High-efficiency ultra-compact near-infrared supercontinuum generated in an ultrashort cavity configuration

We report a novel method to generate near-infrared supercontinuum (SC) in an ultrashort cavity configuration with only 11.5 m. With the continuous laser diode pump, a near-infrared SC with 26.8 W average output power and a spectrum ranging from 900 nm to 2000nm is demonstrated, and the laser diode pump to supercontinuum conversion efficiency is up to 60%. The spectral and power characteristics of the generated SC under different lengths of germanium-doped fiber (GDF) were carefully studied. This near-infrared SC generation method has the advantages of simple structure, low cost and good stability and also possesses the shortest fiber laser cavity length ever reported to the best of our knowledge.