An Introduction to Photonics and Laser Physics with Applications

Lasers are ubiquitous—from deep space communication to lab on the chip to supermarket product scanning. Although they form an integral part of optics and photonics and are extensively used in research areas of science and technology to create multibillion dollar industries, the progress in severely limited in the subcontinent due to lack of experimental training in this field. The need of the hour is to have a self-sufficient book containing laser-related concepts readily available to beginners. The book is written keeping undergraduate and graduate students in mind to possibly serve as a textbook. It is also aimed to provide fundamental reference material on ultrafast lasers and photonics for researchers in the field of optics and bioengineering. Part of IOP Series in Advances in Optics, Photonics and Optoelectronics.

Key features

• The textbook deals with the basics of lasers.

• Contains a chapter dedicated to the required spectroscopy and one for line broadening mechanisms.

• Special emphasis on the phenomena related to modern ultrafast lasers, and their applications.

• Sufficient mathematics, instead of details are given for the reader to be able to understand the topic.

• Basics of lasers, ultrafast lasers, Q-switching and mode-locking, characterization techniques of ultrafast pulses, four-wave mixing, semiconductor and fiber lasers, high harmonic generation.