The only introductory text on the market today that explains the underlying physics and engineering applicable to all lasers

Although lasers are becoming increasingly important in our high-tech environment, many of the technicians and engineers who install, operate, and maintain them have had little, if any, formal training in the field of electro-optics. This can result in less efficient usage of these important tools.

"Introduction to Laser Technology," Fourth Edition provides readers with a good understanding of what a laser is and what it can and cannot do. The book explains what types of laser to use for different purposes and how a laser can be modified to improve its performance in a given application. With a unique combination of clarity and technical depth, the book explains the characteristics and important applications of commercial lasers worldwide and discusses light and optics, the fundamental elements of lasers, and laser modification.?

In addition to new chapter-end problems, the "Fourth Edition" includes new and expanded chapter material on:

Material and wavelength

Diode Laser Arrays

Quantum-cascade lasers

Fiber lasers

Thin-disk and slab lasers

Ultrafast fiber lasers

Raman lasers

Quasi-phase matching

Optically pumped semiconductor lasers

"Introduction to Laser Technology," Fourth Edition is an excellent book for students, technicians, engineers, and other professionals seeking a fuller, more formal introduction to the field of laser technology.

The opening chapter aims at reviewing the mechanism of the use of Nd:YAG lasers in vascular lesions, specific indications for its use and treatment efficacy for these specific lesions. Recently, Nd:YAG lasers have also become popular in the treatment of non-vascular lesions. As such, the authors discuss the more recent indications of Nd:YAG lasers. Next, studies on the behavior of superduplex steel UNS S 32750 when submitted to autogenous welding with Nd:YAG pulsed laser, autogenous welding with Nd:YAG pulsed laser with subsequent refusion processes with Nd:YAG pulsed laser and hybrid welding combining Nd:YAG pulsed laser and GTAW are explored in two situations. The concluding chapter focuses on the applications of Nd:YAG lasers, including in the synthesis of nanocomposites and carbon quantum dots, generating micro- and nano-size emulsions.

Recent advances in lasers and measuring devices, as well as new capabilities in automated data acquisition, have made possible the design and practical implementation of self-sufficient lidar systems.

Laser ablation is an established and versatile tool in modern manufacturing. At the same time, the basics and applications of laser ablation are the subject of numerous current research studies. Both facts demonstrate a huge interest in the topic as well as the enormous potential of this technique for a number of applications, such as laser materials processing and laser-based materials testing. This book addresses scientists, researchers and application engineers who work in the continuously growing field of laser ablation. It also acts as a reference book for professors, lecturers and students of corresponding study courses or professional training programs. Written by an international board of authors, this book provides an overview on laser sources used for laser ablation, the basics of laser beam guidance and shaping as well as laser-matter-interactions and the main underlying mechanisms of laser ablation. Different laser-based material processing and modification methods along with specific applications and recent developments of laser ablation techniques are presented. Laser-plasma-hybrid techniques, the laser-based fabrication of nanoparticles and heterostructures, and laser surface functionalisation are merely some of the methods aforementioned. Furthermore, several laser-induced effects are discussed against the background of relevant applications in microelectronics, photovoltaics, packaging and patterning.

This book presents new research related to femtosecond laser ablation, coherent control, electronic and thermal processes, colouring, nanoscale heat transfer, and corneal refractive surgery. With laser-pulse durations of one quadrillionth of a second, femtosecond lasers are poised to change the way research is done in a variety of disciplines in science, engineering and medicine. The ability to remove material with minimal collateral damage may be the most striking feature that has not been matched by any other material processing technologies. With the processing power carried by each pulse entering pettawatts (1015 W) in less than 100 femtoseconds, femtosecond lasers can remove virtually any type of material in a few picoseconds while confining the process zone to within tens of nanometers. The result is clean cuts, strong welds, and precision destruction of small targets such as cancer cells with no injury to surrounding materials.

This book gathers the latest research from around the globe on the subject of lasers and optics research. Topics discussed include polarisation dependent effects in optical wave-guides containing bragg grating structures; bacterial cell interactions with optical fibre surfaces; passively mode-locked fibre lasers with non-linear optical loop mirrors; optical breakdown in gases induced by high-power ir co2 laser pulses and towards shaping of pulsed plane waves in the time domain via chiral sculptured thin films.

