Theoretical and experimental characterization of supercontinuum generation in high nonlinear optical fiber

Supercontinuum (SC) generation provides a good solution to create a multi-wavelength source for high-speed (e.g.160Gbit/s) OTDM/WDM transmission systems. Characteristics of the SC generation in nonlinear fibers are investigated numerically and experimentally. Results show that the SC source developed in anomalous dispersion region is unstable. SC generation in the normal dispersion region is stable, and the phase coherence and time position is well preserved. The SNR is improved in the longer wavelength side compared with that of input pulse. However pulse broadening and limited spectrum broadening needs to be dealt with in normal dispersion operation