Pioneers in Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

In the past few years, the development of mid-infrared supercontinuum generation has introduced new and exciting methods that challenge our understanding of nonlinear pulse dynamics, such as cascaded intrapulse difference frequency generation, soliton-plasma physics in gas-filled hollow-core fibers, in-amplifier pulse dynamics, and cascaded supercontinuum generation. Understanding the underlying physics and how to optimize these processes has sparked a renewed demand for elaborate models and calculation-heavy numerical simulations to study vectorial effects, such as polarization, higher-order spatial modes, and spatio-temporal pulse dynamics. Historically, the progress of supercontinuum generation has been closely related to the development of new mid-infrared materials, optical fibers, and waveguides. In fact, supercontinuum generation is commonly used as a means of evaluating the performance of a fabricated fiber or waveguide, because the resulting continuum will depend critically on the material and waveguiding properties. As mid-infrared fibers and laser sources have matured over the years, mid-infrared supercontinuum generation has seen a rapid development toward higher power and longer wavelengths, opening up the field for a multitude of applications within molecular vibrational spectroscopy, spectroscopic imaging and microscopy, optical coherence tomography, stand-off detection, interferometry, and metrology. Looking to the future, one very important aspect for the translation of the mid-infrared supercontinuum from proof-of-concept lab demonstrations to field trials and clinical studies is the transition from traditional bulky free-space techniques toward more compact and practical systems. Key to these efforts is the development of new materials and geometric designs, as well as post-processing techniques such as nanoimprinting, tapering, and fusion splicing.

This Special Issue is targeting pioneers in mid-infrared supercontinuum generation and related applications, covering everything from materials sciences to computational sciences, experimental and theoretical investigations, free-space or integrated optics, applied or fundamental research, based on gases, solids, or liquids.

Dr. Christian Rosenberg Petersen
Guest Editor

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• mid-infrared
• supercontinuum
• nonlinear pulse dynamics
• applied optics
• broadband