Broadband mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in dispersion-engineered As₂S₃-silica nanospike waveguides pumped by 2.8 μm femtosecond laser

Broadband mid-infrared (IR) supercontinuum laser sources are essential for spectroscopy in the molecular fingerprint region. Here, we report generation of octave-spanning and coherent mid-IR supercontinua in As₂S₃-silica nanospike hybrid waveguides pumped by a custom-built 2.8 μm femtosecond fiber laser. The waveguides are formed by pressure-assisted melt-filling of molten As₂S₃ into silica capillaries, allowing the dispersion and nonlinearity to be precisely tailored. Continuous coherent spectra spanning from 1.1 μm to 4.8 μm (30 dB level) are observed when the waveguide is designed so that 2.8 μm lies in the anomalous dispersion regime. Moreover, linearly tapered millimeter-scale As₂S₃-silica waveguides are fabricated and investigated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, showing much broader supercontinua than uniform waveguides, with improved spectral coherence. The waveguides are demonstrated to be long-term stable and water-resistant due to the shielding of the As₂S₃ by the fused silica sheath. They offer an alternative route to generating broadband mid-IR supercontinua, with applications in frequency metrology and molecular spectroscopy, especially in humid and aqueous environments.