Written from an industrial perspective, Solid-State Laser Engineering discusses in detail the characteristics, design, construction, and performance of solid-state lasers. Emphasis is placed on engineering and practical considerations; phenomenological aspects using models are preferred to abstract mathematical derivations. Since its first edition almost 30 years ago this book has become the standard in the field of solid-state lasers for scientists,engineers and graduate students. This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to account for recent developments in the areas of diode-laser pumping, laser materials and nonlinear crystals. Completely new sections have been added dealing with frequency control, the theory of mode-locking, femto second lasers, high efficiency harmonic generation, passive and acousto-optic Q-switching, semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAM) and peridically poled nonlinear crystals.

This book has once again been updated to keep pace with recent developments and to maintain Koechner's position as "the bible" of the field. Written from an industrial perspective, it provides a detailed discussion of, and data for, solid-state lasers, their characteristics, design and construction.

Koechner's well-known ‘bible’ on solid-state laser engineering is now available in an accessible format at the graduate level. Numerous exercises with hints for solution, new text and updated material where needed make this text very accessible.

Random lasers are the simplest sources of lasers, since they exhibit stimulated emission without a cavity, with the feedback provided by scattering in a gain medium. First proposed in the late 60's, random lasers have grown into a large research field. This book reviews the history and the state of the art of random lasers, providing an outline of the basic models explaining their behavior and describing the recent advances in the field. The major focus is solid-state random lasers, however, random lasers based on liquid dyes with scatterers are also briefly treated. Written with mostly self-contained chapters, Solid-State Random Lasers gives scientists or engineers interested in a particular aspect directly access to the relevant information. Researchers entering the field of random lasers will find in the book an excellent overview, while scientists already working in the field can use the book as a reference source.

This text covers a wide range of material, from the basics of laser resonators to advanced topics in laser diode pumping. The subject matter is presented in descriptive terms that are understandable by the technical professional who does not have a strong foundation in fundamental laser topics.

This book examines the underlying science and design of laser materials. It emphasizes the principles of crystal-field engineering and discusses the basic physical concepts that determine laser gain and nonlinear frequency conversion in optical crystals. Henderson and Bartram develop the predictive capabilities of crystal-field engineering to show how modification of the symmetry and composition of optical centers can improve laser performance. They also discuss applications of the principles of crystal-field engineering to a variety of optical crystals in relation to the performances of laser devices. This book will be of considerable interest to physical, chemical and material scientists and to engineers involved in the science and technology of solid state lasers.

From the reviews: "Takes the reader on a journey that covers all the basic science and engineering related to the topic of developing a solid-state laser for common materials processing problems. [...] Entrants to the field will certainly find it a book to keep for future reference." Optics & Photonic News

This textbook provides an introductory presentation of all types of lasers. It contains a general description of the laser, a theoretical treatment and a characterization of its operation as it deals with gas, solid state, free-electron and semiconductor lasers. This expanded and updated second edition of the book presents a description of the dynamics of free-electron laser oscillation using a model introduced in the first edition that allows a reader to understand basic properties of a free-electron laser and makes the difference to “conventional” lasers. The discussions and the treatment of equations are presented in a way that a reader can immediately follow. The book addresses graduate and undergraduate students in science and engineering, featuring problems with solutions and over 400 illustrations.

Organic lasers are broadly tunable coherent sources, potentially compact, convenient and manufactured at low-costs. Appeared in the mid 60’s as solid-state alternatives for liquid dye lasers, they recently gained a new dimension after the demonstration of organic semiconductor lasers in the 90's. More recently, new perspectives appeared at the nanoscale, with organic polariton and surface plasmon lasers. After a brief reminder to laser physics, a first chapter exposes what makes organic solid-state organic lasers specific. The laser architectures used in organic lasers are then reviewed, with a state-of-the-art review of the performances of devices with regard to output power, threshold, lifetime, beam quality etc. A survey of the recent trends in the field is given, highlighting the latest developments with a special focus on the challenges remaining for achieving direct electrical pumping of organic semiconductor lasers. A last chapter covers the applications of organic solid-state lasers.

Introduction to Laser Science and Engineering provides a modern resource for a first course in lasers for both students and professionals. Starting from simple descriptions, this text builds upon them to give a detailed modern physical understanding of the concepts behind light, optical beams and lasers. The coverage starts with the nature of light and the principles of photon absorption and transmission, leading to the amplified and stimulated emission principals governing lasers. The specifics of lasers and their application, safe use and future prospects are then covered, with a wealth of illustrations to provide readers with a visual sense of optical and laser principles.