This book presents selected research papers of the AIMTDR 2014 conference on application of laser technology for various manufacturing processes such as cutting, forming, welding, sintering, cladding and micro-machining. State-of-the-art of these technologies in terms of numerical modeling, experimental studies and industrial case studies are presented. This book will enrich the knowledge of budding technocrats, graduate students of mechanical and manufacturing engineering, and researchers working in this area.

The work in this thesis was a part of the experiment of squeezed light injection into the LIGO interferometer. The work first discusses the detailed design of the squeezed light source which would be used for the experiment. The specific design is the doubly-resonant, traveling-wave bow-tie cavity squeezed light source with a new modified coherent sideband locking technique. The thesis describes the properties affecting the squeezing magnitudes and offers solutions which improve the gain. The first part also includes the detailed modeling of the back-scattering noise of a traveling Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO). In the second part, the thesis discusses the LIGO Squeezed Light Injection Experiment, undertaken to test squeezed light injection into a 4km interferometric gravitational wave detector. The results show the first ever measurement of squeezing enhancement in a full-scale suspended gravitational wave interferometer with Fabry-Perot arms. Further, it showed that the presence of a squeezed-light source added no additional noise in the low frequency band. The result was the best sensitivity achieved by any gravitational wave detector. The thesis is very well organized with the adequate theoretical background including basics of Quantum Optics, Quantum noise pertaining to gravitational wave detectors in various configurations, along with extensive referencing necessary for the experimental set-up. For any non-experimental scientist, this introduction is a very useful and enjoyable reading. The author is the winner of the 2013 GWIC Theses Prize.

This volume focuses on Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC), a powerful tool allowing luminescence lifetime measurements to be made with high temporal resolution, even on single molecules. Combining spectrum and lifetime provides a “fingerprint� for identifying such molecules in the presence of a background. Used together with confocal detection, this permits single-molecule spectroscopy and microscopy in addition to ensemble measurements, opening up an enormous range of hot life science applications such as fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and measurement of Förster Resonant Energy Transfer (FRET) for the investigation of protein folding and interaction. Several technology-related chapters present both the basics and current state-of-the-art, in particular of TCSPC electronics, photon detectors and lasers. The remaining chapters cover a broad range of applications and methodologies for experiments and data analysis, including the life sciences, defect centers in diamonds, super-resolution microscopy, and optical tomography. The chapters detailing new options arising from the combination of classic TCSPC and fluorescence lifetime with methods based on intensity fluctuation represent a particularly unique highlight.

This book is an attempt to bridge the gap between the instrumental principles of multi-dimensional time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) and typical applications of the technique. Written by an originator of the technique and by sucessful users, it covers the basic principles of the technique, its interaction with optical imaging methods and its application to a wide range of experimental tasks in life sciences and clinical research. The book is recommended for all users of time-resolved detection techniques in biology, bio-chemistry, spectroscopy of live systems, live cell microscopy, clinical imaging, spectroscopy of single molecules, and other applications that require the detection of low-level light signals at single-photon sensitivity and picosecond time resolution.

This book explores the relaxation dynamics of inner-valence-ionized diatomic molecules on the basis of extreme-ultraviolet pump-probe experiments performed at the free-electron laser (FEL) in Hamburg. Firstly, the electron rearrangement dynamics in dissociating multiply charged iodine molecules is studied in an experiment that made it possible to access charge transfer in a thus far unexplored quasimolecular regime relevant for plasma and chemistry applications of the FEL. Secondly the lifetime of an efficient non-radiative relaxation process that occurs in weakly bound systems is measured directly for the first time in a neon dimer (Ne2). Interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) has been identified as the dominant decay mechanism in inner-valence-ionized or excited van-der-Waals and hydrogen bonded systems, the latter being ubiquitous in all biomolecules. The role of ICD in DNA damage thus demands further investigation, e.g. with regard to applications like radiation therapy.

Advancement of Optical Methods in Experimental Mechanics, Volume 3: Proceedings of the 2014 Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the third volume of eight from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering.  The collection presents early findings and case studies on a wide range of optical methods ranging from traditional photoelasticity and interferometry to more recent DIC and DVC techniques, and includes papers in the following general technical research areas: ·        Advanced optical methods for frontier applications ·        Advanced optical interferometry ·        Optical measurement systems using polarized light ·        Optical methods for advanced manufacturing ·        Digital image correlation ·        Optical methods at the micro/nano-scale ·        Three-dimensional imaging and volumetric correlation ·        Imaging methods for thermomechanics applications ·        Opto-acoustical methods in experimental mechanics ·        Optical measurements in challenging environments ·        Optical methods for inverse problems ·        Advances in optical methods

This is the first volume of textbooks on atomic, molecular and optical physics, aiming at a comprehensive presentation of this highly productive branch of modern physics as an indispensable basis for many areas in physics and chemistry as well as in state of the art bio- and material-sciences. It primarily addresses advanced students (including PhD students), but in a number of selected subject areas the reader is lead up to the frontiers of present research. Thus even the active scientist is addressed. This volume 1 provides the canonical knowledge in atomic physics together with basics of modern spectroscopy. Starting from the fundamentals of quantum physics, the reader is familiarized in well structured chapters step by step with the most important phenomena, models and measuring techniques. The emphasis is always on the experiment and its interpretation, while the necessary theory is introduced from this perspective in a compact and occasionally somewhat heuristic manner, easy to follow even for beginners.

