Single-mode pumped high air-fill fraction photonic crystal fiber taper for high-power deep-blue supercontinuum sources.

Dispersion control with axially nonuniform photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) permits supercontinuum (SC) generation into the deep-blue from an ytterbium pump laser. In this Letter, we exploit the full degrees of freedom afforded by PCFs to fabricate a fiber with longitudinally increasing air-fill fraction and decreasing diameter directly on the draw-tower. We demonstrate SC generation extending down to 375 nm in one such monolithic fiber device that is single-mode at 1064 nm at the input end.

The role of phase coherence in seeded supercontinuum generation.

The noise properties of a supercontinuum can be controlled by modulating the pump with a seed pulse. In this paper, we numerically investigate the influence of seeding with a partially phase coherent weak pulse or continuous wave. We demonstrate that the noise properties of the generated supercontinuum are highly sensitive to the degree of phase noise of the seed and that a nearly coherent seed pulse is needed to achieve a coherent pulse break-up and low noise supercontinuum. The specific maximum allowable linewidth of the seed laser is found to decrease with increasing pump power.

Optimum fiber tapers for increasing the power in the blue edge of a supercontinuum-group-acceleration matching.

We demonstrate how the gradient of the tapering in a tapered fiber can significantly affect the trapping and blueshift of dispersive waves (DWs) by a soliton. By modeling the propagation of a fundamental 10 fs soliton through tapered fibers with varying gradients, it is shown that the soliton traps and blueshifts an increased fraction of the energy in its DW when the gradient is decreased. This is quantified by the group-acceleration mismatch between the soliton and DW at the entrance of the taper. These findings have direct implications for the achievable power in the blue edge of a supercontinuum generated in a tapered fiber and explain observations of a lack of power in the blue edge.

Nonlinear soliton matching between optical fibers.

In this Letter, we propose a generic nonlinear coupling coefficient, η(NL)²=η|γ/ß2|(fiber2)/|γ/ß2|(fiber1), which gives a quantitative measure for the efficiency of nonlinear matching of optical fibers by describing how a fundamental soliton couples from one fiber into another. Specifically, we use η(NL) to demonstrate a significant soliton self-frequency shift of a fundamental soliton, and we show that nonlinear matching can take precedence over linear mode matching. The nonlinear coupling coefficient depends on both the dispersion (ß2) and nonlinearity (γ), as well as on the power coupling efficiency η. Being generic, η(NL) enables engineering of general waveguide systems, e.g., for optimized Raman redshift or supercontinuum generation.

Back-seeding of higher order gain processes in picosecond supercontinuum generation.

In photonic crystal fibers with closely spaced zero dispersion wavelengths it is possible to have two pairs of four-wave mixing (FWM) gain peaks. Here, we demonstrate both numerically and experimentally how the outer four-wave mixing gain peaks can be used to produce a strong amplification peak in a picosecond supercontinuum. The method involves feeding back part of the output light of a SC source and time matching it with the pump light. In this way it is possible to produce a gain of over 20 dB near the FWM gain wavelengths.

Increasing the blue-shift of a supercontinuum by modifying the fiber glass composition.

Supercontinuum light sources spanning into the ultraviolet- visible wavelength region are highly useful for applications such as fluorescence microscopy. A method of shifting the supercontinuum spectrum into this wavelength region has recently become well understood. The method relies on designing the group-velocity profile of the nonlinear fiber in which the supercontinuum is generated, so that red-shifted solitons are group-velocity matched to dispersive waves in the desired ultraviolet-visible wavelength region. The group-velocity profile of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) can be engineered through the structure of the PCF, but this mostly modifies the group-velocity in the long-wavelength part of the spectrum. In this work, we first consider how the group-velocity profile can be engineered more directly in the short-wavelength part of the spectrum through alternative choices of the glass material from which the PCF is made. We then make simulations of supercontinuum generation in PCFs made of alternative glass materials. It is found that it is possible to increase the blue-shift of the generated supercontinuum by about 20 nm through a careful choice of glass composition, provided that the alternative glass composition does not have a significantly higher loss than silica in the near-infrared.

Non-invasive assessment of dairy products using spatially resolved diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

The quality of a dairy product is largely determined by its microstructure which also affects its optical properties. Consequently, an assessment of the optical properties during production may be part of a feedback system for ensuring the quality of the production process. This paper presents a novel camera-based measurement technique that enables robust quantification of a wide range of reduced scattering coefficients and absorption coefficients. Measurements are based on hyperspectral images of diffuse reflectance in the wavelength range of 470 to 1020 nm. The optical properties of commercially available milk and yogurt products with three different levels of fat content are measured. These constitute a relevant range of products at a dairy plant. The measured reduced scattering properties of the samples are presented and show a clear discrimination between levels of fat contents as well as fermentation. The presented measurement technique and method of analysis is thus suitable for a rapid, non-contact, and non-invasive inspection that can deduce physically interpretable properties.