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| Research Award Winners 1998 |
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 | | Prof. Dr. Ursula Keller, Zurich, Switzerland, was presented with the award for her pioneering work on the generation of high-power, ultrashort laser pulses using solid state lasers. New methods of mode locking made it possible to shorten the pulses to time intervals of under 10 femto- seconds.
Professor Keller developed and successfully implemented a new, promising method of mode locking using semiconductor saturable absorbers. In addition, she succeeded in interpreting the spontaneous locking observed by other authors as Kerr lens mode locking. |
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 | | Prof. Dr. Ferenc Krausz, Vienna, Austria, was presented with the award for his pioneering work on the generation of ultrashort laser pulses using dispersive dielectric mirrors.
In a femtosecond laser, the dispersion of conventional components determines the limit for the shortest possible pulse duration which can be achieved. Professor Krausz succeeded in going below this limit by using dispersive dielectric mirrors.
In addition, with the aid of his laser setup, he developed a compact X-ray source with high brilliance which is suitable for promising applications in biology and medicine. |
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