Laser Diode Microsystems provides the reader with the basic knowledge and understanding required for using semiconductor laser diodes in optical microsystems and micro-optical electromechanic systems. This tutorial addresses the fundamentals of semiconductor laser operation and design, coupled with an overview of the types of laser diodes suitable for use in Microsystems, along with their distinguishing characteristics. Emphasis is placed on laser diode characterization and measurement as well as the assembly techniques and optical accessories required for incorporation of semiconductor lasers into complex microsystems. Equipped with typical results and calculation examples, this hand-on text helps readers to develop a feel for how to choose a laser diode, characterize it and incorporate it into a microsystem.

This book contains most, but regrettably not all, the papers that were presented at The Advanced Research Workshop, held July 1-5, 1997, at Smolenice Castle, Slovak Republic. The problem of angular divergence is of great importance in quantum electronics: low divergence is required not only in most of practical laser applications, but also for achieving high efficiency of parametric laser frequency conversion, and harmonic generation. The large volume of available studies aimed at improving the pump systems and the spectroscopic properties of lasing media, brought about no more than 2-3 fold increases in laser efficiency, while concurrent studies of angular divergence and the implementation of the findings, resulted in several order of magnitude of increases in radiance. The spatial beam structure that is formed in the laser cavity together with the active element constitute the most critical laser elements. The engineering devices, such as excitation systems, lasing gas circulation systems, etc., are usually at the top of the agenda of scientific meetings and of gatherings of engineering experts. The divergence problem has never been discussed by a broad community of experts in this field.

Proceedings of the Sixth International School of Coherent Optics, Ustron, Poland, September 19-26, 1985

This book reviews progress towards quantum simulators based on photonic and hybrid light-matter systems, covering theoretical proposals and recent experimental work. Quantum simulators are specially designed quantum computers. Their main aim is to simulate and understand complex and inaccessible quantum many-body phenomena found or predicted in condensed matter physics, materials science and exotic quantum field theories. Applications will include the engineering of smart materials, robust optical or electronic circuits, deciphering quantum chemistry and even the design of drugs. Technological developments in the fields of interfacing light and matter, especially in many-body quantum optics, have motivated recent proposals for quantum simulators based on strongly correlated photons and polaritons generated in hybrid light-matter systems. The latter have complementary strengths to cold atom and ion based simulators and they can probe for example out of equilibrium phenomena in a natural driven-dissipative setting. This book covers some of the most important works in this area reviewing the proposal for Mott transitions and Luttinger liquid physics with light, to simulating interacting relativistic theories, topological insulators and gauge field physics. The stage of the field now is at a point where on top of the numerous theory proposals; experiments are also reported. Connecting to the theory proposals presented in the chapters, the main experimental quantum technology platforms developed from groups worldwide to realize photonic and polaritonic simulators in the laboratory are also discussed. These include coupled microwave resonator arrays in superconducting circuits, semiconductor based polariton systems, and integrated quantum photonic chips. This is the first book dedicated to photonic approaches to quantum simulation, reviewing the fundamentals for the researcher new to the field, and providing a complete reference for the graduate student starting or already undergoing PhD studies in this area.

Materials for Optoelectronics is the first book to offer a complete view of this subject area. It begins by describing the material needs defined by various optoelectronic functions. Basic aspects of the materials' specific properties are presented, including the relevant properties of semiconductors in terms of electron-photon interactions. Since the semiconductors for optoelectronics are generally based on alloys, the thermodynamic properties of interest are developed as well. Next, semiconductors for detection, emission and modulation are detailed. The fabrication of these materials is presented through a comparison and review of the epitaxial techniques. The III-V semiconductors for IR and visible light devices are presented. The II-VI family is also considered, with an emphasis on recent developments for visible light emission. A description of the status of silicon for optoelectronics is given as well. Finally, non-semiconductors for optoelectronics, namely optical fibers for telecommunications, electrooptic materials, and organic materials, are also presented. Materials for Optoelectronics is useful to materials and device engineers interested in increasing their knowledge of the potential and actual properties and uses of various materials. Students will also find this volume useful since it emphasizes the basic properties and needs for optoelectronics.

The study of semiconductor-layer structures using infrared ellipsometry is a rapidly growing field within optical spectroscopy. This book offers basic insights into the concepts of phonons, plasmons and polaritons, and the infrared dielectric function of semiconductors in layered structures. It describes how strain, composition, and the state of the atomic order within complex layer structures of multinary alloys can be determined from an infrared ellipsometry examination. Special emphasis is given to free-charge-carrier properties, and magneto-optical effects.

