Broadband mid-infrared supercontinuum generation using a novel selectively air-hole filled As2S5-As2S3 hybrid PCF

In this paper, we report analysis, design and numerical modeling of ultra-broadband mid infrared supercontinuum generation across 2.5-15 mu m 'fingerprint region' using a 1.8 cm newly designed selectively air-hole filled As2S5-As2S3 hybrid photonic crystal fiber (PCF) pumped with 50 fs laser pulses with peak power of 8 kW at 4.5 mu m. The PCF is engineered to achieve a flattened dispersion of 0 +/- 1.5 ps/nm/km over a wide wavelength range of 2000 nm (4000-6000 nm). Such flat dispersion of the proposed PCF promises SC generation with over 6.5 mu m spectral bandwidth and 10 mu m long wavelength edge by directly pumping the PCF with ultra-short pulses at different wavelengths from 4 to 6 mu m. Proposed PCF design has no nano-scale air-holes geometrical variation which remains challenging in fabrication. Proposed PCF has potential applications in food quality control, gas sensing and early cancer diagnostics. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.