**Preface XI**


Preface

Laser is one of the most applicable sources of energy that can be used in a large variety of applications such as defense, industries and medicine. The special characteristics of this source of energy make it very interesting for different applications. One of the unique char‐ acteristics of laser, compared to other light sources, is the coherence. Coherence is a unique property of lasers that results in a very narrow beam with very limited diffraction compared to other light sources. Also, the laser can be focused to a very small beam diameter and this will perform at very high energy densities. Laser is a directional source of energy, and by

This book includes an interesting and recent collection of relevant research on the develop‐ ment of high-powered laser systems. It includes topics such as using a variety of methods to generate laser pulse in the femtosecond and attosecond range with different wavelengths.

In Chapter 1, *High-Power Laser Systems of UV and Visible Spectral Ranges*, three different exci‐ mer lasers with a variety of peak powers are discussed. The authors showed with experi‐ ments that a peak power of 14 TW can be achieved. Chapter 2, *High-Brightness and Continuously Tunable Terahertz-Wave Generation*, focuses on generating high brightness tera‐ hertz wavelength radiation. The authors also revealed that by controlling the pumping, one can optimize the tuning curve. In Chapter 3, *High-Power, High-Intensity Contrast Hybrid Fem‐ tosecond Laser Systems*, authors consider hybrid lasers by combining chirped pulse amplifica‐ tion (CPA) with optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA). They also review

Chapter 4, *New Generation of Ultra-High Peak and Average Power Laser Systems*, considers the output peak power by extracting during pumping (EDP), as well as generating short pulses using polarization-encoded chirped pulse amplification (PE-CPA). They use Ti:Sa crystals and achieve 200 J output power. In Chapter 5, *Kerr-Lens Mode-Locked High-Power Thin-Disk Oscillators*, the authors review the femtosecond Kerr-lens mode-locked thin-disk technology as a great potential for future applications. They also review the challenges of this method

Chapter 6, *Developing High-Energy Dissipative Soliton 2 μm Tm 3+ - Doped Fiber Lasers*, discuss‐ es the mid-infrared wavelength sources with 2-micron fiber. The authors show that by using the new model, they could achieve a steady 10 nJ pulse power. In Chapters 7 and 8*, Frequen‐ cy-Synthesized Approach to High-Power Attosecond Pulse Generation and Applications: (I) Genera‐ tion and Diagnostics (II) Applications*, the authors discuss the theory of a new scheme of highpower attosecond laser. They also discuss the application of this method in Chapter 8, separately. In Chapter 9, *Theory of Laser Energy Harvesting at Femtosecond Scale*, the authors

including mode-locking initiation, thermal lensing, and oscillator stability.

utilizing optics, it can be directed to a desired path.

several systems that are used around the world.

The book includes 10 chapters.

Chapter 10 **Self-Focusing of High-Power Laser Beam through Plasma 197** Mahdi Habibi and Majid Davoodianidalik
