The High Intensity Laser Laboratory (HILL) operates a high-intensity femtosecond hybrid dyeexcimer laser system offering the best laser parameters at 248 nm in Europe. In the hybrid dye-excimer laser system the seed pulses are generated by an excimer-laser-pumped dye laser system at 497 nm, whose frequency-converted pulses are amplified in a discharge-pumped KrF excimer system. The pulse energy is 80 mJ with 600 fs duration or 40 mJ with 150 fs pulse duration. The focussed intensity can surpass 1018 W/cm2 at several Hz repetition rate with a high spatial and temporal contrast. Several research projects were initiated in plasma physics, solid-state physics and micro material processing involving researchers both from the department and from other research institutes.