This book covers a broad range of topics from the interdisciplinary research field of ultrafast intense laser science, focusing on atoms and molecules interacting with intense laser fields, laser-induced filamentation, high-order harmonics generation, and high power lasers and their applications. This sixteenth volume features contributions from world-renowned researchers, introducing the latest reports on probing molecular chirality with intense laser fields, and the most recent developments in the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility project. The PUILS series delivers up-to-date reviews of progress in this emerging interdisciplinary research field, spanning atomic and molecular physics, molecular science, and optical science, which has been stimulated by the recent developments in ultrafast laser technologies. Each volume compiles peer-reviewed articles authored by researchers at the forefront of each of their own subfields of ultrafast intense laser science. Every chapter opens with an overview of the topics to be discussed, so that researchers unfamiliar to the subfield, especially graduate students, can grasp the importance and attractions of the research topic at hand; these are followed by reports of cutting-edge discoveries.

The book aims to the description of recent progress in studies of light absorption and scattering in turbid media. In particular, light scattering/oceanic optics/snow optics research community will greatly benefit from the publication of this book.

This thesis presents a systematic discussion of experimental approaches to investigating the nonlinear interaction of ultrashort visible strong fields with dielectrics directly in the time domain. The key finding is the distinctly different peak-intensity dependence of the light-matter energy transfer dynamics on the one hand, and the observed transient optical and electronic modifications on the other. As the induced electron dynamics evolve on sub-femtosecond timescales, real-time spectroscopy requires attosecond temporal resolution. This allows a range of parameters to be identified where the optical properties of the samples exposed to ultrashort light fields suffer dramatic changes allowing signal metrology while real absorption leading to dissipation is essentially absent. These findings indicate the feasibility of efficient optical switching at frequencies several orders of magnitude faster than current state-of-the-art electronics and thus have far-reaching technological consequences.

The idea for this text emerged over several years as the authors participated in research projects related to analysis of data from NASA's RHESSI Small Explorer mission. The data produced over the operational lifetime of this mission inspired many investigations related to a specific science question: the when, where, and how of electron acceleration during solar flares in the stressed magnetic environment of the active Sun. A vital key to unlocking this science problem is the ability to produce high-quality images of hard X-rays produced by bremsstrahlung radiation from electrons accelerated during a solar flare. The only practical way to do this within the technological and budgetary limitations of the RHESSI era was to opt for indirect modalities in which imaging information is encoded as a set of two-dimensional spatial Fourier components. Radio astronomers had employed Fourier imaging for many years. However, differently than for radio astronomy, X-ray images produced by RHESSI had to be constructed from a very limited number of sparsely distributed and very noisy Fourier components. Further, Fourier imaging is hardly intuitive, and extensive validation of the methods was necessary to ensure that they produced images with sufficient accuracy and fidelity for scientific applications. This book summarizes the results of this development of imaging techniques specifically designed for this form of data. It covers a set of published works that span over two decades, during which various imaging methods were introduced, validated, and applied to observations. Also considering that a new Fourier-based telescope, STIX, is now entering its nominal phase on-board the ESA Solar Orbiter, it became more and more apparent to the authors that it would be a good idea to put together a compendium of these imaging methods and their applications. Hence the book you are now reading.

Random lasers are the simplest sources of stimulated emission without cavity, with the feedback provided by scattering in a gain medium. First proposed in the late 1960s, random lasers have grown to a large research field. This book reviews the history and the state of the art of random lasers, provides an outline of the basic models describing their behavior, and describes the recent advances in the field. The major focus of the book is on solid-state random lasers. However, it also briefly describes random lasers based on liquid dyes with scatterers. The chapters of the book are almost independent of each other. So, the scientists or engineers interested in any particular aspect of random lasers can read directly the relevant section. Researchers entering the field of random lasers will find in the book an overview of the field of study. Scientists working in the field can use the book as a reference source.

