This book presents an in-depth discussion of the semiconductor-laser gain medium. The optical and electronic properties of semiconductors, particularly semiconductor quantum-well systems, are analzyed in detail, covering a wide variety of near-infrared systems with or without strain, as well as wide-gap materials such as the group-III nitride compounds or the II-VI materials. The important bandstructure modifications and Coulomb interaction effects are discussed, including the solution of the longstanding semiconductor laser lineshape problem. Quantitative comparisons between measured and predicted gain/absorption and refractive index spectra for a wide variety of semiconductor-laser materials enable the theoretical results to be used directly in the engineering of advanced laser and amplifier structures. A wealth of examples for many different material combinations bestow the book with quantitative and predictive value for a wide variety of applications.

For more than a century, microscopy has been a centerpiece of extraordinary discoveries in biology. Along the way, remarkable imaging tools have been developed allowing scientists to dissect the complexity of cellular processes at the nano length molecular scales. Nanoimaging: Methods and Protocols presents a diverse collection of microscopy techniques and methodologies that provides guidance to successfully image cellular molecular complexes at nanometer spatial resolution. The book's four parts cover: (1) light microscopy techniques with a special emphasis on methods that go beyond the classic diffraction-limited imaging; (2) electron microscopy techniques for high-resolution imaging of molecules, cells and tissues, in both two and three dimensions; (3) scanning probe microscopy techniques for imaging and probing macromolecular complexes and membrane surface topography; and (4) complementary techniques on correlative microscopy, soft x-ray tomography and secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging. Written in the successful format of the Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, Nanoimaging: Methods and Protocols highlights many of the most exciting possibilities in microscopy for the investigation of biological structures at the nano length molecular scales.

The development of advanced dielectric photonic structures has enabled tremendous control over the propagation and manipulation of light. Structures such as waveguides, splitters, mixers, and resonators now play a central role in the telecommunications industry. This book will discuss an exciting new class of photonic devices, known as surface plasmon nanophotonic structures. Surface plasmons are easily accessible excitations in metals and semiconductors and involve a collective motion of the conduction electrons. The book will highlight several exciting new discoveries, while providing a clear discussion of the underlying physics, the nanofabrication issues, and the materials considerations involved in designing plasmonic devices with new functionality. It is written at the level of a first year graduate student with some background in electromagnetic theory and working knowledge of Maxwell's equations.

Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity: A Case Study discusses the subject of forensic voice identification and speaker profiling. Specifically focusing on speaker profiling and using dialects of the Hindi language, widely used in India, the authors have contributed to the body of research on speaker identification by using accent feature as the discriminating factor. This case study contributes to the understanding of the speaker identification process in a situation where unknown speech samples are in different language/dialect than the recording of a suspect. The authors' data establishes that vowel quality, quantity, intonation and tone of a speaker as compared to Khariboli (standard Hindi) could be the potential features for identification of dialect accent.

Mathematical morphology is a powerful methodology for the processing and analysis of geometric structure in signals and images. This book contains the proceedings of the fifth International Symposium on Mathematical Morphology and its Applications to Image and Signal Processing, held June 26-28, 2000, at Xerox PARC, Palo Alto, California. It provides a broad sampling of the most recent theoretical and practical developments of mathematical morphology and its applications to image and signal processing. Areas covered include: decomposition of structuring functions and morphological operators, morphological discretization, filtering, connectivity and connected operators, morphological shape analysis and interpolation, texture analysis, morphological segmentation, morphological multiresolution techniques and scale-spaces, and morphological algorithms and applications. Audience: The subject matter of this volume will be of interest to electrical engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians whose research work is focused on the theoretical and practical aspects of nonlinear signal and image processing. It will also be of interest to those working in computer vision, applied mathematics, and computer graphics.

This book is dedicated to the analysis and design of analog CMOS nonlinear function synthesizer structures, based on original superior-order approximation functions. A variety of analog function synthesizer structures are discussed, based on accurate approximation functions. Readers will be enabled to implement numerous circuit functions with applications in analog signal processing, including exponential, Gaussian or hyperbolic functions. Generalizing the methods for obtaining these particular functions, the author analyzes superior-order approximation functions, which represent the core for developing CMOS analog nonlinear function synthesizers.

