Theuseofultra-highintensitylaserbeamstoachieveextremematerialstatesinthelaboratoryhasbecomealmostroutinewiththedevelopmentofthepetawattlaser.Petawattclasslasershavebeenconstructedforspecificresearchactivities,includingparticleacceleration,inertialconfinementfusionandradiationtherapy,andforsecondarysourcegeneration(x-rays,electrons,protons,neutronsandions).Theyarealsonowroutinelycoupled,andsynchronized,tootherlargescalefacilitiesincludingmegajoulescalelasers,ionandelectronaccelerators,x-raysourcesandz-pinches.Theauthorsofthispaperhavetriedtocompileacomprehensiveoverviewofthecurrentstatusofpetawattclasslasersworldwide.Thedefinitionof‘petawattclass’inthiscontextisalaserthatdelivers>200TW.
