Abstract
Wave-breaking often occurs when a short intense optical pulse propagates in a long normally dispersive optical fiber. This effect has conventionally been avoided in fiber (super-)continuum-based pulse compression because the accumulated frequency chirp of the output pulse cannot be fully compensated by a standard prism (or grating) pair. Thus, the spectral extending capability of the wave-breaking has not been utilized to shorten the compressed pulse. We demonstrate that wave-breaking-free operation is not necessary if a 4f pulse shaper-based compressor is employed to remove both the linear and nonlinear chirp of the output pulse. By propagating a 180 fs (FWHM) input pulse in a nonlinear photonic crystal fiber beyond the wave-breaking limit, we compress the wave-breakingextended supercontinuum output pulse to the bandwidth-limited duration of 6.4 fs (FWHM). The combination of high compression ratio (28×) and short pulse width represents a significant improvement over that attained in the wave-breaking-free regime.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2172-2174 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Optics Letters |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 15 2012 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics