Tunable Laser Optics

Book excerpt: Broadly tunable lasers have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact in many and diverse fields of science and technology. From a renaissance in spectroscopy to laser guide stars and laser cooling, the nexus is the tunable laser. Tunable Laser Optics offers a transparent and comprehensive treatment of the physics of tunable laser optics based on a detailed description of first principles. Authored by a leading expert in the field, the book covers the optics and optical principles needed to build lasers, the optics instrumentation necessary to characterize laser emission, and laser-based optical instrumentation, addressing key topics such as Dirac’s notation, the interferometric equation, the uncertainty principle, pulse compression, and tunable narrow-linewidth lasers. This revised, expanded, and improved Second Edition: Contains new and additional material on tunable lasers and quantum optics Explains the first principles of tunable laser optics in a clear and concise manner Presents an explicit exposition of the relevant theory, without the use of short cuts Employs numerous examples, case studies, and figures to illustrate important concepts Includes carefully designed problems of direct practical significance to stimulate application Emphasizing the utilitarian aspects of the optics and theory, Tunable Laser Optics, Second Edition provides valuable insight into the optics and the trade-offs involved in the design and construction of tunable lasers and optical devices. It makes an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate-level and graduate-level optics courses for physics and engineering students, as well as a handy reference for researchers and experimentalists.