The book focuses on the different aspects of sensing technology, i.e. high reliability, adaptability, recalibration, information processing, data fusion, validation and integration of novel and high performance sensors specifically aims to monitor agricultural and environmental parameters. This book is dedicated to Sensing systems for Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring offers to variety of users, namely, Master and PhD degree students, researchers, practitioners, especially Agriculture and Environmental engineers. The book will provide an opportunity of a dedicated and a deep approach in order to improve their knowledge in this specific field.

Recent state-of-the-art technologies in fabricating low-loss optical and mechanical components have significantly motivated the study of quantum-limited measurements with optomechanical devices. Such research is the main subject of this thesis. In the first part, the author considers various approaches for surpassing the standard quantum limit for force measurements. In the second part, the author proposes different experimental protocols for using optomechanical interactions to explore quantum behaviors of macroscopic mechanical objects. Even though this thesis mostly focuses on large-scale laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors and related experiments, the general approaches apply equally well for studying small-scale optomechanical devices.

The author is the winner of the 2010 Thesis prize awarded by the Gravitational Wave International Committee.

In a computational tour-de-force, this volume wipes away a host of problems related to location discovery in wireless ad-hoc sensor networks. WASNs have recognized potential in many applications that are location-dependent, yet are heavily constrained by factors such as cost and energy consumption. Their "ad-hoc" nature, with direct rather than mediated connections between a network of wireless devices, adds another layer of difficulty. Basing this work entirely on data-driven, coordinated algorithms, the author's aim is to present location discovery techniques that are highly accurate-and which fit user criteria. The research deploys nonparametric statistical methods and relies on the concept of joint probability to construct error (including location error) models and environmental field models. It also addresses system issues such as the broadcast and scheduling of the beacon. Reporting an impressive accuracy gain of almost 17 percent, and organized in a clear, sequential manner, this book represents a stride forward in wireless localization.

This edited monograph is written by leading experts in this area and is the first book entirely devoted to Raman amplification. Three sections include extensive background on Raman physics, descriptions of sub-systems and modules utilizing Raman technology, and a review of current state-of-the-art systems.

Silicon sensors integrated with readout circuits on one chip are now being considered for a wide and growing range of applications. Technological compatibility constraints and the need for economic large-scale production are now the major concerns if these devices are to become widely used in industry and medicine. This is the first book to attempt to evaluate the real prospects and limitations of integrated silicon smart sensors. It provides a thorough introduction to and review of, the field, covering both technical and economic issues critical to the future success of this technology.

Perspectives in Spread Spectrum brings together studies and recent work on six exciting topics from the spread spectrum arts. The book gives a wide, collective view of trends, ideas, and techniques in the spread spectrum discipline, due to the authors' extensive work on spread spectrum techniques and applications from different vantage points. The inexorable march of electronics towards ever faster, ever smaller, and ever more powerful electronic and optical circuitry has wrought, and will continue to enable, profound changes in the spread spectrum arts, by allowing increasingly complex signalling waveforms and statistical tests to be implemented as the theory beyond spread spectrum continues to evolve. Perspectives in Spread Spectrum is divided into six chapters. The first chapter deals with sequence spreading design. There is not a single metric for design of spreading sequences; rather, the design is ideally tailored to the specific scenario of usage. This chapter delves into recent and very promising synthesis work. The second chapter deals with OFDM techniques. As channels become wider and trans-channel fading (or jamming) becomes frequency selective across the band, OFDM techniques may provide a powerful alternative design perspective. The third chapter is a generalization of the venerable Walsh functions. A new modulation scheme, Geometric Harmonic Modulation, GHM for short, is reviewed and characterized as a form of OFDM. From GHM, a further generalization of the Walsh functions is derived for non-binary signalling. The fourth chapter is concerned with some new and exciting results regarding the follower jammer paradigm. A counter-countermeasure technique is reviewed, notable for its counterintuitive characteristic which can be understood from a simple yet elegant game framework. The fifth chapter recounts some results pertaining to random coding for an optical spread spectrum link. The technique is based on laser speckle statistics and uses a coherent array of spatial light modulators at the transmitter but allows the receiver to be realized as a spatially distributed radiometric and therefore incoherent structure. The sixth and final chapter looks at an important and interesting application of spread spectrum to accurately locate a wideband, 'bent pipe', satellite transponder. It is, in a strong sense, an inverted GPS technique. Perspectives in Spread Spectrum serves as an excellent reference and source of ideas for further research, and may be used as a text for advanced courses on the topic.

