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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
06:42
Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
Published on: June 8, 2018
Supercontinuum generation with a chirped-pulse oscillator.
A Fuerbach1, C Miese, W Koehler
1Centre for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems, MQPhotonics Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia. fuerbach@physics.mq.edu.au
Optics Express
|April 1, 2009
Summary
We generated high-power ultrabroadband supercontinuum using a two-step process in photonic crystal fiber. This method creates a stable optical spectrum, even at high power, mitigating fiber damage for white-light generation.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear Optics
- Laser Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Supercontinuum generation is crucial for various optical applications.
- Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) offer unique dispersion properties for nonlinear phenomena.
- High-power supercontinuum generation often faces challenges like fiber damage and spectral instability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a novel method for generating high-power ultrabroadband supercontinuum.
- To investigate the underlying physical mechanisms of the supercontinuum generation process.
- To achieve a stable optical spectrum independent of input pulse energy and mitigate damage.
Main Methods:
- Coupling uncompressed Ti:Sapphire chirped-pulse oscillator pulses into a PCF.
- Utilizing a PCF with highly anomalous dispersion at the laser's center wavelength.
- Employing numerical simulations to analyze pulse dynamics and spectral evolution.
Main Results:
- Observed a two-step generation process involving quasi-linear compression followed by soliton fission dynamics.
- Achieved an optical spectrum remarkably independent of input pulse energy.
- Demonstrated mitigation of fiber damage due to reduced peak intensity at the input facet.
- Successfully generated high-power white-light radiation.
Conclusions:
- The demonstrated two-step process is an effective method for high-power, stable supercontinuum generation.
- The unique dispersion properties of the PCF are key to achieving the observed results.
- This technique offers a promising route for applications requiring high-power, broadband light sources.
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