Description
Optimizing supercontinuum generation (SCG) in bulk media requires multi-parameter tuning of pump power, numerical aperture and crystal length1. Here we show that these variables can be largely reduced to an effective filament length, 𝐿_𝑒𝑓𝑓 defined as the separation between the first and second nonlinear foci in nonlinear medium. Using 180 fs, 1030 nm pulses, we find that the infrared spectral bandwidth scales nearly linearly with 𝐿_𝑒𝑓𝑓 over the experimentally accessible range. An analytic estimate of 𝐿_𝑒𝑓𝑓 therefore provides a guideline for predicting and optimizing the SCG bandwidth for given input pulse.
