Multi-octave visible to long-wave IR femtosecond continuum generated in Cr:ZnS-GaSe tandem

We report a technique for generation of broad and coherent femtosecond (fs) continua that span several octaves from visible to long-wave IR parts of the spectrum (0.4-18 µm). The approach is based on simultaneous amplification of few-cycle pulses at 2.5 µm central wavelength at 80 MHz repetition rate, and augmentation of their spectrum via three-wave mixing in a tandem arrangement of polycrystalline Cr:ZnS and single crystal GaSe. The obtained average power levels include several mW in the 0.4-0.8 µm visible, 0.23 W in the 0.8-2 µm near-IR, up to 4 W in the 2-3 µm IR, and about 17 mW in the 3-18 µm long-wave IR bands, respectively. High brightness and mutual coherence of all parts of the continuum was confirmed by direct detections of the carrier envelope offset frequency of the master oscillator.