Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum Generation in a Varying Dispersion Waveguide for Multi-Species Gas Spectroscopy

We report the experimental generation of a broadband and flat mid-infrared supercontinuum in a silicon-germanium-on-silicon two-stage waveguide. Our particular design combines a short and narrow waveguide section for efficient supercontinuum generation, and an inverse tapered section that promotes the generation of two spectrally shifted dispersive waves along the propagation direction, leading to an overall broader and flatter supercontinuum. The experimentally generated supercontinuum extended from 2.4 to 5.5 μm, only limited by the long wavelength detection limit of our spectrum analyzer. Numerical simulations predict that the supercontinuum actually extends to 7.8 μm. We exploit the enhanced flatness of our supercontinuum for a proof-of-principle demonstration of free-space multi-species gas spectroscopy of water vapor and carbon dioxide. © 1995-2012 IEEE.