Laser Fundamentals provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the physical and engineering principles of laser operation and design. Simple explanations, based throughout on key underlying concepts, lead the reader logically from the basics of laser action to advanced topics in laser physics and engineering. Much new material has been added to this second edition, especially in the areas of solid-state lasers, semiconductor lasers, and laser cavities. This 2004 edition contains a new chapter on laser operation above threshold, including extensive discussion of laser amplifiers. The clear explanations, worked examples, and many homework problems will make this book invaluable to undergraduate and first-year graduate students in science and engineering taking courses on lasers. The summaries of key types of lasers, the use of many unique theoretical descriptions, and the extensive bibliography will also make this a valuable reference work for researchers.

Motivates students by challenging them with real-life applications of the somtimes esoteric aspects of quantum mechanics that they are learning. Offers completely original excerices developed at teh Ecole Polytechnique in France, which is know for its innovative and original teaching methods. Problems from modern physics to help the student apply just-learnt theory to fields such as molecular physics, condensed matter physics or laser physics.

This book presents a contactless system for the measurement and evaluation of selected characteristics of machined surfaces. It describes the design and construction of new equipment designed for contactless characterization of surface geometry working based on laser profilometry by triangulation principle. The book focuses on the quality assessment of surfaces produced by the technology of abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJ) and by laser. The author analyses the performed experiment of measurement of machined surfaces of samples of aluminum, stainless steel, and constructional steel using the contactless method with the LPM system and contact method using Mitutoyo SJ 400 surface roughness tester.

This concise volume provides an introduction to the working principles, design, and construction of air-stable inverted organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which lead to the realization of practical flexible electronics. The first part of the book reviews the history of the three generations of inverted OLEDs: hybrid organic inorganic light-emitting diodes (HOILEDs), metal oxides and organic electron injection layer, describing the materials, fabrication techniques, device structure, applications, and technological challenges involved in each case. The second part of the book focuses on the carrier injection mechanism in OLEDs. The book will be of interest to students and researchers working on organic optoelectronics.

This book highlights the rapidly emerging field of solution-processed halide perovskite lasers. These amazing materials not only possess exceptional photovoltaic properties, but are also outstanding optical gain media. Halide perovskites are the latest member of solution-processed optical gain media, joining organics and traditional semiconductor colloidal quantum dots. Amplified spontaneous emission and lasing have been demonstrated in various halide perovskite configurations and nanostructures with wavelengths tunable over the visible and infrared wavelengths (400-1000 nm). This book provides comprehensive information on perovskite lasing, starting with some fundamentals of lasers and their basic operating principles. Unambiguous methods for identifying lasing light emission are presented, while the basic optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials are also discussed, with an emphasis on their photophysics, using ultrafast optical spectroscopy techniques. The viability of perovskites as a gain media within a suitable resonator, as well as the characterization methods for optical gain, are highlighted. The book closes with a discussion on the remaining challenges (such as electrical driven lasing and material stabilities) that need to be tackled, and the future of this new family of lasers.

This book is concerned with the underlying science and design of laser materials. It emphasizes the principles of crystal-field engineering and discusses the basic physical concepts that determine laser gain and nonlinear frequency conversion in optical crystals. A concise review of the essential underlying science is presented, and the predictive capabilities of crystal-field engineering are developed to show how modification of the symmetry and composition of optical centres can improve laser performance. Applications of the principles of crystal-field engineering to a variety of optical crystals are also discussed in relation to the performances of laser devices. This book will be of considerable interest to physical, chemical and material scientists and to engineers involved in the science and technology of solid state lasers. It will be used by senior undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as by established scientists.

