Laser Fundamentals is written with the idea of simplifying the explanation of how
lasers operate.It is designed to be
used as a senior level or first year graduate student text book and / or as a reference book.
Understandng lasers involves concepts associated with light,viewed either as waves or as photons,and its interaction with matter.The first part of the book is used to introduce these concepts.The next five
chapters include fundamental wave properties,such as the solution of the wave equation,polarization,and the interaction of light with dielectric materials,as well as the fundamental quantum properties,including discrete energy levels,emission of radiation,emission broadening (in gases,liquids and solids) and stimulated emission.Tyhe next chater deals with the introduction to the
concept of amplification and the further properties of
Laser ampolifiers dealing with inversions and pumping are covered in the following two chapters.Chapter 10 discusses cavity properties associated with both longitudinal and transverse modes and Chapters 11 and 12 follow up with Gaussian beams and special laser cavities.The penultimat and the antipenultimate chapters provide discriptions of the most common lasers and the concluding
Chapter gives a brief overview of some of the non-linear optical techniques for laser frequency conversion
Some of the unique aspects of this book are the treatment of
emission linewidth and broadening in chapter 4,the development of a simple model of a laser amplifier in Chapter 7,the discussion of special laser cavities in Chapter 12,and the laser summaries in Chapters 13 and 14.Throughout the book,whenever a particular concept is introduced,the author has tried to relate that concept to all the various types of laser amplifiers including gas lasers,liquid(dye) lasers,and solid state lasers.
This book can be used in either a one semester or a two semester course.The association of the author with lasers since shortly after thier discovery in 1960 is clearly seen in his experienced writing style.He provides the reader a good understanding of not just one specific type of laser but rather of all types of lasers as each concept is introduced.
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