Laser-Based Optical Detection of Explosives offers a comprehensive review of past, present, and emerging laser-based methods for the detection of a variety of explosives. This book: Considers laser propagation safety and explains standard test material preparation for standoff optical-based detection system evaluation Explores explosives detection using deep ultraviolet native fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, reflectometry, and hyperspectral imaging Examines photodissociation followed by laser-induced fluorescence, photothermal methods, cavity-enhanced absorption spectrometry, and short-pulse laser-based techniques Describes the detection and recognition of explosives using terahertz-frequency spectroscopic techniques Each chapter is authored by a leading expert on the respective technology, and is structured to supply historical perspective, address current advantages and challenges, and discuss novel research and applications. Readers are left with an in-depth understanding and appreciation of each technology's capabilities and potential for standoff hazard detection.

The first book devoted to laser techniques in the generation and reception of ultrasonic waves in materials, Laser Ultrasonics: Techniques and Applications provides a full description of the state of the art in all fields involving both lasers and ultrasonics. This practical book focuses mainly on the possible applications of the techniques, yet theory is discussed wherever necessary. After an introduction to ultrasonics and laser technology, the book reviews acousto-optics, various acousto-optic devices, and noninterferometric optical methods of measuring ultrasonic displacements. The authors then describe opto-acoustic techniques, discussing laser interferometry, including reference-beam, velocity, and Fabry-Perot systems, and their application to ultrasonic measurement on different surfaces. The authors also detail the generation of ultrasound as a consequence of the absorption of laser light in material. The book proceeds to discuss applications of laser-generated ultrasound, both by itself and in combination with laser interferometric reception to form an entirely remote and non-contact measurement and testing system. Comparisons with nonoptical techniques for ultrasonic generation and detection are made where appropriate. The book concludes with a discussion of the future developments and uses of laser techniques in ultrasonics, with particular reference to nondestructive testing.

Contains the latest revision of ANSI standards for safe use of lasers. A workbench guide that explains how a laser works, what a laser beam can do to biological tissue and eyewear lenses, and how to work safely with lasers. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Keeping abreast of the latest techniques and applications, this new edition of the standard reference and graduate text on laser spectroscopy has been completely revised and expanded. While the general concept is unchanged, the new edition features a broad array of new material, e.g., ultrafast lasers (atto- and femtosecond lasers) and parametric oscillators, coherent matter waves, Doppler-free Fourier spectroscopy with optical frequency combs, interference spectroscopy, quantum optics, the interferometric detection of gravitational waves and still more applications in chemical analysis, medical diagnostics, and engineering.

This book discusses the physics of plasma initiation and reviews the features of dissipating, propagating plasmas. It deals with advances in diagnostics for high-energy, laser-fusion plasmas. The book reviews the basic physical processes, plasma characteristics of the "continuous optical discharge".

This book provides an introduction on applications of lasers in Chemistry. It describes laser as a tool for chemistry, the consideration involved in describing a laser beam and what happens to beam as it is propagated through a gas. The book is useful for graduates and advanced undergraduates.

Femtosecond laser micromachining of transparent material is a powerful and versatile technology. In fact, it can be applied to several materials. It is a maskless technology that allows rapid device prototyping, has intrinsic three-dimensional capabilities and can produce both photonic and microfluidic devices. For these reasons it is ideally suited for the fabrication of complex microsystems with unprecedented functionalities. The book is mainly focused on micromachining of transparent materials which, due to the nonlinear absorption mechanism of ultrashort pulses, allows unique three-dimensional capabilities and can be exploited for the fabrication of complex microsystems with unprecedented functionalities.This book presents an overview of the state of the art of this rapidly emerging topic with contributions from leading experts in the field, ranging from principles of nonlinear material modification to fabrication techniques and applications to photonics and optofluidics.

"Optical Transmission" represents a wide set of visions of researchers who are active in the actual research scene in Europe. An aggregate of highlights of research in transmission with a state of the art presented by the researchers who are driving it are presented. The trends on research are in this book presented by one of the widest networks of excellence put together in Europe in the field of optical networking (more than 40 Research institutions were involved). The readers will find a specialized readout of the current trends and status of transmission ranging from simulation to ultimate experimental results, from modulations to devices. A highlight of "Optical Transmission" is the introduction in a technical book a chapter on techno-economics, which drives the vision and field a little further. General reading could be made however is more suited for graduated users. The most important features of "Optical Transmission" are: wide vision on transmission related issues, state of the art and related trends and techniques; techno-economics of the field.