Microbiochips, such as a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices and micro total analysis systems, can be regarded conceptually as a biological equivalent of conventional silicon integrated circuits, which involve miniaturization and integration of electronics. As its name implies, an ideal LOC should have a very small footprint and yet still be capable of functioning as a laboratory in which partial or complete chemical or biological analysis can be performed automatically. This book provides an overview of 3D femtosecond laser direct writing technology and highlight its potential for fabrication of complex smart microsystems by furnishing some examples of fabrication and hybrid integration of microfluidics, micromechanics, photonics, and electronics.

This book gathers the latest research from around the globe on the subject of lasers and optics research. Topics discussed include micro-nano patterning; computer vision by laser metrology and algorithms of artificial intelligence; dynamic alignment of molecules in intense laser fields; laser ablation and laser cleaning for cultural heritage.

'Optical and Electro-Optical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematic and Smectic Phases' describes the general properties of the most popular liquid crystal (LC) phases nematics (Ns) and smectics (Ss), and in addition, is directed to fill in a niche of the LC field. This book covers topics ranging from the types and classifications of liquid crystals to a detail description of the fundamental properties of nematics and smectics, including continuum theory, non-linearity, behaviour in electric field, surface alignment, phase transitions, defect and textures and provides a useful reference intended for advanced topics of the physics of liquid crystals.

Holography exploded on the scientific world in 1964, but its slow fuse had been burning much longer. Over the next four decades, the echoes of that explosion reached scientists, engineers, artists and popular culture. Emerging from classified military research, holography evolved to represent the power of post-war physics, an aesthetic union of art and science, the countercultural meanderings of holism, a cottage industry for waves of would-be entrepreneurs and a fertile plot device for science fiction.
New working cultures sprang up to mutate holography, redefining its products, reshaping its audiences and reconceiving its applications. The outcomes included ever more sublime holograms and exquisitely sensitive measuring techniques--but also priority disputes, prurience and poisonous business rivalries.
New subjects cross intellectual borders, and so do their explanations. This book draws on the history and philosophy of science and technology, social studies, politics and cultural history to trace the trajectory of holography. The result is an in-depth account of how new science emerges. Based on unprecedented interviews with pioneer holographers and extensive archival research, it reveals how science, technology, art and wider culture are entwined in the modern world.

It is expected that ongoing advances in optics will revolutionise the 21st century as they began doing in the last quarter of the 20th. Such fields as communications, materials science, computing and medicine are leaping forward based on developments in optics.

It is expected that ongoing advances in optics will revolutionize the 21st century as they have the last quarter of the 20th. Such fields as communications, materials science, computing and medicine are leaping forward based on developments in optics.

An invaluable text for the teaching, design, and development of gas sensor technology. This excellent resource synthesizes the fundamental principles of spectroscopy, laser physics, and photonics technology and engineering to enable the reader to fully understand the key issues and apply them in the design of optical gas absorption sensors. It provides a straightforward introduction to low-cost and highly versatile near-IR systems, as well as an extensive review of mid-IR systems. Fibre laser systems for spectroscopy are also examined in detail, especially the emerging technique of frequency comb spectroscopy. Featuring many examples of real-world application and performance, as well as MATLAB computer programs for modeling and simulation, this exceptional work is ideal for postgraduate students, researchers, and professional engineers seeking to gain an in-depth understanding of the principles and applications of fibre-optic and laser-based gas sensors.

Due to their unique flexibility and high reproducibility, lasers have been traditionally used in processes such as cutting, drilling, machining, welding or cladding. In recent years, with the development of ultrafast laser sources, (ie: laser sources emitting pulses with durations ranging from picoseconds to femtoseconds), lasers also emerged as a new and promising tool for the texturing of virtually all kinds of surfaces. In Chapter One, a brief overview of the lasers and techniques utilised in micro- and nano-surface modifications is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of the surface chemistry and topography effect on bacteria aggregation and adhesion. Also, the role of the laser-induced superficial patterns on the response and sensitivity of bio-implants will be explored in depth. Chapter Two reports on cardiovascular laser application by using the open-irrigated ELMA catheter RytmoLas as an intriguing alternative for catheter ablation of arrhythmias. Chapter Three describes a novel feature designed for ELAI in which different colouration codes for the different metals are applied, enabling a good regional allocation of a specific metal within the tissues. Chapter Four focuses on laser ablation processing of metallic and polymeric thin films used in microelectromechanical systems technology for the fabrication of microfluidic devices with integrated electrodes on printed circuit boards (PCB-MEMS). Chapter Five presents typical micro and nanotextured surfaces created by direct irradiation under stationary and non-stationary conditions and the mechanisms behind their development and growth are discussed. Chapter Six describes a novel three-dimensional (3-D) fabrication process of micro-scale shell resonator made of single-crystal diamond (SCD). Chapter Seven discusses the data about structural and morphological characteristics of nano-sized transition-metal oxides of zirconium and molybdenum produced by laser ablation in water.

