Ultrashort-Pulse Lasers: Their Coming of Age

Abstract

Although ultrashort-pulse lasers have been around since the first demonstration of the modelocking technique in the mid-1960s, the practicality of the more versatile versions of such lasers has tended to be the main limitation to their applicability. The availability in research years of solid-state broad-bandwidth vibronic gain media has also enlarged greatly the scientific and technological potential of modelocked lasers that are compatible with the femtosecond time domain. This latter situation not only opens up exciting possibilities for the development of sources of optical pulses towards the single-cycle, but the addition of appropriate amplification schemes also means that access can now be gained into a fascinating new world relating to the interaction of ultrahigh-intensity light pulses with matter.