Laser Physics

Although the basic principles of lasers have remained unchanged in the past 20 years, there has been a shift in the kinds of lasers generating interest. Providing a comprehensive introduction to the operating principles and applications of lasers, this second edition of the classic book on the subject reveals the latest developments and applications of lasers. Placing more emphasis on applications of lasers and on optical physics, the book's self-contained discussions will appeal to physicists, chemists, optical scientists, engineers, and advanced undergraduate students.

This textbook originates from a lecture course in laser physics at the Karlsruhe School of Optics and Photonics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). A main goal in the conception of this textbook was to describe the fundamentals of lasers in a uniform and especially lab-oriented notation and formulation as well as many currently well-known laser types, becoming more and more important in the future. It closes a gap between the measureable spectroscopic quantities and the whole theoretical description and modeling. This textbook contains not only the fundamentals and the context of laser physics in a mathematical and methodical approach important for university-level studies. It allows simultaneously, owing to its conception and its modern notation, to directly implement and use the learned matter in the practical lab work. It is presented in a format suitable for everybody who wants not only to understand the fundamentals of lasers but also use modern lasers or even develop and make laser setups. This book tries to limit prerequisite knowledge and fundamental understanding to a minimum and is intended for students in physics, chemistry and mathematics after a bachelor degree, with the intention to create as much joy and interest as seen among the participants of the corresponding lectures. This university textbook describes in its first three chapters the fundamentals of lasers: light-matter interaction, the amplifying laser medium and the laser resonator. In the fourth chapter, pulse generation and related techniques are presented. The fifth chapter gives a closing overview on different laser types gaining importance currently and in the future. It also contains a set of examples on which the theory learned in the first four chapters is applied and extended.

The three volumes VIII/1A, B, C document the state of the art of "Laser Physics and Applications". Scientific trends and related technological aspects are considered by compiling results and conclusions from phenomenology, observation and experience. Reliable data, physical fundamentals and detailed references are presented. In the recent decades the laser beam source matured to a universal tool common to scientific research as well as to industrial use. Today a technical goal is the generation of optical power towards shorter wavelengths, shorter pulses and higher power for application in science and industry. Tailoring the optical energy in wavelength, space and time is a requirement for the investigation of laser-induced processes, i.e. excitation, non-linear amplification, storage of optical energy, etc. According to the actual trends in laser research and development, Vol. VIII/1 is split into three parts: Vol. VIII/1A with its two subvolumes 1A1 and 1A2 covers laser fundamentals, Vol. VIII/1B deals with laser systems and Vol. VIII/1C gives an overview on laser applications.

Due to the rapid progress in laser technology a wealth of novel fundamental and applied applications of lasers in atomic and plasma physics have become possible. This book focuses on the interaction of high intensity lasers with matter. It reviews the state of the art of high power laser sources, intensity laser-atom and laser-plasma interactions, laser matter interaction at relativistic intensities, and QED with intense lasers.

There is hardly any book that aims at solving problems typically encountered in the laser field, and this book intends to fill the void. Following some initial exercises related to general aspects in laser physics (Chapt. 1), the subsequent problems are organized along the following topics: (i) Interaction of radiation with matter either made of atoms or ions, weakly interacting with surrounding species, or made of more complicated elements such as molecules or semiconductors (Chapters 2 and 3). (ii) Wave propagation in optical media and optical resonators (Chapters 4 and 5). (iii) Optical and electrical pumping processes and systems (Chapter 6): (iv) Continuous wave and transient laser behaviors (Chapters 7 and 8). (v) Solid-state, dye, semiconductor, gas and X-ray lasers (Chapters 9 and 10). (vi) Proper ties of the output beam and beam transformation by amplification, frequency conversion and pulse compression or expansion (Chapters 11 and 12). Problems are proposed here and solved following the contents of Orazio Svelto's Principles of Lasers (fourth edition; Plenum Press, New York, 1998). Whenever needed, equations and figures of the book mentioned above are currently used with an appropriate reference [e. g. , Eq. (1. Ll) of the book is referred to as Eq. (Ll. 1) of PL]. One can observe, however, that the types of problems proposed and discussed are of general validity and many of these problems have actually been suggested by our own long-time experience in performing theoretical and experimental researches in the field.

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.

Although the basic principles of lasers have remained unchanged in the past 20 years, there has been a shift in the kinds of lasers generating interest. Providing a comprehensive introduction to the operating principles and applications of lasers, this second edition of the classic book on the subject reveals the latest developments and applications of lasers. Placing more emphasis on applications of lasers and on optical physics, the book's self-contained discussions will appeal to physicists, chemists, optical scientists, engineers, and advanced undergraduate students.

Most of the texts available on lasers deal with laser engineering and laser applications, only a few of them treating theoretical aspects of the laser at an advanced level. Introduction to Laser Physics provides an introduction to the essential physics of quantum electronics and lasers. Fundamental topics in modern optics, the applicability of various theoretical approaches, and the physical meaning of laser-related phenomena are carefully described. Experimental results and properties of practical lasers are interwoven, thereby allowing an explicit demonstration of the rate equation approach and the semiclassical treatment. The basic concepts of nonlinear optical devices and laser spectroscopy are intro- duced. The second edition includes additional information on optical resonators, minor improvements of the text and several new problems, completed with solutions.