This book covers laser topics that have been a part of the rapid expansion of optical engineering, including emission spectra of molecular lasers, CO2 transversely excited atmospheric-pressure lasers, and radiofrequency discharge excited CO2 lasers.

Written in an easy-to-read style, this comprehensive guide examines the currentknowledge on opto-mechanical laser beam scanning technology.Combining theoretical and practical aspects, Laser Beam Scanning discusses theapplications, performance, and design of holographic, polygonal, galvanometric, andresonant scanning systems.Bringing together the expertise of leading international authorities, this invaluable sourceprovides unique coverage on gas bearings for rotating scanning devices and windageassociated with polygonal scanners. This work also includes authoritative information onGaussian beam diameters and optical design of components and systems relating tooptical disk data storage.Containing time-saving chapter introductions and summaries, numerous illustrations andtables, useful definitions, and up-to-date references, this handy, on-the-job reference aidsoptical engineers and designers, electronic, electrical, and laser engineers; physicists; andgraduate-level students in optical engineering courses to apply laser beam scanning tonew designs successfully.

The 9th International Workshop on "Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena" was held November 6-10, 1989, at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Cal ifornia. Starting in 1969, thi s represents a continuation of the longest series of meetings in this field in the United States. It is, in fact, the longest series anywhere with published Proceedings that document the advances and the growth of this dynamic field of physics and technology. Following the discovery of the laser in 1960, the study of processes involved in laser beam interactions with materials opened a basically new dimension of physics. The energy densities and intensities generated are many orders of magnitude beyond those previously observed in laboratories. Simultaneously, the temporal dynamics of this interaction covers a broad range, only recently reaching ultra short times, of the order of a few femtoseconds. Applications of this technology are of interest for many types of material treatments. Further, from the very beginning, a key ambitious goal has been to produce fusion energy by intense laser irradiation of a target containi ng appropriate fusion fuels. The vari ous phenomena discovered during the ensuing research on laser-fusion are, indeed, much more complex than originally expected. However, in view of recent advances in physics understanding, a route to successful laser fusion can be seen. The development of fusion energy received a very strong stimulation since the last workshop due to the now partially publicized results of underground nuclear explosions.

Intense Terahertz Excitation of Semiconductors presents the first comprehensive treatment of high-power terahertz applications to semiconductors and low-dimensional semiconductor structures. Terahertz properties of semiconductors are in the center of scientific activities because of the need of high-speed electronics. This research monograph brigdes the gap between microwave physics and photonics. It focuses on a core topic of semiconductor physics providing a full description of the state of the art of the field. _ The reader is introduced to new physical phenomena which occur in the terahertz frequency range at the transition from semi-classical physics with a classical field amplitude to the fully quantized limit with photons. The book covers a wide range of optical, optoelectronic, and nonlinear transport processes, presenting experimental results, clearly visualizing models and basic theories. Background information for future work and exhaustive references of current literature are given. A particularly valuable feature is through the discussion of various technical aspects of the terahertz range like the generation of high-power coherent radiation, optical components, instrumentation, and detection schemes of short intense radiation impulses. The book complements, for the first time in form of a monograph, previous books on infrared physics which dealt with low-power optical and opto-electronic processes. It will be useful not only to scientists but also to advanced students who are interested in terahertz research.

This book will fulfill the needs of time-domain spectroscopists who wish to deepen their understanding of both the theoretical and experimental features of this cutting-edge spectroscopy technique. Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy (CMDS) is a state-of-the-art technique with applications in a variety of subjects like chemistry, molecular physics, biochemistry, biophysics, and material science. Due to dramatic advancements of ultrafast laser technologies, diverse multidimensional spectroscopic methods utilizing combinations of THz, IR, visible, UV, and X-ray radiation sources have been developed and used to study real time dynamics of small molecules in solutions, proteins and nucleic acids in condensed phases and membranes, single and multiple excitons in functional materials like semiconductors, quantum dots, and solar cells, photo-excited states in light-harvesting complexes, ions in battery electrolytes, electronic and conformational changes in charge or proton transfer systems, and excess electrons and protons in water and biological systems.

