Low-threshold supercontinuum generation in highly nonlinear chalcogenide nanowires

We demonstrate low-threshold supercontinuum generated in a highly nonlinear arsenic selenide chalcogenide nanowire with tailored dispersion. The tapered submicrometer chalcogenide fiber exhibits an ultrahigh nonlinearity, n2~1.1×10−17m2/W and an effective mode area of 0.48 μm2, yielding an effective nonlinearity of γ~93.4W/m, which is over 80,000 times larger than standard silica single-mode fiber at a wavelength of ~1550nm. This high nonlinearity, in conjunction with the engineered anomalous dispersion, enables low-threshold soliton fission leading to large spectral broadening at a dramatically reduced peak power of several watts, corresponding to picojoule energy.