The year 2023 represents fifty years since Hasegawa and Tappert predicted that temporally-localized solitons could be generated in optical fibers. This opened up an entirely new field of nonlinear fiber optics, and soliton concepts are now central to many different areas of photonics including the design of ultrafast lasers, frequency comb generation, as well as interdisciplinary studies related to rogue waves. This tutorial will provide an overview of the field.

From fluorescence microscopy to nanoscopy : keys to imaging beyond the diffraction limit

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It will be explained how the propagation of picosecond and femtosecond pulses in optical fibers can be simulated, taking into account chromatic dispersion, various kinds of nonlinearities and wavelength-dependent saturable gain. (A special challenge is the latter, if both time and frequency domain need to be considered.) Coherence properties of frequency combs can be investigated with some additional statistical processing.

Various techniques can also be applied for pulse propagation in other kinds of media, such as waveguides in various doped insulators or silicon.

In this tutorial, I will detail how the quantum or dielectric confinement of electronic wavefunctions can be exploited to achieve optical resonances at the nanoscale. I will then explain how classical electrodynamic theory can be effectively used to study the coupling between quantum emitters or between dielectric resonators but also between quantum emitters and dielectric resonators in both the weak and strong coupling regimes.

I will discuss how this coupling can be used to design complex nanoscale resonators featuring enhanced optical near fields but also to produce the molecular aggregates used in light-harvesting systems. Furthermore, I will show how the formulation of the Purcell factor can be used to analyze luminescence enhancement effects but also to characterize non-radiative energy transfer between fluorescent molecules, highlighting the applications of these phenomena in sensing and biophysics. I will also detail the stringent experimental conditions required to reach a strong coupling regime between quantum emitters and dielectric resonators at room temperature and show some recent realizations, opening exciting perspectives for quantum technologies operating close to room temperature.

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Philippe's tutorial explains the major evolution of optical soliton concepts in ultrafast lasers, largely driven by the fiber laser experimental platform and the dissipative soliton framework, which made scientists move beyond conventional laser stereotypes.

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Hands-on approach to adaptive optics: wavefront sensors, deformable mirrors and…