The FEL Program at DESY: From First Results at 100 nm Wavelength to a True 1 Å X-ray Laser

Gigawatt level radiation pulses at wavelengths between 80 and 120 nm and a pulse duration below 100 fs have recently been produced by a single-pass free electron laser at DESY. The radiation has been characterized with respect to pulse energy, statistical properties, spectral distribution and coherence. It has also been used for first experiments on solids and gases demonstrating the potential of the new source. The facility is currently upgraded to higher energy and is planned to start user operation in 2004. Based on this work a large free electron laser laboratory with several experimental stations for the hard X-ray regime down to 1 A will be built at DESY which could start user operation at the beginning of the next decade.