GAS LASERS FOR STRONG-FIELD APPLICATIONS.

Atomic-, molecular- and excimer-gas lasers employ variety of pumping schemes including electric discharge, optical, or chemical reactions and cover a broad spectral range from UV to far-IR. Several types of gas lasers can produce multi-kilojoule pulses and kilowatts of average power. Among them, excimer- and high-pressure molecular lasers have sufficient bandwidth for generating pico- and femtosecond pulses. Projects are underway and prospects are opening up to bring ultrafast gas laser technology to the front lines of advanced accelerator applications.