Abstract

Advances in femtosecond lasers are extending the exploration of multiphoton interactions well into the strong-field regime, the physical situation in which the external field is greater than an atomic unit $\left(e/a_0^2\right)$. The performance projected for ultraviolet rare-gas halogen technology is cur rently being realized,^1-11 and new near-infrared solid-state systems, such as Ti:Al₂O₃, are under vigorous development. Both technologies¹² should reach a field strength of ~100 $e/a_0^2$ with instruments that produce an output energy of ~1 J.

© 1991 Optical Society of America