Using two types of glass with different refractive indexes and that are stacked in a specific arrangement, researchers developed a multimode fiber with a parabolic refractive index that enabled transmission up to the mid-infrared and high nonlinearity. The spectrum of short pulses of light injected into the fiber massively broadened, to span from the visible to mid-infrared. The light beam remained smooth because of self-cleaning dynamics induced by the parabolic refractive index. Such a light source, with and ultrabroad spectrum, smooth beam, and high power, could be used in environmental sensing or high-resolution imaging for medical diagnostics.

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