Progress in non-silica microstructured fibers

Abstract

The combination of microstructured fiber designs and improving preform fabrication techniques is allowing rapid progress in the development of new classes of non-silica fibers. Recent progress in the fabrication of soft glass and polymer microstructured preforms and fibers will be described. Emerging soft glass fibers are enabling new fiber operating regimes including efficient supercontinuum generation and extreme nonlinearity, and recent results in will be reviewed.