Modelocking enables the generation of ultrashort pulses of light from laser cavities, a breakthrough that has led to four Nobel Prizes. The process of generating ultrashort pulses is so seamless and reliable that it is easy to overlook that modelocking is a self-organized phenomenon, arguably one of the most impactful in science. Thousands of frequency modes within a laser cavity spontaneously lock their phases, producing pulses that are orders of magnitude shorter than the cavity itself.

Historically focused on uniform pulse trains, modelocking research now explores frontiers like spatiotemporal modelocking, designer soliton molecules, ultra-high repetition rates, and novel pulse patterns, requiring managing of vastly more degrees of freedom and controlling novel instabilities.

Meanwhile, a revolution in complex optics offers new methods for mastering numerous spatial modes and their fluctuations, promising synergies with modelocking that could advance laser physics, complex systems, and numerous applications, including biological imaging, pattern formation beyond the diffraction limit, and material processing.

This workshop will bring together experts in modelocking, complex optics, and related fields to explore these synergies and emerging opportunities.

Time: 22 November 2024
Location: ID 3 / 653