Abstract

Small-core photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs),¹ typically operating in the regime of anomalous dispersion, show an excellent performance as supercontinuum sources² ideally suited for nano- and subnanojoule input laser pulses. To accoimnodate higher input energies without the risk of laser-induced damage of the fiber material, PCFs with a larger core size are needed. Such large-mode-area (LMA) PCF components^3,4 have been used for the creation of high-power fiber lasers,^5,6 amplification of a short-pulse fiber laser output,⁷ compression of submegawatt, subpicosecond thin-disk laser pulses,⁸ and supercontinuum transformation of nanosecond laser pulses.⁹ In this work, we demonstrate microjoule supercontinuum generation using an LMA PCF with a mode area of 380 pm² pumped by an amplified stretched-pulse output of a mode-locked Cr: forsterite laser with a peak power of a few megawatts.

© 2007 IEEE