This book offers a tutorial on the response of materials to lasers, with an emphasis on simple, intuitive models with analytical and mathematical solutions, using techniques such as Laplace Transformation to solve most complex heat conduction equations. It examines the relationship between existing thermal parameters of simple metals and looks at the characteristics of materials and their properties in order to investigate and perform theoretical analysis from a heat conduction perspective mathematically. Topics discussed include optical reflectivity of metals at infrared (IR) wavelengths, laser-induced heat flow in materials, the effects of melting and vaporization, the impulse generated in materials by pulsed radiation, and the influence of the absorption in the blow-off region in irradiated material. Written for engineers, scientists, and graduate-level engineering and physics students, Thermal Effects of High Power Laser Energy on Materials provides an in-depth look at high energy laser technology and its potential industrial and commercial applications in such areas as precision cutting, LIDAR and LADAR, and communications. The knowledge gained from this allows you to apply spaced-based relay mirror in order to compensate laser beam divergence back to its original coherency by preventing further thermal blooming that takes place during laser beam propagation through the atmosphere. Examines the state-of-the-art in currently available high energy laser technologies; Includes computer codes that deal with the response of materials to laser radiation; Provides detailed mathematical solutions of thermal response to laser radiation.

This book explores the early-stage detection of cancer using polarized light. It discusses the diverse properties of the light (temporal and spatial coherence, polarization, fluorescence, etc.) that can be used non-invasively as an optical technique for recognizing precancerous lesions, which could become a reliable and accurate method for cancer screening. The search for the effective means for cancer screening is of particular interest to scientific and medical communities, because cancer takes its toll around the globe with no respect for age or gender. Early detection of the disease is a key factor in increasing the survival rate and patients' quality of life.

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.

This textbook provides a sound foundation in physical optics by covering key concepts in a rigorous but accessible manner. Propagation of electromagnetic waves is examined from multiple perspectives, with explanation of which viewpoints and methods are best suited to different situations. After an introduction to the theory of electromagnetism, reflection, refraction, and dispersion, topics such as geometrical optics, interference, diffraction, coherence, laser beams, polarization, crystallography, and anisotropy are closely examined. Optical elements, including lenses, mirrors, prisms, classical and Fabry-Perot interferometers, resonant cavities, multilayer dielectric structures, interference and spatial filters, diffraction gratings, polarizers, and birefringent plates, are treated in depth. The coverage also encompasses such seldom-covered topics as modeling of general astigmatism via 4x4 matrices, FFT-based numerical methods, and bianisotropy, with a relativistic treatment of optical activity and the Faraday and Fresnel-Fizeau effects. Finally, the history of optics is discussed.

This 1996 volume provided the first comprehensive overview of the use of ultraviolet laser radiation in the processing of materials. Lasers operating at ultraviolet wavelengths combine the ability to vaporise the most refractory of materials with the precision to ablate micron-sized holes in polymers and remove thin layers from the cornea for corrective surgery of the human eye. This book explores the use of UV laser radiation for the ablation and deposition of metals, insulating solids, polymers, semiconductors and superconductors. Emphasis has been placed on understanding the physical mechanisms accompanying these processes and the conversion of intense UV radiation to photothermal and photochemical energy in irradiated materials. This will be an invaluable source-book of current information in the rapidly developing field of laser applications for engineers, scientists, researchers and students in universities, government laboratories and the private sector, and will also form a valuable supplementary text for graduate courses in materials science.

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.

Medical practitioners, scientists and graduate students alike will find this exhaustive survey a vital learning tool. It provides a thorough description of the fundamentals and applications in the field of laser-tissue interactions. Basic concepts such as the optical and thermal properties of tissue, the various types of tissue ablation, and optical breakdown and its related effects are treated in detail. The author pays special attention to mathematical tools (Monte Carlo simulations, the Kubelka-Munk theory etc.) and approved techniques (photodynamic therapy, laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy etc.). A section on applications reviews clinically relevant methods in modern medicine using the latest references.

