Analysis of supercontinuum generation in highly nonlinear fibers pumped by Erbium fiber laser sources: observations and optimizations

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to use numerical simulations and experiments to investigate the SCG in HNLF and optimize the SCG according to the parameters of fiber and pump pulse. Complex temporal and spectral characteristics of supercontinuum generation are investigated in the zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) region of highly nonlinear fibers. The simulations are based on an extended nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE), which is valid even in circumstances where the bandwidth of the SCG is of the same order as the central frequency of the input pulse, and includes higher order nonlineariry, dispersion and intrapulse stimulated Raman scattering. We developed a finite difference scheme incorporating modified 4-th order Runge-Kutta algorithm to solve the equation. We discuss the SCG by varying the parameters of input pulse, such as pulse width, peak power, and center wavelength, to explore the dynamics of SCG in normal and anomalous dispersion regions. An optimal approach for supercontinuum generation is proposed and proved by experiments and simulations. The measured and calculated spectra are compared and exhibit good qualitative agreements. Our works provide a useful approach to design a practical SC source by using the conventional HNLF and readily available low power fiber laser sources.