Development of Dispersion-Optimized Photonic Crystal Fibers Based on Heavy Metal Oxide Glasses for Broadband Infrared Supercontinuum Generation with Fiber Lasers

In this work a photonic crystal fiber made of a heavy metal oxide glass with optimized dispersion profile is proposed for supercontinuum generation in a broad range of wavelengths in the near-infrared, when pumped by a mode-locked fiber-based laser. The fiber is modelled and optimal geometrical parameters are selected to achieve flat and low dispersion in the anomalous regime. Supercontinuum generation in the range of 0.76–2.40 µm, within the dynamics of 30 dB, when pumped at 1.56 µm with 400 fs–long pulses and an average power 660 mW is possible. The applicability of such fibers is also discussed.