A broad range of experimental examples are described, including multinary alloys of zincblende and wurtzite structure semiconductor materials, and future applications such as organic layer structures and highly correlated electron systems are proposed.

The quantum statistical properties of radiation represent an important branch of modern physics with rapidly increasing applications in spectroscopy, quantum generators of radiation, optical communication, etc. They have also an increasing role in fields other than pure physics, such as biophysics, psychophysics, biology, etc. Interesting applications have been developed in high energy elementary particle collisions. The present monograph represents an extension and continuation of the previous monograph by this author entitled Coherence of Light (Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, London 1972, translated into Russian in the Publishing House Mir, Moscow 1974, second edition published by D. Reidel, Dordrecht-Boston 1985) and ofa review chapter in Progress in Optics, Vol. 18 (edited by E. Wolf, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam 1980) as well. It applies the fundamental tools of the coherent-state technique, as described in Coherence of Light, to particular studies of the quantum statistical properties of radiation interacting with matter. In particular. nonlinear optical processes are considered, and purely quantum phenom ena such as antibunching of photons, their sub-Poisson behaviour and squeezing of vacuum fluctuations are discussed. Compared to the first edition of this book, pub lished in 1984, we have added much more information about squeezing of vacuum fluctuations in nonlinear optical process in this second edition; further we have included the description of experiments and their results performed from that time. Also a new brief chapter on nonlinear dynamics and chaos in quantum statistical optics has been included."

It is a great pleasure that we are now publishing the fourth volume of the series on PUILS, through which we have been introducing the progress in ultrafast intense laser science, the frontiers of which are rapidly expanding, thanks to the progress in ultrashort and high-power laser technologies. The interdisciplinary nature of this research ?eld is attracting researchers with di?erent expertise and backgrounds. As in the previousvolumeson PUILS, each chapter in the presentvolume, which is in the range of 15-25 pages, begins with an introduction in which a clear and concise account of the signi?cance of the topic is given, followed by a description of the authors' most recent research results. All the chapters are peer-reviewed. The articles of this fourth volume cover a diverse range of the interdisciplinary research ?eld, and the topics may be grouped into four categories: strong ?eld ionization of atoms (Chaps. 1-2), excitation, ioni- tion and fragmentation of molecules (Chaps. 3-5), nonlinear intense optical phenomena and attosecond pulses (Chaps. 6-8), and laser solid interactions and photoemissions (Chaps. 9-11).

A NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Advanced Radiation Sources and Applications" was held from August 29 to September 2, 2004. Hosted by the Yerevan Physics Institute, Yerevan, Armenia, 30 invited researchers from former Soviet Union and NATO countries gathered at Nor-Hamberd, Yerevan, on the slopes of Mount Aragats to discuss recent theoretical as well as expe- mental developments on means of producing photons from mostly low energy electrons. Thismeetingbecamepossiblethroughthegenerousfundingprovidedbythe NATO Science Committee and the programme director Dr. Fausto Pedrazzini in the NATO Scienti?c and Environmental Affairs Division. The workshop - rectors were Robert Avakian, Yerevan Physics Institute, Armenia and Helmut Wiedemann, Stanford (USA). Robert Avakian provided staff, logistics and - frastructure from the Yerevan Physics institute to assure a smooth execution of the workshop. Special thanks goes to Mrs. Ivetta Keropyan for admin- trative and logistics support to foreign visitors. The workshop was held at the institute's resort in Nor-Hamberd on the slopes of Mount Aragats not far from the Yerevan cosmic ray station. The isolation and peaceful setting of the resort provided the background for a fruitful week of presentations and discussions. Following our invitations, 38 researchers in this ?eld came to the workshop from Armenia, Belarus, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, France, G- many and the USA. Commuting from Yerevan local scientists joined the daily presentations. Over a ?ve day period 40 presentations were given.

Advanced spectroscopic techniques allow the probing of very small systems and very fast phenomena, conditions that can be considered "extreme" at the present status of our experimentation and knowledge. Quantum dots, nanocrystals and single molecules are examples of the former and events on the femtosecond scale examples of the latter. The purpose of this book is to examine the realm of phenomena of such extreme type and the techniques that permit their investigations.

