3890 nm. The measured power stability is 0.19% (root mean square) for 5 h of continuous operation, proving the excellent power stability of the system. To the best of knowledge, the SC spectrum exhibits the widest reported 3 and 10 dB bandwidths for 1–4 μm SC sources.

Supercontinuum generation in Ga‐Sb‐S chalcogenide‐based PCF using optofluidic approach

AbstractWe report the design and theoretical study of a Ga‐Sb‐S chalcogenide glass‐based photonic crystal fiber (PCF) structure for mid‐infrared supercontinuum generation. The proposed design is engineered by adjusting the diameter of air holes in the cladding region and pitch, giving us control over the dispersion characteristics of the fiber. The optimized structure design offers the Zero Dispersion Wavelength of 5.2 μm. When pumped with 50 fs secant hyperbolic pulses of peak power 4.9 kW, for a fiber of length 8 mm at pump wavelength of 5 μm, the proposed structure design produces an ultra‐broadband supercontinuum spectrum spanning 1.5–14 μm. Proposed PCF design should be helpful in, biomedical imaging, supercontinuum sources, biosesning, and optical coherence tomography.

Frequency comb generation from the ultraviolet to mid-infrared region based on a three-stage cascaded PPLN chain

Optical frequency combs (OFCs) have enabled significant opportunities for high-precision frequency metrology and high-resolution broadband spectroscopy. Although nonlinear photonics chips have the capacity of frequency expansion for OFCs, most of them can only access the limited bandwidths in the partial infrared region, and it is still hard to satisfy many measurement applications in the ultraviolet-to-visible region. Here, we demonstrate a compact broadband OFC scheme via the combination of three χ(2) nonlinearities in a three-stage periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) chain. With a supercontinuum spectrum OFC delivered into the PPLN chain, the intra-pulse diffidence frequency generation, optical parametric amplification, and high-order harmonic generation were carried out in sequence. It is crucial that the harmonics of the 1st–10th orders are simultaneously obtained with an offset-free OFC spectrum from 0.35 to 4.0 μm. In view of the great potential for integration and spectral expansion, this wideband frequency comb source will open a new insight for the valuable applications of two-dimensional material analysis, biofluorescence microscopy, and nonlinear amplitude-phase metrology.

Giant Kerr nonlinearity of terahertz waves mediated by stimulated phonon polaritons in a microcavity chip

Optical Kerr effect, in which input light intensity linearly alters the refractive index, has enabled the generation of optical solitons, supercontinuum spectra, and frequency combs, playing vital roles in the on-chip devices, fiber communications, and quantum manipulations. Especially, terahertz Kerr effect, featuring fascinating prospects in future high-rate computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based technologies, encounters a great challenge due to the rather low power density and feeble Kerr response. Here, we demonstrate a giant terahertz frequency Kerr nonlinearity mediated by stimulated phonon polaritons. Under the influences of the giant Kerr nonlinearity, the power-dependent refractive index change would result in a frequency shift in the microcavity, which was experimentally demonstrated via the measurement of the resonant mode of a chip-scale lithium niobate Fabry-Pérot microcavity. Attributed to the existence of stimulated phonon polaritons, the nonlinear coefficient extracted from the frequency shifts is orders of magnitude larger than that of visible and infrared light, which is also theoretically demonstrated by nonlinear Huang equations. This work opens an avenue for many rich and fruitful terahertz Kerr effect based physical, chemical, and biological systems that have terahertz fingerprints.

Chalcogenide Ge20Sb5Se75 photonic crystal fiber with seven air-hole rings for ultraflat mid-infrared supercontinuum generation

Supercontinuum (SC) generation in solid-core circular photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) made of Ge20Sb5Se75 is numerically analyzed. A large core is projected to increase light coupling efficiency into selected PCFs as well as raise coupling to standard silica fibers. High nonlinear coefficient and near-zero flat dispersion allow ultraflat SC spanning 1.5–4.6 μm in an all-normal dispersion regime. This requires 3 kW of peak power with 180 fs of pulse duration. The fiber with one zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) generates SC bandwidth in the range of 1.54–7.39 μm at 3.5 μm using peak power of 10 kW. For the same input power, the SC spectral covers from 1.39 to 7.36 μm in 10 cm of fiber with two ZDWs. These are wider SC bandwidths than those of previous chalcogenide fibers reached with lower peak powers. Therefore, the proposed Ge20Sb5Se75 PCFs are excellent candidates for the broadband ultraflat mid-infrared SC spectra used in high-speed nonlinear imaging and frequency measurement.

