This volume contains papers presented at the Tenth International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena held at Del Coronado, California, from May 28 to June 1, 1996. The biannual Ultrafast Phenomena Conferences provide a forum for the discussion of the latest advances in ultrafast optics and their applications in science and engineering. The Ultrafast Phenomena Conference maintains a broad international representation with 391 participants from 18 countries, including 94 students attending the conference. The multidisciplinary character of this meeting provides a cross-fertilization of ultrafast concepts and techniques among various scientific and engineering disciplines. The enthusiasm of the paticipants, the originality and quality of the papers that they presented, and the beautiful conference site combined to produce a very successful and enjoyable meeting. Progress was reported in the technology of generating ultrashort pulses, in cluding new techniques for improving laser-pulse duration, output power, wave length range, and compactness. Ultrafast spectroscopy continues to impact on and expand the knowledge base of fundamental processes in physics, chemistry, biol ogy and engineering. In addition ultrafast phenomena now extends to real-world applications in biology, high-speed communication, and material diagnostics. The Tenth Ultrafast Phenomena Conference was highlighted by a 'special event' in which the developments of the previous conferences were reviewed in a panel discussion by G. Mourou, E. Ippen, A. Migus, A. Laubereau and R. Hochstrasser.

Nonlinear Optics, Quantum Optics, and Ultrafast Phenomena with X-Rays is an introduction to cutting-edge science that is beginning to emerge on state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities and will come to flourish with the x-ray free-electron lasers currently being planned. It is intended for the use by scientists at synchrotron radiation facilities working with the combination of x-rays and lasers and those preparing for the science at x-ray free-electron lasers. In the past decade synchrotron radiation sources have experienced a tremendous increase in their brilliance and other figures of merit. This progress, driven strongly by the scientific applications, is still going on and may actually be accelerating with the advent of x-ray free-electron lasers. As a result, a confluence of x-ray and laser physics is taking place, due to the increasing importance of laser concepts, such as coherence and nonlinear optics to the x-ray community and the importance of x-ray optics to the laser-generation of ultrashort pulses of x-rays.

Nonlinear Optics, Quantum Optics, and Ultrafast Phenomena with X-Rays is an introduction to cutting-edge science that is beginning to emerge on state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities and will come to flourish with the x-ray free-electron lasers currently being planned. It is intended for the use by scientists at synchrotron radiation facilities working with the combination of x-rays and lasers and those preparing for the science at x-ray free-electron lasers. In the past decade synchrotron radiation sources have experienced a tremendous increase in their brilliance and other figures of merit. This progress, driven strongly by the scientific applications, is still going on and may actually be accelerating with the advent of x-ray free-electron lasers. As a result, a confluence of x-ray and laser physics is taking place, due to the increasing importance of laser concepts, such as coherence and nonlinear optics to the x-ray community and the importance of x-ray optics to the laser-generation of ultrashort pulses of x-rays.

This book presents the latest advances in ultrafast science, including ultrafast laser and measurement technology, and studies of ultrafast phenomena. It summarizes the results presented at the 12th Ultrafast Phenomena Conference and reviews the state of the art of this important and rapidly advancing field.

Recent improvements in the performance of light sources, i.e. reduction in pulse length and increases in wavelength range and power levels, have led to ultrafast technology becoming a basic tool in a wide variety of scientific fields. This book describes the remarkable technological improvements and results of new applications in the natural sciences and various engineering fields.