The revised edition of this important reference volume presents an expanded overview of the analytical and numerical approaches employed when exploring and developing modern laser materials processing techniques. The book shows how general principles can be used to obtain insight into laser processes, whether derived from fundamental physical theory or from direct observation of experimental results. The book gives readers an understanding of the strengths and limitations of simple numerical and analytical models that can then be used as the starting-point for more elaborate models of specific practical, theoretical or commercial value. Following an introduction to the mathematical formulation of some relevant classes of physical ideas, the core of the book consists of chapters addressing key applications in detail: cutting, keyhole welding, drilling, arc and hybrid laser-arc welding, hardening, cladding and forming. The second edition includes a new a chapter on glass cutting with lasers, as employed in the display industry. A further addition is a chapter on meta-modelling, whose purpose is to construct fast, simple and reliable models based on appropriate sources of information. It then makes it easy to explore data visually and is a convenient interactive tool for scientists to improve the quality of their models and for developers when designing their processes. As in the first edition, the book ends with an updated introduction to comprehensive numerical simulation. Although the book focuses on laser interactions with materials, many of the principles and methods explored can be applied to thermal modelling in a variety of different fields and at different power levels. It is aimed principally however at academic and industrial researchers and developers in the field of laser technology.

The propagation of light in 'dense media' where dipole-dipole interactions play a role is a fundamental topic that was first studied in the work of Clausius, Mossotti, Lorenz and Lorentz in the latter half of the nineteenth century. However, until recently there remained some areas of controversy: for example, whereas the Lorentz model for a gas predicts a resonance shift, a discrete dipole model does not. This thesis makes the first combined measurement of both the Lorentz shift and the associated collective Lamb shift. This clear experimental result stimulated new theoretical work that has significantly advanced our understanding of light propagation in interacting media.

This book focuses on advanced optical finishing techniques and design for high-performance manufacturing systems. It provides numerous detailed examples of how advanced automation techniques have been applied to optical fabrication processes. The simulations, removal rate and accurate experimental results offer useful resources for engineering practice. Researchers, engineers and graduate students working in optical engineering and precision manufacture engineering will benefit from this book.

A four year Electrical and Electronic engineering curriculum normally contains two modules of electromagnetic field theories during the first two years. However, some curricula do not have enough slots to accommodate the two modules. This book, Electromagnetic Field Theories, is designed for Electrical and Electronic engineering undergraduate students to provide fundamental knowledge of electromagnetic fields and waves in a structured manner. A comprehensive fundamental knowledge of electric and magnetic fields is required to understand the working principles of generators, motors and transformers. This knowledge is also necessary to analyze transmission lines, substations, insulator flashover mechanism, transient phenomena, etc. Recently, academics and researches are working for sending electrical power to a remote area by designing a suitable antenna. In this case, the knowledge of electromagnetic fields is considered as important tool.

Quantum information science has found great experimental success by exploiting single photons. To date, however, the majority of quantum optical experiments use large-scale (bulk) optical elements bolted down to an optical bench, an approach that ultimately limits the complexity and stability of the quantum circuits required for quantum science and technology. The realization of complex optical schemes involving large numbers of elements requires the introduction of waveguide technology to achieve the desired scalability, stability and miniaturization of the device. This thesis reports on surprising findings in the field of integrated devices for quantum information. Here the polarization of the photon is shown to offer a suitable degree of freedom for encoding quantum information in integrated systems. The most important results concern: the quantum interference of polarization entangled photons in an on-chip directional coupler; the realization of a Controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate operating with polarization qubits; the realization of a quantum walk of bosons and fermions in an ordered optical lattice and the quantum simulation of Anderson localization of bosons and fermions simulated by polarization entangled photons in a disordered quantum walk. The findings presented in this thesis represent an important step towards the integration of a complete quantum photonic experiment in a chip.

