In Dye Lasers: 25 years, the pioneers and leading experts in
the field of dye lasers present the current status and
bright future perspectives of dye lasers and their
applications in physics and chemistry. Particular topics
covered include: new sources of ultrashort pulses, novel
aspects of resonator design and imaging for femtosecond
lasers, amplification schemes to terawatt intensity regimes,
optics and high-resolution spectroscopy of atoms and
molecules, and electro-optic and plasma physics applications
of ultrashort and ultra-intense laser pulses.
Since its invention in 1966, the dye laser has
revolutionized many fields of science and technology.
Questions of fundamental interest in physics and chemistry
can now be answered: it is possible to test fundamental
quantum physics in single-atom experiments and
regioselective photochemistry in complexes can be monitored
directlyusing dye-laser diagnostic methods.
In this book the latest results (and most recent references)
are presented for new sources of ultrashort pulses from the
visible to the VUV, together with experimental details of
ultrahigh-resolution spectroscopy of atoms and molecules,
laser diagnostics of the dynamics of elementary chemical
reactions, and ultrahigh intensity sources for laser target
interaction.