ABSTRACT
Alkali vapour lasers are under extensive research and development during the past decade because of their potential for scaling to high powers while maintaining a good beam quality. Also, a possibility of using efficient diode lasers for pumping alkali vapour promises high total wall plug efficiency for a Diode-Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL). Since the first DPAL demonstration in 2005, a significant progress in this field was achieved. This chapter presents a historical review of the alkali laser research and development and discussion of the most important achievements in this field.