This thesis represents a breakthrough in our understanding of the noise processes in Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs). While the detection of ultraviolet to near-infrared light is useful for a variety of applications from dark matter searches to biological imaging and astronomy, the performance of these detectors often limits the achievable science. The author's work explains the limits on spectral resolution broadening, and uses this knowledge to more than double the world record spectral resolution for an MKID suitable for optical and near-IR astrophysics, with emphasis on developing detectors for exoplanet detection. The techniques developed have implication for phonon control in many different devices, particularly in limiting cosmic ray-induced decoherence in superconducting qubits. In addition, this thesis is highly accessible, with a thorough, pedagogical approach that will benefit generations of students in this area.

Optical media are now widely used in the telecommunication networks, and the evolution of optical and optoelectronic technologies tends to show that their wide range of techniques could be successfully introduced in shorter-distance interconnection systems. This book bridges the existing gap between research in optical interconnects and research in high-performance computing and communication systems, of which parallel processing is just an example. It also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the advantages and limitations of optics as applied to high-speed communications. Audience: The book will be a vital resource for researchers and graduate students of optical interconnects, computer architectures and high-performance computing and communication systems who wish to understand the trends in the newest technologies, models and communication issues in the field.

This book offers a comprehensive and complete description of a new scheme to stabilize the power of a laser on a level needed for high precision metrology experiments. The novel aspect of the scheme is sensing power fluctuations via the radiation pressure driven motion they induce on a micro-oscillator mirror. It is shown that the proposed technique can result in higher signals for power fluctuations than what is achieved by a direct power detection, and also that it enables the generation of a strong bright squeezed beam. The book starts with the basics of power stabilization and an overview on the current state of art. Then, detailed theoretical calculations are performed, and the advantages of the new scheme are highlighted. Finally, a proof-of-principle experiment is described and its results are analyzed in details. The success of the work presented here paves a way for achieving high power stability in future experiments and is of interest for high precision metrology experiments, like gravitational wave detectors, and optomechanical experiments. Nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the Gravitational Wave International Committee.

This book explores the possibility of using azimuthal Walsh filters as an effective tool for manipulating far-field diffraction characteristics near the focal plane of rotationally symmetric imaging systems. It discusses the generation and synthesis of azimuthal Walsh filters, and explores the inherent self-similarity presented in various orders of these filters, classifying them into self-similar groups and sub-groups. Further, it demonstrates that azimuthal Walsh filters possess a unique rotational self-similarity exhibited among adjacent orders. Serving as an atlas of diffraction phenomena with pupil functions represented by azimuthal Walsh filters of different orders, this book describes how orthogonality and self-similarity of these filters could be harnessed to sculpture 2D and 3D light distributions near the focus.

"Quantum Theory of Near-field Electrodynamics" gives a self-contained account of the fundamental theory of field-matter interaction on a subwavelength scale. The quantum physical behavior of matter (atoms and mesoscopic media) in both classical and quantum fields is treated. The role of local-field effects and nonlocal electrodynamics, and the tight links to the theory of spatial photon localization are emphasized. The book may serve as a reference work in the field, and is of general interest for physicists working in quantum optics, mesoscopic electrodynamics and physical optics. The macroscopic and microscopic classical theories form a good starting point for the quantum approach, and these theories are presented in a manner appropriate for graduate students entering near-field optics.

This book systematically describes the weld pool behavior in laser welding and its influencing factors from the perspectives of testing technology, theoretical calculation and process simulation technology, physical state transformation behavior of weld pools, and the impact of technical conditions on the weld pool behavior. The book covers extensive research achievements made in China in this field, some of which represent the latest cutting-edging researches conducted by the authors' research team. These latest research efforts mainly relate to the weld pool behavior of dual-beam laser welding, laser welding with filler wires, full-penetration laser welding of very-thick parts, and laser welding in vacuum and low vacuum conditions. The book is intended for undergraduate, graduate students and researchers who are interested in laser welding.