Supercontinuum generation by nonlinear polarization rotation mode-locked fiber laser with pulse type switchable

We report on the generation of a supercontinuum (SC) by nonlinear polarization-rotating (NPR) mode-locked fiber laser, which includes a pulsed switchable NPR mode-locked fiber laser, an Er-doped fiber amplifier, and high nonlinear fiber (HNLF). In the experiment, by adjusting the polarization controller (PC) angle and pump power, we obtained three different pulses. They are traditional soliton bunch pulses, the coexistence of soliton bunch pulses and square pulses, and multi-longitudinal mode noise like square pulses. All three pulses can generate SC with spectrum width be about of 1000 nm. We fixed the pump power in the laser and observed the influence of amplifier power on the spectrum width and output power of SC. The SC width of soliton bunch pulse reaches 950.9 nm, the SC of soliton bunch pulse and square pulse coexisting pulse is 1009.7 nm, and the SC spectrum width of multi-longitudinal mode noise like square pulse is 887.1 nm. Our results demonstrate the generation of SC with three types of switchable pulses, opening up possibilities for various application requirements.

Watt-level ultra-flat wideband supercontinuum generation in GeO2 fiber by femtosecond pulse

The high-power ultra-flat supercontinuum (SC) sources play an important role in various fields. In this letter, we experimentally demonstrated an all-fiber, high-power, ultra-flat SC source in GeO2 highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) pumped by a femtosecond fiber laser system. The system is mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror with an all-polarization-maintaining (PM) structure. Based on the technology of chirped pulse amplification, a maximum power of 3.12 W was realized with a repetition rate of 80 MHz at 1.56 μm, and the pulse duration was compressed to 124 fs in a segment of PM single-mode fiber. Furthermore, by optimizing the length of the HNLF, a wideband SC spectrum of nearly 700 nm was obtained at10 dB with a maximum power of 1.82 W, and the flatness of the spectrum was better than 5 dB in the range of 1600–2200 nm. We observed that the pulse evolved into a noise-like pulse with a narrowest pulse duration of 62 fs. Thanks to the all-PM structure of the fiber laser, the long-term stability of SC power was manifested with a relative fluctuation as low as 0.53 % over 6 h.

Coherence evolution of multi-pulse pumped supercontinuum generation in all-normal dispersion fibers

We numerically calculate the coherence of supercontinuum (SC) spectrum generated in all-normal dispersion (ANDi) fibers by multiple picosecond pulses. We show that multi-pulse pumping significantly mitigates the phenomenon of coherence degradation and maintains high spectral coherence over a broader wavelength range compared to the single pumping. It is found that inter-pulse four-wave-mixing (FWM) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) significantly contribute to the superior coherence characteristics of the SC. We further discuss the impact of key parameters on the multi-pulse pumped SC. Results indicate that a large temporal interval between pulses reduces spectral broadening efficiency, while closely spaced pulses generate a significant number of incoherent photons, severely degrading spectral coherence. Introducing initial chirp effectively mitigates this coherence degradation. A slight increase in the dispersion parameter notably suppresses the spectral broadening efficiency of the multi-pulse generation. Pulse shape primarily affects the SC shape without significantly impacting the spectral broadening efficiency.

Broadband flat supercontinuum generated by chalcogenide double-clad step-index fiber with special dispersion

To achave a broader supercontinuum in the mid-infrared band, a chalcogenide double-clad step-index fiber is proposed. Comprising As2Se3, AsSe2, and As2S5 glass, this fiber effectively confines light within the core, minimizing fiber dispersion fluctuations. By iteratively adjusting the dispersion curve of the fiber, enhancement of the supercontinuum spectrum generation is possible. Spectral broadening primarily results from four-wave mixing and self-phase modulation. Raman scattering within the pulse generates unstable higher-order solitons, which, upon breakup, contribute to spectrum broadening. This study explores the effects of pulse laser parameters and fiber length on supercontinuum generation, obtains regular cognition and offers theoretical analyses of the results. Through optimization of parameters, a mid-infrared supercontinuum with an 11 μm width is achieved. These findings underscore the potential of chalcogenide double-clad step-index fiber for generating a mid-infrared supercontinuum light source. The designed fiber structure should be helpful in supercontinuum sources, bio-molecule sensing, and spectroscopy.

