Recent progress in fiber-based supercontinuum sources

Abstract

Fiber-based supercontinuum (SC) generation has been a subject of intense interest over the last decade, with a significant impact on both basic science and industry. New uses for SC fiber sources are constantly emerging due to their unique properties that combine high brightness, visible to mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength coverage, fiber delivery, and single-mode output. Recent years have seen significant progress in overcoming the current shortcomings of SC sources in terms of wavelength coverage towards the 2 to 20 mu molecular fingerprint mid-infrared (MIR) region and in the ultraviolet (UV) down to 100 nm, while also improving stability, noise, coherence, power density, and robustness. In this talk, we will review all the recent advances in supercontinuum generation in a range of specialty optical fibers including: fluoride, chalcogenide, telluride, and silicon-core fibers for the MIR; UV-grade silica fibers and gas-filled hollow-core fibers for the UV range; and all-normal dispersion fibers for ultra-low noise coherent SC generation. Significant developments have been made in reaching target UV and MIR wavelength ranges, and the fiber SC has matured considerably to become a truly disruptive technology able to meet a range of societal and industrial challenges.