The authors explore the ways to improve the classical resolution limits of an imaging system, and provide novel approaches for achieving better results than would otherwise be possible with current imaging technology. The book begins by presenting the theoretical foundations, background information, and terminology of super resolution, and then discusses methods and systems used to achieve the super resolution effect. Various approaches to dealing with and exceeding the limitations of the lens aperture, the pixel size of the camera, and the noise generated at the detector are presented and analyzed. The last chapter illustrates several industry-related examples and potential applications to real industrial electro-optical systems. This book is intended for graduate students or researchers in academia or industry, and anyone else looking to improve the performance of their electro-optical system design.

Silicon, the leading material in microelectronics during the last four decades, also promises to be the key material in the future. Despite many claims that silicon technology has reached fundamental limits, the performance of silicon microelectronics continues to improve steadily. The same holds for almost all the applications for which Si was considered to be unsuitable. The main exception to this positive trend is the silicon laser, which has not been demonstrated to date. The main reason for this comes from a fundamental limitation related to the indirect nature of the Si band-gap. In the recent past, many different approaches have been taken to achieve this goal: dislocated silicon, extremely pure silicon, silicon nanocrystals, porous silicon, Er doped Si-Ge, SiGe alloys and multiquantum wells, SiGe quantum dots, SiGe quantum cascade structures, shallow impurity centers in silicon and Er doped silicon. All of these are abundantly illustrated in the present book.

A dense sheet of electrons accelerated to close to the speed of light can act as a tuneable mirror that can generate bright bursts of laser-like radiation in the short wavelength range simply via the reflection of a counter-propagating laser pulse. This thesis investigates the generation of such a relativistic electron mirror structure in a series of experiments accompanied by computer simulations. It is shown that such relativistic mirror can indeed be created from the interaction of a high-intensity laser pulse with a nanometer-scale, ultrathin foil. The reported work gives a intriguing insight into the complex dynamics of high-intensity laser-nanofoil interactions and constitutes a major step towards the development of a relativistic mirror, which could potentially generate bright burst of X-rays on a micro-scale.

Photoreactive thin films have been investigated extensively due to the advances in photonics, and the coupling between photochemistry and nonlinear optics has developed into a new discipline since the 1990s. Light can manipulate the orientation of optically sensitive chromophores containing polymeric thin films, and this phenomena has important applications to the field of opto-electronics and photonics especially in such areas as liquid crystals and optical storage of information.;Scientists from different communities have been working in this area representing such fields as chemistry, chemical engineering, polymer science and optics. The purpose of this books is to provide a comprehensive reference covering the basic fundamentals of the interdisciplinary research as well as the applications in photonics.

