Patent ID: 8064128

Claim:
A deep blue extended super continuum light source for generating a super continuum spectrum at least extending to a low wavelength border λ low below 480 nm with an intensity of the generated light l(λ)>−10 dBm/nm in a range of wavelengths λ low to λ low +50 nm, said source comprising: a) a pump source arranged to pump a micro-structured optical transmission medium with pump pulses at at least one wavelength λ pump and duration (full width half maximum) longer than 1 picosecond with a repetition rate higher than 1 MHz, and a peak power P peak , and b) said micro-structured optical transmission medium having at least one wavelength of zero dispersion λzero, and for the parameters of said pump pulses arranged to exhibit: i) a second order dispersion parameter β 2 , and a non-linear parameter γ providing a modulation instability gain extending to wavelengths above a wavelength λ high >1300 nm, ii) a phase match between self-frequency shifted solitons and wavelengths<480 nm, and iii) anomalous dispersion for said at least one wavelength λ pump .