We demonstrate low-threshold supercontinuum generated in a highly nonlinear arsenic selenide chalcogenide nanowire with tailored dispersion. The tapered submicrometer chalcogenide fiber exhibits an ultrahigh nonlinearity, n(2) approximately 1.1x10(-17) m(2)/W and an effective mode area of 0.48 mum(2), yielding an effective nonlinearity of gamma approximately 93.4 W/m, which is over 80,000 times larger than standard silica single-mode fiber at a wavelength of approximately 1550 nm. This high nonlinearity, in conjunction with the engineered anomalous dispersion, enables low-threshold soliton fission leading to large spectral broadening at a dramatically reduced peak power of several watts, corresponding to picojoule energy.

We experimentally demonstrate enhanced Kerr nonlinear effects in highly nonlinear As(2)Se(3) chalcogenide fiber tapered down to sub-wavelength waist diameter of 1.2 mum. Based on self phase modulation measurements, we infer an enhanced nonlinearity of 68 W(-1)m(-1). This is 62,000 times larger than in standard silica singlemode fiber, owing to the 500 times larger n(2) and almost 125 times smaller effective mode area. We also consider the potential to exploit the modified dispersion in these tapers for ultra-low threshold supercontinuum generation.

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