This dissertation focuses on the study of novel high-gain free-electron laser (FEL) operation schemes with external seed lasers. The technique of manipulating the phase space of the electron beam, which is widely used in novel seeded FEL schemes, is systematically studied. Several novel FEL schemes are proposed for the generation of intense coherent FEL pulses with short wavelength, sub-femtosecond pulse length or multiple carrier frequency properties, which meet the needs of FEL users. Results of experiments are described for the recently proposed FEL schemes such as echo-enabled harmonic generation and cascaded high-gain harmonic generation. New photon/electron beam diagnostic methods are also developed for these experiments and future high-gain FEL facilities.

In this thesis, ultimate sensitive measurement for weak force imposed on a suspended mirror is performed with the help of a laser and an optical cavity for the development of gravitational-wave detectors. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, such measurements are subject to a fundamental noise called quantum noise, which arises from the quantum nature of a probe (light) and a measured object (mirror). One of the sources of quantum noise is the quantum back-action, which arises from the vacuum fluctuation of the light. It sways the mirror via the momentum transferred to the mirror upon its reflection for the measurement. The author discusses a fundamental trade-off between sensitivity and stability in the macroscopic system, and suggests using a triangular cavity that can avoid this trade-off. The development of an optical triangular cavity is described and its characterization of the optomechanical effect in the triangular cavity is demonstrated. As a result, for the first time in the world the quantum back-action imposed on the 5-mg suspended mirror is significantly evaluated. This work contributes to overcoming the standard quantum limit in the future.

This revised edition of the author's classic 2006 text offers a comprehensively updated review of the field of relativistic nonlinear electrodynamics. It explores the interaction of strong and super-strong electromagnetic/laser radiation with the electromagnetic quantum vacuum and diverse types of matter - including free charged particles and antiparticles, acceleration beams, plasma and plasmous media. The appearance of laser sources of relativistic and ultra-relativistic intensities over the last decade has stimulated investigation of a large class of processes under such super-strong radiation fields. Revisions for this second edition reflect these developments and the book includes new chapters on Bremsstrahlung and nonlinear absorption of superintense radiation in plasmas, the nonlinear interaction of relativistic atoms with intense laser radiation, nonlinear interaction of strong laser radiation with Graphene, and relativistic nonlinear phenomena in solid-plasma targets under supershort laser pulses of ultrarelativistic intensities. The only book devoted to the subject of relativistic nonlinear electrodynamics, this second edition will be a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers involved in any aspect of the field, including those working with intense x-ray - gamma-ray lasers, the new generation of small size laser-plasma accelerators of superhigh energies and high-brightness particle beams.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the operating principles and technology of electron lenses in supercolliders. Electron lenses are a novel instrument for high energy particle accelerators, particularly for the energy-frontier superconducting hadron colliders, including the Tevatron, RHIC, LHC and future very large hadron colliders. After reviewing the issues surrounding beam dynamics in supercolliders, the book offers an introduction to the electron lens method and its application. Further chapters describe the technology behind the electron lenses which have recently been proposed, built and employed for compensation of beam-beam effects and for collimation of high-energy high-intensity beams, for compensation of space-charge effects and several other applications in accelerators. The book will be an invaluable resource for those involved in the design, construction and operation of the next generation of hadron colliders.

This thesis reports on major steps towards the realization of scalable quantum networks. It addresses the experimental implementation of a deterministic interaction mechanism between flying optical photons and a single trapped atom. In particular, it demonstrates the nondestructive detection of an optical photon. To this end, single rubidium atoms are trapped in a three-dimensional optical lattice at the center of an optical cavity in the strong coupling regime. Full control over the atomic state - its position, its motion, and its electronic state - is achieved with laser beams applied along the resonator and from the side. When faint laser pulses are reflected from the resonator, the combined atom-photon state acquires a state-dependent phase shift. In a first series of experiments, this is employed to nondestructively detect optical photons by measuring the atomic state after the reflection process. Then, quantum bits are encoded in the polarization of the laser pulse and in the Zeeman state of the atom. The state-dependent phase shift mediates a deterministic universal quantum gate between the atom and one or two successively reflected photons, which is used to generate entangled atom-photon, atom-photon-photon, and photon-photon states out of separable input states.

