The development of super continuum sources is driven by the requirements of a wide range of emerging applications. This paper points out how non-silica fibers are of benefit not only because their broad mid-IR transparency enables continuum generation in the 2-5 μm region but also since the high intrinsic non-linearity of the glasses reduces the power-threshold for devices at wavelengths below 2 μm. For these glasses, the material zero-dispersion wavelength is typically shifted to long wavelengths compared to silica so dispersion tailoring is key to creating sources based on practical, near-IR, solid state pump lasers. We show how modeling work has produced fiber designs that provide flattened dispersion profiles with high nonlinearity coefficients and zero-dispersion wavelengths in the near-IR. Building on this flexibility, modeling of the pulse dynamics then demonstrates how coherent mid-IR supercontinuum sources could be developed. We also show the importance of the second zero-dispersion wavelength using bismuth fibers as an example. Nonlinear mode-coupling is shown to be a factor in larger core fibers for high-power applications. Demonstrations of supercontinuum in microstructured tellurite fibers, all-solid lead-silicate (SF57) fibers and in bismuth fibers and tapers are then reported to show what has been achieved experimentally using a range of materials and fiber geometries.
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