During the last few years cavity-optomechanics has emerged as a new field of research. This highly interdisciplinary field studies the interaction between micro and nano mechanical systems and light. Possible applications range from novel high-bandwidth mechanical sensing devices through the generation of squeezed optical or mechanical states to even tests of quantum theory itself. This is one of the first books in this relatively young field. It is aimed at scientists, engineers and students who want to obtain a concise introduction to the state of the art in the field of cavity optomechanics. It is valuable to researchers in nano science, quantum optics, quantum information, gravitational wave detection and other cutting edge fields. Possible applications include biological sensing, frequency comb applications, silicon photonics etc. The technical content will be accessible to those who have familiarity with basic undergraduate physics.

Scientific advances and several technical breakthroughs have led to a remarkable increase in available laser intensities over the past decades. In available ultra-intense laser fields, photon fluxes may become so high that free charge carriers interact coherently with several of the field's photons. In this thesis such nonlinear interactions are investigated for the prime example of radiation emission by electrons scattered from intense laser pulses of arbitrary temporal structure. To this end, nonlinear quantum field theory is employed taking the interaction with the laser into account exactly. After an in-depth introduction to classical particle dynamics as well as quantum field theory in nonlinearly intense laser fields the emission of one and two photons is explicitly analyzed. The results are then translated to viable technical applications, such as a scheme for the determination of the carrier-envelope phase of ultra-intense laser pulses and a proposal for detecting the strongly suppressed two-photon signal.

This book presents some of the latest achievements in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features contributions from participants in the 2nd International Summer School “Nanotechnology: From Fundamental Research to Innovations� and International Research and Practice Conference “Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials�, NANO-2013, which were held in Bukovel, Ukraine on August 25-September 1, 2013. These events took place within the framework of the European Commission FP7 project Nanotwinning, and were organized jointly 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 topics ranging from nanooptics, nanoplasmonics, and interface studies to energy storage and biomedical applications.

The advent of microelectromechanic system (MEMS) technologies and nanotechnologies has resulted in a multitude of structures and devices with ultra compact dimensions and with vastly enhanced or even completely novel properties. In the field of photonics it resulted in the appearance of new paradigms, including photonic crystals that exhibit photonic bandgap and represent an optical analog of semiconductors and metamaterials that have subwavelength features and may have almost arbitrary values of effective refractive index, including those below zero. In addition to that, a whole new field of plasmonics appeared, dedicated to the manipulation with evanescent, surface-bound electromagnetic waves and offering an opportunity to merge nanoelectronics with all-optical circuitry. In the field of infrared technologies MEMS and nanotechnologies ensured the appearance of a new generation of silicon-based thermal detectors with properties vastly surpassing the conventional thermal devices. However, another family of infrared detectors, photonic devices based on narrow-bandgap semiconductors, has traditionally been superior to thermal detectors. Literature about their micro and nanophotonic enhancement has been scarce and scattered through journals. This book offers the first systematic approach to numerous different MEMS and nanotechnology-based methods available for the improvement of photonic infrared detectors and points out to a path towards uncooled operation with the performance of cryogenically cooled devices. It is shown that a vast area for enhancement does exists and that photonic devices can readily keep their leading position in infrared detection. The various methods and approaches described in the book are also directly applicable to different other types of photodetectors like solar cells, often with little or no modification.

This text seeks to illuminate, mainly for the electrical power engineers of the future, the topic of large scale solar flux gathering schemes, which arguably represent the major source of renewable power available. The aim of the content is to impart, from an electromagnetic perspective, a deep and sound understanding of the topic of solar flux collection, ranging from the characteristics of light to the properties of antennas. To do this five chapters are employed to provide a thorough grounding in relevant aspects of electromagnetism and electromagnetic waves including optics, electromagnetic radiation and reception, aperture antennas and array antennas and the quantum electrodynamics aspects of optical absorption, as it relates to photovoltaic techniques. The principles developed in these chapters are then used to underpin and elucidate the main chapters on photovoltaic collectors, concentrated solar power collectors, satellite based collection systems and optical nantennas. To establish the novel and transformative renewable technologies, which civilisation will soon require, in order to achieve sustainability quickly and effectively, the availability of professional engineers and scientists with a thorough and commanding grasp of the fundamental science is an absolutely essential prerequisite. This book provides this for solar power generating systems.

This book focuses on several areas of intense topical interest related to applied spectroscopy and the science of nanomaterials. The eleven chapters in the book cover the following areas of interest relating to applied spectroscopy and nanoscience: * Raman spectroscopic characterization, modeling and simulation studies of carbon nanotubes, * Characterization of plasma discharges using laser optogalvanic spectroscopy, * Fluorescence anisotropy in understanding protein conformational disorder and aggregation, * Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in nanomedicine, * Calculation of Van der Waals interactions at the nanoscale, * Theory and simulation associated with adsorption of gases in nanomaterials, * Atom-precise metal nanoclusters, * Plasmonic properties of metallic nanostructures, two-dimensional materials, and their composites, * Applications of graphene in optoelectronic devices and transistors, * Role of graphene in organic photovoltaic device technology, * Applications of nanomaterials in nanomedicine.