This thesis focuses on the study of the optical response of new atomically thin two-dimensional crystals, principally the family of transition metal dichalcogenides like MoS2. One central theme of the thesis is the precise treatment of the linear and second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. In addition to their significant scientific interest as fundamental material responses, these studies provide essential knowledge and convenient characterization tools for the application of these 2D materials in opto-electronic devices. Another important theme of the thesis is the valley physics of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. It is shown that the degeneracy in the valley degree of freedom can be lifted and a valley polarization can be created using a magnetic field, which breaks time reversal symmetry in these materials. These findings enhance our basic understanding of the valley electronic states and open up new opportunities for valleytronic applications using two-dimensional materials.

Ultrashort laser pulses with durations in the femtosecond range up to a few picoseconds provide a unique method for precise materials processing or medical applications. Paired with the recent developments in ultrashort pulse lasers, this technology is finding its way into various application fields. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the principles and applications of ultrashort pulse lasers, especially applied to medicine and production technology. Recent advances in laser technology are discussed in detail. This covers the development of reliable and cheap low power laser sources as well as high average power ultrashort pulse lasers for large scale manufacturing. The fundamentals of laser-matter-interaction as well as processing strategies and the required system technology are discussed for these laser sources with respect to precise materials processing. Finally, different applications within medicine, measurement technology or materials processing are highlighted.

This book discusses the analysis, circuit modeling, and applications of transmission lines loaded with electrically small resonators (mostly resonators inspired by metamaterials), focusing on the study of the symmetry-related electromagnetic properties of these loaded lines. It shows that the stopband functionality (resonance) that these lines exhibit can be controlled by the relative orientation between the line and the resonator, which determines their mutual coupling. Such resonance controllability, closely related to symmetry, is essential for the design of several microwave components, such as common-mode suppressed differential lines, novel microwave sensors based on symmetry disruption, and spectral signature radio-frequency barcodes. Other interesting aspects, such as stopband bandwidth enhancement (due to inter-resonator coupling, and related to complex modes) and magnetoelectric coupling between the transmission lines and split-ring resonators, are also included in the book.

This book is focused on the nonlinear theoretical and mathematical problems associated with ultrafast intense laser pulse propagation in gases and in particular, in air. With the aim of understanding the physics of filamentation in gases, solids, the atmosphere, and even biological tissue, specialists in nonlinear optics and filamentation from both physics and mathematics attempt to rigorously derive and analyze relevant non-perturbative models. Modern laser technology allows the generation of ultrafast (few cycle) laser pulses, with intensities exceeding the internal electric field in atoms and molecules (E=5x109 V/cm or intensity I = 3.5 x 1016 Watts/cm2 ). The interaction of such pulses with atoms and molecules leads to new, highly nonlinear nonperturbative regimes, where new physical phenomena, such as High Harmonic Generation (HHG), occur, and from which the shortest (attosecond - the natural time scale of the electron) pulses have been created. One of the major experimental discoveries in this nonlinear nonperturbative regime, Laser Pulse Filamentation, was observed by Mourou and Braun in 1995, as the propagation of pulses over large distances with narrow and intense cones. This observation has led to intensive investigation in physics and applied mathematics of new effects such as self-transformation of these pulses into white light, intensity clamping, and multiple filamentation, as well as to potential applications to wave guide writing, atmospheric remote sensing, lightning guiding, and military long-range weapons. The increasing power of high performance computers and the mathematical modelling and simulation of photonic systems has enabled many new areas of research. With contributions by theorists and mathematicians, supplemented by active experimentalists who are experts in the field of nonlinear laser molecule interaction and propagation, Laser Filamentation sheds new light on scientific and industrial applications of modern lasers.

This book discusses statistical methods that are useful for treating problems in modern optics, and the application of these methods to solving a variety of such problems This book covers a variety of statistical problems in optics, including both theory and applications. The text covers the necessary background in statistics, statistical properties of light waves of various types, the theory of partial coherence and its applications, imaging with partially coherent light, atmospheric degradations of images, and noise limitations in the detection of light. New topics have been introduced in the second edition, including: Analysis of the Vander Pol oscillator model of laser light Coverage on coherence tomography and coherence multiplexing of fiber sensors An expansion of the chapter on imaging with partially coherent light, including several new examples An expanded section on speckle and its properties New sections on the cross-spectrum and bispectrum techniques for obtaining images free from atmospheric distortions A new section on imaging through atmospheric turbulence using coherent light The addition of the effects of "read noise" to the discussions of limitations encountered in detecting very weak optical signals A number of new problems and many new references have been added Statistical Optics, Second Edition is written for researchers and engineering students interested in optics, physicists and chemists, as well as graduate level courses in a University Engineering or Physics Department.

