In June 1997, the ASCR signed an agreement with the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching (Germany) and became the operator of the Asterix IV laser. This facility provides the basis for experimental research in the field of high-power lasers and their applications, notably in the physics of laser plasmas. The Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) has been made use of by the wider international research community. From 2000-2003, the European experiments at PALS were supported through the 5th Framework Programme of EU, in the frame of the Transnational Access to Major Research Infrastructure action. Since 2004, the laboratory participates at an Integrated Infrastucture Initiative project of the Consortium (6th FP). and Marina Hužvárová.
The XXVIII International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (ICPIG), a traditional conference with a remarkably long history, took place on 15 to 20 July 2007 in Prague. It explored not only the fundamentals of all kinds of plasmas and disarges, but also many applications such as plasma semiconductor processing, surface treatment and thin film technology, light sources and gaseous lasers, environmental protection and pollution control, sterilization and tissue engineering. and Milan Šimek.