This book highlights many fundamental aspects of optical fiber transmission engineering while also focusing on current state of the art applications and working examples of digital coherent optical communications. Major engineering themes are reviewed and analyzed in this book, including spectral and time-domain characteristics of multi-level pseudo-random PAM signals, optical QAM and SSB complex modulations and impulse response engineering of linear amplifiers used in next-generation Gbaud transmission systems. This book is balanced between theoretical and numerical simulation approaches, showing numerous working examples developed in Matlab. Presents an in-depth analysis of pseudo-random multi-level signals and high-order complex modulations to support coherent terabit transmission systems; Provides a unified approach to challenging engineering issues encountered in the design of Giga-baud coherent optical transmission systems using high-order complex modulation formats; Reviews engineering themes and provides in-depth analysis, modeling and quantitative examples and solutions of state of the art and future applications.

This book is intended for textile designers, fashion designers, and for those interested in the integration of graphic design with textile surface printing. The book discusses how abstract graphic designs with intense color palette range work on different types of fabrics, will be beneficial for designers. The book provides beautiful illustrations of abstract designs that can be used directly for textile printing and also acts as inspiration (or motivation) for development of new designs. Abstract designs represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality and uses shapes, colors and forms to achieve its effect. This book provides illustrations that show the importance of color and color combinations with bright, warm and dull colors. The book presents flawless illustrations with great harmony between the diverse shapes and overall color combinations. All the illustrations in this book are explained briefly. The illustrations can also be used in other areas like wall paper design, packaging design, ceramic design and many more.

This book highlights the properties of advanced materials suitable for realizing THz devices, circuits and systems, and processing and fabrication technologies associated with those. It also discusses some measurement techniques exclusively effective for THz regime, newly explored materials and recently developed solid-state devices for efficient generation and detection of THz waves, potentiality of metamaterials for implementing THz passive circuits and bio-sensors, and finally the future of silicon as the base material of THz devices. The book especially focuses on the recent advancements and several research issues related to THz materials and devices; it also discusses theoretical, experimental, established, and validated empirical works on these topics.

This book is devoted to the theoretical and experimental investigation of the optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) with direct and external modulation of laser emission. Such devices, sources of precision radio frequency oscillations using laser excitation, are novel and technologically relevant, with manifold possible applications. The book includes a review of the present state of the theory and generation techniques in microwave and mm-wave ranges for traditional and optoelectronic oscillators, description of OEO construction and operation principles, theoretical oscillation analysis and mathematical description of the relevant semi-classical laser physics, and investigation of the power spectral density of noises. Technical features and advantages of OEOs with external and direct modulation of laser emission are discussed together with functional diagrams. The characteristics of OEOs are compared with other traditional RF oscillators, such as quartz, surface acoustic waves, and oscillators with electromagnetic wave cavities. Special attention is paid to Q-factors and phase noises of RF carriers at small offsets. The authors discuss the technical characteristics of modern optoelectronic methods for precision RF oscillation formation, such as commercial large-dimension and compact quantum frequency standards with optical pumping on cesium and rubidium cells. This book is aimed at scientists and engineers in academia and industry who work with sources of microwave and mm-wave signals.

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the field of modern fiber optics, beginning with the basics of the field summarized in an introductory chapter. Expert contributors then topics such as polarization effects in optical fibers; photonic crystal fibers; highly-doped optical fibers; non-linear effects; amplification and lasing in optical fibers; supercontinuum generation, Rayleigh and inelastic scattering with applications to sensing; optical fiber point sensors, and polymer optical-fiber-based sensors.

This book is a thoroughly modern and highly pedagogical graduate-level introduction to quantum optics, a subject which has witnessed stunning developments in recent years and has come to occupy a central role in the 'second quantum revolution'. The reader is invited to explore the fundamental role that quantum optics plays in the control and manipulation of quantum systems, leading to ultracold atoms, circuit QED, quantum information science, quantum optomechanics, and quantum metrology. The building blocks of the subject are presented in a sequential fashion, starting from the simplest physical situations before moving to increasingly complicated ones. This pedagogically appealing approach leads to quantum entanglement and measurement theory being introduced early on and before more specialized topics such as cavity QED or laser cooling. The final chapter illustrates the power of scientific cross-fertilization by surveying cutting-edge applications of quantum optics and optomechanics in gravitational wave detection, tests of fundamental physics, searches for dark matter, geophysical monitoring, and ultraprecise clocks. Complete with worked examples and exercises, this book provides the reader with enough background knowledge and understanding to follow the current journal literature and begin producing their own original research.