The book bridges the gap between fundamental physics courses (such as optics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics and solid state physics) and highly specialized literature on the spectroscopy, design, and application of optical thin film coatings. Basic knowledge from the above-mentioned courses is therefore presumed. Starting from fundamental physics, the book enables the reader derive the theory of optical coatings and to apply it to practically important spectroscopic problems. Both classical and semiclassical approaches are included. Examples describe the full range of classical optical coatings in various spectral regions as well as highly specialized new topics such as rugate filters and resonant grating waveguide structures. The second edition has been updated and extended with respect to probing matter in different spectral regions, homogenous and inhomogeneous line broadening mechanisms and the Fresnel formula for the effect of planar interfaces.

This book pays tribute to an extraordinary researcher and personality, Manuel Cardona. He had significant influence in the development of science and inside the scientific community. The book consists of contributions by former collaborators and students of Prof. Manuel Cardona. The short contributions deal with personal encounters with Manuel Cardona describing his extraordinary personality. This includes descriptions of scientific discussions, Manuel Cardona's involvement in social justice and his enormous knowledge about human culture, languages and history.

This thesis casts new light on quantum entanglement of photons with complex spatial patterns due to direct coincidence imaging. It demonstrates novel methods to generate, investigate, and verify entanglement of complex spatial structures. Quantum theory is one of the most successful and astonishing physical theories. It made possible various technical devices like lasers or mobile phones and, at the same time, it completely changed our understanding of the world. Interestingly, such counterintuitive features like entanglement are an important building block for future quantum technologies. In photonic experiments, the transverse spatial degree of freedom offers great potential to explore fascinating phenomena of single photons and quantum entanglement. It was possible to verify the entanglement of two photons with very high quanta of orbital angular momentum, a property of photons connected to their spatial structure and theoretically unbounded. In addition, modern imaging technology was used to visualize the effect of entanglement even in real-time and to show a surprising property: photons with complex spatial patterns can be both entangled and not entangled in polarization depending on their transverse spatial position.

This thesis offers a thorough and informative study of high-power, high-energy optical parametric chirped pulse amplifications systems, the foundation of the next generation of femtosecond laser technology. Starting from the basics of the linear processes involved and the essential design considerations, the author clearly and systematically describes the various prerequisites of the nonlinear optical systems expected to drive attosecond physics in the coming decade. In this context, he gives an overview of methods for generating the broadband and carrier-envelope-phase stable seed pulses necessary for producing controlled electric-field waveforms in the final system; provides a guide to handling the high-power, high-energy pump lasers required to boost the pulse energy to the desired operating range; describes the design of the nonlinear optical system used to perform the amplification, including modes of operation for ultra-broadband infrared-visible pulses or narrowband (yet still ultrafast) pulses tunable over multiple octaves; and finally presents a prospective high-energy field synthesizer based upon these techniques. As such, this work is essential reading for all scientists interested in utilizing the newest generation of ultrafast systems.

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.

This extended and revised edition will serve as a concise, self-contained, up-to-date introduction to Photonics for undergraduate students. It can also be used as a primer by researchers and professionals who start working in the field. Blending theory with technical descriptions, the book covers a wide range of topics, including the general mechanism of laser action, continuous and pulsed laser operation, optical propagation in isotropic and anisotropic media, operating principles and structure of passive optical components, electro-optic and acousto-optic modulation, solid-state lasers, semiconductor lasers and LEDs, nonlinear optical phenomena, and optical fiber components and devices. The book concludes with an overview of applications, including optical communications, telemetry and sensing, industrial and biomedical applications, solid-state lighting, displays, and photovoltaics. This second edition includes a set of problems at the end of all but the last chapter. These problems deal with numerical computations designed to illustrate the magnitudes of important quantities and are also intended to test the student's ability to apply theoretical formulas.