Inthepresentvolumethemainaspectsofhigh-powerlaser-matterinteractionin 10 22 2 theintensityrange10 -10 W/cm aredescribed. Weofferaguidetothistopic forscientistsandstudentswhohavejustdiscoveredthe eldasanewandattractive areaofresearch,andforscientistswhohaveworkedinanother eldandwantto joinnowthesubjectoflaserplasmas. Beingawareofthewidedifferencesinthe degreeofmathematicalpreparationtheindividualcandidatehasacquiredwetried topresentthesubjectinanalmostself-containedmanner. Tobemorespeci c,a bachelordegreeinphysicsenablesthereaderinanycasetofollowwithoutdi- culty. Generally uidorgasdynamicsanditsrelativisticversionisnotapartof thiseducation;itisdevelopedinthecontextwhereitisneeded. Basicknowledgein theoreticalmechanics,electrodynamicsandquantumphysicsaretheonlyprereq- sitesweexpectfromthereader. Throughoutthebookthemainemphasisisonthe variousbasicphenomenaandtheirunderlyingphysics. Notmoremathematicsthan necessaryisintroduced. Thepreferenceisgiventoideas. Agoodmodelisthebest guidetotheadequatemathematics. Thereexistalreadysomebutnotsomany, however, goodvolumesandsome monographsonhigh-powerlaserinteractionwithmatter. Afterresearchinthis eld hasgrownoverhalfacenturyandhasrami edintomanybranchesoffundamental studiesandapplicationsproducingcontinuouslynewresults,thereisnoindication ofsaturationorlossofattraction,ratherhasexcitementincreasedwiththeyears: "Therearenolimits;horizonsonly"(G. A. Mourou). Wetakethisasamotivation foranewattemptofpresentingourintroductiontotheachievementsfromthebeg- ninguptopresent. Anadditionalaimwastoofferamoreuni edormoredetailed viewwherethisispossiblenow. Furthermore,thereadermay ndconsiderations not encountered in existing volumes on the eld, e. g. , on ideal uid dynamics, dimensionalanalysis,questionsofclassicaloptics,instabilitiesandlightpressure. Inviewoftherapidlygrowing eldofatoms,moleculesandclustersexposedto superstronglaser eldsweconsidereditascompulsorytodedicateanentirechapter tolaser-atominteractionandtothevariousmoderntheoreticalapproachesrelated toit. Finally,aconsistentmodelofcollisionlessabsorptionisgiven. Dependingonpersonalpreferencesthereadermaymissperhapsasectionon inertialfusion,onhighharmonicgenerationandonradiationfromtheplasma,or ontraditionalatomicandionicspectroscopy. Inviewofthespecializedliterature vii viii Preface alreadyavailableonthesubjectswethinktheself-imposedrestrictionisjusti ed. Ourreferencingpracticewasguidedbyindicatingmaterialforsupplementaryst- iesandestablishingacontinuitythroughthedecadesofresearchinthe eldrather thanbytheaimofcompleteness. Thelatternowadaysiseasilyachievablewiththe aidoftheInternet. Wehavetestedthetextwithrespecttocomprehensionandreadability. Our rst thanksgotoProf. EdithBoriefromtheForschungszentrumKarlsruhe. Shepro- readgreatpartsofthetextverycarefullyandgavevaluablecomments. Insecond placewewouldliketothankMrs. ChristineEidmannfromTheoreticalQuantum A Electronics (TQE), TU Darmstadt, for typing in LTX half of the book. We are E furtherindebtedtoProf. RudolfBockfromGSI,Darmstadt,forhelpfuldiscussions andprecioushints. Furtherthanksforhelpfuldiscussions,criticalcomments,che- ingformulasgotoDr. HerbertSchnabl,Prof. WernerScheid,Dr. RalfSchneider, Dipl. -Phys. TatjanaMuth,Dr. SteffenHain,andDr. FrancescoCeccherini. Wewant toacknowledgeexplicitlythecontinuouseffortandsupportinpreparingthe nal manuscript by Dr. Su-Ming Weng from the Insitute of Physics, CAS, China, at presentfellowoftheHumboldtFoundationatTQE. Forhisprofessionalinputto thesectiononBrillouinscatteringspecialthanksgotoDr. StefanHullerfromEcole PolytechniqueinPalaiseau. Darmstadt,Germany PeterMulser Rostock,Germany DieterBauer Contents 1 Introductory Remarks and Overview ...1 2 The Laser Plasma: Basic Phenomena and Laws...5 2. 1 Laser-ParticleInteractionandPlasmaFormation...6 2. 1. 1 High-PowerLaserFields...6 2. 1. 2 SingleFreeElectronintheLaserField(Nonrelativistic). . 9 2. 1. 3 CollisionalIonization,PlasmaHeating,andQuasineutrality 13 2. 2 FluidDescriptionofaPlasma...24 2. 2. 1 Two-FluidandOne-FluidModels...24 2. 2. 2 LinearizedMotions...37 2. 2. 3 SimilaritySolutions...44 2. 3 LaserPlasmaDynamics...58 2. 3. 1 PlasmaProductionwithIntenseShortPulses ...60 2. 3. 2 HeatingwithLongPulsesofConstantIntensity...63 2. 3. 3 SimilarityConsiderations...69 2. 4 SteadyStateAblation...74 2. 4. 1 TheCriticalMachNumberinaStationaryPlanarFlow...75 2. 4. 2 AblativeLaserIntensity...78 2. 4. 3 AblationPressureintheAbsenceofPro leSteepening...82 References...85 3 Laser Light Propagation and Collisional Absorption ...

The book is devoted to the study of optical patterns and to optical bistability and hysteresis. In its methodology it is at the intersection of investigations in synergetics and modern nonlinear optics. This first monograph on optical patterns addresses researchers as well as students. The author studies the rich class of spatially distributed bistable optical systems, and especially dissipative optical solitons which resemble molecules, crystals or biological objects when combined. The author studies further the inhomogeneities of bistable systems and gives a consistent description of spatial hysteresis. Further topics include diffractive mechanisms for coupling, three-dimensional optical solitons, quantum aspects and optical information processing, lasers with a saturable absorber, non-linear waveguides and fibers with nonlinear gain or losses.

Based on eight extensive lectures selected from those given at the renowned Chris Engelbrecht Summer School in Theoretical Physics in South Africa, this text on the theoretical foundations of quantum information processing and communication covers an array of topics, including quantum probabilities, open systems, and non-Markovian dynamics and decoherence. It also addresses quantum information and relativity as well as testing quantum mechanics in high energy physics. Because these self-contained lectures discuss topics not typically covered in advanced undergraduate courses, they are ideal for post-graduate students entering this field of research. Some of the lectures are written at a more introductory level while others are presented as tutorials that survey recent developments and results in various subfields.

The subject of this book is the new field of squeezing in quantum fields. This general area includes all types of systems in which quantum fluctuations are reduced below those in the normal vacuum state. The book covers the main currently known techniques of generating squeezed photon fields, together with some treatment of matter field squeezing. Both theory and experiments are covered, together with applications to communications and measurement. The chapters of the book are written by the foremost international experts in the field, and their coverage extends from general introductory material, to the most recent developments.

This volume contains five articles presenting reviews of several topics of current research which are likely to be of interest to optical scientists and optical engineers. The first article, by J. Ohtsubo, deals with the dynamics of feedback-induced instability and chaos. The characteristics of semiconductor lasers based on the rate equations, including various laser structures, are reviewed and the effects of optical feedback in semiconductor lasers are then discussed. the general area of the nonlinear interaction of ultrafast pulses with optical and photonic crystal fibres are discussed. In particular, ultrafast pulse measurements, pulse shaping and pulse control are discussed. transient optical phenomena that take place in the spatial-temporal dynamics of ultrashort pulses. The interplay of diffractive and dispersive phenomena is examined. They include coupled processes of amplitude and phase reshaping, spectral variations and polarity reversal for different types of light pulses. Reflection and refraction effects that take place at the interface between media with time-dependent dielectric susceptibilities are also discussed. principles of optical coherence tomography (OCT). This is a relatively new discipline with important potential applications in macropscopic, microscopic and endoscopic imaging. The article begins with a brief summary of the field and then describes various OCT interferometer configurations and discusses basic sample signal extraction techiques. The article also covers subjects such as contrast generation techniques, resolution, signal processing techiques for image display, image enhancement, speckle suppression and OCT detection sensitivity. A description of optical delay lines used in OCT is also presented. concerned with modulation instability (MI) of electromagnetic waves in inhomogeneous and in discrete media. The article pays special attention to the MI of electromagnetic waves in nonlinear optical fibres with periodic amplification, dispersion and birefringence. The MI in random media is also covered. Other topics discussed in this article are discrete nonlinear systems with cubic, quadratic and vectorial interactions and nonlinear optical systems such as tunnel-coupled filters. Some of the readers may note that authors from six different countries have contributed to this volume, thus helping to maintain the international character of this series.

Dissipative Quantum Chaos and Decoherence provides an overview of the state of the art of research in this exciting field. The main emphasis is on the development of a semiclassical formalism that allows one to incorporate the effect of dissipation and decoherence in a precise, yet tractable way into the quantum mechanics of classically chaotic systems. The formalism is employed to reveal how the spectrum of the quantum mechanical propagator of a density matrix is determined by the spectrum of the corresponding classical propagator of phase space density. Simple quantum--classical hybrid formulae for experimentally relevant correlation functions and time-dependent expectation values of observables are derived. The problem of decoherence is treated in detail, and highly unexpected cases of very slow decoherence are revealed, with important consequences for the long-debated realizability of Schrödinger cat states as well as for the construction of quantum computers.

This book is an interdisciplinary introduction to optical collapse of laser beams, which is modelled by singular (blow-up) solutions of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. With great care and detail, it develops the subject including the mathematical and physical background and the history of the subject. It combines rigorous analysis, asymptotic analysis, informal arguments, numerical simulations, physical modelling, and physical experiments. It repeatedly emphasizes the relations between these approaches, and the intuition behind the results. The Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation will be useful to graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics who are interested in singular solutions of partial differential equations, nonlinear optics and nonlinear waves, and to graduate students and researchers in physics and engineering who are interested in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensates. It can be used for courses on partial differential equations, nonlinear waves, and nonlinear optics. Gadi Fibich is a Professor of Applied Mathematics at Tel Aviv University. "This book provides a clear presentation of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation and its applications from various perspectives (rigorous analysis, informal analysis, and physics). It will be extremely useful for students and researchers who enter this field." Frank Merle, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise and Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, France

Dynamics of an open system interacting with theenvironment considered as a thermostate may be formulatedin terms of a master equation with an integral operator allowing for the relaxation process, [Zwanzig 1960]. In some part- ular cases this operator hasashort-lastingkernel that enables one to consider therelaxation as a Markovian process and to obtainthe master equation inthe Lindblad form, [Lindblad 1976 (a)]. In some situations the memory effects become, however, important and the dynamics of thesystem gets much more involved, [Barnett 2001]. A similar situation arises inthe case where a set of consecutive or continuous measurements is performed. The purpose of this article is to consider a situation where some simplification of the generalform of the master equation with memory isstill possibleand the result isasimpler master equation. In particular, we consider the case of a dynamic system c- pled to a measured ancilla via a nondemolition interaction, [Caves 1980]. This simplifies the consideration essentiallywhereas providing an important special case inwhich the energy of the dynamic part is conserved. We consider a composite quantum system consisting of a dynamic part - teracting with an ancillary part, the latter being subject to repeated projective measurements. The entire quantum system is assumed to evolve unitarily d- ing time ? t between the measurements. As a specific example, we analyze a harmonic oscillator coupledtoatwo-level ancillathat issubject to measu- ments.

Digital Transmission Systems, Third Edition, is a comprehensive overview of the theory and practices of digital transmission systems used in digital communication. This new edition has been completely updated to include the latest technologies and newest techniques in the transmission of digitized information as well as coverage of digital transmission design, implementation and testing.

This thesis describes one of the most precise experimental tests of Lorentz symmetry in electrodynamics by light-speed anisotropy measurement with an asymmetric optical ring cavity. The author aims to answer the fundamental, hypothetical debate on Lorentz symmetry in the Universe. He concludes that the symmetry is protected within an error of 10-15, which means providing one of the most stringent upper limits on the violation of the Lorentz symmetry in the framework of the Standard Model Extension. It introduces the following three keys which play an important role in achieving high-precision measurement: (1) a high-index element (silicon) interpolated into part of the light paths in the optical ring cavity, which improves sensitivity to the violation of the Lorentz symmetry, (2) double-pass configuration of the interferometer, which suppresses environmental noises, and (3) continuous data acquisition by rotating the optical ring cavity, which makes it possible to search for higher-order violations of Lorentz symmetry. In addition to those well-described keys, a comprehensive summary from theoretical formulations to experimental design details, data acquisition, and data analysis helps the reader follow up the experiments precisely.