A theoretical study on deep ultraviolet supercontinuum generation in subwavelength optical fiber

In order to obtain supercontinuum (SC) spectra in the deep ultraviolet (UV) region, a generation method of UV SC is proposed based on subwavelength fiber (SWF) composed of background material MgF2. The nonlinear Schrödinger equation is solved by the split-step Fourier method, the optical fiber transmission characteristics are analyzed by the full-vector finite element, and the evolution of the pumping light into SC is numerically simulated in detail. The results of the numerical analysis show that the SC spectra have a spectral width extending from 229.11 nm to 2366.68 nm when 350 fs input pulses of 6 kW peak power, centered about λ0 = 400 nm, are launched into a 4 cm long MgF2 SWF. Such a deep UV SC spectrum has many applications, especially in telecommunication and military fields.

Design and analysis of the C6H6-filled circular photonic crystal fiber with ultra-flat dispersion for broadband supercontinuum generation with peak power of 130 W and 250 W

This article introduces a new model of a circular silica-based photonic crystal fiber with a hollow core filled with C6H6. The difference in the air hole size and the distance between them in the first ring around the core has a profound effect on the dispersion, leading to ultra-flat dispersion with values as low as ±0.996 ps nm−1· km in wavelength range 0.74 µm. The high nonlinear coefficient of several 1000 W−1 · km−1 and the low confinement loss of a few tens of dB m−1 suggest proposing three fibers with dispersion and nonlinear properties suitable for broadband supercontinuum generation at low peak power. The influence of peak power on the broadening of the supercontinuum spectrum is also investigated. Fibers with a flat all-normal dispersion profile provide a smooth spectrum with bandwidths of 1.215 and 1.626 µm at 30 dB with a peak power of 250 W. A fiber with an anomalous dispersion regime generates a supercontinuous spectrum, broadening to 3.868 µm in the mid-infrared region (2.467 µm bandwidth at 30 dB) under laser pulse excitation with 130 W peak power. Our results provide further insights into the generation of broadband mid-infrared supercontinuum using liquid-core silica-fibers, which have great potential for applications in the fields of optical communications and optical sensing.

Mid-infrared gas absorption spectroscopy using a silicon germanium waveguide based chirped supercontinuum

We report the simulations of coherent supercontinuum generation from 2.63 to 8.04 μm in a silicon germanium photonic waveguide. The influence of input quantum noise pulses on coherence of the generated spectra was investigated. A high value of first order degree of coherence (i.e. 0.98) on supercontinuum spectra was predicted numerically. Our mid-infrared simulated coherent chirped supercontinuum source was then used as the input light source in absorption spectroscopy of carbon dioxide and methane gases. The simulated absorbance spectra for these greenhouse gases have high molecular contrast, thanks to the intense, chirped supercontinuum used.

Novel effective spectrum broadening technology pumped by 2 μm picosecond laser for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation

Using thulium-doped fiber laser to pump fluoride fiber is one of the most common methods to generate mid-infrared supercontinuum (SC). But it is difficult to generate SC spectrum with wavelength more than 4 μm by directly pumping short fluoride fiber with 2 μm picosecond (ps) laser. Although some studies with SC exceeding 4 μm have also been reported, the proportion of spectral power in the long-wavelength region is not very high. To address this issue, a novel and simple approach to solve low peak power of 2 μm ps pump sources is introduced by adding a short piece of holmium-doped fiber. This method can make full use of the gain bandwidth of Ho3+ and soliton self-frequency shift effect to enhance soliton energy and promote spectral broadening. The effectiveness of the approach is verified by constructing a theoretical model to solve the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We demonstrate through simulations that addition of holmium-doped fiber can yield significantly improved output spectral range, power ratio in the long-wavelength region and optical–optical conversion efficiency compared to the previous technical. Especially, the implementation of the new technology can effectively expand the SC long-wavelength edge by ∼470 nm after applying a 3 dB gain, and can easily build a simple, compact and low-cost mid-infrared light source system.

