Description:
<jats:p>We review the capability of lasers to generate light pulses of incredibly short duration, from a few femtoseconds (1 fs = 10<jats:sup>-15</jats:sup> s) in the visible down to a few tens of attoseconds (1 as = 10<jats:sup>-18</jats:sup> s) in the extreme-ultraviolet, reaching peak powers up to several petawatts (1 PW = 10<jats:sup>15</jats:sup> W).</jats:p>