The book is the output of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Optical Chemical Sensors and is 40th Course of the International School of Quantum Electronics and covers all the aspects related to optical chemical sensing by means of optical waveguides, from the fundamentals to the most recent applications. The book also provides a view through the history of the development of these sensors, from the first laboratory prototypes up to the first commercial instrumentations, and contains also the lecture given by the Nobel Prize Charles Townes on the birth of maser and laser, which is to be considered a very important illustration on how new science and new technology develop.

The book is the output of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Optical Chemical Sensors and is 40th Course of the International School of Quantum Electronics and covers all the aspects related to optical chemical sensing by means of optical waveguides, from the fundamentals to the most recent applications. The book also provides a view through the history of the development of these sensors, from the first laboratory prototypes up to the first commercial instrumentations, and contains also the lecture given by the Nobel Prize Charles Townes on the birth of maser and laser, which is to be considered a very important illustration on how new science and new technology develop.