Unified predictive modeling of supercontinuum spectra: Using multi-material data with Closed-Form Continuous Time Neural Networks

This paper explores the application of the Closed-Form Continuous-Time Neural Networks (CfC) model in predicting supercontinuum spectra in a unified dataset of various core materials in a planar waveguide. Through numerical simulations and dataset generation, the study constructs a robust model capable of accurately predicting spectral behavior under different conditions and material variation. Initially, the unified dataset comprises spectral data for three materials: Silicon Nitride (Si3N4), Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3), and Silicon Carbide (SiC). The CfC model demonstrates remarkable accuracy in capturing spectral nuances and exhibits a minimal Mean Squared Error (MSE) loss value of 7.2537×10−4. Subsequently, the dataset is expanded to include Tantalum Pentoxide (Ta2O5), introducing a fourth material for evaluation. The inclusion of Ta2O5 data further validates the model’s scalability and generalization capabilities with Mean Squared Error (MSE) loss value of 6.7894×10−4. The advantage of the CfC model in precisely predicting supercontinuum spectra while retaining computational efficiency is demonstrated by comparisons with conventional methods. The CfC model is a viable tool for enhancing predictive modeling in photonics research because of its scalability and generalization characteristics. This will pave the way for future developments in deep learning techniques for optical device optimization.

Exceeding two octave-spanning supercontinuum generation in integrated As2S3 waveguides pumped by a 2 μm fiber laser

In this work, we demonstrate over two octaves-spanning supercontinuum generation in integrated As2S3 chalcogenide glass waveguides pumped by a 2 μm femtosecond fiber laser. The pump laser provides 182 fs pulses at 50 MHz repetition rate. Through optimization of the waveguide dimensions, a broad supercontinuum spectrum spanning from 0.6 to 2.8 μm was achieved using a 4 μm wide, 5 mm long waveguide with 357 mW coupled pump power. The findings showcase the potential of dispersion engineered, integrated As2S3 photonics for realizing compact, efficient on-chip supercontinuum sources for mid-infrared applications.

Single-shot characterization of special multi-soliton and noise-like pulse emissions in a mode-locked fiber laser

Single-shot characterization of three categories of multi-pulse emissions in a passively mode-locked fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation is experimentally reported. The mechanism to control the intracavity polarization state relies on a polarizer beam splitter cube together with a half-wave and a quarter-wave retarders. With a precise adjustment of the retarders, the fiber laser can reach different mode locking regimes involving noise-like pulses (NLP) and solitons. These regimes include (i) NLP emission exhibiting broad-bandwidth supercontinuum spectrum, (ii) multiple soliton emission in the form of soliton bunches with rectangular-shaped envelope, and (iii) NLP emission with complex pulse patterns, such as the one obtained from the breakup of a rectangular NLP, or the harmonic mode locking regime exhibiting multiple, uniformly spaced NLP wave packets. The experimental results presented in this work provide useful information for a better understanding of different types of multi-pulse emission from the same fiber laser system, complementing the studies focused on the nature and physical mechanisms underlying NLP emission.

Nonlinear compression of mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in dispersion-engineered As2S5 chalcogenide ridge waveguide

We numerically demonstrated nonlinear compression of mid-infrared (mid-IR) supercontinuum (SC) generation in As2S5 chalcogenide glass (ChG) ridge waveguides, achieving a small dispersion value at the pump wavelength of 2.5 µm by adjusting the waveguide width (normal dispersions of -10.547 ps.nm−1.km−1 and the anomalous dispersions of +5.314 ps.nm−1.km−1). These waveguides were designed using the negative slope of the dispersions with the negative third-order dispersion, which are applied to generate the nonlinear compression of SC generation. Using a 50-fs pulse with the peak power of 2000 W, the two waveguides could compress the maximum pulse peak power of 6900 W (> 3.4 octaves) and 6360 W (> 3.1 octaves) and generate the widest SC spectra, spanning from 1.20 µm to 12.96 µm and from 1.25 µm to >13 µm with only short waveguides 0.85 mm and 1 mm long, respectively. The key process behind SC formation in such ChG waveguides is related to self-phase modulation, four-wave mixing, and nonlinear compression. This particular design is effective, and ChG waveguides can generate high peak power and the widest spectra of SC generation. Moreover, the waveguides are also relatively flexible in design, which is concerned with optical design and engineering, and micro-optical devices. As the ultra-wideband mid-IR SC source, high pulse peak power, very short waveguides, and low-energy pulses (<1 pJ) are important for on-chip mid-IR SC sources, the proposed work would offer the greatest benefits in practical application.

