Focus issue introduction: Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) 2013.

The editors introduce the focus issue on "Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) 2013," which is based on the topics presented at a congress of the same name held in Paris, France, from October 27 to November 1, 2013. This focus issue, jointly prepared by Optics Express and Optical Materials Express, includes 21 contributed papers (18 for Optics Express and 3 for Optical Materials Express) selected from the voluntary submissions from attendees who presented at the congress and have extended their work into complete research articles. We hope this focus issue offers a good snapshot of a variety of topical discussions held at the congress and will contribute to the further expansion of the associated research areas.

[1]  Evgeni Sorokin,et al.  Graphene mode-locked Cr:ZnS laser with 41 fs pulse duration. , 2014, Optics express.

[2]  Günter Steinmeyer,et al.  Supercontinuum generation by multiple scatterings at a group velocity horizon. , 2014, Optics express.

[3]  A. Abdolvand,et al.  Evolution of a conically diffracted Gaussian beam in free space , 2013, 2013 Conference on Lasers & Electro-Optics Europe & International Quantum Electronics Conference CLEO EUROPE/IQEC.

[4]  Kazunori Naganuma,et al.  Mode-locked operation of Cr⁴⁺:YAG single-crystal fiber laser with external cavity. , 2014, Optics express.

[5]  Adnan Kurt,et al.  Efficient and low-threshold Alexandrite laser pumped by a single-mode diode , 2014 .

[6]  T. Maiman,et al.  5 – Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby* , 1969 .

[7]  Adam Lancaster,et al.  Compact Cr:ZnS channel waveguide laser operating at 2,333 nm. , 2014, Optics express.

[8]  T. Fan,et al.  Coherent beam combining and phase noise measurements of ytterbium fiber amplifiers. , 2004, Optics letters.

[9]  Yoichi Sato,et al.  Highly accurate interferometric evaluation of thermal expansion and dn/dT of optical materials , 2014 .

[10]  N. Tolstik,et al.  Graphene mode-locked Cr:ZnS chirped-pulse oscillator. , 2014, Optics express.

[11]  Y. Jeong,et al.  A quasi-mode interpretation of acoustic radiation modes for analyzing Brillouin gain spectra of acoustically antiguiding optical fibers. , 2014, Optics express.

[12]  W. Chujo,et al.  Simulating and designing Brillouin gain spectrum in single-mode fibers , 2004, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[13]  Eric Lallier,et al.  120mJ Q-switched Er:YAG laser at 1645nm. , 2014, Optics express.

[14]  S. Taccheo,et al.  Effective photodarkening suppression in Yb-doped fiber lasers by visible light injection. , 2014, Optics express.

[15]  D. M. Atkin,et al.  All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding. , 1996, Optics letters.

[16]  J K Sahu,et al.  Suppression of stimulated Raman scattering in a high power Yb-doped fiber amplifier using a W-type core with fundamental mode cut-off. , 2006, Optics express.

[17]  Jie Zong,et al.  Monolithic fiber chirped pulse amplification system for millijoule femtosecond pulse generation at 1.55 µm. , 2014, Optics express.

[18]  Mykhaylo Dubov,et al.  Optimisation of microstructured waveguides in z-cut LiNbO3 crystals , 2014 .

[19]  Hans P. Jenssen,et al.  Advanced solid-state lasers , 1991 .

[20]  R. Petkovšek,et al.  Gain switch laser based on micro-structured Yb-doped active fiber. , 2014, Optics express.

[21]  Marian Zamfirescu,et al.  Laser emission from diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic waveguide lasers realized by direct femtosecond-laser writing technique. , 2014, Optics express.

[22]  Matthias Golling,et al.  Pulse repetition rate scaling from 5 to 100 GHz with a high-power semiconductor disk laser. , 2014, Optics express.

[23]  A. Kosuge,et al.  Polarization-selectable cavity locking method for generation of laser Compton scattered γ-rays. , 2014, Optics express.

[24]  Y. Jeong,et al.  Ytterbium-doped large-core fiber laser with 1.36 kW continuous-wave output power. , 2004, Optics express.

[25]  S. Yoon,et al.  Cryogenically cooled 946nm Nd:YAG laser. , 2014, Optics express.