We are a research group that uses nonlinear optics to create new light sources with tailored, and often extreme, spectral and temporal properties. Examples of our work include:

• The generation of few-cycle pulses across the vacuum ultraviolet to infrared spectral range.
• The production of ultrafast electric field waveforms called optical attosecond pulses.
• New techniques for laser frequency conversion and broadband white-light supercontinuum generation.

We use these light sources for both fundamental science — such as the physics of nonlinear optics, driving ultrafast strong-field physics, and advanced spectroscopy — and for applications in healthcare, advanced manufacturing and the semiconductor industry.

Our work is a symbiotic mix of experimentation and numerical modelling. We make use of nature’s full range of materials, laser beam geometries and nonlinear effects, but our favourite system is hollow waveguides (such as capillary fibres and photonic crystal fibres) filled with gases, liquids, and plasmas.

Please see our Project pages for more details, or view our recent Publications, Talks, or News.

We are hosted in the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Science, within the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, at Heriot-Watt University. We are located just outside the wonderful city of Edinburgh, and close to the beautiful nature, horrible history, and terrible weather of Scotland. If you would like to talk to us or visit, see here.