Optimization of dispersions in benzene-core square photonic crystal fibers for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation with very low peak power

An ultra-broadband, very low peak power supercontinuum source is proposed based on a novel benzene-filled structured photonic crystal fiber. The modification of the structural parameters has been highly effective in improving dispersion properties, an ultra-flat all-normal dispersion is achieved with fluctuations of ±1.174 ps/(nm.km) in the 0.458 µm wavelength region. Three fibers with suitable optical properties best meet the requirements of supercontinuum generations with low peak power based on numerical simulation results. With anomalous dispersion regime, the first fiber offers the supercontinuum spectra in the mid-infrared region spanning from 0.784 µm to 3.973 µm (2.539 µm bandwidth at 30 dB) using laser pulses excited at 1.55 µm has a peak power of 150 W. A pulse with a peak power of 280 W propagates in a 5 cm length of the second fiber results in a supercontinuum spectrum covering from 0.744 µm to 1.859 (bandwidth 1.063 µm at 30 dB) at a pump wavelength of 1.3 µm with all-normal dispersion regime. A smooth, highly coherent supercontinuum spectrum spanning from 0.843 µm to 2.517 µm (bandwidth at 30 dB of 1.608 µm) is achieved when the third fiber has all-normal ultra-flat dispersion profile pumped at 1.75 µm wavelength with laser pulse peak power of 350 W. With very low peak power, these proposed three-fiber based broadband supercontinuum sources could be a low-cost alternative to traditional glass-core fiber, which has great potential for mid-infrared spectroscopy.

Refractivity corrected distance measurement using the intermode beats derived from a supercontinuum.

Simultaneous distance measurements on two or more optical wavelengths enable dispersion-based correction of deviations that result from insufficient knowledge of the refractive index along the signal propagation path. We demonstrate a supercontinuum-based approach for highly accurate distance measurements suitable for such an inline refractivity compensation. The distance is estimated from the phase delay observations on the intermode beats. We use a supercontinuum (SC) coherently broadened from a 780 nm frequency comb and spanning the spectral range of 570-970 nm. Experiments are performed on the 590 and 890 nm wavelength bands filtered from the SC spectrum. Results show distance measurements with standard deviations of around 0.01 mm at 50 m, and a distance-dependent component below 0.2 ppm on the individual spectral bands. Distance residuals compared to a reference interferometer are on the order of 0.1 ppm for displacements up to 50 m. Controlled pressure-induced refractivity variations are created over a length of 15 m, resulting in an optical path length change of 0.4 mm. Using the two-color method, we demonstrate refractivity-corrected distance measurement with a standard deviation of around 0.08 mm for a 60 s averaging window. The current experimental configuration can be easily extended to distance measurements on more than two wavelengths. The results highlight its potential for practical long-distance measurements through inline refractivity compensation.

Investigation of hybrid chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber for MIR supercontinuum generation and optical communication

Abstract This study describes a wideband supercontinuum generation (SCG) in the mid-infrared range using a chalcogenide multi-material microstructured fiber design with significant non-linearity under optical communication. The fiber has a single core of As2Se3 and three rings of As2S5 rods arranged in hexagonal pattern in the AsSe2 cladding region. The reported PCF design has effective area and nonlinear coefficients as 59.4174 μm2 and 219.36 W−1 km−1 respectively at 5.3 μm pump wavelength. Additionally, it has a chromatic dispersion profile that is nearly zero and flattened over a large wavelength range of 5–15 µm, which is advantageous for broadband supercontinuum spectrum in the mid-infrared region. Specifically, with pulse width and pulse peak power of 200 fs and 10 kW, respectively, for a 100 mm fibre length, this research work illustrates the SCG that expands from 1000 nm to over 15,000 nm. These extremely nonlinear PCFs are robust contenders for applications that are nonlinear in nature, such as the generation of slow-light and supercontinuum.