Each author has developed a coherent section of the program

starting at a somewhat fundamental level and ultimately reaching the frontier of knowledge in the field in a systematic and didactic fashion. The formal lectures are complemented by additional seminars.

Constrained Coding and Soft Iterative Decoding is the first work to combine the issues of constrained coding and soft iterative decoding (e.g., turbo and LDPC codes) from a unified point of view. Since constrained coding is widely used in magnetic and optical storage, it is necessary to use some special techniques (modified concatenation scheme or bit insertion) in order to apply soft iterative decoding. Recent breakthroughs in the design and decoding of error-control codes (ECCs) show significant potential for improving the performance of many communications systems. ECCs such as turbo codes and low-density parity check (LDPC) codes can be represented by graphs and decoded by passing probabilistic (a.k.a. soft') messages along the edges of the graph. This message-passing algorithm yields powerful decoders whose performance can approach the theoretical limits on capacity. This exposition uses normal graphs, ' introduced by Forney, which extend in a natural manner to block diagram representations of the system and provide a simple unified framework for the decoding of ECCs, constrained codes, and channels with memory. Soft iterative decoding is illustrated by the application of turbo codes and LDPC codes to magnetic recording channels. For magnetic and optical storage, an issue arises in the use of constrained coding, which places restrictions on the sequences that can be transmitted through the channel; the use of constrained coding in combination with soft ECC decoders is addressed by the modified concatenation scheme also known as reverse concatenation.' Moreover, a soft constraint decoder yields additional coding gain from the redundancy in the constraint, which may be of practical interest in the case of optical storage. In addition, this monograph presents several other research results (including the design of sliding-block lossless compression codes, and the decoding of array codes as LDPC codes). Constrained Coding and Soft Iterative Decoding will prove useful to students, researchers and professional engineers who are interested in understanding this new soft iterative decoding paradigm and applying it in communications and storage systems.

This book gives a complete account of electron momentum spectroscopy to date. It describes in detail the construction of spectrometers and the acquisition and reduction of cross-section data, explaining the quantum theory of the reaction and giving experimental verification.

This thesis reveals the utility of pursuing a statistical physics approach in the description of wave interactions in multimode optical systems. To that end, the appropriate Hamiltonian models are derived and their limits of applicability are discussed. The versatility of the framework allows the characterization of ordered and disordered lasers in open and closed cavities in a unified scheme, from standard mode-locking to random lasers. With the use of replica method and Monte Carlo simulations, the models are categorized on the basis of universal properties, and nontrivial predictions of experimental relevance are obtained. In particular, the approach makes it possible to nonperturbatively treat the interplay between disorder and nonlinearity and to envisage novel and fascinating physical phenomena such as glassy random lasers, providing a novel way to experimentally investigate replica symmetry breaking.

This book is an outgrowth of a course given by the author for people in industry, government, and universities wishing to understand the implica tions of emerging optical fiber technology, and how this technology can be applied to their specific information transport and sensing system needs. The course, in turn, is an outgrowth of 15 exciting years during which the author participated in the research and development, as well as in the application, of fiber technology. The aim of this book is to provide the reader with a working knowledge of the components and subsystems which make up fiber systems and of a wide variety of implemented and proposed applications for fiber technology. The book is directed primarily at those who would be users, as opposed to developers, of the technology. The first half of this book is an overview of components and subsys tems including fibers, connectors, cables, sources, detectors, receivers, transmitters, and miscellaneous components. The goal is to familiarize the reader with the properties of these components and subsystems to the extent necessary to understand their potential applications and limitations."

This book is intended to offer the reader a snapshot of the field of optoelectronic materials from the viewpoint of inorganic chemists. The field of inorganic chemistry is transforming from one focused on the synthesis of compounds having interesting coordination numbers, structures, and stereochemistries, to one focused on preparing compounds that have potentially useful practical applica tions. Two such applications are in the area of optics and electronics. These are fields where the use of inorganic materials has a long history. As the field of microelectronics develops the demands on the performance of such materials increases, and it becomes necessary to discover compounds that will meet these demands. The field of optoelectronics represents a merging of the two disciplines. Its emergence is a natural one because many of the applications involve both of these properties, and also because the electronic structure of a metal compound that confers novel optical properties is often one that also influences its electron transfer and conductivity characteristics. Two of the more important growth areas that have led to these developments are communications and medicine. Within the communications field there is the microelectronics that is involved in information storage and transmittal, some of which will be transferred into the optical regime. Within the medical field there are chemical probes that transmit analytical information from an in vivo environment. This information needs to be readily accessible from an external site, and then quickly converted into images or data that yield accurate and inexpensive diagnoses."

