The only introductory text on the market today that explains the underlying physics and engineering applicable to all lasers Although lasers are becoming increasingly important in our high-tech environment, many of the technicians and engineers who install, operate, and maintain them have had little, if any, formal training in the field of electro-optics. This can result in less efficient usage of these important tools. Introduction to Laser Technology, Fourth Edition provides readers with a good understanding of what a laser is and what it can and cannot do. The book explains what types of laser to use for different purposes and how a laser can be modified to improve its performance in a given application. With a unique combination of clarity and technical depth, the book explains the characteristics and important applications of commercial lasers worldwide and discusses light and optics, the fundamental elements of lasers, and laser modification.? In addition to new chapter-end problems, the Fourth Edition includes new and expanded chapter material on: Material and wavelength Diode Laser Arrays Quantum-cascade lasers Fiber lasers Thin-disk and slab lasers Ultrafast fiber lasers Raman lasers Quasi-phase matching Optically pumped semiconductor lasers Introduction to Laser Technology, Fourth Edition is an excellent book for students, technicians, engineers, and other professionals seeking a fuller, more formal introduction to the field of laser technology.

Presenting a blend of applied and fundamental research in highly interdisciplinary subjects of rapidly developing areas, this book contains contributions on the frontiers and hot topics of laser physics, laser technology and laser engineering, and covers a wide range of laser topics, from all-optical signal processing and chaotic optical communication to production of superwicking surfaces, correction of extremely high-power beams, and generation of ultrabroadband spectra. It presents both review-type contributions and well researched and documented case studies, and is intended for graduate students, young scientist, and emeritus scientist working/studying in laser physics, optoelectronics, optics, photonics, and adjacent areas. The book contains both experimental and theoretical studies, as well as combinations of these two, which is known to be a most useful and interesting form of reporting scientific results, allowing students to really learn from each contribution. The book contains over 130 illustrations.

This textbook originates from a lecture course in laser physics at the Karlsruhe School of Optics and Photonics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). A main goal in the conception of this textbook was to describe the fundamentals of lasers in a uniform and especially lab-oriented notation and formulation as well as many currently well-known laser types, becoming more and more important in the future. It closes a gap between the measureable spectroscopic quantities and the whole theoretical description and modeling. This textbook contains not only the fundamentals and the context of laser physics in a mathematical and methodical approach important for university-level studies. It allows simultaneously, owing to its conception and its modern notation, to directly implement and use the learned matter in the practical lab work. It is presented in a format suitable for everybody who wants not only to understand the fundamentals of lasers but also use modern lasers or even develop and make laser setups. This book tries to limit prerequisite knowledge and fundamental understanding to a minimum and is intended for students in physics, chemistry and mathematics after a bachelor degree, with the intention to create as much joy and interest as seen among the participants of the corresponding lectures. This university textbook describes in its first three chapters the fundamentals of lasers: light-matter interaction, the amplifying laser medium and the laser resonator. In the fourth chapter, pulse generation and related techniques are presented. The fifth chapter gives a closing overview on different laser types gaining importance currently and in the future. It also contains a set of examples on which the theory learned in the first four chapters is applied and extended.

Although the basic principles of lasers have remained unchanged in the past 20 years, there has been a shift in the kinds of lasers generating interest. Providing a comprehensive introduction to the operating principles and applications of lasers, this second edition of the classic book on the subject reveals the latest developments and applications of lasers. Placing more emphasis on applications of lasers and on optical physics, the book's self-contained discussions will appeal to physicists, chemists, optical scientists, engineers, and advanced undergraduate students.

This timely publication presents a review of the most recent developments in the field of Semiconductor Disk Lasers. Covering a wide range of key topics, such as operating principles, thermal management, nonlinear frequency conversion, semiconductor materials, short pulse generation, electrical pumping, and laser applications, the book provides readers with a comprehensive account of the fundamentals and latest advances in this rich and diverse field. In so doing, it brings together contributions from world experts at major collaborative research centers in Europe and the USA. Each chapter includes a tutorial style introduction to the selected topic suitable for postgraduate students and scientists with a basic background in optics - making it of interest to a wide range of scientists, researchers, engineers and physicists working and interested in this rapidly developing field. It will also serve as additional reading for students in the field.

As different laser technologies continue to make it possible to change laser parameters and improve beam quality and performance, a multidisciplinary theoretical knowledge and grasp of cutting-edge technological developments also become increasingly important. The revised and updated Laser Technology, Second Edition reviews the principles and basic

The book, ‘Laser Physics and Technology’, addresses fundamentals of laser physics, representative laser systems and techniques, and some important applications of lasers. The present volume is a collection of articles based on some of the lectures delivered at the School on ‘Laser Physics and Technology’ organized at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology during March, 12-30, 2012. The objective of the School was to provide an in-depth knowledge of the important aspects of laser physics and technology to doctoral students and young researchers and motivate them for further work in this area. In keeping with this objective, the fourteen chapters, written by leading Indian experts, based on the lectures delivered by them at the School, provide along with class room type coverage of the fundamentals of the field, a brief review of the current status of the field. The book will be useful for doctoral students and young scientists who are embarking on a research in this area as well as to professionals who would be interested in knowing the current state of the field particularly in Indian context.

Comprehensive yet concise, The Physics and Technology of Laser Resonators presents both the fundamentals and latest developments in laser resonator technology, including specific case studies. The book covers various types of resonators, including unstable, ring laser, and multifold laser. It also discusses numerical resonator calculations and laser beam analysis. This reference will be of value and interest both to newcomers to the field and to professional engineers wishing to update their knowledge.

Most of the texts available on lasers deal with laser engineering and laser applications, only a few of them treating theoretical aspects of the laser at an advanced level. Introduction to Laser Physics provides an introduction to the essential physics of quantum electronics and lasers. Fundamental topics in modern optics, the applicability of various theoretical approaches, and the physical meaning of laser-related phenomena are carefully described. Experimental results and properties of practical lasers are interwoven, thereby allowing an explicit demonstration of the rate equation approach and the semiclassical treatment. The basic concepts of nonlinear optical devices and laser spectroscopy are intro- duced. The second edition includes additional information on optical resonators, minor improvements of the text and several new problems, completed with solutions.

Due to the rapid progress in laser technology a wealth of novel fundamental and applied applications of lasers in atomic and plasma physics have become possible. This book focuses on the interaction of high intensity lasers with matter. It reviews the state of the art of high power laser sources, intensity laser-atom and laser-plasma interactions, laser matter interaction at relativistic intensities, and QED with intense lasers.