Question

why laplace transform is used in control systems rather than fourier transform????

Answer 1

The Fourier transform is a very specific version of the LaPlace transform. I think the LaPlace transform also includes information of the damping of signals (which can be important for control system engineering) and the Fourier transform does not.

Answer 2

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16274/fourier-vs-laplace-transforms

Answer 3

If you have an initial value problem at t=0 , It's easy to get time domain from Laplace transform.