Lasers: Fundamentals and Applications [Hardcover]

Ever since their invention in 1960, lasers have assumed tremendous importance in the fields of science, engineering and technology because of their use both in basic research and in various technological applications.?Lasers: Theory and Applications 2nd Edition?will provide a coherent presentation of the basic physics behind the working of the laser along with some of their most important applications. Numerical examples are scattered throughout the book for helping the student gain a better appreciation of the concepts and problems at the end of each chapter and provides the student?a better understanding of the basics and help in applying the concepts to practical situations. This book serves as a text in a course on lasers and their applications for students majoring in various disciplines such as Physics, Chemistry and Electrical Engineering.Updated and revised, this second edition provides a coherent presentation of the basic physics behind lasers, along with some of their most important applications. Numerical examples are scattered throughout the book, and problems are included at the end of each chapter.

Introduction.- Basic Optics.- Elements of Quantum Mechanics.- The Einstein Coefficients and Light Amplification.- Laser Rate Equations.- Semiclassical Theory of the Laser.- Optical Resonators.- Vector Spaces and Linear Operators: Dirac Notation.- Quantum Theory of Interaction of Radiation Fields with Matter.- Properties of Lasers.- Some Laser Systems.- Doped Fiber Amplifiers and Lasers.- Semiconductor Lasers.- Optical Parametric Oscillators.- Spacial Frequency Filtering and Holography.- Laser Induced Fusion.- Lightwave Communications.- Lasers in Science.- Lasers in Industry.

K. Thyagarajan has been working in the general area of Photonics and in particular in Fiber 2 Optics since 1973 and has published more than 125 research papers in international journals and coauthored seven books with Professor Ajoy Ghatak. He has beel³°