Despite more than half a century of theoretical work, the Casimir effect is still not as fully understood as some suppose. In this treatise, the author uncovers new puzzles and paradoxes concerning this mysterious phenomenon. In particular, he clearly demonstrates that the most sophisticated theories fail when confronted with dielectrics in which the refractive index is not uniform but gradually changes.

In the never-ending quest for miniaturization, optically controlled particle trapping has opened up new possibilities for handling microscopic matter non-invasively. This thesis presents the application of photorefractive crystals as active substrate materials for optoelectronic tweezers. In these tweezers, flexible optical patterns are transformed into electrical forces by a photoconductive material, making it possible to handle matter with very high forces and high throughput. Potential substrate materials’ properties are investigated and ways to tune their figures-of-merit are demonstrated. A large part of the thesis is devoted to potential applications in the field of optofluidics, where photorefractive optoelectronic tweezers are used to trap, sort and guide droplets or particles in microfluidic channels, or to shape liquid polymers into optical elements prior to their solidification. Furthermore, a new surface discharge model is employed to discuss the experimental conditions needed for photorefractive optoelectronic tweezers.

This highly practical and self-contained guidebook explains the principles and major applications of digital hologram recording and numerical reconstruction (Digital Holography). A special chapter is designated to digital holographic interferometry with applications in deformation and shape measurement and refractive index determination. Applications in imaging and microscopy are also described. Spcial techniques such as digital light-in-flight holography, holographic endoscopy, information encrypting, comparative holography, and related techniques of speckle metrology are also treated

The present book provides recent developments in various in vivo imaging and sensing techniques such as photo acoustics (PA) imaging and microscopy, ultrasound-PA combined modalities, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and micro OCT, Raman and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLI) techniques and nanoparticle enabled endoscopy etc. There is also a contributing chapter from leading medical instrumentation company on their view of optical imaging techniques in clinical laparoscopic surgery. The UN proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, emphasizing achievements in the optical sciences and their importance to human beings. In this context, this book focusses on the recent advances in biophotonics techniques primarily focused towards translational medicine contributed by thought leaders who have made cutting edge developments in various photonics techniques.

This book presents a collection of extended contributions on the physics and application of optoelectronic materials and metamaterials. The book is divided into three parts, respectively covering materials, metamaterials and optoelectronic devices. Individual chapters cover topics including phonon-polariton interaction, semiconductor and nonlinear organic materials, metallic, dielectric and gyrotropic metamaterials, singular optics, parity-time symmetry, nonlinear plasmonics, microstructured optical fibers, passive nonlinear shaping of ultrashort pulses, and pulse-preserving supercontinuum generation. The book contains both experimental and theoretical studies, and each contribution is a self-contained exposition of a particular topic, featuring an extensive reference list. The book will be a useful resource for graduate and postgraduate students, researchers and engineers involved in optoelectronics/photonics, quantum electronics, optics, and adjacent areas of science and technology.

Presenting a blend of applied and fundamental research in highly interdisciplinary subjects of rapidly developing areas, this book contains contributions on the frontiers and hot topics of laser physics, laser technology and laser engineering, and covers a wide range of laser topics, from all-optical signal processing and chaotic optical communication to production of superwicking surfaces, correction of extremely high-power beams, and generation of ultrabroadband spectra. It presents both review-type contributions and well researched and documented case studies, and is intended for graduate students, young scientist, and emeritus scientist working/studying in laser physics, optoelectronics, optics, photonics, and adjacent areas. The book contains both experimental and theoretical studies, as well as combinations of these two, which is known to be a most useful and interesting form of reporting scientific results, allowing students to really learn from each contribution. The book contains over 130 illustrations.

This book is dedicated to the relativistic (laser intensity above 1018 W/cm2) laser-plasma interactions, which mainly concerns two important aspects: ion acceleration and extreme-light-field (ELF). Based on the ultra-intense and ultra–short CP lasers, this book proposes a new method that significantly improves the efficiency of heavy-ion acceleration, and deals with the critical thickness issues of light pressure acceleration. More importantly, a series of plasma approaches for producing ELFs, such as the relativistic single-cycle laser pulse, the intense broad-spectrum chirped laser pulse and the ultra-intense isolated attosecond (10-18s) pulse are introduced. This book illustrates that plasma not only affords a tremendous accelerating gradient for ion acceleration but also serves as a novel medium for ELF generation, and hence has the potential of plasma-based optics, which have a great advantage on the light intensity due to the absence of device damage threshold.