Supercontinuum lightwave source generating 50 GHz spaced optical ITU grid seamlessly over S-, C- and L-bands

A supercontinuum (SC) lightwave source is presented that emits precise 50 GHz spaced optical carriers on the ITU grid over a seamless spectral range from 1425 to 1675 nm covering the S-, C- and L-bands. Optical powers from −15.7 to −3.9 dBm are obtained over the whole S-, C- and L-band range. The optical signal-to-noise ratio and the linewidth are investigated to estimate the quality of the optical carriers in the generated SC lightwave.