This book discusses both the theoretical and practical aspects of optics, photonics and lasers, presenting new methods, technologies, advanced prototypes, systems, tools and techniques as well as a general survey indicating future trends and directions. The main fields addressed include nonlinear optical phenomena, photonics for energy, high-field phenomena, photonic and optoelectronic sensors and devices, optical communications, biomedical optics and photonics. It also covers a large spectrum of materials, ranging from semiconductor-based optical materials to optical glasses, organic materials, photorefractive materials and nanophotonic materials, as well as applications such as metrology, optometry, adaptive optics, all optical instrumentation, optical communications, quantum information, lighting technologies, energy harvesting and optically based biomedical diagnosis and therapeutics.

This book highlights some of the latest advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features contributions from participants in the 6th International Science and Practice Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials (NANO2018) in Kiev, Ukraine on August 27-30, 2018 organized by the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Turin (Italy), and Pierre and Marie Curie University (France). Internationally recognized experts from a wide range of universities and research institutions share their knowledge and key results on nanooptics, energy storage and biomedical applications. This book's companion volume also addresses topics such as materials properties, behavior, and synthesis.

This book highlights some of the latest advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features contributions from participants in the 6th International Science and Practice Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials (NANO2018) in Kiev, Ukraine on August 27-30, 2018 organized by the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Turin (Italy), and Pierre and Marie Curie University (France). Internationally recognized experts from a wide range of universities and research institutions share their knowledge and key results on material properties, behavior, and synthesis. This book's companion volume also addresses topics such as nanooptics, energy storage, and biomedical applications.

In two volumes, this book presents a detailed, systematic treatment of electromagnetics with application to the propagation of transient electromagnetic fields (including ultrawideband signals and ultrashort pulses) in dispersive attenuative media. The development in this expanded, updated, and reorganized new edition is mathematically rigorous, progressing from classical theory to the asymptotic description of pulsed wave fields in Debye and Lorentz model dielectrics, Drude model conductors, and composite model semiconductors. It will be of use to researchers as a resource on electromagnetic radiation and wave propagation theory with applications to ground and foliage penetrating radar, medical imaging, communications, and safety issues associated with ultrawideband pulsed fields. With meaningful exercises, and an authoritative selection of topics, it can also be used as a textbook to prepare graduate students for research. Volume 2 presents a detailed asymptotic description of plane wave pulse propagation in dielectric, conducting, and semiconducting materials as described by the classical Lorentz model of dielectric resonance, the Rocard-Powles-Debye model of orientational polarization, and the Drude model of metals. The rigorous description of the signal velocity of a pulse in a dispersive material is presented in connection with the question of superluminal pulse propagation. The second edition contains new material on the effects of spatial dispersion on precursor formation, and pulse transmission into a dispersive half space and into multilayered media. Volume 1 covers spectral representations in temporally dispersive media.

This thesis describes the design, development, characterisation and clinical translation of three novel devices for optical endoscopic imaging. Over the past decade, rapid innovation in optics and photonics has led to the availability of low-cost and high-performance optical technologies that can be exploited for biomedical applications, but relatively few have been translated into clinic. The work presented outlines for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the common barriers and unique challenges associated with the translation of optical imaging techniques. To assist developers streamline translation of optical imaging devices in future, a roadmap to clinical translation is outlined, and key translational characteristics are defined. Guided by these, subsequent development of endoscopic devices resulted in preparation and approval of endoscopes for first in human trials in the oesophagus, for early detection of cancer, and in the brain, for delineation of tumour during surgical resection. The thesis culminates in the presentation of results from the first in human use of a compact multispectral endoscope for imaging endogenous tissue contrast in the oesophagus. With continuation of the work as outlined at the end of this thesis, the novel techniques described have the potential to improve the standard of care in their respective indications.

