Mid-IR supercontinuum generation in a single-mode ZBLAN fiber by erbium-doped fiber laser

We present a compact broadband supercontinuum (SC) generation in a single-mode fluorozirconate ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber pumped by femtosecond pulses from an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL). The femtosecond seed pulses are generated through passive mode locking using carbon-nanotubes-based saturable absorber in EDFL ring cavity. An SC spectrum spanning from 1100 to 3200 nm with a spectral flatness of <8 dB has been obtained successfully from a single-mode ZBLAN fiber. A piecewise linear relationship of SC spectrum bandwidth with input pulse power is observed.