Dispersion-engineered step-index tellurite fibers for mid-infrared coherent supercontinuum generation from 1.5 to 4.5 μm with sub-nanojoule femtosecond pump pulses

Abstract

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation from 1.5 to 4.5 μm with sub-nanojoule femtosecond pump pulses is demonstrated by using a short segment of dispersion-engineered step-index tellurite fiber with very low OH content. Distinct group-velocity dispersion regimes in a simple design of step-index tellurite fiber are also reported, which allows to choose the nonlinear pulse propagation regime according to the required tailoring of the supercontinuum source. Numerical simulations based on the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation are used to determine optimized fiber parameters before experimental demonstrations. We also analyse the coherence properties of the resulting supercontinuum sources.