ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces some basic experimental techniques for ultrafast phenomena and briefly reviews the basic features of lasers; for more detailed presentations, the reader may refer to other books. Raman scattering concerns the frequency of generated light that is not a simple combination of the incident frequencies. The medium’s fundamental frequencies are mixed into the frequency of the generated light. Ultrafast phenomena cover many different fields of research, each of which forms its own field. The true power of the laser comes from the fact that it can generate other ultrafast pulses. Femtochemistry deals with molecular vibrations, rotations, ionization, dissociation and chemical reactions on a femtosecond time scale. Metals, semiconductors and superconductors are among earlier intensively investigated materials through ultrafast laser technology. To this end, insulators, strongly correlated materials, topological insulators, graphene and other crystals have been examined. Investigations on the interaction between light and magnetism have a long history.
