High-average-power lasers are opening new opportunities across a remarkably broad range of wavelengths, pulse durations and applications. At the HiLASE Centre in the Czech Republic, our approach has been to develop advanced diode-pumped solid-state laser technologies while simultaneously exploring how their unique parameters can enable new scientific and industrial applications.

In this seminar, I will present selected developments spanning nanosecond high-energy lasers and picosecond high-average-power thin-disk systems. These include the BIVOJ laser platform delivering more than 100 J in nanosecond pulses, as well as the PERLA family of Yb:YAG thin-disk lasers combining picosecond pulse duration, high pulse energy and high repetition rate. Together with advanced frequency conversion and complementary laser technologies, our capabilities now cover a broad spectral range from the deep ultraviolet to the short-wave infrared (SWIR).

I will show how this combination of pulse duration, wavelength, pulse energy and average power enables applications ranging from high-throughput micromachining, multi-beam processing and functional surfaces to laser shock peening and optical component testing, as well as emerging applications in semiconductor manufacturing, space and defence.

Beyond the laser technology itself, I will briefly reflect on the fifteen-year evolution of HiLASE from a laser research project towards a mission-oriented research and technology centre. I will discuss some of the lessons we have learned in combining scientific excellence, long-term technology development and collaboration with industry and international partners – and share our perspective on how advanced laser centres can turn scientific discovery into technological and societal impact.