Nonlinear Photonics and Novel Optical Phenomena contains contributed chapters from leading experts in nonlinear optics and photonics, and provides a comprehensive survey of fundamental concepts as well as hot topics in current research on nonlinear optical waves and related novel phenomena. The book covers self-accelerating airy beams, integrated photonics based on high index doped-silica glass, linear and nonlinear spatial beam dynamics in photonic lattices and waveguide arrays, the theory of polariton solitons in semiconductor microcavities, and Terahertz waves.

This book describes the algorithms and computer architectures used to create and analyze photographs in modern digital cameras. It also puts the capabilities of digital cameras into context for applications in art, entertainment, and video analysis. The author discusses the entire range of topics relevant to digital camera design, including image processing, computer vision, image sensors, system-on-chip, and optics, while clearly describing the interactions between design decisions at these different levels of abstraction. Readers will benefit from this comprehensive view of digital camera design, describing the range of algorithms used to compose, enhance, and analyze images, as well as the characteristics of optics, image sensors, and computing platforms that determine the physical limits of image capture and computing. The content is designed to be used by algorithm designers and does not require an extensive background in optics or electronics.

The emergence of highly efficient short-wavelength laser diodes based on the III-V compound semiconductor GaN has not only enabled high-density optical data storage, but is also expected to revolutionize display applications. Moreover, a variety of scientific applications in biophotonics, materials research and quantum optics can benefit from these versatile and cost-efficient laser light sources in the near-UV to green spectral range. This thesis describes the device physics of GaN-based laser diodes, together with recent efforts to achieve longer emission wavelengths and short-pulse emission. Experimental and theoretical approaches are employed to address the individual device properties and optimize the laser diodes toward the requirements of specific applications.

Optical microscopy and associated technologies advanced quickly after the introduction of the laser. The techniques have stimulated further development of optical imaging theory, including 3-dimensional microscopy imaging theory in spatial and frequency domains, the theory of imaging with ultrashort-pulse beams and aberration theory for high-numerical-aperture objectives. This book introduces these new theories in terms of modern optical microscopy. It consists of seven chapters including an introduction. The chapters are organized to minimize cross-referencing. Comparisons with classical imaging theory are made when the new imaging theory is introduced. The book is intended for senior undergraduate students in courses on optoelectronics, optical engineering, photonics, biophotonics and applied physics, after they have completed modern optics or a similar subject. It is also a reference for other scientists interested in the field.

Ultrafast diode lasers offer a variety of applications including high-bit-rate optical fiber communication lines, ultrafast optical data processing, optical computing radar systems, optoelectronic measurement applications and instrumentation. This work introduces this developing field, from basic physical principles to applications. It is intended for scientists working in the fields of optical communications and data processing, ultrafast electronics and laser physics.

This book is designed as an introductory course for undergraduate students, in Electrical and Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Chemical and Petroleum engineering, who need fundamental knowledge of electrical circuits. Worked out examples have been presented after discussing each theory. Practice problems have also been included to enrich the learning experience of the students and professionals. PSpice and Multisim software packages have been included for simulation of different electrical circuit parameters. A number of exercise problems have been included in the book to aid faculty members.