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a remarkable technique for recording low-level light signals with extremely high precision and picosecond-time resolution. TCSPC has developed from an intrinsically time-consuming and one-dimensional technique into a fast, multi-dimensional technique to record light signals. So this reference and text describes how advanced TCSPC techniques work and demonstrates their application to time-resolved laser scanning microscopy, single molecule spectroscopy, photon correlation experiments, and diffuse optical tomography of biological tissue. It gives practical hints about constructing suitable optical systems, choosing and using detectors, detector safety, preamplifiers, and using the control features and optimising the operating conditions of TCSPC devices. Advanced TCSPC Techniques is an indispensable tool for everyone in research and development who is confronted with the task of recording low-intensity light signals in the picosecond and nanosecond range.

"The monograph by Dr Wolfgang Becker is a complete and lucid summary of both the basic principles and the state-of-the-art of TCSPC. This book contains descriptions that are only available from the primary literature or specialized web sites. An understanding of the present technology will allow the reader to make effective use of the multi-dimensional capabilities of modern time-resolved fluorescence instruments."
Joseph R. Lakowicz, Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore,

A quantum dot molecule (QDM) is composed of two or more closely spaced quantum dots or artificial atoms. In recent years, QDMs have received much attention as an emerging new artificial quantum system. The interesting and unique coupling and energy transfer processes between the artificial atoms could substantially extend the range of possible applications of quantum nanostructures. This book reviews recent advances in the exciting and rapidly growing field of QDMs via contributions from some of the most prominent researchers in this scientific community. The book explores many interesting topics such as the epitaxial growth of QDMs, spectroscopic characterization, and QDM transistors, and bridges between the fundamental physics of novel materials and device applications for future information technology. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are considered. "Quantum Dot Molecules" can be recommended for electrical engineering and materials science department courses on the science and design of advanced and future electronic and optoelectronic devices."

Solitary wave physics plays a significant role from modern optical physics to optical communication, optical switching and optical storage. This book gives an updated overview of optical solitons, as a reference and guide for advanced students and scientists working in the field.

Features Introduces the physics of accelerators, lasers, and plasma in tandem with the industrial methodology of inventiveness. Outlines a path from idea to practical implementation of scientific and technological innovation. Contains more than 380 illustrations and numerous end-of-chapter exercises.

This award-winning book has been translated from the original French by the author and thoroughly updated. It gives an introduction to modern optics at an advanced level, taking a unique approach inspired by Richard Feynman.

This volume of NATO Science Series presents the Proceedings of the NATO Advances Research Workshop "Optical Properties of 2D systems with interacting electrons" which was held at the Educational Centerofthe Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in the period of June 13-16, 2002. More than 40 scientists from 14 countries participated and gave 24 lectures and 16 poster presentations. The main goal of theWorkshop was to bring togetherleading scientists working in the field of optical properties of correlated electron systems in semiconductor nanostructures and to organize a vital and informal discussions of newest results in the field. The location and the format of the Workshop provided an atmosphere of friendly and fruitful communications. It is important to note that the Workshop continued a series of meetings con cerning the same topic: Warsaw 1999, Wurzburg 2000 (NATO ARW), and Berlin 2001. The subject agenda of the ARW was focused on the following topics: Evolution of optical spectra from the excitonic peaks to the Fermi-edge singularity Negatively and positively charged excitons Reconstruction ofone-particle and collective excitation spectra with increase of the electron density (combined exciton-cyclotron resonance and shake-up processes) Effect of spatial inhomogeneity on the carrier interaction in nanostructures Spin-sensitive interaction and spin-spin interaction in confined systems Many-particle effects in semimagnetic semiconductor heterostructures."

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

The Properties of Optical Glass introduces to the physical and chemical fundamentals of optical glasses and gives a survey of their properties with respect to a great variety of applications. The contributions are written by experts of SCHOTT, one of the world's main companies producing special glasses for science and technology. The book will help both engineers and scientists to find their optimum type of special glass whatever the application should be: a consumer and industrial product or a sophisticated application in research and development.