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.

An optical fiber may comprise a core doped with one or more active ions to guide signal light from an input end of the optical fiber to an output end of the optical fiber, a cladding surrounding the core to guide pump light from the input end of the optical fiber to the output end of the optical fiber, and one or more inserts formed in the cladding surrounding the core. The core may have a geometry (e.g., a cross-sectional size, a helical pitch, and/or the like) that varies along a longitudinal length of the optical fiber, which may cause an absorption of the pump light to be modulated along the longitudinal length of the optical fiber.

A microstructured optical fiber for generating supercontinuum light. The optical fiber includes a core and a cladding region surrounding the core. The optical fiber includes a first fiber length section, a second fiber length section as well as an intermediate fiber length section between said first and second fiber length sections. The first fiber length section has a core with a first characteristic core diameter larger than about 7 μm. The second fiber length section has a core with a second characteristic core diameter, smaller than said first characteristic core diameter. The intermediate length section of the optical fiber includes a core which is tapered from said first characteristic core diameter to the second characteristic core diameter over a tapered length. Also, a supercontinuum light source including an optical fiber and a pump light source.

A method for manufacturing a capillary usable as part of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The method includes obtaining a capillary having capillary wall including a first wall thickness; and chemically etching the capillary wall to reduce the wall thickness of the capillary wall. During performance of the etching, a control parameter is locally varied along the length of the capillary, the control parameter relating to reactivity of an etchant used in the etching, so as to control the etched wall thickness of the capillary wall along the capillary length. Also disclosed is a capillary manufactured by such a method and various devices including such a capillary.

An optical waveguide is configured to guide an optical beam, and the optical waveguide includes a down-taper element configured to reduce a diameter of an incoming light beam having a random polarization; a dual-core directional coupler element configured to separate the incoming light beam into a horizontally-polarized beam and a vertically-polarized beam, each beam being confined in first and second cores, respectively; and a core fan-out element configured to increase a distance between the horizontally-polarized beam and the vertically-polarized beam upon exit from the core fan-out element. Each of the down-taper element, the dual-core directional coupler element, and the core fan-out element are 3-dimensional, 3D, printed using a single material.

An optical fiber may comprise a core doped with one or more active ions to guide signal light from an input end of the optical fiber to an output end of the optical fiber, a cladding surrounding the core to guide pump light from the input end of the optical fiber to the output end of the optical fiber, and one or more inserts formed in the cladding surrounding the core. The core may have a geometry (e.g., a cross-sectional size, a helical pitch, and/or the like) that varies along a longitudinal length of the optical fiber, which may cause an absorption of the pump light to be modulated along the longitudinal length of the optical fiber.

An optical element may include a plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers formed in the optical element, where the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers scatter light passing through the optical element. In some implementations, the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers may form a scattering region in the optical element. Additionally, or alternatively, the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers may spatially vary transmission of light through the optical element. The optical element may be an optical waveguide, a bulk optic, and/or the like.

The technology disclosed in this patent document can be used to implement an optical device for generating broadband optical pulses, including an optical waveguide having different waveguide structures at different locations along the optical waveguide and with varying dimensions or pressure gradient that change adiabatically along the different locations to enable non-linear four wave mixing over a broad spectral range.

A method for manufacturing a capillary usable as part of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The method includes obtaining a capillary having capillary wall including a first wall thickness; and chemically etching the capillary wall to reduce the wall thickness of the capillary wall. During performance of the etching, a control parameter is locally varied along the length of the capillary, the control parameter relating to reactivity of an etchant used in the etching, so as to control the etched wall thickness of the capillary wall along the capillary length. Also disclosed is a capillary manufactured by such a method and various devices including such a capillary.

An optical system comprising: an optical assembly having a first optical surface and a rear optical surface, said optical assembly comprising at least three optical elements; an optical fiber comprising a core portion with a mode field diameter (MFD) expanded region optically coupled to the rear optical surface of the optical assembly, the optical fiber comprising a core region doped with chlorine in a concentration greater than 0.5 wt %, wherein the MFD expanded region is less than 5 cm in length, and has MFD at the fiber end coupled to the optical assembly that is a least 20% greater than the MFD at other end of the optical fiber; an optical signal source coupled to first optical surface of the optical assembly, such that the optical signal provided by the optical signal source is routed along an optical path formed by the optical assembly to the mode field diameter expanded region of said optical fiber.