Improved long-wavelength transmission and supercontinuum (SC) generation is demonstrated by antireflective (AR) nanoimprinting and tapering of chalcogenide photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). Using a SC source input spanning from 1 to 4.2 µm, the total transmission of a 15 µm core diameter PCF was improved from â¼53% to â¼74% by nanoimprinting of AR structures on both input and output facets of the fiber. Through a combined effect of reduced reflection and redshifting of the spectrum to 5 µm, the relative transmission of light >3.5 µm in the same fiber was increased by 60.2%. Further extension of the spectrum to 8 µm was achieved using tapered fibers. The spectral broadening dynamics and output power were investigated using different taper parameters and pulse repetition rates.
The trade-off between the spectral bandwidth and average output power from chalcogenide fiber-based mid-infrared supercontinuum sources is one of the major challenges towards practical application of the technology. In this paper we address this challenge through tapering of large-mode-area chalcogenide photonic crystal fibers. Compared to previously reported step-index fiber tapers the photonic crystal fiber structure ensures single-mode propagation, which improves the beam quality and reduces losses in the taper due to higher-order mode stripping. By pumping the tapered fibers at 4 µm using a MHz optical parametric generation source, and choosing an appropriate length of the untapered fiber segments, the output could be tailored for either the broadest bandwidth from 1 to 11.5 µm with 35.4 mW average output power, or the highest output power of 57.3 mW covering a spectrum from 1 to 8 µm.
A highly birefringent polarization-maintaining chalcogenide microstructured optical fiber (MOF) covering the 3-8.5 µm wavelength range has been realized for the first time. The fiber cross-section consists of 3 rings of circular air holes with 2 larger holes adjacent to the core. Birefringence properties are calculated by using the vector finite-element method and are compared to the experimental ones. The group birefringence is 1.5x10-3 and fiber losses are equal to 0.8 dB/m at 7.55 µm.
A low-loss suspended core As(38)Se(62) fiber with core diameter of 4.5 µm and a zero-dispersion wavelength of 3.5 µm was used for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. The dispersion of the fiber was measured from 2.9 to 4.2 µm and was in good correspondence with the calculated dispersion. An optical parametric amplifier delivering 320 fs pulses with a peak power of 14.8 kW at a repetition rate of 21 MHz was used to pump 18 cm of suspended core fiber at different wavelengths from 3.3 to 4.7 µm. By pumping at 4.4 µm with a peak power of 5.2 kW coupled to the fiber a supercontinuum spanning from 1.7 to 7.5 µm with an average output power of 15.6 mW and an average power >5.0 µm of 4.7 mW was obtained.
We theoretically demonstrate a novel approach for generating Mid-InfraRed SuperContinuum (MIR SC) by using concatenated fluoride and chalcogenide glass fibers pumped with a standard pulsed Thulium (Tm) laser (T(FWHM)=3.5ps, P0=20kW, ν(R)=30MHz, and P(avg)=2W). The fluoride fiber SC is generated in 10m of ZBLAN spanning the 0.9-4.1µm SC at the -30dB level. The ZBLAN fiber SC is then coupled into 10cm of As2Se3 chalcogenide Microstructured Optical Fiber (MOF) designed to have a zero-dispersion wavelength (λ(ZDW)) significantly below the 4.1µm InfraRed (IR) edge of the ZBLAN fiber SC, here 3.55µm. This allows the MIR solitons in the ZBLAN fiber SC to couple into anomalous dispersion in the chalcogenide fiber and further redshift out to the fiber loss edge at around 9µm. The final 0.9-9µm SC covers over 3 octaves in the MIR with around 15mW of power converted into the 6-9µm range.
An original way to obtain fibers with special chromatic dispersion and single-mode behavior is to consider microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). These fibers present unique optical properties thanks to the high degree of freedom in the design of their geometrical structure. In this study, the first all-solid all-chalcogenide MOFs exhibiting photonic bandgap transmission have been achieved and optically characterized. The fibers are made of an As38Se62 matrix, with inclusions of Te20As30Se50 glass that shows a higher refractive index (n = 2.9). In those fibers, several transmission bands have been observed in mid infrared depending on the geometry. In addition, for the first time, propagation by photonic bandgap effect in an all-chalcogenide MOF has been observed at 3.39 µm, 9.3 µm, and 10.6 µm. The numerical simulations based on the optogeometric properties of the fibers agree well with the experimental characterizations.
We report the fabrication of new dehydrated halo-tellurite glass fibers with low OH content (1ppm in weight) and low OH-induced attenuation of 10dB/m in 3-4 µm region. It shows halo-tellurite glass fibers a promising candidate for nonlinear applications in 2-5µm region.
