Theoretical design of a liquid-core photonic crystal fiber for supercontinuum generation.

We have numerically studied a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber, with its core filled with highly nonlinear liquids such as carbon disulfide and nitrobenzene. Calculations show that the fiber has an extremely high nonlinear parameter gamma on the order of 2.4/W/m at 1.55 mum. The group velocity dispersion of this fiber exhibits an anomalous region in the near-infrared, and its zero-dispersion wavelength is around 1.55 mum. This leads to potentially significant improvements and a large bandwidth in supercontinuum generation. The spectral properties of the supercontinuum generation in liquid-core photonic crystal fibers are simulated by solving the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The results demonstrate that the liquid-core PCF is capable to generate dramatically broadened supercontinua in a range from 700 nm to more than 2500 nm when pumping at 1.55 mum with subpicosecond pulses.

Excitation beyond the monochromatic laser limit: simultaneous 3-D confocal and multiphoton microscopy with a tapered fiber as white-light laser source.

Confocal and multiphoton microscopy are essential tools in modern life sciences. They allow fast and highly resolved imaging of a steadily growing number of fluorescent markers, ranging from fluorescent proteins to quantum dots and other fluorophores, used for the localization of molecules and the quantitative detection of molecular properties within living cells and organisms. Up to now, only one physical limitation seemed to be unavoidable. Both confocal and multiphoton microscopy rely on lasers as excitation sources, and their monochromatic radiation allows only a limited number of simultaneously usable dyes, which depends on the specific number of laser lines available in the used microscope. We have overcome this limitation by successfully replacing all excitation lasers in a standard confocal microscope with pulsed white light ranging from 430 to 1300 nm generated in a tapered silica fiber. With this easily reproducible method, simultaneous confocal and multiphoton microscopy was demonstrated. By developing a coherent and intense laser source with spectral width comparable to a mercury lamp, we provide the flexibility to excite any desired fluorophore combination.

Diode-pumped, ultrafast, multi-octave supercontinuum source at repetition rates between 500 kHz and 20 MHz using Yb:glass lasers and tapered fibers.

We present a compact, all diode-pumped supercontinuum source based on a SESAM mode-locked Yb:glass oscillator at 1040 nm and a tapered fiber. The oscillator has a repetition rate of 20 MHz, a pulse duration of 200 fs, and a maximum pulse energy of about 15 nJ. This system delivers an 1100 nm broad spectrum with an output power of more than 100 mW. Decreasing the repetition rate to 500 kHz by cavity-dumping results in a supercontinuum with a high pulse energy of about 50 nJ. Furthermore, using the frequency-doubled output of this laser at 520 nm with 300 fs pulse duration resulted in supercontinua in the near-UV and visible spectral region. We compare the experimental spectra with theoretical simulations.

Compact multi-Watt picosecond coherent white light sources using multiple-taper fibers.

The combination of a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 picosecond laser source with tapered fibers allows the realization of a compact white light source with an average output power of up to 5.65 W. We generated supercontinua with a throughput of ~50% over a spectral range of up to 1140 nm by using a series of tapered fibers that were spliced together.

Group velocity dispersion of tapered fibers immersed in different liquids.

We investigate the group velocity dispersion of tapered fibers that are immersed in different liquids. Using the Sellmeier equations fitted from measured refractive indices of these liquids, we are able to analyze the dispersion characteristics of the tapered fibers in a tailored liquid environment. Theoretical results show a large span of slowly varying anomalous group velocity dispersion characteristics. This leads to potentially significant improvements and a large bandwidth in supercontinuum generation in a tapered fiber. This holds true as well for a range of new fiber materials.