In this book, various multivariate statistical techniques are applied in order to assess and predict the experiment. There are developed multiple linear and quasilinear regression and other parametric and non-parametric models for modelling laser efficiency and output power. The best models are obtained using non-parametric method of multivariate adaptive regression splines which can account for the local changes in the behaviour of the investigated quantities and possess powerful predictive capabilities. The obtained results can be considered a first attempt and foundation for the statistical processing of the accumulated experimental data for guiding future experiment in the field of lasers

The Department of Defense's (DOD) development work on high-energy military lasers, which has been underway for decades, has reached the point where lasers capable of countering certain surface and air targets at ranges of about a mile could be made ready for installation on Navy surface ships over the next few years. More powerful shipboard lasers, which could become ready for installation in subsequent years, could provide Navy surface ships with an ability to counter a wider range of surface and air targets at ranges of up to about 10 miles. This book examines Navy shipboard laser technologies and applications for surface, air and missile defence.

Recent advances in ultra-high-power lasers, including the free-electron laser, and impressive airborne demonstrations of laser weapons systems, such as the airborne laser, have shown the enormous potential of laser technology to revolutionize 21st century warfare.

"Military Laser Technology for Defense," includes only unclassified or declassified information. The book focuses on military applications that involve propagation of light through the atmosphere and provides basic relevant background technology. It describes high-power lasers and masers, including the free-electron laser. Further, "Military Laser Technology for Defense" addresses how laser technology can effectively mitigate six of the most pressing military threats of the 21st century: attack by missiles, terrorists, chemical and biological weapons, as well as difficulty in imaging in bad weather and threats from directed beam weapons and future nuclear weapons. The author believes that laser technology will revolutionize warfare in the 21st century.

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is at present one of the most interesting technique for thin film deposition. In the PLD process a film is formed by ablating a solid target with energetic laser pulses and collecting the material of interest on a substrate placed a few cm from the target. According to its ability to carry the stoichiometry from the target to the substrate and to its relatively high growth rate (~0.1 nm/pulse), PLD is an attractive technique for compound thin film deposition. This technique offers the possibility of depositing thin films on room-temperature or low-temperature substrates, due to the high energy of the species forming the laser plasma plume expanding from the target to the substrate. This book reviews research on the depositon of c-BN films by using PLD, ion-assisted PLD and other laser-assisted procedures.

It is expected that ongoing advances in optics will revolutionise the 21st century as they have the last quarter of the 20th. Such fields as communications, materials science, computing and medicine are leaping forward based on developments in optics. This series presents leading edge research on optics and lasers from researchers around the globe.

Here, the editor has gathered a team of international experts to present the latest advances in the field of laser imaging and manipulation techniques. The result is broad coverage of the interactions with biological samples to perform novel optical manipulation operations, both on the cellular and tissue levels.
Of interest to physicists working and researching laser tissue mechanisms, cell biologists investigating new imaging and manipulation operation on the cellular level, medical doctors working with new laser therapies and diagnostic tools, as well as engineers developing new technologies in the field of optics and lasers.

This book presents and discusses a promising technology for fabrication of the one- and two-dimensional nanoperiodic structures on the solid surfaces by direct two- and four-beam standing wave pulsed laser modification. This method being developed extensively at present is very promising for application in nanoelectronics, data storage, integrated optics, and is considered to be a promising alternative to X-ray lithography in a wide range of applications.

Over 20 years ago, world-wide optical communications was not possible; critical pieces of technology in both computing and communication were just emerging. The new communication technology has fuelled the exponential growth of the phenomenon known as the Internet. The exploding demand for Internet access, telecommunications, and broadband services has led to a push for greater light-wave transmission capacity. Optical fibre networks now carry a large amount of voice and data traffic all over the world. This new and important book gathers the latest research from around the globe on the subject of lasers and optics research with related topics such as: low-energy lasers in orthodontics, semiconductor lasers in endoscopy, cooling and manipulating atoms by semiconductor lasers, and others.