This book addresses 5G network capacity requirements with a new architecture for 5G Optical Backhaul Network. The author first describes the challenges for 5G backhaul network requirements and then the details of an Optical Backhaul Network for 5G. The author describes an architecture, in which small cells deploy as a cluster (i.e., 3-5 small cells in one cluster), where one small cell works as an aggregation point using an optical transceiver to backhaul the aggregated traffic to the nearest optical network unit, before it then goes to the core network. This book also illustrates the optical link budget analysis that can be used to determine the availability and the performances of the optical backhaul link in different deployment scenarios and different weather conditions. Provides a single-source reference to the basics of free space laser communication with ambient light compensation; Offers timely information, blending theory and practice; Written to be accessible to readers with varying backgrounds, including numerous illustrations; Provides hands-on experience through practical examples, which can be put to work to deploy and optimize cellular networks.

This book provides an in-depth description and discussion of different multi-modal diagnostic techniques for cancer detection and treatment using exact optical methods, their comparison, and combination. Coverage includes detailed descriptions of modern state of design for novel methods of optical non-invasive cancer diagnostics; multi-modal methods for earlier cancer diagnostic enhancing the probability of effective cancer treatment; modern clinical trials with novel methods of clinical cancer diagnostics; medical and technical aspects of clinical cancer diagnostics, and long-term monitoring. Biomedical engineers, cancer researchers, and scientists will find the book to be an invaluable resource. Introduces optical imaging strategies; Focuses on multimodal optical diagnostics as a fundamental approach; Discusses novel methods of optical non-invasive cancer diagnostics.

This introduction to the field of semiconductor optics, including transport phenomena in semiconductors, has its origin in an advanced course jointly given by a theoretician and an experimentalist. Starting with the theoretical fundamentals of this field the book develops, assuming a basic knowledge of solid-state physics. The text is suitable for graduates and scientists alike who need a well-balanced and up-to-date introduction to this area. The application areas of the theory covered include semiconductor lasers, detectors, electro-optic modulators, single-electron transistors, microcavities and double-barrier resonant tunneling diodes. One hundred problems with hints for solution help the readers to deepen their knowledge.

This book helps dispel the notion that collective phenomena, which have become increasingly important in modern storage rings, are an obscure and inaccessible topic. The book serves as a valuable guide on how to improve synchrotrons and other storage rings. Despite an emphasis on synchrotron light sources, the basic concepts presented here are valid for other facilities as well.

Polaritonic chemistry is an emergent interdisciplinary field in which the strong interaction of organic molecules with confined electromagnetic field modes is exploited in order to manipulate the chemical structure and reactions of the system. In the regime of strong light-matter coupling the interaction with the electromagnetic vacuum obliges us to redefine the concept of a molecule and consider the hybrid system as a whole. This thesis builds on the foundations of chemistry and quantum electrodynamics in order to provide a theoretical framework to describe these organic light-matter hybrids. By fully embracing the structural complexity of molecules, this theory allows us to employ long-established quantum chemistry methods to understand polaritonic chemistry. This leads to predictions of substantial structural changes in organic molecules and the possibility of significantly influencing chemical reactions both in the excited and ground states of the system.

This book covers a diverse cross section of this interdisciplinary research field, with contributions grouped into four categories: laser-induced filamentation; atoms and molecules in a laser field; interaction of solid materials with a coherent light field; and ion acceleration and ionization of atoms in super intense laser fields. This book series presents up-to-date reviews of advances in this interdisciplinary research field, spanning atomic and molecular physics, as well as molecular and optical science, which have been stimulated by the recent developments in ultrafast laser technologies. Each book compiles peer-reviewed articles by researchers at the forefront of their particular subfields. All the chapters include an overview to allow graduate students and researchers unfamiliar with the subfield to grasp the importance and attractions of the topic covered, followed by reports of cutting-edge discoveries.