Experimental demonstration of spectral broadening in an all-silica Bragg fiber

We present the first report on experimental observation of nonlinear spectral broadening in an all-solid photonic band gap Bragg fiber of relatively large mode area similar to 62 mu m(2). The theoretically designed Bragg fiber for this specific application was fabricated by the well known MCVD technique. Nonlinear spectral broadening was observed by launching high power femtosecond pulses of 1067 nm pump wavelength. These first results indicate that fabrication of such Bragg fibers, once perfected, should potentially serve as an alternative route for realization of supercontinuum light. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America