The “revolution” of lasers in the optical range has brought about a fundamental change; lasers have become a major part of the most modern space and time-testing equipment of sciences, communication and everyday tools. It is understandable that the spectral extension of the generation/application of intensive, coherent electromagnetic radiation on both “sides” of the optical range (in the direction of VUV, Röntgen and THz) is highly prospective, which allows the study of new types of interactions with the material in combination with the period and wavelength scaling. In view of the possibilities of applying lasers operating on these “exotic” wavelengths, the objective of the tender is very topical and promising success for the Hungarian involvement in the research and development and application of lasers. The importance of photonics is underlined by the fact that nowadays the generation and release of ~50-100 Attosecond impulses in the (extreme) ultraviolet range are at the forefront of research. Hungarian researchers played a pioneering role in the theoretical foundation and experimental implementation of this. Despite the fact that ELI-ALPS in Hungary is aimed at the use/spreading of the Attosecond technology, it is questionable whether the current Hungarian laser infrastructures and research institutes using ultra-short lasers are suitable for the acceptance and application of the techniques targeted by ELI-ALPS. Considering that the generation/application of ultra-short femtosecondary impulses has a number of Hungarian aspects (chörped mirrors, UV excimer technique, THz pulse generation, biophysical applications), it is advisable to achieve a critical mass by integrating the Hungarian laser research network, which results in the generation of specific impulses with unique parameters in a wide wavelength range (THz to X-ray), the development of measurement technology based on this, and the increase of its “attraction” through raising the level of Hungarian tertiary and Ph.D. training. The objective of this tender is to enable pump-test measurements to be carried out in different systems, from atomic, molecular systems, nanostructures to complex biological systems, resulting in femtosecondary dissolution in the entire wavelength range currently available. The examination of photo-availability molecules, metamaterials and the frontier areas of “classic” sciences (phemtochemistry, phemtobiology, attophysics, plasmonics) is still intensively researched areas of physics. At the same time, the penetration of the necessary test methods in Hungary and their integration into the training is lagging behind its role in international research. It is a welcome fact that, as a result of the cooperation of the University of Szeged, the University of Pécs and the University of Debrecen in the field of fundamental research, SzTE and PTE’s laser research workshops have given the opportunity to generate and apply impulses with parameters belonging to the international cutting edge — even in many areas — in various spectral regions (THz, nearby IR, UV, VUV, XUV). With the success of this tender, this first advantage can be enhanced, which in many areas would put the core and applied research lines represented by the consortium partners at the forefront of international research, increase cooperation between partners, the cohesion of research activities, thereby improving opportunities for participation in international projects and joint engagement in the development of training programmes. The professional advancement and integration described above would strengthen our current role in the Laserlab Europe IV project, and it would also play an important role in reducing the existing gap between ELI-ALPS and Hungarian research institutes, which could also be the key to the future professional development and evolution of ELI-ALPS. The overall objective of the project is therefore to increase the international and professional embedding of the participating institutions along the above-mentioned basic research and targeted basic research lines, thus bringing them closer to the realisation of Horizon 2020 projects (strengthening H2020 competence centre, H2020 application management training courses, service development); and strengthen their role in European research networks (LaserLab Europe, ELI, etc.). In order to help this, we pay special attention to improving the conditions of research (research management training, etc.) to the human resources required for research (involvement of young researchers, support for talented students, etc.) and related service development.
