Simulation of picosecond pulse propagation in fibre-based radiation shaping units

We have performed a numerical simulation of picosecond pulse propagation in a combined stretcher consisting of a segment of a telecommunication fibre and diffraction holographic gratings. The process of supercontinuum generation in a nonlinear photoniccrystal fibre pumped by picosecond pulses is simulated by solving numerically the generalised nonlinear Schrödinger equation; spectral and temporal pulse parameters are determined. Experimental data are in good agreement with simulation results. The obtained results are used to design a high-power femtosecond laser system with a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz.