The invention relates to a supercontinuum light source comprising a microstructured optical fiber and a pump light source. The microstructured optical fiber comprises a core and a cladding region surrounding the core, as well as a first fiber length section, a second fiber length section and an intermediate fiber length section between said first and second fiber length sections. The first fiber length section comprises a core with a first characteristic core diameter. The second fiber length section comprises a core with a second characteristic core diameter, smaller than said first characteristic core diameter, where said second characteristic core diameter is substantially constant along said second fiber length section. The intermediate length section of the optical fiber comprises a core which is tapered from said first characteristic core diameter to said second characteristic core diameter over a tapered length.

Embodiments relate to a high power supercontinuum (SC) fiber optical source. The SC fiber optical source includes a prebroadening optical fiber that broadens the spectrum of a lower power intermediate optical signal before final amplification. The spectrum broadening creates spectral components which facilitate further spectrum broadening of amplified signal in final nonlinear stage, allowing to achive flatter and wider spectrum, and reduces nonlinear Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) that could damage SC fiber optical source components or limit the output power of the SC fiber optical source signal, thus enabling higher output power. After amplification in booster, passing at least part of broadened spectrum, the optical signal spectrum is further broadened by injecting the optical signal into a nonlinear stage to create a SC optical signal.

A Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) a method of its production and a supercontinuum light source comprising such PCF. The PCF has a longitudinal axis and includes a core extending along the length of said longitudinal axis and a cladding region surrounding the core. At least the cladding region includes a plurality of microstructures in the form of inclusions extending along the longitudinal axis of the PCF in at least a microstructured length section. In at least a degradation resistant length section of the microstructured length section the PCF includes hydrogen and/or deuterium. In at least the degradation resistant length section the PCF further includes a main coating surrounding the cladding region, which main coating is hermetic for the hydrogen and/or deuterium at a temperature below T.sub.h, wherein T.sub.h is at least about 50 C., preferably 50 C.<T.sub.h<250 C.

Embodiments relate to a high power supercontinuum (SC) fiber optical source. The SC fiber optical source includes a prebroadening optical fiber that broadens the spectrum of a lower power intermediate optical signal before final amplification. The spectrum broadening creates spectral components which facilitate further spectrum broadening of amplified signal in final nonlinear stage, allowing to achieve flatter and wider spectrum, and reduces nonlinear Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) that could damage SC fiber optical source components or limit the output power of the SC fiber optical source signal, thus enabling higher output power. After amplification in booster, passing at least part of broadened spectrum, the optical signal spectrum is further broadened by injecting the optical signal into a nonlinear stage to create a SC optical signal.

A photonic crystal fiber according to the present invention has a plurality of holes arranged in the optical fiber along a longitudinal direction, in which the holes are arranged such that, in a cross section, a hole ratio which is an area of the holes per unit area is larger in a central side than in an outer side in a portion corresponding to a cladding and that a wide core area can be obtained while the number of modes that can be propagated is limited to several. Moreover, in a high-power optical transmission system according to the present invention, the amount of axis misalignment between the central axis of a laser oscillator and the central axis of the photonic crystal fiber is less than or equal to a certain amount.

A photonic crystal fiber according to the present invention has a plurality of holes arranged in the optical fiber along a longitudinal direction, in which the holes are arranged such that, in a cross section, a hole ratio which is an area of the holes per unit area is larger in a central side than in an outer side in a portion corresponding to a cladding and that a wide core area can be obtained while the number of modes that can be propagated is limited to several. Moreover, in a high-power optical transmission system according to the present invention, the amount of axis misalignment between the central axis of a laser oscillator and the central axis of the photonic crystal fiber is less than or equal to a certain amount.

Described are optical fibers and scanning fiber displays comprising optical fibers. The disclosed optical fibers include a plurality of mass adjustment regions, such as gas-filled regions, positioned between a central waveguiding element and an outer periphery for reducing a mass of the optical fiber as compared to an optical fiber lacking the plurality of mass adjustment regions.

Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery system, comprising an optical fiber including a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable, at least in part, modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation assembly arranged to modify the one or more beam characteristics, the perturbation assembly coupled to the first length of fiber or integral with the first length of fiber, or a combination thereof and a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having a second RIP formed to preserve at least a portion of the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam modified by the perturbation assembly within one or more first confinement regions. The optical beam delivery system may include an optical system coupled to the second length of fiber including one or more free-space optics configured to receive and transmit an optical beam comprising the modified one or more beam characteristics.

A method of processing by controlling one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam may include: launching the optical beam into a first length of fiber having a first refractive-index profile (RIP); coupling the optical beam from the first length of fiber into a second length of fiber having a second RIP and one or more confinement regions; modifying the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam in the first length of fiber, in the second length of fiber, or in the first and second lengths of fiber; confining the modified one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam within the one or more confinement regions of the second length of fiber; and/or generating an output beam, having the modified one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam, from the second length of fiber. The first RIP may differ from the second RIP.

This application relates generally to an optical fiber for the delivery of infrared light where the polarization state of the light entering the fiber is preserved upon exiting the fiber and the related methods for making thereof. The optical fiber has a wavelength between about 0.9 m and 15 m, comprises at least one infrared-transmitting glass, and has a polarization-maintaining (PM) transverse cross-sectional structure. The infrared-transmitting, polarization-maintaining (IR-PM) optical fiber has a birefringence greater than 10.sup.5 and has applications in dual-use technologies including laser power delivery, sensing and imaging.