Let there be white light: supercontinuum generation by ultrashort laser pulses
A.M. Zheltikov
International Laser Center of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobevy gory, Moscow, 119992, Russian Federation
Three centuries after Newton’s experiments on the
decomposition of white light into its spectral components and
the synthesis of white light from various colors, nonlinear-
optical transformations of ultrashort laser pulses have made it
possible to produce an artificial white light with unique spectral
properties, controlled time duration, and a high spectral brightness. Owing to its broad and continuous spectrum, such radiation is called supercontinuum. The laser generation of white
light is an interesting physical phenomenon and the relevant
technology is gaining in practical implications — it offers novel
solutions for optical communications and control of ultrashort
laser pulses, helps to achieve an unprecedented precision in
optical metrology, serves to probe the atmosphere of the
Earth, and suggests new strategies for the creation of compact
multiplex light sources for nonlinear spectroscopy, microscopy,
and laser biomedicine. Here, we provide a review of physical
mechanisms behind the laser generation of white light, examine
its applications, and discuss the methods of generation of broadband radiation with controlled spectral, temporal, and phase
parameters.
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