Page 358 - High Power Laser Handbook

CHAPTER 13

Ultrafast Lasers in

Thin-Disk Geometry

Christian Kränkel
Institute of Quantum Electronics, Physics Department, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland

Deran J. H. C. Maas
Institute of Quantum Electronics, Physics Department, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland

Thomas Südmeyer
Institute of Quantum Electronics, Physics Department, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland

Ursula Keller
Institute of Quantum Electronics, Physics Department, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland

13.1 Introduction
The tremendous progress in the research and development of femto-
second and picosecond lasers, typically referred to as ultrafast lasers,
has enabled many breakthroughs in science and technology. Ultrafast
lasers were a crucial contributor to two recent Nobel prizes: one in
femtochemistry by A. Zewail in 1999, and the other in frequency
metrology by J. L. Hall and T. W. Hänsch in 2005. Femtosecond lasers
have also enabled many other new technologies in areas as diverse as
biology, medicine, and material science. A highly attractive commer-
cial application is precision materials processing. The short duration
of a few picosecond or even femtosecond pulses can ablate material

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