Generation of near-diffraction-limited, high-power supercontinuum from 1.57 μm to 12 μm with cascaded fluoride and chalcogenide fibers.

We generate a supercontinuum (SC) spectrum ranging from 1.57 μm to 12 μm (20 dB bandwidth) with a soft glass fiber cascade consisting of ---- fiber, fiber, and fiber pumped by a nanosecond thulium master oscillator power amplifier system. The highest on-time average power generated is 417 mW at 33% duty cycle.