"Blurb & Contents" The wave optics of ultrashort pulses--an area experiencing rapid growth--is closely scrutinized in this completely up-to-date survey, which emphasizes new problems connected with the propagation of the shortest possible pulses. You'll find a presentation of the principles of the Fourier optics of short wave packets propagating in linear dispersive media. Discusses the development of femtosecond laser systems along with the feasibility of controlling pulse shape. Contents: Short Optical Pulses in Linear Dispersive Media. Self-action of Optical Pulses; Self-modulation, Self-compression, Solitons, and Instabilities. Parametric Interactions and Coherent Scattering of Femtosecond Pulses. Fast Phase Control. Compression and Shaping of Optical Pulses. Optical Solitons. Picosecond and Femtosecond Pulses in Optical Information Systems.