Broadly tunable lasers have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact in many and diverse fields of science and technology. From a renaissance in spectroscopy to laser guide stars and laser cooling, the nexus is the tunable laser. Tunable Laser Optics offers a transparent and comprehensive treatment of the physics of tunable laser optics based on a detailed description of first principles. Authored by a leading expert in the field, the book covers the optics and optical principles needed to build lasers, the optics instrumentation necessary to characterize laser emission, and laser-based optical instrumentation, addressing key topics such as Dirac's notation, the interferometric equation, the uncertainty principle, pulse compression, and tunable narrow-linewidth lasers. This revised, expanded, and improved Second Edition: Contains new and additional material on tunable lasers and quantum optics Explains the first principles of tunable laser optics in a clear and concise manner Presents an explicit exposition of the relevant theory, without the use of short cuts Employs numerous examples, case studies, and figures to illustrate important concepts Includes carefully designed problems of direct practical significance to stimulate application Emphasizing the utilitarian aspects of the optics and theory, Tunable Laser Optics, Second Edition provides valuable insight into the optics and the trade-offs involved in the design and construction of tunable lasers and optical devices. It makes an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate-level and graduate-level optics courses for physics and engineering students, as well as a handy reference for researchers and experimentalists.

Foreword by Nobel laureate Professor Theodor W. Hansch of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen

Based on the authors experimental work over the last 25 years, Laser-Based Measurements for Time and Frequency Domain Applications: A Handbook presents basic concepts, state-of-the-art applications, and future trends in optical, atomic, and molecular physics. It provides all the background information on the main kinds of laser sources and techniques, offers a detailed account of the most recent results obtained for time- and frequency-domain applications of lasers, and develops the theoretical framework necessary for understanding the experimental applications.

After a historical introduction, the book describes the basic concepts and mathematical tools required for studying the physics of oscillators. It then discusses microwave and optical resonators, crucial aspects of operation and fundamental properties of lasers, and precision spectroscopy and absolute frequency metrology. It also focuses on microwave and optical frequency standards and explores current and potential research directions.

Accessible to scientists, postdoc researchers, and advanced undergraduate students, this self-contained book gives a wide-ranging, balanced overview of the areas including frequency standards and clocks, ultra-high-precision spectroscopy, quantum information, and environmental metrology revolutionized by the recent advent of optical frequency comb synthesizers (OFCSs) based on femtosecond mode-locked lasers. The book is also a useful guide to cutting-edge research for manufacturers of advanced laser systems and optical devices."

A comprehensive treatment of the fundamentals of optical detection theory

Laser system applications are becoming more numerous, particularly in the fields of communications and remote sensing. Filling a significant gap in the literature, Optical Detection Theory for Laser Applications addresses the theoretical aspects of optical detection and associated phenomenologies, describing the fundamental optical, statistical, and mathematical principles of the modern laser system.

The book is especially valuable for its extensive treatment of direct detection statistics, which has no analog in radar detection theory and which has never before been compiled in a cohesive manner in a single book. Coverage includes:

• A review of mathematical statistics and statistical decision theory
• Performance of truncated and untruncated coherent and direct detection systems using Huygens-Fresnel and Gaussian beam theories
• Rough surface scatter and atmospheric propagation effects
• Single-pulse detection statistics for direct and coherent detection systems
• Multi-pulse detection statistics for direct and coherent detection systems

Supported by additional comments providing further insights into the physics or mathematics discussed and an extensive list of classic references, Optical Detection Theory for Laser Applications comprises a much-needed reference for the professional scientist or engineer, as well as a solid textbook for advanced students.

The collection of articles in this book offers a penetrating shaft into the still burgeoning subject of light propagation and localization in photonic crystals and disordered media. While the subject has its origins in physics, it has broad significance and applicability in disciplines such as engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and medicine. Unlike other branches of physics, where the phenomena under consideration require extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, energy, or isolation from competing effects, the phenomena related to light localization survive under the most ordinary of conditions. This provides the science described in this book with broad applicability and vitality. However, the greatest challenge to the further development of this field is in the reliable and inexpensive synthesis of materials of the required composition, architecture and length scale, where the proper balance between order and disorder is realized.
Similar challenges have been faced and overcome in fields such as semiconductor science and technology. The challenge of photonic crystal synthesis has inspired a variety of novel fabrication protocols such as self-assembly and optical interference lithography that offer much less expensive approaches than conventional semiconductor microlithography.
Once these challenges are fully met, it is likely that light propagation and localization in photonic microstructures will be at the heart of a 21st-century revolution in science and technology.
From the Introduction, Sajeev John, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

