Widely tunable optical parametric generation in a photonic crystal fiber

We report on the observation of widely tunable optical parametric generation in a photonic crystal fiber. The frequency shift of the generated sidebands that arise from modulational instability is strongly dependent on the detuning of the pump from the fiber's zero-dispersion wavelength. We are able to demonstrate experimentally more than 450 nm of sideband tunability as we tune the pump wavelength over 10 nm. Excellent agreement has been found between the experimentally measured and theoretically predicted shifts. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.