Generation of megawatt optical solitons in hollow-core photonic band-gap fibers

The measured dispersion of a low-loss, hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber is anomalous throughout most of the transmission band, and its variation with wavelength is large compared with that of a conventional step-index fiber. For an air-filled fiber, femtosecond self-frequency-shifted fundamental solitons with peak powers greater than 2 megawatts can be supported. For Xe-filled fibers, nonfrequency-shifted temporal solitons with peak powers greater than 5.5 megawatts can be generated, representing an increase in the power that can be propagated in an optical fiber of two orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate a unique capability to deliver high-power pulses in a single spatial mode over distances exceeding 200 meters.