4. Development and characteristics of supercontinuum sources

Experiments in femtosecond supercontinuum generation have lifted important scientific barriers, as demonstrated by the Nobel Prize awarded to T. W. Hänsch in 2005 for his work on optical metrology. However, this type of femtosecond laser is relatively costly and bulky, making it unsuitable for the commercial development of a supercontinuum source. In 2001, the publication of results reporting the generation of a visible supercontinuum from a compact, low-cost nanosecond laser opened up the possibility of producing commercial products that could be used in biomedical...