One of the first books specifically focused on disorder in photonic structures, Optical Properties of Photonic Structures: Interplay of Order and Disorder explores how both order and disorder provide the key to the different regimes of light transport and to the systematic localization and trapping of light. Collecting contributions from leaders of research activity in the field, the book covers many important directions, methods, and approaches. It describes various one-, two-, and three-dimensional structures, including opals, aperiodic Fibonacci-type photonic structures, photonic amorphous structures, photonic glasses, Levy glasses, and hypersonic, magnetophotonic, and plasmonic photonic crystals with nanocavities, quantum dots, and lasing action. The book also addresses practical applications in areas such as optical communications, optical computing, laser surgery, and energy. "

A comprehensive presentation of the theory and simulation of optical waveguides and wave propagations in a guided environment, Guided Wave Photonics: Fundamentals and Applications with MATLAB(r) supplies fundamental and advanced understanding of integrated optical devices that are currently employed in modern optical fiber communications systems and photonic signal processing systems. While there are many texts available in this area, none provide the breadth and depth of coverage and computational rigor found in this one.

The author has distilled the information into a very practical, usable format. In a logical progression of theory and application, he starts with Maxwell's equations and progresses directly to optical waveguides (integrated optic and fiber optic), couplers, modulators, nonlinear effects and interactions, and system applications. With up-to-date coverage of applicable algorithms, design guides, material systems, and the latest device and system applications, the book addresses:

• Fundamentals of guiding optical waves, including theoretical and simplified techniques
• Linear and nonlinear aspects of optical waveguiding
• Manipulating lightwaves by coupling and splitting
• Interactions of lightwaves and ultra-fast electrical travelling waves in modern optical modulators
• Applications of guided wave devices in optical communication systems and optical signal processing

Providing fundamental understanding of lightwave guiding and manipulating techniques, the text covers the field of integrated photonics by giving the principles, theoretical and applications. It explains how to solve the optical modes and their coupling as well as how to manipulate lightwaves for applications in communications and signal processing.

This book tells you all you want to know about optical fibers: Their structure, their light-guiding mechanism, their material and manufacture, their use. It began with telephone, then came telefax and email. Today we use search engines, music downloads and internet videos, all of which require shuffling of bits and bytes by the zillions. The key to all this is the conduit: the line which is designed to carry massive amounts of data at breakneck speed. In their data carrying capacity optical fiber lines beat all other technologies (copper cable, microwave beacons, satellite links) hands down, at least in the long haul; wireless devices rely on fibers, too. Several effects tend to degrade the signal as it travels down the fiber: they are spelled out in detail. Nonlinear processes are given due consideration for a twofold reason: On the one hand they are fundamentally different from the more familiar processes in electrical cable. On the other hand, they form the basis of particularly interesting and innovative applications, provided they are understood well enough. A case in point is the use of so-called solitons, i.e. special pulses of light which have the wonderful property of being able to heal after perturbation. The book will take you from the physical basics of ray and beam optics, explain fiber structure and the functions of optical elements, and bring you to the forefront of both applications and research. The state of the art of high speed data transmission is described, and the use of fiber optic sensors in metrology is treated. The book is written in a pedagogical style so that students of both physics and electrical engineering, as well as technicians and engineers involved in optical technologies, will benefit. The new edition is largely updated and has new sections on nonlinear phenomena in fibers as well as on the latest trends in applications.

Laser techniques offer possibilities for the examination and conservation of artwork, and for the prevention of cultural heritage. This collection of peer reviewed papers from the 8th International Conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks, Sibiu, Romania, September 21-25, 2009, addresses various aspects of cultural heritage preservation (laser induced phenomenas, laser investigations and recent laboratory studies and onsite applications).

The main topics include:

Innovative approaches in laser cleaning researches and instrumentation development;

Laser investigation and diagnostics methods;

Monitoring, imaging and documentation of artwork.

Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks VIII will appeal to laser scientists, conservation scientists, scientists in the field of optoelectronics, chemistry, IT and biology, conservators-restorers, architects, art historians, archaeologists, and decision makers in the field of conservation and restoration of artworks.

