IntroductionInthisIntroductionwewillprovideashortoverviewoftheimportantmilestonesinthedevelopmentofsolid-statelasers,discusstherangeofperformanceparam-eterspossiblewiththeselasers,andmentionmajorapplications.Besidesthecom-pactnessandbenignoperatingfeatures,itwastheenormousflexibilityin