Femtosecond supercontinuum generation in water in the vicinity of absorption bands.

ABSTRACT

We show that it is possible to overcome the perceived limitations caused by absorption bands in water so as to generate supercontinuum (SC) spectra in the anomalous dispersion regime that extend well beyond 2000 nm wavelength. By choosing a pump wavelength within a few hundred nanometers above the zero-dispersion wavelength of 1048 nm, initial spectral broadening extends into the normal dispersion regime and, in turn, the SC process in the visible strongly benefits from phase-matching and matching group velocities between dispersive radiation and light in the anomalous dispersion regime. Some of the SC spectra are shown to encompass two and a half octaves.