This book provides a thorough account of the current status of achievements made in the area of soft X-Ray laser source development and of the increasingly diverse applications being demonstrated using such radiation sources. There is significant effort worldwide to develop very bright, short duration radiation sources in the X-Ray spectral region - driven by the multitude of potential applications in all branches of science. This book contains updates on several different approaches for comparative purposes but concentrates on developments in the area of laser-produced plasmas, whereby transient population inversion and gain between ion states is pumped by optical lasers interacting with pre-formed plasmas. Topics covered will include Laser-driven XRLs, Collisional XRLs, Recombination XRLs, Transient Inversion Collisional XRLs, Optical Field Ionization XRLs, Alternative XRL, pumping schemes Theory and simulations of XRL gain media and beam properties High order harmonic sources of XUV radiation, Free-electron lasers and other accelerator based X-Ray sources, X-Ray Laser drives, X-Ray optics and instrumentation Spectroscopy, and other diagnostics of laser media Applications of XRLs.

This book discusses light transmission and extends to more applied fields of laser and laser technology, photoelectric detection and devices, photoelectric imaging and systems with explainations on theories and engineering applications. Addressing the intersection between optics and electrical engineering, the textbook prepares graduate students to photoelectronics and can also be used as reference for engineers.

This book presents a survey of modern theoretical and experimental techniques in studies of light scattering phenomena and radiative transfer processes in random media. It presents reviews on light scattering by sea water and bubbles, and includes a separate chapter addressing studies of the remote sensing of crystalline clouds with a focus on the shape of particles-a parameter rarely studied by passive remote sensing techniques. In particular, it offers a comprehensive analysis of polarized radiative transfer in optically active (e.g., chiral) light scattering media and explores advances in spectro-polarimetry of particulate media. Lastly it discusses new developments in light scattering for combustion monitoring.

This thesis presents results crucial to the emerging field of indirect excitons. These specially designed quasiparticles give the unique opportunity to study fundamental properties of quantum degenerate Bose gases in semiconductors. Furthermore, indirect excitons allow for the creation of novel optoelectronic devices where excitons are used in place of electrons. Excitonic devices are explored for the development of advanced signal processing seamlessly coupled with optical communication. The thesis presents and describes the author's imaging experiments that led to the discovery of spin transport of excitons. The many firsts presented herein include the first studies of an excitonic conveyer, leading to the discovery of the dynamical localization-delocalization transition for excitons, and the first excitonic ramp and excitonic diode with no energy-dissipating voltage gradient.

This book presents the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary review of the rapidly developing field of air lasing. In most applications of lasers, such as cutting and engraving, the laser source is brought to the point of service where the laser beam is needed to perform its function. However, in some important applications such as remote atmospheric sensing, placing the laser at a convenient location is not an option. Current sensing schemes rely on the detection of weak backscattering of ground-based, forward-propagating optical probes, and possess limited sensitivity. The concept of air lasing (or atmospheric lasing) relies on the idea that the constituents of the air itself can be used as an active laser medium, creating a backward-propagating, impulsive, laser-like radiation emanating from a remote location in the atmosphere. This book provides important insights into the current state of development of air lasing and its applications.

This edition contains carefully selected contributions by leading scientists in high-resolution laser spectroscopy, quantum optics and laser physics. Emphasis is given to ultrafast laser phenomena, implementations of frequency combs, precision spectroscopy and high resolution metrology. Furthermore, applications of the fundamentals of quantum mechanics are widely covered. This book is dedicated to Nobel prize winner Theodor W. Hansch on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The contributions are reprinted from a topical collection published in Applied Physics B, 2016. Selected contributions are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com. Please see the copyright page for further details.

This book presents the principles, experimental technologies, up-to-date research findings and applications of various optical-computing technologies and devices. It also discusses semiconductor multiple quantum well (MQW) photoelectronic devices, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), lasers, micro optical elements and diffractive optical elements, optical storage, optical parallel interconnections, and optical-buffer technology as the main technologies for optical computing. Furthermore, it explores the potential of optical-computing technology. It offers those involved in optical design, photonics, and photoelectronic research and related industries insights into the fundamentals and theories of optical computing, enabling them and to extend and develop the functions of fundamental elements to meet the requirement of optical-computing systems.