Focusing on the physical properties of diamond and sapphire, this monograph provides readers with essential details on crystal structure and growth, mechanical properties, thermal properties, optical properties, light scattering of diamond and sapphire crystals, and sapphire lasers. Various physical properties are comprehensively discussed: Mechanical properties include hardness, tensile strength, compressive strength, and Young's modulus. Thermal properties include thermal expansion, specific heat, and thermal conductivity. Optical properties of diamond and sapphire include transmission, refractive index, and absorption. Light scattering includes Raman scattering and Brillouin scattering. Sapphire lasers include chromium-doped and titanium-doped lasers. Aimed at researchers and industry professionals working in materials science, physics, electrical engineering, and related fields, this monograph is the first to concentrate solely on physical properties of these increasingly important materials.

This book covers the life and 60-year career of Prof. Benjamin Lax (1915-2015), a preeminent physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who played major roles in the development and applications of solid state and plasma physics. In an extensive series of autobiographical interviews, Lax describes the challenges he overcame, the opportunities he embraced, and the many outstanding research physicists he recruited, mentored, and interacted with. He includes both personal and professional reminiscences. Lax begins with his earliest memories of his childhood in Hungary. He recalls the immigration of his family to America and his education in New York City. He describes his Army service as a Radar Officer at the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. He covers his graduate education in physics at MIT, and his building up the semiconductor and ferrite research groups at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in the 1950s. He describes the origins and accomplishments of the MIT Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory, of which he was the founding Director, and recalls his tenure as professor in the MIT physics department. Features: Provides a valuable insight into a 60-year career in physics at one of the world's major research universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Explores the organization, funding, and conduct of solid state physics research in the second half of the twentieth century Includes a complete bibliography of Lax's publications in an online supplement

This book covers the life and 60-year career of Prof. Benjamin Lax (1915-2015), a preeminent physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who played major roles in the development and applications of solid state and plasma physics. In an extensive series of autobiographical interviews, Lax describes the challenges he overcame, the opportunities he embraced, and the many outstanding research physicists he recruited, mentored, and interacted with. He includes both personal and professional reminiscences. Lax begins with his earliest memories of his childhood in Hungary. He recalls the immigration of his family to America and his education in New York City. He describes his Army service as a Radar Officer at the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. He covers his graduate education in physics at MIT, and his building up the semiconductor and ferrite research groups at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in the 1950s. He describes the origins and accomplishments of the MIT Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory, of which he was the founding Director, and recalls his tenure as professor in the MIT physics department. Features: Provides a valuable insight into a 60-year career in physics at one of the world's major research universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Explores the organization, funding, and conduct of solid state physics research in the second half of the twentieth century Includes a complete bibliography of Lax's publications in an online supplement

Focusing on the physical properties of diamond and sapphire, this monograph provides readers with essential details on crystal structure and growth, mechanical properties, thermal properties, optical properties, light scattering of diamond and sapphire crystals, and sapphire lasers. Various physical properties are comprehensively discussed: Mechanical properties include hardness, tensile strength, compressive strength, and Young's modulus. Thermal properties include thermal expansion, specific heat, and thermal conductivity. Optical properties of diamond and sapphire include transmission, refractive index, and absorption. Light scattering includes Raman scattering and Brillouin scattering. Sapphire lasers include chromium-doped and titanium-doped lasers. Aimed at researchers and industry professionals working in materials science, physics, electrical engineering, and related fields, this monograph is the first to concentrate solely on physical properties of these increasingly important materials.

"This book provides a practical description of optics that satisfies the needs often encountered by some engineers in the practice of their profession. Optical components, including optical sources and detectors, have found their way into products that we buy for the house, and into industrial equipment. As a textbook, it provides an efficient tool for the student to gain in-depth knowledge of a subject, with homework problems to test and verify mastery of the subject." -Antonio Sanchez-Rubio, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, Massachusetts, USA "This book covers all the experimental tools, described meticulously and with clear illustrations, which students will need to perform their experiments. I wish I had this book when I taught an optics course!" -A.K. Ramdas, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA This book provides readers with a brief introduction to optical components. Materials presented in this book prepare readers to deal with optical components in the areas of optics and optical technology. Introduction to Optical Components features nine chapters with topics ranging from lenses (materials, magnifiers, and cameras); mirrors (spherical, ellipsoidal, and aberrations); diffraction gratings (holographic and multilayer dielectric); polarizers (birefringent, reflective, and Jones matrix algebra); windows (UV and AR coating materials); filters (neutral density and Raman); beamsplitters (plate, cube, and pellicle); sources (light-emitting diodes and lasers); and detectors (thermal, photon, and photodetector noise). This text also features a detailed discussion of non-ideal effects for practical components using minimal amounts of derivations (that do not compromise essential physical, mathematical, or material properties). While there are numerous books that feature "optical" in their title, to date, no textbook on optical components exists. It is for this reason that Introduction to Optical Components is such a vital resource. The technical level of this book is equivalent to an undergraduate course in the optics and optical technology curriculum. Students are required to have little familiarity with optics. Practitioners in optics and optical technology will also find this book useful. Each chapter includes numerous mathematical equations; tables providing useful optical parameters for many optical materials; and end-of-chapter questions and their corresponding solutions.