The laureates' contributions have enabled the investigation of processes that are so rapid they were previously impossible to follow, the statement said.

"We can now open the door to the world of electrons. Attosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons. The next step will be utilizing them," Eva Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said.

There are potential applications in many different areas. In electronics, for example, it is important to understand and control how electrons behave in a material. Attosecond pulses can also be used to identify different molecules, such as in medical diagnostics, the statement said.

Agostini got his PhD in 1968 from Aix-Marseille University, France. He is now professor at the Ohio State University in the United States. Krausz, born 1962 in Mor, Hungary, got his PhD in 1991 from Vienna University of Technology, Austria. He is now director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching and professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Germany. L'Huillier, born 1958 in Paris, France, got her PhD in 1986 from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in France. She is now professor at Lund University, Sweden.

The prize amount is 11 million Swedish kronor and will be shared equally between the three laureates. (1 Swedish krona = 0.090 US dollar)