Method for improving the spectral flatness of the supercontinuum at 1.55 μm in tapered microstructured optical fibers

We propose a method for enhancing the flatness of a supercontinuum centered at 1.55 μm by the use of specially designed tapered microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). Based on the procedure presented one can determine the linear taper profile parameters and the optimum launching conditions needed to achieve the broadest supercontinuum spectra (SC) and the best spectra flatness. We quantify the maximally broad and flat SC using the calculated standard deviation of the spectra at the required wavelength range and show that it is possible to obtain significantly better results than those obtained by using an untapered fiber.