UV generation in a pure-silica holey fiber

• Main Authors: Price, J.H.V (Author), Monro, T.M (Author), Furusawa, K. (Author), Belardi, W. (Author), Baggett, J.C (Author), Coyle, S. (Author), Netti, C. (Author), Baumberg, J.J (Author), Paschotta, R. (Author), Richardson, D.J (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2003-07-16.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext; Get fulltext

We report supercontinuum generation extending to 300nm in the UV from a pure-silica holey fiber. The broad spectrum was obtained by launching ultra-short pulses (~150fs, 10nJ at 820nm) from an amplified Ti:sapphire laser. The extension of holey-fiber-based supercontinuum generation into the UV should prove to be of immediate application in spectroscopy. By slightly detuning the launch conditions we excited a higher order spatial mode, which produced a narrower supercontinuum, but with enhanced conversion efficiency at a series of blue/UV peaks around 360nm. We present numerical simulations, which suggest that differences in the dispersion profiles between the modes are an important factor in explaining this enhancement. In a related experiment, using the same laser source and fiber, we demonstrate a visible supercontinuum from several subsidiary cores, with distinct colours in each core. The subsidiary cores were excited by an appropriate input coupling. Fabrication of a fiber with a range of core sizes (dispersion profiles) for tailored supercontinuum generation can therefore be envisaged for practical applications.