Optical frequency measurement is an extremely challenging field of experimental physics which is presently undergoing a renaissance driven by the needs of modern high density optical communication systems as well as by requirements of high-resolution laser spectroscopy. This text is the first to discuss the development of traditional and second generation frequency chains together with their enabling technology. Reviews written by some of the most experienced researchers in their respective fields address the technology of frequency metrology such as: low noise microwave oscillators and microwave frequency standards, low noise and high stability optical frequency sources, optical frequency standards, traditional and second-generation optical frequency measurement and synthesis techniques as well as optical frequency comb generators. It should prove useful to researchers just entering the field of frequency metrology or equally well to the experienced practitioner.

As the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) laser technology continues to mature, an increasing number of industrial and manufacturing applications are emerging. For example, the new generation of semiconductor inspection systems is being pushed to image at increasingly shorter DUV wavelengths to facilitate inspection of deep sub-micron features in integrated circuits. DUV-sensitive charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras are in demand for these applications. Although CCD cameras that are responsive at DUV wavelengths are now available, their long-term stability is still a major concern. This book describes the degradation mechanisms and long-term performance of CCDs in the DUV, along with new results of device performance at these wavelengths.

Optical Filters play an important role in the areas of imaging, sensing, MEMS and photonics. Omnidirectional Optical Filters gives an integrated presentation of this new type of filter design that is rapidly becoming an integral part of these areas. Not only does the book give the reader a fresh look at the development of optical filter material; it is the first text dedicated to the explanation of omnidirectional optical filters.

Beginning with the description of the basic optical phenomena behind these filters, the book moves on to classical filter design, and then newer designs. For the first time, omnidirectional short-pass, band pass, band-blocking and narrow band-pass filter designs are explained in detail.

For graduate and undergraduate students interested in optics, photonics and MEMS, this book will give a thorough understanding of the design, fabrication and theory behind omnidirectional optical filters. Engineers in imaging, sensing and MEMS looking to learn more about these filters will also find it a valuable reference and tool.

In the thirty-seven years that have gone by since the first volume of Progress in Optics was published, optics has become one of the most dynamic fields of science. At the time of inception of this series, the first lasers were only just becoming operational, holography was in its infancy, subjects such as fiber optics, integrated optics and optoelectronics did not exist and quantum optics was the domain of only a few physicists. The term photonics had not yet been coined. Today these fields are flourishing and have become areas of specialisation for many science and engineering students and numerous research workers and engineers throughout the world. Some of the advances in these fields have been recognized by awarding Nobel prizes to seven physicists in the last twenty years. The volumes in this series which have appeared up to now contain nearly 190 review articles by distinguished research workers, which have become permanent records for many important developments. They have helped optical scientists and optical engineers to stay abreast of their fields. There is no sign that developments in optics are slowing down or becoming less interesting. We confidently expect that, just like their predecessors, future volumes of Progress in Optics will faithfully record the most important advances that are being made in optics and related fields.

"Ode to a Quantum Physicist" celebrates the scientific achievements of Marlan O. Scully on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. It combines personal reminiscences from other renowned physicists who have known and worked with him over the years and 60+ scientific articles from the frontiers of Quantum Optics inspired by the work of M. O. Scully. The topics of these articles, published in the special volume 179 of "Optics Communications," range from classical optics via atomic physics and quantum mechanics to non-linear optics.

The book opens with special greetings from Tony Siegman, the former president of the Optical Society of America and Benjamin Bederson, the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of "Physical Review." A long time friend, Ali Javan, dating back to Marlan's MIT days, highlights some of Marlan's scientific contributions.
Heidi Fearn's poems humanize physical phenomena and set the stage for the more personal reminiscences to come.

