Review of ultraviolet laser physics

A review of the status and properties of coherent sources of ultraviolet radiation is presented. This includes a wide range of developments concerning atomic and molecular systems useful for generating wavelengths below 4000 Å, as well as progress in alternative methods of ultraviolet production. Particular emphasis is placed on recent advances in molecular bound-free systems whose operation is enhanced at high densities. It is believed that some of these systems may be scalable to sufficiently high-energy outputs to be useful in controlled fusion applications. A brief prognosis and discussion of future developments tending to the X-ray region are given.