Optics, Light and Lasers: The Practical Approach to Modern Aspects of Photonics and Laser Physics

This new, updated and enlarged edition of the successful and exceptionally well-structured textbook features new chapters on such hot topics as optical angular momentum, microscopy beyond the resolution limit, metamaterials, femtocombs, and quantum cascade lasers. It provides comprehensive and coherent coverage of fundamental optics, laser physics, and important modern applications, while equally including some traditional aspects for the first time, such as the Collins integral or solid immersion lenses. Written for newcomers to the topic who will benefit from the author's ability to explain difficult theories and effects in a straightforward and readily comprehensible way.

Table of Contents:
Preface xix 1 Light Rays 1 1.1 Light Rays in Human Experience 1 1.2 Ray Optics 2 1.3 Reflection 2 1.4 Refraction 3 1.5 Fermat’s Principle: The Optical Path Length 5 1.6 Prisms 8 1.7 Light Rays in Wave Guides 10 1.8 Lenses and Curved Mirrors 15 1.9 Matrix Optics 17 1.10 Ray Optics and Particle Optics 23 Problems 25 2 Wave Optics 29 2.1 Electromagnetic Radiation Fields 29 2.2 Wave Types 37 2.3 Gaussian Beams 40 2.4 Vector Light: Polarization 50 2.5 Optomechanics: Mechanical Action of Light Beams 58 2.6 Diffraction 63 2.7 Fraunhofer Diffraction 67 2.8 Fresnel Diffraction 71 2.9 Beyond Gaussian Beams: Diffraction Integral and ABCD Formalism 77 Problems 77 3 Light Propagation in Matter: Interfaces, Dispersion, and Birefringence 83 3.1 Dielectric Interfaces 83 3.2 Interfaces of Conducting Materials 89 3.3 Light Pulses in Dispersive Materials 94 3.4 Anisotropic Optical Materials 103 3.5 Optical Modulators 110 Problems 119 4 Light Propagation in Structured Matter 121 4.1 Optical Wave Guides and Fibers 122 4.2 Dielectric Photonic Materials 132 4.3 Metamaterials 143 Problems 147 5 Optical Images 149 5.1 Simple Lenses 149 5.2 The Human Eye 151 5.3 Magnifying Glass and Eyepiece 152 5.4 Microscopes 154 5.5 Scanning Microscopy Methods 161 5.6 Telescopes 166 5.7 Lenses: Designs and Aberrations 169 Problems 177 6 Coherence and Interferometry 181 6.1 Young’s Double Slit 181 6.2 Coherence and Correlation 182 6.3 The Double-Slit Experiment 185 6.4 Michelson interferometer: longitudinal coherence 191 6.5 Fabry–Pérot Interferometer 197 6.6 Optical Cavities 202 6.7 Thin Optical Films 208 6.8 Holography 210 6.9 Laser Speckle (Laser Granulation) 214 Problems 216 7 Light and Matter 219 7.1 Classical Radiation Interaction 220 7.2 Two-Level Atoms 229 7.3 Stimulated and Spontaneous Radiation Processes 239 7.4 Inversion and Amplification 242 Problems 246 8 The Laser 249 8.1 The Classic System: The He–Ne Laser 251 8.2 Other Gas Lasers 261 8.3 The Workhorses: Solid-State Lasers 268 8.4 Selected Solid-State Lasers 271 8.5 Tunable Lasers with Vibronic States 279 8.6 Tunable Ring Lasers 281 Problems 283 9 Laser Dynamics 285 9.1 Basic Laser Theory 285 9.2 Laser Rate Equations 291 9.3 Threshold-Less Lasers and Micro-lasers 295 9.4 Laser Noise 298 9.5 Pulsed Lasers 305 Problems 316 10 Semiconductor Lasers 319 10.1 Semiconductors 319 10.2 Optical Properties of Semiconductors 322 10.3 The Heterostructure Laser 330 10.4 Dynamic Properties of Semiconductor Lasers 339 10.5 Laser Diodes, Diode Lasers, and Laser Systems 345 10.6 High-Power Laser Diodes 348 Problems 350 11 Sensors for Light 353 11.1 Characteristics of Optical Detectors 354 11.2 Fluctuating Optoelectronic Quantities 357 11.3 Photon Noise and Detectivity Limits 359 11.4 Thermal Detectors 364 11.5 Quantum Sensors I: Photomultiplier Tubes 366 11.6 Quantum Sensors II: Semiconductor Sensors 370 11.7 Position and Image Sensors 374 Problems 377 12 Laser Spectroscopy and Laser Cooling 379 12.1 Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) 379 12.2 Absorption and Dispersion 380 12.3 The Width of Spectral Lines 382 12.4 Doppler-Free Spectroscopy 388 12.5 Light Forces 394 Problems 404 13 Coherent Light–Matter Interaction 407 13.1 Weak Coupling and Strong Coupling 407 13.2 Transient Phenomena 410 14 Photons: An Introduction to Quantum Optics 417 14.1 Does Light Exhibit Quantum Character? 417 14.2 Quantization of the Electromagnetic Field 418 14.3 Spontaneous Emission 421 14.4 Resonance Fluorescence 427 14.5 Light Fields in Quantum Optics 435 14.6 Two-Photon Optics 444 14.7 Entangled Photons 448 Problems 455 15 Nonlinear Optics I: Optical Mixing Processes 457 15.1 Charged Anharmonic Oscillators 457 15.2 Second-Order Nonlinear Susceptibility 459 15.3 Wave Propagation in Nonlinear Media 464 15.4 Frequency Doubling 466 15.5 Sum and Difference Frequency 477 15.6 Optical Parametric Oscillators 479 Problems 482 16 Nonlinear Optics II: Four-Wave Mixing 485 16.1 Frequency Tripling in Gases 485 16.2 Nonlinear Refraction Coefficient (Optical Kerr Effect) 487 16.3 Self-Phase Modulation 494 Problems 495 A Mathematics for Optics 497 A.1 Spectral Analysis of Fluctuating Measurable Quantities 497 A.2 Time Averaging Formula 502 B.1 Temporal Evolution of a Two-State System 503 B.2 Density Matrix Formalism 504 B.3 Density of States 505 Bibliography 507 Index 519

About the Author :
Dieter Meschede studied physics in several places including Hannover, Cologne, Boulder, and Munich. He has been professor of experimental physics since 1990. At the University of Bonn his current scientific interests are directed towards light-matter interactions at the most elementary level, i.e. with single atoms and single photons for applications in quantum technology.