Phononic crystals are artificial periodic structures that can alter efficiently the flow of sound, acoustic waves, or elastic waves. They were introduced about twenty years ago and have gained increasing interest since then, both because of their amazing physical properties and because of their potential applications. The topic of phononic crystals stands as the cross-road of physics (condensed matter physics, wave propagation in inhomogeneous and periodic media) and engineering (acoustics, ultrasonics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering). Phononic crystals cover a wide range of scales, from meter-size periodic structures for sound in air to nanometer-size structures for information processing or thermal phonon control in integrated circuits. Phononic crystals have a definite relation with the topic of photonic crystals in optics. The marriage of phononic and photonic crystals also provides a promising structural basis for enhanced sound and light interaction. As the topic is getting popular, it is nowadays presented and discussed at various international conferences. After the first ten years during which the topic has remained mainly theoretical with a few proof-of-concept demonstrations in the literature, the evolution has been towards applications, instrumentation, and novel designs. The physical explanations for various effects are now well understood and efficient numerical methods and analysis tools have been developed. The book contains a comprehensive set of finite element model (FEM) scripts for solving basic phononic crystal problems. The scripts are short, easy to read, and efficient, allowing the reader to generate for him(her)self band structures for 2D and 3D phononic crystals, to compute Bloch waves, waveguide and cavity modes, and more.

The book reviews the most recent achievements in optical technologies for XUV and X-ray coherent sources. Particular attention is given to free-electron-laser facilities, but also to other sources available at present, such as synchrotrons, high-order laser harmonics and X-ray lasers. The optical technologies relevant to each type of source are discussed. In addition, the main technologies used for photon handling and conditioning, namely multilayer mirrors, adaptive optics, crystals and gratings are explained. Experiments using coherent light received during the last decades a lot of attention for the X-ray regime. Strong efforts were taken for the realization of almost fully coherent sources, e.g. the free-electron lasers, both as independent sources in the femtosecond and attosecond regimes and as seeding sources for free-electron-lasers and X-ray gas lasers. In parallel to the development of sources, optical technologies for photon handling and conditioning of such coherent and intense X-ray beams advanced. New problems were faced for the realization of optical components of beamlines demanding to manage coherent X-ray photons, e.g. the preservation of coherence and time structure of ultra short pulses.

This book describes a relatively new approach for the design of electromagnetic metamaterials. Numerical optimization routines are combined with electromagnetic simulations to tailor the broadband optical properties of a metamaterial to have predetermined responses at predetermined wavelengths. After a review of both the major efforts within the field of metamaterials and the field of mathematical optimization, chapters covering both gradient-based and derivative-free design methods are considered. Selected topics including surrogate-base optimization, adaptive mesh search, and genetic algorithms are shown to be effective, gradient-free optimization strategies. Additionally, new techniques for representing dielectric distributions in two dimensions, including level sets, are demonstrated as effective methods for gradient-based optimization. Each chapter begins with a rigorous review of the optimization strategy used, and is followed by numerous examples that combine the strategy with either electromagnetic simulations or analytical solutions of the scattering problem. Throughout the text, we address the strengths and limitations of each method, as well as which numerical methods are best suited for different types of metamaterial designs. This book is intended to provide a detailed enough treatment of the mathematical methods used, along with sufficient examples and additional references, that senior level undergraduates or graduate students who are new to the fields of plasmonics, metamaterials, or optimization methods; have an understanding of which approaches are best-suited for their work and how to implement the methods themselves.

Attophysics is an emerging field in physics devoted to the study and characterization of matter dynamics in the sub-femtosecond time scale. This book gives coverage of a broad set of selected topics in this field, exciting by their novelty and their potential impact. The book is written review-like. It also includes fundamental chapters as introduction to the field for non-specialist physicists. The book is structured in four sections: basics, attosecond pulse technology, applications to measurements and control of physical processes and future perspectives. It is a valuable reference tool for researchers in the field as well as a concise introduction to non-specialist readers.

