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 $\left({\text{e/a}}_0^2\right)$. The performance projected for ultraviolet rare gas halogen technology is currently being realized¹⁻¹⁰ and new near-infrared solid state systems, such as Ti:Al₂O₃, are under vigorous development. Both technologies¹¹ should reach a field strength of $\sim 100{\text{e/a}}_0^2$ with instruments that produce an output energy of ~ 1J.

© 1991 Optical Society of America