Fundamental noise limitations to supercontinuum generation in microstructure fiber.
Broadband noise on supercontinuum spectra generated in microstructure fiber is shown to lead to amplitude fluctuations as large as 50% for certain input laser pulse parameters. We study this noise using both experimental measurements and numerical simulations with a generalized stochastic nonlinear Schrödinger equation, finding good quantitative agreement over a range of input-pulse energies and chirp values. This noise is shown to arise from nonlinear amplification of two quantum noise inputs: the input-pulse shot noise and the spontaneous Raman scattering down the fiber.
Corwin
K L
KL
National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
Newbury
N R
NR
Dudley
J M
JM
Coen
S
S
Diddams
S A
SA
Weber
K
K
Windeler
R S
RS