  Irradiation of solid surfaces with high intensity, ultrashort laser pulses
triggers a variety of secondary processes that can lead to the formation of
transient and permanent structures over large range of length scales from mm
down to the nano-range. One of the most prominent examples are LIPSS - Laser
Induced Periodic Surface Structures. While LIPSS have been a scientific
evergreen for of almost 60 years, experimental methods that combine ultrafast
temporal with the required nm spatial resolution have become available only
recently with the advent of short pulse, short wavelength free electron lasers.
Here we discuss the current status and future perspectives in this field by
exploiting the unique possibilities of these 4th-generation light sources to
address by time-domain experimental techniques the fundamental LIPSS-question,
namely why and how laser-irradiation can initiate the transition of a "chaotic"
(rough) surface from an aperiodic into a periodic structure.
