Supercontinuum generation (SCG) converts laser light, typically from a pulsed laser, into coherent light that is characterized by a superwide continuous optical spectrum.The huge spectral bandwidths that these sources enable often span more than two octaves, making these sources instrumental in a plethora of applications. Yet, two characteristics of SCG technology have hampered its ability to penetrate high-volume industrial markets, which often demand ever smaller, more cost-efficient devices. Both demands are related to SCG efficiency.

Supercontinuum sources leveraging novel dispersion patterned waveguide technologies enable reductions in input pulse energy requirements down to a couple of picojoules. Menlo Systems and Superlight Photonics teamed up to develop the first hendheld supercontinuum laser.

Read our article on Photonics Spectra.