Dispersion control in ultrabroadband dielectric-coated metallic hollow waveguides

We show that hollow dielectric-coated metallic waveguides exhibit ultrabroadband transmission and controlled anomalous dispersion in the visible, UV, and VUV range even at high gas pressures. Using the transfer- matrix method we predict that the losses can be significantly reduced in such waveguides, which allows the use of small radii in the range of 10-25 mu m. The resulting significant enhancement of the waveguide contribution to dispersion facilitates phase-matching for nonlinear processes with higher efficiencies. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.