New Perspectives in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science and Technology

Dear Colleagues,

Since the birth of femtosecond lasers in the 1970s, their high peak power and short duration have received widespread attention. With the development of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technology, the single-pulse energy and peak power of ultrafast lasers have been improved unprecedentedly, promising a new way for nonlinear optical research to be performed, namely precision processing, remote sensing detection, and other fields. For example, in industrial applications, the interaction between ultrafast lasers and material occurs only in the focused area, thus enabling precise positioning within the processing area. In addition, the pulse width of an ultrafast laser is shorter than the time it takes for the energy of the electrons to be transferred to the lattice, allowing for higher-quality process results. In scientific research, during the propagation of high-intensity ultrafast lasers through the air, laser filamentation occurs when the Kerr self-focusing effect and the plasma defocusing effect reach a balance, which can produce super-continuum spectral broadening, terahertz radiation, high harmonic generation, and other nonlinear optical phenomena. It has great potential for atmospheric monitoring and national defense applications. However, during the amplification, the presence of nonlinear effects, such as stimulated Raman scattering, self-phase modulation, and cross-phase modulation, limits the increase in their peak power. Although the CPA technique can further enhance peak power, the accumulation of gain narrowing and thermal effects will also limit its application under some special conditions, which require very ultrashort pulse duration and high peak power. In order to overcome the above limitations, new high-power ultrafast laser technologies should be proposed and encouraged, including new ultrafast laser concepts, ultrashort pulse generation, and amplification technologies; new ultrafast laser processing technologies; and explorations of the interaction between ultrafast and laser matter. Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers and review articles that focus on developing new approaches to high-power ultrafast lasers, i.e., novel ultrafast laser concepts, generation and amplification techniques, and applications of ultrafast intense lasers for laser processing and remote sensing detection.

Prof. Dr. Junli Wang
Dr. Yujie Peng
Guest Editors

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• ultrafast laser
• nonlinear optics
• intense laser
• laser processing
• light-matter interactions