The realization of an all-solid microstructured optical fiber based on chalcogenide glasses was achieved. The fiber presents As(2)S(3) inclusions selected as low refractive index material (n = 2.4) embedded in a As(38)Se(62) glass matrix (n = 2.8). The single mode regime of the fiber was demonstrated both theoretically by multipole method calculations and experimentally by near field measurements. Optical transmission measurements of the microstructured fiber and single index fibers made of the initial glasses reveal an excess of losses as high as 6-7 dB/m. This excess is not due to the guide geometry but can be explained by the presence of defects in the glass interface regions.
Chalcogens/chemistry , Optical Fibers , Refractometry/instrumentation , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Miniaturization
A compact second-order Stokes Brillouin fiber laser made of microstructured chalcogenide fiber is reported for the first time. This laser required very low pump power for Stokes conversion: 6 mW for first order lasing and only 30 mW for second order lasing with nonresonant pumping. We also show linewidth-narrowing as well as intensity noise reduction for both the 1st and 2nd order Stokes component when compared to that of the pump source.
We report on all-optical wavelength conversion of a 56 Gb/s differential quadrature phase shift keying signal and a 42.7 Gb/s on-off keying signal. Wavelength conversion is based on four-wave mixing effect in a 1 m long highly nonlinear GeAsSe chalcogenide fiber. The high nonlinearity of the fiber allows low-power penalty operation with a total average power of less than 60 mW.
Relative intensity noise and frequency noise have been measured for the first time for a single-frequency Brillouin chalcogenide As38Se62 fiber laser. This is also the first demonstration of a compact suspended-core fiber Brillouin laser, which exhibits a low threshold power of 22 mW and a slope efficiency of 26% for nonresonant pumping.
We report a chalcogenide suspended-core fiber with ultra-high nonlinearity and low attenuation loss. The glass composition is As(38)Se(62).With a core diameter as small as 1.13 µm, a record Kerr nonlinearity of 46,000 W(-1) km(-1) is demonstrated with attenuation loss of 0.9 dB/m. Four-wave mixing is experimented by using a 1m-long chalcogenide fiber for 10 GHz and 42.7 GHz signals. Four-wave mixing efficiencies of -5.6 dB at 10 GHz and -17.5 dB at 42.7 GHz are obtained. We also observed higher orders of four-wave mixing for both repetition rates.
We report significant advances in the fabrication of low loss chalcogenide microstructured optical fiber (MOF). This new method, consisting in molding the glass in a silica cast made of capillaries and capillary guides, allows the development of various designs of fibers, such as suspended core, large core or small core MOFs. After removing the cast in a hydrofluoric acid bath, the preform is drawn and the design is controlled using a system applying differential pressure in the holes. Fiber losses, which are the lowest recorded so far for selenium based MOFs, are equal to the material losses, meaning that the process has no effect on the glass quality.
We present the first fabrication, to the best of our knowledge, of chalcogenide microstructured optical fibers in Te-As-Se glass, their optical characterization, and numerical simulations in the middle infrared. In a first fiber, numerical simulations exhibit a single-mode behavior at 3.39 and 9.3 microm, in good agreement with experimental near-field captures at 9.3 microm. The second fiber is not monomode between 3.39 and 9.3 microm, but the fundamental losses are 9 dB/m at 3.39 microm and 6 dB/m at 9.3 microm. The experimental mode field diameters are compared to the theoretical ones with a good accordance.
We report several small-core chalcogenide microstructured fibers fabricated by the "Stack & Draw" technique from Ge(15)Sb(20)S(65) glass with regular profiles. Mode field diameters and losses have been measured at 1.55 microm. For one of the presented fibers, the pitch is 2.5 microm, three times smaller than that already obtained in our previous work, and the corresponding mode field diameter is now as small as 3.5 microm. This fiber, obtained using a two step "Stack & Draw" technique, is single-mode at 1.55 microm from a practical point of view. We also report the first measurement of the attenuation between 1 and 3.5 microm of a chalcogenide microstructured fiber. Experimental data concerning fiber attenuation and mode field diameter are compared with calculations. Finally, the origin of fiber attenuation and the nonlinearity of the fibers are discussed.
We report recent progress on fabrication of solid core microstructured fibers in chalcogenide glass. Several complex and regular holey fibers from Ga5Ge20Sb10S65 chalcogenide glass have been realized. We demonstrate that the "Stack & Draw" procedure is a powerful tool against crystallisation when used with a very stable chalcogenide glass. For a 3 ring multimode Holey Fiber, we measure the mode field diameter of the fundamental mode and compare it successfully with calculations using the multipole method. We also investigate, via numerical simulations, the behaviour of fundamental mode guiding losses of microstructured fibers as a function of the matrix refractive index, and quantify the advantage obtained by using a high refractive index glass such as chalcogenide instead of low index glass.
