Thermally unable dispersion modulation in a chalcogenide-based hybrid optical fiber

A hybrid optical fiber comprising metal electrodes, high performance polymers, and a highly nonlinear glass core is presented in this work as a novel, to the best of our knowledge, platform for mid-infrared nonlinear devices. The fiber allows for electrical tuning of the temperature by joule heating using a set of embedded tungsten wires. Unlike temperature tuning by an external heater, this results in a strong modulation, which introduces alternating signs of its dispersion. Enhanced spectral broadening through supercontinuum generation in the mid-infrared due to this modulation is investigated numerically. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America

Automated summary

A novel hybrid optical fiber structure composed of metal electrodes, high performance polymers, and a highly nonlinear glass core is presented as a platform for mid-infrared nonlinear devices. Electrical temperature tuning via joule heating introduces alternating signs of dispersion, resulting in strong modulation effects. Enhanced spectral broadening through supercontinuum generation in the mid-infrared region is investigated numerically.