Supercontinuum generation in all-solid photonic crystal fibers with a low index subwavelength inclusion in the core

All-solid photonic crystal fibers are novel fibers which allow us to control dispersion and nonlinear phenomena due to the possibility of using soft glasses and the high nonlinear coefficients of the fibers. We report on dispersion management and supercontinuum generation capabilities in all-solid photonic crystal fibers with a low index subwavelength inclusion in the core. The inclusion makes it possible to engineer the dispersion profile while maintaining a constant effective mode area. Numerical simulations are conducted to analyze dispersion control capability as a function of the geometrical parameters of the fiber cross-section. The structures of photonic crystal fibers have been developed from thermally matched pairs of soft glasses—SF6 lead glass and in-house developed silicate glass NC21—and have been subsequently analyzed. The dispersion characteristics are modeled for theoretical structures and for the developed fibers. Supercontinuum generation is expected and numerically confirmed for the developed fibers in the range 1150–1600 nm with flatness below 1 dB. (paper)