Regular ArticlesMid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a three-hole Ge20Sb15Se65 chalcogenide suspended-core fiber

•Most ChG fiber media for SC generation usually contain the toxic element arsenic, such as As2S3 and As2Se3 glasses.•Ge-Sb-Se glasses exhibit higher optical nonlinearities, and have more environmentally favorable.•Therefore, we selected Ge-Sb-Se glasses to prepare the MOF fiber.•Finally, SC spanning from ∼3 μm to ∼8 μm was generated.

This work experimentally demonstrates the supercontinuum (SC) generation in a three-hole arsenic free Ge20Sb15Se65 chalcogenide suspended-core fiber. Mechanical drilling was used to prepare the chalcogenide glass preform, which was drawn into suspended-core fibers. The zero-dispersion wavelength of the fiber is moved toward the shorter wavelength of about 3.2 μm through changing the fiber core diameter by controlling the pressure of inert gas during fiber drawing. When a 15 cm-long fiber with a core diameter of 6 μm is pumped using 150 fs pulses at 3.3 μm, SC spanning from ∼3 μm to ∼8 μm was generated.