Friends and colleagues of Marlan from the various stages of his scientific life shed some light on his human side. These stories reflect the admiration and respect the quantum physics community holds for Marlan and bring out many humorous anecdotes of their interactions with him. Judy Scully, his wife, takes us through Marlan's youth and college years in Wyoming. Leon Cohen illuminates the Yale days and Marlan's interactions with Willis E. Lamb. Pierre Meystre describes his arrival in Tucson from
Switzerland for his first postdoctoral position with Marlan. The move from Tucson to Albuquerque is one of Suhail Zubairy's memories. Herbert Walther shines light on the impact of the multi-national Marlan and in particular, on the Max-Planck-Institut fu Quantenoptik. Wolfgang Schleich looks at his mentor
Marlan from a graduate student's point of view and opens the arena for Reesor Woodling's description of Marlan's cattle business. We conclude the trail by the article of Thomas Walther, Ed Fry and George Welsch, who bring us up to date with Marlan's activities in Texas A & M.

The actual birthday party and scientific celebration took place as a special two-day colloquium on "Modern Trends in Quantum Optics" at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Quantenoptic in Garching, Germany on June 29-30, 1999. Included in this book is the program of this meeting, as wel as some excerpts from the celebration, such as, the after dinner speech by Roy J. Glauber followed by a photo album of Marlan's life. The poems by Olga Kocharovskaya poetically describe Marlan's scientific achievements. The concluding talk by Bruce Shore, given at this meeting, begins the connection to the papers by Don Kobe, Danny Greenberger and Mark Hillary, and Shi-Yao Zhu et al. covering topics from gauge invariance via unbreakable codes to photonic band gaps. The articles from the special issue of "Optics Communications" conclude this Festschrift.

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.

The 4th International Workshop on Adaptive Optics for Industry and Me- cine took place in Munster, ] Germany, from October 19 to October 24, 2003. The series of International Workshops on Adaptive Optics for Industry and Medicine beganwiththe?rstworkshopinShatura/Russiain1997, thesecond workshop took place in Durham/England in 1999, and the third workshop was held in Albuquerque/USA in 2001. The workshop series started out as a true grassroots movement and kept an informal spirit throughout all four workshops. Many personal friendships and scienti?c collaborations have been formed at these meetings. This fourth workshop was supposed to be held in Beijing, China. H- ever, the program committee decided in May 2003 to move the workshop to Munster ] due the general perception that the SARS (Severe Acute R- piratory Syndrome) cases reported in China could lead to a large epidemic. Despite this rather short notice the workshop in Munster ] was attended by about 70 people. Incidentally, the workshop coincided with the 50th anniv- sary of adaptive optics, because it was October 1953 when Horace Babcock published his famous paper "The possibilities of compensating astronomical seeing" in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Paci?c."

Using the thin film of light, the optical near field, that is localized on the surface of a nanometric material has removed the diffraction limit as a barrier to imaging on the nano- and atomic scales. But a paradigm shift in the concepts of optics and optical technology is required to understand the instrinsic nature of the near fields and how best to exploit them. Professors Ohstu and Kobayashi crafted Optical Near Fields on the basis of their hypothesis that the full potential for utilizing optical near fields can be realized only with novel nanometric processing, functions, and manipulation, i.e., by controlling the intrinsic interaction between nanometer-sized optical near fields and material systems, and further, atoms. The book presents physically intuitive concepts and theories for students, engineers, and scientists engaged in research in nanophotonics and atom photonics.

Quantum effects in macroscopic systems have long been a fascination for researchers. Over the past decade mechanical oscillators have emerged as a leading system of choice for many such experiments. The work reported in this thesis investigates the effects of the radiation-pressure force of light on macroscopic mechanical structures. The basic system studied is a mechanical oscillator that is highly reflective and part of an optical resonator. It interacts with the optical cavity mode via the radiation-pressure force. Both the dynamics of the mechanical oscillation and the properties of the light field are modified through this interaction. The experiments use quantum optical tools (such as homodyning and down-conversion) with the goal of ultimately showing quantum behavior of the mechanical center of mass motion. Of particular value are the detailed descriptions of several novel experiments that pave the way towards this goal and are already shaping the field of quantum optomechanics, in particular optomechanical laser cooling and strong optomechanical coupling.