定义：
与超快过程相关的激光物理。
超快激光物理是与超快过程相关的激光物理，这些过程发生在皮秒、飞秒甚至更短的时间内。其中特别重要的是关于超短脉冲光的产生过程。这种现象包括：
- 在激光传播下的超快非线性现象，如克尔效应，拉曼散射和四波混频等；
- 超快激发：在半导体诸如半导体可饱和吸收镜和激光二极管中的饱和和释放现象；
- 激光增益介质中的超快过程，例如在稀土掺杂激光晶体中的斯塔克水平下的歧管热化；
- 激光器中的超短脉冲形成（参阅锁模）。
超快激光物理也对其他效应，如色散是如何影响超快过程的感兴趣。
另一名词超快光学则对更广泛的并不仅仅局限与激光的超快现象感兴趣。
Definition: the area of laser physics dealing with ultrashort processes
More general term: laser physics
Ultrafast laser physics is the area of laser physics which is dealing with “ultrafast” processes in lasers, i.e. processes occurring on a time scale of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or faster. Of particular importance are processes concerning the generation of ultrashort pulses of light. Examples of such phenomena are:
- ultrafast nonlinearities in the context of light propagation, such as the Kerr effect, Raman scattering and four-wave mixing
- ultrafast excitation, saturation and relaxation phenomena in semiconductors, such as semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors or laser diodes
- fast processes in laser gain media, e.g. thermalization of the Stark levels within a Stark level manifold of a rare-earth-doped laser crystal
- effects of such phenomena on the pulse formation in lasers (→ mode locking)
It can also be of interest how other phenomena, e.g. chromatic dispersion, influence ultrafast processes.
There is a wider area called ultrafast optics which also covers phenomena outside lasers.
