Resonance-enhanced multi-octave supercontinuum generation in antiresonant hollow-core fibers

• Published in: Light, science & applications science & applications, 2017-12, Vol.6 (12), p.e17124-e17124
• Main Authors: Sollapur, Rudrakant, Kartashov, Daniil, Zürch, Michael, Hoffmann, Andreas, Grigorova, Teodora, Sauer, Gregor, Hartung, Alexander, Schwuchow, Anka, Bierlich, Joerg, Kobelke, Jens, Chemnitz, Mario, Schmidt, Markus A, Spielmann, Christian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/624/400/1119; 639/766/400/1118; Adiabatic; Applied and Technical Physics; Atomic; Cerenkov radiation; Classical and Continuum Physics; Lasers; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; Optical Devices; Optics; Original; original-article; Photonics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Scaling
• ISSN: 2095-5545; 2047-7538
• DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2017.124

Ultrafast supercontinuum generation in gas-filled waveguides is an enabling technology for many intriguing applications ranging from attosecond metrology towards biophotonics, with the amount of spectral broadening crucially depending on the pulse dispersion of the propagating mode. In this study, we show that structural resonances in a gas-filled antiresonant hollow core optical fiber provide an additional degree of freedom in dispersion engineering, which enables the generation of more than three octaves of broadband light that ranges from deep UV wavelengths to near infrared. Our observation relies on the introduction of a geometric-induced resonance in the spectral vicinity of the ultrafast pump laser, outperforming gas dispersion and yielding a unique dispersion profile independent of core size, which is highly relevant for scaling input powers. Using a krypton-filled fiber, we observe spectral broadening from 200 nm to 1.7 μm at an output energy of ∼ 23 μJ within a single optical mode across the entire spectral bandwidth. Simulations show that the frequency generation results from an accelerated fission process of soliton-like waveforms in a non-adiabatic dispersion regime associated with the emission of multiple phase-matched Cherenkov radiations on both sides of the resonance. This effect, along with the dispersion tuning and scaling capabilities of the fiber geometry, enables coherent ultra-broadband and high-energy sources, which range from the UV to the mid‐infrared spectral range. Hollow-core fibers: ultra-broadband supercontinuum light generated A new design of a gas-filled hollow-core optical fiber generates very broad supercontinuum light, spanning deep ultraviolet to near infrared. Scientists in Jena, Germany, designed and fabricated an anti-resonant hollow core fiber and filled it with krypton gas. When they injected femtosecond pump laser pulses into the fiber, supercontinuum light was generated with a spectral width stretching over more than three octaves from 200 nanometers to 1700 nanometers. Importantly, the fiber features a geometric-induced resonance that can be tuned in respect with the wavelength of the pump laser. Theoretical analysis suggests that the ultra-broadband nature of the output is attributable to an accelerated fission process of soliton-like waveforms and the emission of Cherenkov radiation on both sides of the resonance. The team anticipates that their fiber-based source will be useful for applications in attosecond