This thesis explores a route to induce and control the structure formation process in thin films by the use of strong electric fields. We investigate, establish and apply the use of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) lithography as a versatile patterning tool on the sub-micrometre and nanometre length scales for functional materials. Thin films are ubiquitous, they are found in nature and used in almost every aspect of daily life. While film instabilities are often undesirable in nature and technology, they can be utilized to produce structures by precisely controlling the destabilization of the film. EHD lithography utilizes instabilities induced by means of an electric field to fabricate periodic structures. EHD patterning is set to become a competitive candidate for low-cost lithographic technology for a number of applications. Herein, the applied potential of this lithographic process is explored by expanding its applicability to a broad range of materials and by a simultaneous patterning of multilayer systems or functional polymers yielding hierarchical architectures with novel functionalities. EHD pattern formation enables for instance, the fabrication of multi-scale structured arrays as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active platforms. Furthermore, crystalline and conductive polymers are patterned using the EHD approach and the underlying structure formation mechanisms are discussed. This extension towards functional material systems offers interesting prospects for potential applications. Findings of this thesis are very promising for use in optoelectronic devices.

This book introduces model studies and experimental results associated with laser forming and welding such as laser induced bending, welding of sheet metals, and related practical applications. The book provides insight into the physical processes involved with laser forming and welding. The analytical study covers the formulation of laser induced bending while the model study demonstrates the simulation of bending and welding processes using the finite element method. Analytical and numerical solutions for laser forming and welding problems are provided.

Transformation electromagnetics is a systematic design technique for optical and electromagnetic devices that enables novel wave-material interaction properties. The associated metamaterials technology for designing and realizing optical and electromagnetic devices can control the behavior of light and electromagnetic waves in ways that have not been conventionally possible. The technique is credited with numerous novel device designs, most notably the invisibility cloaks, perfect lenses and a host of other remarkable devices. Transformation Electromagnetics and Metamaterials: Fundamental Principles and Applications presents a comprehensive treatment of the rapidly growing area of transformation electromagnetics and related metamaterial technology with contributions on the subject provided by a collection of leading experts from around the world. On the theoretical side, the following questions will be addressed: "Where does transformation electromagnetics come from?," "What are the general material properties for different classes of coordinate transformations?," "What are the limitations and challenges of device realizations?," and "What theoretical tools are available to make the coordinate transformation-based designs more amenable to fabrication using currently available techniques?" The comprehensive theoretical treatment will be complemented by device designs and/or realizations in various frequency regimes and applications including acoustic, radio frequency, terahertz, infrared, and the visible spectrum. The applications encompass invisibility cloaks, gradient-index lenses in the microwave and optical regimes, negative-index superlenses for sub-wavelength resolution focusing, flat lenses that produce highly collimated beams from an embedded antenna or optical source, beam concentrators, polarization rotators and splitters, perfect electromagnetic absorbers, and many others. This book will serve as the authoritative reference for students and researchers alike to the fast-evolving and exciting research area of transformation electromagnetics/optics, its application to the design of revolutionary new devices, and their associated metamaterial realizations.

This book documents the recent vivid developments in the research field of ultrashort intense light pulses for probing and controlling ultrafast dynamics. The recent fascinating results in studying and controlling ultrafast dynamics in ever more complicated systems such as (bio-)molecules and structures of meso- to macroscopic sizes on ever shorter time-scales are presented. The book is written by some of the most eminent experimental and theoretical experts in the field. It covers the new groundbreaking research directions that were opened by the availability of new light sources such as fully controlled intense laser fields with durations down to a single oscillation cycle, short-wavelength laser-driven attosecond pulses and intense X-ray pulses from the upcoming free electron lasers. These light sources allowed the investigation of dynamics in atoms, molecules, clusters, on surfaces and very recently also in nanostructures and solids in new regimes of parameters which, in turn, led to the identification of completely new dynamics and methods for controlling it. Example topics covered by this book include the study of ultrafast processes in large molecules using attosecond pulses, control of ultrafast electron dynamics in solids with shaped femtosecond laser pulses, light-driven ultrafast plasmonic processes on surfaces and in nanostructures as well as research on atomic and molecular systems under intense X-ray radiation. This book is equally helpful for people who would like to step into this field (e.g. young researchers), for whom it provides a broad introduction, as well as for already experienced researchers who may enjoy the exhaustive discussion that covers the research on essentially all currently studied objects and with all available ultrafast pulse sources.

This book introduces laser pulse heating and thermal stress analysis in materials surface. Analytical temperature treatments and stress developed in the surface region are also explored. The book will help the reader analyze the laser induced stress in the irradiated region and presents solutions for the stress field. Detailed thermal stress analysis in different laser pulse heating situations and different boundary conditions are also presented. Written for surface engineers.