A Review of Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum Generation in Chalcogenide Glass Fibers

Chalcogenide glasses have the advantages of a wide transparency window (over 20 μm) and high optical nonlinearity (up to a thousand times greater than that of silica glasses), making them good candidates for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. In this review, we describe both the history and recent developments in mid-infrared supercontinuum generation from chalcogenide fibers according to three kinds of fiber structures: step-index, microstructured and tapered fibers. We also review the coherence properties of mid-infrared supercontinuum generation and all-fiber supercontinuum sources based on chalcogenide fibers.