Compact supercontinuum sources and their biomedical applications

Recent developments of compact white-light supercontinuum laser sources are reviewed. Basically these sources make use of a sub-nanosecond microchip laser and a photonic crystal fiber, leading to spectral broadening in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared ranges. The applicability of such supercontinuum sources to the biomedical field is introduced, with the demonstration of promising results in flow cytometry, CARS microscopy and optical coherence tomography. Their attractive benefits in terms of size, robustness, stability and cost are highlighted. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.