Advanced high-power lasers and applications-laser fusion, space, and industry

Progress in advanced high power lasers is now opening new applications in science and industry. The technical breakthrough has been achieved with progress in semiconductor diode lasers. The progress of power LD to higher power, higher efficiency, longer life, and better controllability with cost reduction and robustness in handling has enabled LDs to be practical devices in laser energetics. The typical modes of operation of LD based lasers are LD direct use, diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) with CW output and pulse output of high rep. rate (/spl sim/kHz) or low rep. rate (/spl sim/10Hz). Among the many kinds of applications, typical examples of interest are described which are proceeding in the major laboratories or as national projects in Japan.