Supercontinuum Generation: Introduction and Waveguide Dynamics

This lecture introduces the concept of supercontinuum generation, a phenomenon where a narrowband field undergoes massive spectral broadening in a nonlinear medium. The instructor discusses the historical background of supercontinuum dating back 50 years and the challenges faced in generating supercontinuum in bulk. The lecture then delves into the advantages of supercontinuum generation in waveguides, highlighting the control over dispersion and nonlinearity. The instructor explains the experimental setup required for supercontinuum generation and the complexities involved in achieving specific performance criteria. Different supercontinuum generation regimes are explored, including time and spectral evolution, solitons, dispersive waves, and nonlinear responses. The lecture concludes with a discussion on modeling supercontinuum generation, emphasizing important considerations such as window size, temporal and spectral resolution, and dispersion adjustment.