Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fibers for undergraduate laboratory

Abstract

The nanotechnology field is currently undergoing an exciting period of discoveries. It is necessary to bring nanotechnology to physics students. However, there is a lack of nanotechnology experiments developed for the undergraduate labs. By coupling high peak power laser pulses to a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber, supercontinuum generation and characterization are incorporated into nanotechnology education in undergraduate physics labs. Because of the fast advance and truly interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, the supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber experiment gives physics undergraduate students an opportunity to work with high power lasers, to gain hands-on experience with state-of-art test and measurement equipment, and to access research projects in fiber optics, laser applications and nanotechnology.