The First International Conference on Scientific Opportunities with Advanced Attosecond Lasers SOAL-2022, co-organized by the Institute of Physics (IOP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of CAS, and Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, was held at the International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Community in Dongguan from January 16 to 18, 2022. The online and offline Conference invited more than 150 experts from 12 countries. More than 17,000 people attended the Conference through live broadcast.

This Conference was chaired by Academician Fang Zhong, Director of IOP CAS, Prof. Wei Zhiyi of IOP CAS, and Prof. Zhao Wei, President of the CAS Xi'an Branch. During the three-day conference, 58 experts made keynote reports on important progress and achievements related to ultrafast and attosecond technology. They carried out in-depth discussions and exchanges on hot research directions, development trends and future challenges in the field of attosecond laser science and application from multiple dimensions and perspectives.

Fang Zhong and Zhao Wei delivered opening speeches. Internationally renowned experts in attosecond ultrafast science, such as Canadian Prof. Paul Corkum, American Prof. Louis DiMauro and Prof. Hrvoje Petek, and Japanese Prof. Kazuhiro Yabana, delivered speeches and made important suggestions on the future development of attosecond science and highlighted the pioneering and innovative nature in the continuous development of attosecond science and technology before. In addition, other experts in attosecond field, such as German Prof. Marc Vrakking, Swedish Prof. Anne L' Huillier, Swiss Prof. Hans Worner, French Prof. Pascal Salières and Dr. Balázs Major from Extreme Light Infrastructure Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI-ALPS), made keynote speeches. The Conference received wide support and responses from domestic experts in this field. Experts from relevant institutes of CAS and universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University also reported on the important achievements and progress made by Chinese scientists in this field. They demonstrated China's contribution and potential to the development of attosecond science and technology through online communication with international peer experts. At the end of the Conference, Prof. Meng Sheng from IOP CAS  summarized the generation of attosecond technology and its application in matter sciences.

The rapid development of ultrafast physics and experimental techniques has made it possible to detect the real-time multibody dynamics of electron atoms in the matter on the attosecond and femtosecond scale, which can be applied in physics, chemistry, materials, life sciences, among other fields in the future. Advanced attosecond laser devices combining ultrafast terahertz and X-rays will provide scientists with ultra-high time resolution for comprehensively probing into the microdynamic properties of matter to reveal its structure and dynamical processes at the attosecond/nanometer spatial and temporal scales. Given the restrained international exchanges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this Conference has provided an important communication platform for experts in ultrafast science and materials science to explore innovative scientific and technological issues using advanced attosecond lasers. It has also provided an opportunity for outstanding young talent in the field to show their research results.

The Conference was supported by Dongguan Municipal People's Government and Songshan Lake Administrative Committee.