The Supercontinuum Laser Source: The Ultimate White Light

by Robert R. Alfano

Overview

This book, now in its fourth edition, is a well-known classic on the ultrafast nonlinear and linear processes responsible for supercontinuum generation. The book begins with chapters reviewing the experimental and theoretical understanding of the field along with key applications developed since the discovery of the supercontinuum effect. The chapters that follow cover recent research activity on supercontinuum phenomena, novel applications, and advances achieved since the publication of the previous edition. The new chapters focus on: filamentation in gases, air, and condensed media; conical emission by four-wave mixing and X-waves; electronic self-phase mechanism; higher harmonics generation; attosecond laser pulses; complex vector beam supercontinuum; higher order self-phase modulation and cross-phase modulation; nonlinear supercontinuum interference in uniaxial crystals; new nonlinear microscopes involving supercontinuum and ultrafast lasers with biomedical applications; and other current supercontinuum applications in communications.

The Supercontinuum Laser Source is a definitive work by one of the discoverers of the white light effect. It is indispensable reading for any researcher or student working in the field of ultrafast laser physics.

Chapter 6 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493980208
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	03/31/2018
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 3rd ed. 2016
Pages:	434
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert R. Alfano, Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at The City College of the City University of New York, has contributed significantly to the field of ultrafast laser science and is a pioneer in the application of light and development of new tunable Cr3+/Cr4+ lasers, advance of laser spectroscopic and optical imaging techniques for condensed matter and biomedical photonics, and study of ultrafast optical pulse propagation and imaging in scattering media. He is a fellow of APS, OSA, IEEE, NY Academy of Science, and Alfred P. Sloan fellow. He received his PhD. in physics from New York University and spent 8 years at GTE Labs (now Verizon) before joining CCNY. Prof. Alfano received the OSA Charles Hard Townes Award in 2008, the SPIE Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award in 2012, and the APS Arthur L Schawlow Prize in Laser Science in 2013.

Table of Contents

From the Contents: Part I Fundamentals.- Theory of Self Phase Modulation and Spectral Broadening.- Supercontinuum Generation and Condensed Matter.- Ultrashort Pulse Propagation in Nonlinear Dispersive Fibers.- Cross-Phase Modulation: A New Technique for Controlling the Spectral, Temporal, and Spatial Properties of Ultrashort Pulses.- Fiber Based Supercontinuum.- Generation of Ultrashort and Coherent Supercontinuum Light Pulses in all Normal Dispersion Fibers.- Self-Focusing and Continuum Generation in Gases.- Utilization of UV and IR Supercontinuum in Gas-Phase Subpicosecond Kinetic Spectroscopy.- Attosecond Extreme Ultraviolet Supercontinuum.- Supercontinuum in Telecom Applications.- Current Applications of Supercontinuum Light.