New trends in lasers and laser crystals

The current trends in lasers and laser crystals will be addressed. The tech nological challenges and global market forecast for non-diode laser sales w ill be presented as well. The present status of lasers, their various appli cations and the design considerations of a laser system will be discussed, with some future applications which can enjoy the benefit of laser crystals . As an example, we shall present and analyse a special case, where the use of a laser system provides significant advantage over the existing technol ogies. We shall outline some of the developments in the laser field, requir ed to achieve potential future technological goals. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.