Abstract
This paper reviews the current status of high-power KrF lasers and considers their prospects for future development. The main laser requirements imposed by target physics considerations are identified and KrF lasers are shown to be uniquely capable of satisfying them. Some design considerations are given for (a) ultrashort-pulse high-power systems, (b) high-power coherent beam generation using Raman amplifiers, and (c) incoherent beam amplification.