Telecommunications have underpinned social interaction and economic activity since the 19th century and have been increasingly reliant on optical fibers since their initial commercial deployment by BT in 1983. Today, mobile phone networks, data centers, and broadband services that facilitate our entertainment, commerce, and increasingly health provision are built on hidden optical fiber networks. However, recently it emerged that the fiber network is beginning to fill up, leading to the talk of a capacity crunch where the capacity still grows but struggles to keep up with the increasing demand. This book, featuring contributions by the suppliers of widely deployed simulation software and academic authors, illustrates the origins of the limited performance of an optical fiber from the engineering, physics, and information theoretic viewpoints. Solutions are then discussed by pioneers in each of the respective fields, with near-term solutions discussed by industrially based authors, and more speculative high-potential solutions discussed by leading academic groups.

As different laser technologies continue to make it possible to change laser parameters and improve beam quality and performance, a multidisciplinary theoretical knowledge and grasp of cutting-edge technological developments also become increasingly important. The revised and updated Laser Technology, Second Edition reviews the principles and basic physical laws of lasers needed to learn from past developments and solve the many technical problems arising in this challenging field.

The first edition of Laser Technology was classified by the Chinese National Education Committee as a "national-level key textbook." This updated second edition logically presents the various types of laser technology currently available and discusses the transmission of information using optical waves with modulating technology. It assesses how to enhance beam energy or power through Q switching, mode-locking, and amplification, and it illustrates how mode selection and frequency stabilizing technology can improve light beam directionality or monochromaticity. The text also covers nonlinear optical techniques for obtaining new frequencies and light waves.

Features Self-Contained, Independent Chapters for Flexible Use

The author presents the fundamentals of physical effects in technical devices and implementation methods to create a clear and systematic understanding of the physical processes of different laser technologies.

Technical improvements to enhance laser performance in different applications have given rise to new physical phenomena. These have resulted in a series of new laser branches and fields of applied technologies, such as laser physics, nonlinear optics, laser spectroscopy, laser medicine, and information optoelectronic technology. This book analyzes this growth, stressing basic principles but also including key technical methods and examples where needed to properly combine practical and theoretical coverage of this distinct area.

The PUILS series delivers up-to-date reviews of progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science, a newly emerging interdisciplinary research field spanning atomic and molecular physics, molecular science and optical science, which has been stimulated by the recent developments in ultrafast laser technologies. Each volume compiles peer-reviewed articles authored by researchers at the forefront of each their own subfields of UILS. Every chapter opens with an overview of the topics to be discussed, so that researchers unfamiliar to the subfield, as well as graduate students, can grasp the importance and attractions of the research topic at hand; these are followed by reports of cutting-edge discoveries. This eleventh volume covers a broad range of topics from this interdisciplinary research field, focusing on ultrafast dynamics of molecules in intense laser fields, pulse shaping techniques for controlling molecular processes, high-order harmonics generation and attosecond Photoionization, femtosecond laser induced filamentation and laser particle acceleration.

Nanoscale Semiconductor Lasers focuses on specific issues relating to laser nanomaterials and their use in laser technology. The book presents both fundamental theory and a thorough overview of the diverse range of applications that have been developed using laser technology based on novel nanostructures and nanomaterials. Technologies covered include nanocavity lasers, carbon dot lasers, 2D material lasers, plasmonic lasers, spasers, quantum dot lasers, quantum dash and nanowire lasers. Each chapter outlines the fundamentals of the topic and examines material and optical properties set alongside device properties, challenges, issues and trends. Dealing with a scope of materials from organic to carbon nanostructures and nanowires to semiconductor quantum dots, this book will be of interest to graduate students, researchers and scientific professionals in a wide range of fields relating to laser development and semiconductor technologies.

This biography is a personal portrait of one of the best-known Dutch physicists, Nicolaas Bloembergen. Born in 1920 in Dordrecht, Bloembergen studied physics in Utrecht, leaving after World War II for the United States, where he became an American citizen in 1958. At Harvard University, he pioneered nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, used in chemistry and biology for structure identification; moreover leading to MRI), laser theory and nonlinear optics. In 1978 he was awarded the Lorentz Medal for his contribution to the theory of nonlinear optics (used in fiber optics), and in 1981 he received the Nobel Prize for physics, along with Arthur Schawlow and Kai Siegbahn. The book is based on numerous conversations with Nicolaas Bloembergen himself, his wife Deli Brink, his family, and colleagues in science. It describes his childhood and study in Bilthoven and Utrecht, the first postwar years at Harvard, the discoveries of masers and lasers, and the award of the Nobel Prize. It also delves into Bloembergen's involvement in American politics, particularly his role in Ronald Reagan's controversial Star Wars program.