Supercontinuum generation in the range 1.6 - 2.4 ?m using standard optical fibres

Experimental evidence is presented that standard optical fibres can be used to efficiently convert nanosecond pulses at 1.59 um to a supercontinuum in the range 1.6 -- 2.4 um. The highest efficiency of conversion to wavelengths above 2 um, 38%, has been offered by a multimode graded-index fibre. The spectral density of average power in the range 2 -- 2.35 um in this fibre is about 1 mW nm-1 and that of peak power is about 10 W nm-1. In all the fibres studied, the practical long-wavelength limit of generation is 2.35 um.