Negative curvature hollow core fibers for Raman lasing in the mid IR spectral range

In this paper we consider a problem of using negative curvature hollow-core fibers for creation of Raman lasers in the mid IR spectral range. New designs of this type of fibers with cladding formed by one layer of double nested capillaries are discussed and their optical properties are investigated numerically and experimentally. It will be shown that it is possible to reduce the Raman generation threshold by decreasing an effective mode area in such fibers using nested capillaries in the cladding. (paper)