Lifetime measurements in the picosecond range: achievements and perspectives

Recent developments in the measurement of lifetimes in the picosecond range using the recoil distance method (RDM) are reviewed. Results from recent RDM experiments on superdeformed bands in the mass-190 region, shears, bands in the neutron deficient lead isotopes, and ground state bands in the mass-130 region are presented. New experimental devices for lifetime experiments at Yale, such as the New Yale Plunger Device (N.Y.P.D.), the SPEctrometer for Doppler-shift Experiments at Yale (SPEEDY) and the plans for the gas-filled recoil separator SASSYER are presented. Perspectives for the use of the RDM technique in the study of exotic nuclei and its potential use with radioactive beams are discussed. (author)