Watt-level supercontinuum generation in As2Se3 fibers pumped by a 2-micron random fiber laser. (22nd March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tang, Yulong; Li, Feng; Xu, Jianqiu
• Is Part Of: Laser physics. Volume 26:Number 5(2016:May)
• Publication Date: 2016-03-22
• Subjects: supercontinuum -- chalcogenide fiber -- mid-infrared -- high power; Lasers -- Periodicals; 621.36605
• DOI: 10.1088/1054-660X/26/5/055402
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1054-660X

Abstract

Abstract: Chalcogenide fibers are good candidates for generating supercontinuum (SC) radiation due to their large nonlinear refractive indices and high mid-infrared transmission, but their low damage thresholds hamper the SC power scaling, thereby limiting the ultimately achieved SC brightness. Here, we report an As2 Se3 fiber SC system pumped by a novel random Q-switched 2 μ m Tm 3+ fiber laser. The maximum SC output power is 1.09 W with slope efficiency of 24%, and the SC spans from ~1980 to ~2500 nm with a spectral width of ~500 nm at the −20 dB points. The spectral power density is ~2 mW nm −1 . To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest power and spectral density SC emission ever achieved in chalcogenide fibers.