Modern Luminescence From Fundamental Concepts to Materials and Applications, Volume Four: Luminescence in Solid State Devices is a multivolume work that reviews the fundamental principles, properties and applications of luminescent materials. Topics addressed include 1) The key concepts of luminescence with a focus on important characterization techniques to understand a wide category of luminescent materials, 2) The most relevant luminescent materials such as transition metals, rare-earth materials, actinide-based materials, and organic materials, and 3) The emerging applications of luminescent materials in biomedicine, solid state devices, and the development of hybrid materials. The book reviews the latest advances in luminescent materials and their application in solid state lighting, energy and space. The volume also discusses advanced applications such as photonic energy materials, anti-counterfeiting, high power applications, and more. It will be suitable for materials scientists and engineers in academia and industry R&D.

Optical Solitons represent one of the most exciting and fascinating concepts in modern communications, arousing special interest due to their potential applications in optical fibre communication. This volume focuses on the explicit integration of analytical and experimental methods in nonlinear fibre optics and integrated optics. It covers all important recent technical issues in optical-soliton communication. For example, individual chapters are devoted to topics such as dispersion management and fibre Bragg grating. All authors are leading authorities in their fields.

This book describes important recent developments in fiber optic sensor technology and examines established and emerging applications in a broad range of fields and markets, including power engineering, chemical engineering, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and environmental monitoring. Particular attention is devoted to niche applications where fiber optic sensors are or soon will be able to compete with conventional approaches. Beyond novel methods for the sensing of traditional parameters such as strain, temperature, and pressure, a variety of new ideas and concepts are proposed and explored. The significance of the advent of extended infrared sensors is discussed, and individual chapters focus on sensing at THz frequencies and optical sensing based on photonic crystal structures. Another important topic is the resonances generated when using thin films in conjunction with optical fibers, and the enormous potential of sensors based on lossy mode resonances, surface plasmon resonances, and long-range surface exciton polaritons. Detailed attention is also paid to fiber Bragg grating sensors and multimode interference sensors. Each chapter is written by an acknowledged expert in the subject under discussion.

The development of coherent radiation sources for sub-angstrom wavelengths - i.e. in the hard X-ray and gamma-ray range - is a challenging goal of modern physics. The availability of such sources will have many applications in basic science, technology and medicine and in particular, they may have a revolutionary impact on nuclear and solid state physics, as well as on the life sciences. The present state-of-the-art lasers are capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation from the infrared to the ultraviolet, while free electron lasers (X-FELs) are now entering the soft X-ray region. Moving further, i.e. into the hard X and/or gamma ray band, however, is not possible without new approaches and technologies.

In this book we introduce and discuss one such novel approach -the radiation formed in a Crystalline Undulator -whereby electromagnetic radiation is generated by a bunch of ultra-relativistic particles channeling through a periodically bent crystalline structure. Under certain conditions, such a device can emit intensive spontaneous monochromatic radiation and even reach the coherence of laser light sources.

Readers will be presented with the underlying fundamental physics and be familiarized with the theoretical, experimental and technological advances made during the last one and a half decades in exploring the various features of investigations into crystalline undulators. This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields - such as materials science, beam physics, the physics of radiation, solid state physics and acoustics, to name but a few. Accordingly, much care has been taken by the authors to make the book as self-contained as possible in this respect, so as to also provide a usefulintroduction to this emerging field to a broad readership of researchers and scientist with various backgrounds.

This new edition has been revised and extended to take recent developments in the field into account."

This book reports on the latest advances in the analysis of non-stationary signals, with special emphasis on cyclostationary systems. It includes cutting-edge contributions presented at the 7th Workshop on "Cyclostationary Systems and Their Applications," which was held in Grodek nad Dunajcem, Poland, in February 2014. The book covers both the theoretical properties of cyclostationary models and processes, including estimation problems for systems exhibiting cyclostationary properties, and several applications of cyclostationary systems, including case studies on gears and bearings, and methods for implementing cyclostationary processes for damage assessment in condition-based maintenance operations. It addresses the needs of students, researchers and professionals in the broad fields of engineering, mathematics and physics, with a special focus on those studying or working with nonstationary and/or cyclostationary processes.