Abstract
We review our mid-infrared (MIR) supercontinuum (SC) source based on ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-
AlF3-NaF) fibers. The SC is generated in an elliptical core passive single-mode ZBLAN fiber with a
Tm:YAP regenerative amplifier which produces 360 fs pulses at the wavelength of 2 μm. The spectrum
of the SC spans from 350 nm to 4.5 μm. We characterized the SC pulses using sum-frequency cross-correlation
frequency resolved optical gating. We have found out that the stability of the SC strongly depends
on the round trip number of the regenerative amplifier. In addition, we were able to generate an
MIR SC with a two-stage Tm:ZBLAN fiber amplifier. Such SC sources are suitable for seeding an MIR
optical parametric amplifier.