Ultra-compact Watt-level flat supercontinuum source pumped by noise-like pulse from an all-fiber oscillator

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Broadband light sources like supercontinuum (SC) are crucial for applications in spectroscopy, sensing, and imaging.
• Traditional SC generation often relies on complex or less efficient pumping schemes.
• Developing compact, efficient, and cost-effective SC sources remains an active research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate Watt-level flat visible supercontinuum (SC) generation.
• To utilize a novel pumping scheme with an Yb-doped all-fiber oscillator generating noise-like pulses.
• To showcase an elegant all-fiber-integrated architecture for SC generation.

Main Methods:

• Directly pumping photonic crystal fibers with broadband noise-like pulses from an Yb-doped all-fiber oscillator.
• Characterizing the generated supercontinuum spectrum and optical power.
• Evaluating spectral flatness and pump residue within a specific wavelength range.

Main Results:

• Achieved Watt-level (1.02 W) flat visible supercontinuum generation spanning 500 nm to 2300 nm.
• Obtained a spectral flatness of less than 5 dB in the 700 nm to 1600 nm range.
• Utilized a 1.4 W noise-like pulse pump source, demonstrating high efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The developed all-fiber integrated SC generator offers high spectral flatness and efficiency.
• The noise-like pulse oscillator presents a competitive alternative to cascade amplified coherent pulses for broadband SC pumping.
• This work represents the first demonstration of SC generation directly pumped by an all-fiber noise-like pulse oscillator.