The Development and Applications of Femtosecond Lasers

Dear Colleagues,

Advances in femtosecond laser technology are playing a fundamental role in materials characterization and processing. The development of compact, tailored, and cost-effective femtosecond sources allows for continuously expanding the scientific community interested in using these new experimental tools. 

Ultrafast spectroscopies based on femtosecond laser sources have pushed our knowledge of dynamic phenomena in physics, chemistry, and biology toward shorter times-scales, opening the way to an in-depth understanding of fundamental light–matter interaction processes. 

The huge peak power and high rep rate delivered in an ultrashort time by such laser sources has given access to materials’ nonlinear optical response. Research progress has been made toward the demonstration of ultrafast all-optical signal processing applications, such as phase conjugation, phase/amplitude regeneration, and mode/wavelength conversion for ultrahigh-speed optical communications. 

Nonlinear optical effects enabled by femtosecond sources have also triggered the development of new techniques in microscopy and bioimaging. Two- and three-photon microscopy has allowed researchers to see previously inaccessible biological structures approaching the limits for imaging depth and resolution while also reducing the background noise that degrades images and avoiding tissue damages.  

Femtosecond lasers are also powerful micromachining tools, for precise processing and minimal influence on the surrounding area, on a wide range of materials, including metals, ceramics, semiconductors, transparent materials, polymers, and biological tissues. Due to these remarkable properties, ultrafast laser-based material processing is being utilized in industrial manufacturing but also in delicate medical surgery. 

This Special Issue is intended as a multidisciplinary forum to encourage researchers to contribute to the broad area of ultrafast laser technology encompassing fundamental and applied aspects of laser–materials interaction. 

Full research papers, short communications, as well as reviews are welcomed on (but not limited to) the following areas:

1. Development of new femtosecond laser systems;
2. Investigation of electron and phonon dynamics in physics, chemistry, and biology by means of ultrafast spectroscopy techniques;
3. Femtosecond optical nonlinearities;
4. Ultrafast optical signal processing and ultrahigh-speed optical transmission technology;
5. Femtosecond laser solutions for imaging;
6. Femtosecond irradiation-based structural and surface modification of materials;
7. Femtosecond laser-based medical surgery in ophtalmology, dentistry, etc. 

Dr. Felice Gesuele
Guest Editor

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• Femtosecond laser sources
• Ultrafast spectroscopy
• Electron and phonon dynamics
• Multiphoton imaging
• Nonlinear optics
• Ultrafast all-optical signal processing
• Femtosecond laser irradiation and micromachining
• Laser based surgery