Toward High-Power All-Fiber 2–5 μm Supercontinuum Generation in Chalcogenide Step-Index Fiber

In this paper, a high-power spectrally flat 2-5 μm supercontinuum (SC) laser is reported in a piece of As2S3 chalcogenide step-index fiber. A fluoride fiber-based SC laser which spans from 2-4.2 μm is used as the pump light. Two pump coupling systems between the fluoride and As2S3 fibers, one based on aspheric lens coupling and the other using all-fiber mechanical splicing are investigated. With the setup of aspheric lens coupling, the obtained SC laser has a 10 dB spectral bandwidth of 3000 nm spanning from 2050 to 5050 nm, corresponding to an average power of 57.6 mW. While with the all-fiber mechanical splicing, the 10 dB spectral bandwidth of the SC laser shrinks slightly, spanning from 2140 to 4980 nm range, but the average output power is further scaled to a record power of 97.1 mW. It is found that the dominant nonlinearities for continuous spectral broadenings in the As2 S3 fiber are self-phase modulation and stimulated Raman scattering in the normal dispersion regime. This paper presents an all-fiber mid-infrared SC laser with spectrum beyond 5 μm for the first time. It also offers a practical solution for robust and reliable high power 2-5 μm broadband fiber laser.