ABSTRACT
The invention of the laser was one of the towering achievements of the twentieth century. At the opening of the twenty-first century we are witnessing the burgeoning of the myriad technical innovations to which that invention has led. The Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications is a practical and long-lasting reference source for scientists and engineers who work with lasers. The Handbook provides, a comprehensive guide to the current status of lasers and laser systems; it is accessible to science or engineering graduates needing no more than standard undergraduate knowledge of optics. Whilst being a self-contained reference work, the Handbook provides extensive references to contemporary work, and is a basis for studying the professional journal literature on the subject. It covers applications through detailed case studies, and is therefore well suited to readers who wish to use it to solve specific problems of their own. The first of the three volumes comprises an introduction to the basic scientific principles of lasers, laser beams and non-linear optics. The second volume describes the mechanisms and operating characteristics of specific types of laser including crystalline solid - state lasers, semiconductor diode lasers, fibre lasers, gas lasers, chemical lasers, dye lasers and many others as well as detailing the optical and electronic components which tailor the laser's performance and beam delivery systems. The third volume is devoted to case studies of applications in a wide range of subjects including materials processing, optical measurement techniques, medicine, telecommunications, data storage, spectroscopy, earth sciences and astronomy, and plasma fusion research. This vast compendium of knowledge on laser science and technology is the work of over 130 international experts, many of whom are recognised as the world leaders in their respective fields. Whether the reader is engaged in the science, technology, industrial or medical applications of lasers or is researching the subject as a manager or investor in technical enterprises they cannot fail to be informed and enlightened by the wide range of information the Handbook supplies.
VOLUME 2: LASER DESIGN AND LASER SYSTEMS. B Laser Design, Fabrication and Properties. B/1 Solid State Lasers. B/1/1 Transition Metal Ion Lasers - Cr3+. B/1/2 Transition Metal Ion Lasers Other Than Cr3+. B/1/3 Rare Earth Ion Lasers - Nd3+. B/1/4 Rare Earth Ion Lasers - Near Infrared. B/1/5 Rare Earth Ions Lasers - Miscellaneous: Ce3+, U3+, divalent, etc. B/1/6 Lasers Based on Nonlinear Effects. B/1/7 Solid State Raman Lasers. B/1/8 Color Center Lasers. B/2 Semiconductor/diode lasers. B/2/1 Basic principles of laser diodes. B/2/2 Spectral control in laser diodes. B/2/3 High speed laser diodes. B/2/4 High power laser diodes and laser diode arrays. B/2/5/1 Visible laser diodes: Properties of III-V red emitting laser diodes. B/2/5/2 Visible laser diodes: Properties of Blue Laser Diodes. B/2/6 Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. B/2/7 Long wavelength laser diodes. B/2/8 Diode lasers for switching and signal processing. B/3 Gas lasers. B/3/1 CW CO2, CO and N2O; and TEA CO2 lasers. B/3/2 Excimer, F2, H2 and N2 lasers. B/3/3 Copper and gold vapor lasers. B/3/4/1 Chemical lasers: COIL. B/3/4/2 Chemical lasers: HF/DF. B/3/5 Ar+ laser. B/3/6 He-Ne laser. B/3/7 He-Cd laser. B/3/8 Optically pumped mid IR lasers: NH3, C2H2. B/3/9 Far-IR lasers: HCN, H2O. B/4 Fiber and waveguide lasers. B/4/1 Fiber Lasers. B/4/2 High Power Fiber Lasers. B/4/3 DFBG Fiber Raman Lasers. B/4/4 Soliton lasers. B/4/5 Erbium and other doped fiber amplifiers. B/4/6 High power waveguide lasers. B/5 Other lasers. B/5/1 Free electron lasers. B/5/2 X-ray lasers. B/5/3 Liquid organic dye lasers. B/5/4 Solid organic dye lasers. C Laser System Design. C/1 Components. C/1/1 Optical components. C/1/2 Optical control elements. C/1/3 Adaptive optics and phase conjugate reflectors. C/1/4 Opto-mechanical parts. C/1/5/1 Power conditioning: Supplies for driving diodes (semiconductor lasers). C/1/5/2 Power conditioning: Supplies for driving gas discharges (gas and solid state lasers). C/1/5/3 Power conditioning: Supplies for driving flash tubes and arc lamps for solid state lasers. C/2 Optical pulse generation. C/2/1 Quasi-CW and modulated beams. C/2/2 Short pulses. C/2/3 Ultrashort pulses. C/3 Frequency conversion and filtering. C/3/1 Harmonic generation - materials and methods. C/3/2 Optical parametric oscillators and amplifiers. C/3/3 Laser stabilisation for precision measurements. C/4 Beam delivery systems. C/4/1 Basic principles. C/4/2 Free space optics. C/4/3 Fiber optic beam delivery. C/4/4 Positioning and scanning systems. C/5 Laser beam characterisation and measurement. C/5/1 Beam propagation parameters. C/5/2 Detectors. C/5/3 Power and energy measurement. C/5/4 Irradiance and phase distribution measurement. C/6 Laser safety: Introduction. C/6 Laser safety.
