Ultrafast Phenomena VII: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference, Monterey, CA, May 14-17, 1990

Preface: This volume contains contributions presented at the 1990 Topical Meeting on Ultrafast Phenomena. The meeting, held in Monterey, California, from May 14 to 17, was the seventh in a biennial series whose purpose is to provide a forum for discussion of the latest advances in ultrafast optics and their application to fundamental scientific and engineering studies. The 362 registered participants, including liS students, represented a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines and came from 18 different countries. Their enthusiasm, the originality and quality of the papers that were presented, and the beautiful coastal setting combined to produce a very successful and enjoyable conference. The reports herein reflect the vitality of the conference and the field in general. Novel methods for generating picosecond and femtosecond pulses continue to be developed. Even as pulse generation and measurement methods test the limits of visible optics, new techniques extend the technology to different laser media, new wavelength regimes, and ultrahigh power levels. The range of applications, too, continues to expand into new areas of physics, chemistry, biology, material science, and engineering. Although the space available for each contribution does not permit a very detailed discussion of any particular topic, this volume provides an impressively complete, up-to-date record of current research in the field of ultrafast phenomena. Many people contributed to the success of the conference. Members of the international program committee not only provided general guidance, they reviewed all of the papers and organized the program. The staff of the Optical Society of America took care of the rest of the conference arrangements with their usual efficiency. Special thanks are due to the Optical Society of America for the sponsorship that makes that help possible and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which provided the major part of the funding. Additional grants from the following companies are also greatly appreciated: Burleigh Instruments, Clark Instruments, Coherent, Hamamatsu, Klinger Scientific, Lambda Physik, Medox Electro-optics, Metalaser Technologies, Newport Corporation, Quantel, Quantronix, and Spectra Physics. Berkeley, CA - Charles B. Harris, Cambridge, MA - Erich P. Ippen, Gerard A. Mourou - Ann Arbor, MI, Ahmed H. Zewail - Pasadena, CA, August 199