Nonlinear chirped pulse propagation and supercontinuum generation in microstructured optical fibre

Based on numerical simulations in microstructured optical fibre, we theoretically investigate the nonlinear propagation of a highly chirped pulse. Surprisingly, but interestingly, a supercontinuum can be efficiently generated with a chirped pulse. Comparing with the case of a Fourier-transform limited femtosecond laser, a chirped pulse with the same peak power and initial bandwidth can produce a broader supercontinuum spectrum with higher average power. Supercontinuum generation by the chirped pulse may provide a new method to directly produce a high power ultrashort pulse that has an ultrabroad bandwidth much larger than that of the pump pulse.