Intense optical fields interact nonlinearly
with materials to create very wide spectra, or supercontinua.
Supercontinua created with ultrafast lasers in very nonlinear
optical fiber have revolutionized the precision and ease with
which optical frequencies are measured. I will describe the unique
properties of the supercontinuum that make these measurements
possible. Many other applications stand to benefit from this
bright, phase coherent light source, as well. However, large
fluctuations in the amplitude of the supercontinuum dramatically
limit its utility. I present the first detailed investigation
of noise on supercontinuum generation in microstructure fiber,
both experimental and theoretical. We have identified the predominant
source of large broadband noise to be fundamental quantum fluctuations
(shot noise).
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