Dispersion design of all-normal dispersive microstructured optical fibers for coherent supercontinuum generation

Date
2011
Authors
Hartung A.
Heidt A.M.
Bartelt H.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Recently, the generation of coherent, octave-spanning, and recompressible supercontinuum (SC) light has been demonstrated in optical fibers with all-normal group velocity dispersion (GVD) behavior by femtosecond pumping. In the normal dispersion regime, soliton dynamics are suppressed and the SC generation process is mainly due to self-phase modulation and optical wave breaking. This makes such white light sources suitable for time-resolved applications. The broadest spectra can be obtained when the pump wavelength equals the wavelength of maximum all-normal GVD. Therefore each available pump wavelength requires a specifically designed optical fiber with suitable GVD to unfold its full power. We investigate the possibilities to shift the all-normal maximum dispersion wavelength in microstructured optical fibers from the near infra red (NIR) to the ultra violet (UV). In general, a submicron guiding fiber core surrounded by a holey region is required to overcome the material dispersion of silica. Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with a hexagonal array of holes as well as suspended core fibers are simulated for this purpose over a wide field of parameters. The PCFs are varied concerning their air hole diameter and pitch and the suspended core fibers are varied concerning the number of supporting walls and the wall width. We show that these two fiber types complement each other well in their possible wavelength regions for all-normal GVD. While the PCFs are suitable for obtaining a maximum all-normal GVD in the NIR, suspended core fibers are well applicable in the visible wavelength range. © 2011 SPIE.
Description
Keywords
Air holes, Dispersion wavelength, Femtoseconds, Fiber cores, Fiber types, Generation process, Hexagonal arrays, Material dispersions, Micro-structured optical fibers, Near infra red, Normal dispersion, Optical wave breaking, Pump wavelength, Soliton dynamics, Submicron, Supercontinuum, Supercontinuum generations, Time-resolved, Ultra violet, Visible-wavelength range, Wavelength regions, White light sources, Wide field, Crystal whiskers, Dispersion (waves), Dispersions, Fibers, Infrared devices, Light sources, Optical fibers, Optical sensors, Phase modulation, Photonic crystals, Silica, Solitons, Wavelength, Holey fibers
Citation
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
8073
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