Highly stable, monolithic, single-mode mid-infrared supercontinuum source based on low-loss fusion spliced silica and fluoride fibers

Abstract

A 0.8 to 4.5 μm highly stable all-fiber spliced mid-infrared supercontinuum (SC) source was presented. The joint between the single-mode (SM) pump silica fiber and the ZBLAN fiber (ZrF4 - BaF2 - LaF3 - AlF3 - NaF, a type of fluoride fiber) was fusion spliced, which greatly improved the SC's stability. The low-loss splicing was guaranteed by the similar mode field areas of the fundamental mode LP(01) of the silica and ZBLAN fibers. At the splicing joint the ZBLAN fiber enveloped the silica fiber, thus increasing the robustness of the splice. A low splicing loss of less than 0.1 dB was calculated, which ensured that the whole SC source was very reliable. The SC had a maximal average power of 550.8 mW with a 1.5 dB spectral bandwidth ranging from 2642 to 4065 nm. In particular, the SC power for λ>3.8 μm was measured to be 116.1 mW with a power ratio of ∼21.1% of the total SC power. Perfect Gaussian beam profiles of the SC source demonstrated its SM operation. Over 12 h of continuous operation of this SC source showed its outstanding power stability with a root mean square variation of 0.59%, which also demonstrated the high quality of the fusion spliced joint.

Laser recrystallization and inscription of compositional microstructures in crystalline SiGe-core fibres

“…Optical fibre research has expanded tremendously in recent decades, due to the incorporation of non-traditional materials, such as chalcogenides12 and fluorides3, and novel designs, such as photonic crystal fibres456. These advances have extended the accessible wavelength range and increased the number of potential applications, particularly in the infrared7 region.…”

10 W-level gain-switched all-fiber laser at 28 μm

“…This multimode splice between the fluoride and the silica fibers was achieved with an iridium filament splicer (Vytran, GPX-3400) using the approach outlined in Ref. [25]. The undoped fluoride glass fiber is then spliced to the erbium-doped fiber (Le Verre Fluoré), which provides gain for the laser cavity.…”

A Review of Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum Generation in Chalcogenide Glass Fibers

“…The fusion splicing between ChG with other fibers, especially ZBLAN fibers, needs be applied to reduce the high Fresnel reflection. Silica with ZBLAN fibers or ChG fibers, spliced by fusion, have been successfully developed and used for SC generation [190,[196][197][198]. If these two technologies can be improved and applied for the splicing of ChG and ZBLAN fibers, they will have great potential to produce all-fiber-scheme SC sources with high average output powers.…”