Supercontinuum generation is a nonlinear optical phenomenon. It is a broad, continuous spectrum of light generated from what usually starts as a narrowband laser source. Unlike typical lasers that emit light at a single wavelength, a supercontinuum spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from 390 nm to 2400 nm – from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR).
Think of it as a laser-based light source that combines the high brightness and focus of a laser with the broad spectral coverage of white light. Or as we say: Broad as a lamp, bright as a laser. This unique combination makes supercontinuum lasers, like our SuperK series, an essential tool for demanding applications that require both spectral coverage and coherence.
Photonic Crystal Fibers Powers Supercontinuum
Photonic crystal fibers do more than just guide light – they play an important role in creating the supercontinuum. Their carefully designed dispersion and strong nonlinear properties help broaden the spectrum efficiently, while keeping losses low and maintaining good beam quality. Since the fiber’s characteristics have a big impact on how well the supercontinuum forms, designing and making these fibers is key to the laser’s overall performance and reliability.
At the heart of this technology is a photonic crystal fiber (PCF), a microstructured optical fiber engineered for precise control of dispersion and confinement. When a narrowband, high-peak-power femtosecond or picosecond pulse is launched into a PCF, a suite of nonlinear processes, such as self-phase modulation (SPM), four-wave mixing (FWM), soliton dynamics, and stimulated Raman scattering, come into play.
These interactions cause the laser pulse to spread spectrally to form a smooth, continuous spectrum spanning hundreds to thousands of nanometers.
Tunable Broadband Light
The ability to tune across a broad range of wavelengths from a single light source opens possibilities in fields that rely on precise optical interrogation. Whether you are identifying molecular signatures in spectroscopy, imaging deep tissue in optical coherence tomography, or inspecting photonic components in semiconductor metrology, supercontinuum lasers offer unmatched versatility and performance.
Our industrial as well as academic users benefit from high brightness across a broad spectrum, diffraction-limited beam quality, and stable, turnkey operation. Add filters to our SuperK lasers to adjust the output bandwidth and create a tunable light source tailored to your application. This helps you avoid the complexity of working with multiple narrowband lasers. Or choose our SuperK CHROMATUNE, which has a built-in filter that lets you tune the wavelengths from 400-1000 nm without additional filters.
White and Bright
Supercontinuum lasers are often referred to as “white light lasers” because they provide laser-class brightness across a spectrum traditionally associated with incoherent light. This is particularly valuable in fields where both spatial coherence and spectral width are required.
Applications such as hyperspectral imaging, confocal microscopy, and semiconductor inspection all benefit from this unique light source, which can illuminate samples uniformly while resolving spectral features with high precision.
Applications Across Industries
Supercontinuum lasers are used across a wide range of industries and research fields, such as:
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) for biomedical imaging
- Confocal and multiphoton microscopy
- Broadband spectroscopy and chemical analysis
- Photonic component testing and fiber characterization
- Environmental sensing and pollutant detection
- Quantum optics and quantum communication experiments
- Optical metrology and precise measurement
- Material inspection and quality control
- Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM)
- Hyperspectral imaging and remote sensing
Reliability Since 2007
We made our first supercontinuum laser in 2007, and we have been perfecting them ever since. With a year of service-free use, we offer one of the most reliable and advanced supercontinuum white light lasers on the market. Our SuperK series, based on Hamamatsu Photonics’ photonic crystal fiber technology, delivers thousands of hours of maintenance- and alignment-free operation.
Over 60 SuperK supercontinuum lasers run 24/7 in our test lab to ensure they meet industrial standards. Fully fiber-integrated with collimated outputs and a plug-and-play design, these lasers provide stable, simple operation ideal for both industrial and scientific environments.
