Fundamental limits to few-cycle pulse generation from compression of supercontinuum spectra generated in photonic crystal fiber

The fundamental limits to the compressibility of broadband supercontinuum spectra generated in photonic crystal fiber are examined using numerical simulations based on a stochastic extended nonlinear Schrödinger equation. An ensemble average over multiple simulations performed with random quantum noise on the input pulse and spontaneous Raman noise during propagation allows a quantitative study of the effects of pulse to pulse fluctuations on the ability to obtain few-cycle pulses after compensation of the supercontinuum spectral phase. We study the dependence of the supercontinuum compressibility on the input pulse duration, the photonic crystal fiber length, and the spectral resolution of the pulse compressor employed.