"Version: 20220801"--Title page verso.Includes bibliographical references.1. Introduction -- 1.1. Ultrashort pulses -- 1.2. Characteristics of optical pulses -- 1.3. Generation of broadband spectra -- 1.4. Time-bandwidth product -- 1.5. Applications of ultrashort pulses -- 1.6. Ultrashort-pulse-generation techniques -- 1.7. Pulse compression -- 1.8. Experiments with pulse-compression techniques…