Abstract

We report high-power supercontinuum (SC) generation in a step-index fluorozirconate (ZBLAN) fiber with a zero-dispersion wavelength shifted to $\sim 1.9\mathrm{\mu m}$. Pumping the fluoride fiber with 2.75 W of power provided by a thulium-doped fiber amplifier, a continuous spectrum extending from $\sim 0.85$ to 4.2 μm with 2.24 W of average output power was achieved. Over 61% (1.37 W) of the total output power corresponds to wavelengths longer than 3 μm, which shows, to the best of our knowledge, the highest power conversion efficiency toward the mid-IR spectral band in relation to the output spectrum width. A linear SC power scalability up to 5.24 W, with a spectral band of $\sim 0.9–4\mathrm{\mu m}$, with repetition rate and pump power provided by a 1.55 μm fiber master-oscillator power amplifier system, is also demonstrated.

© 2014 Optical Society of America