Laser Beam Propagation: Generation and Propagation of Customized Light

ISBN-13: 9781466554399 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 364 str.

Andrew Forbes

Opis

How do laser beams propagate? Innovative discoveries involving laser beams and their propagation properties are at the heart of 'Laser Beam Propagation.' This book captures the essence of laser beam propagation. Divided into three parts, it explores the fundamentals of how laser beams propagate, and provides novel methods to describe and characterize general laser beams. Part one covers the physical optics approach to the propagation of optical waves, the concept of plane waves, the mathematical description of diffraction and Gaussian optics, and adapting the concepts to the single photon level.

Recenzje

"The text is easy to read and is accompanied by beautiful illustrations. It is an excellent book for anyone working in laser beam propagation and an asset for any library."
—Optics & Photonics News, July 2014

Spis treści

SECTION I BACK TO BASICS. Optical Waves. From Classical to Quantum Optics. Time Domain Laser Beam Propagation. SECTION II GENERATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LASER BEAMS. Spatial Laser Beam Characterization. Characterization of Time Domain Pulses. Generation of Laser Beams by Digital Holograms. SECTION III NOVEL LASER BEAMS. Flat-Top Beams. Helmholtz–Gauss Beams. Vector Beams. Low-Coherence Laser Beams. The Orbital Angular Momentum of Light. Miles Padgett and Reuben Aspden. Index.

O autorze

Andrew Forbes, PhD, has spent several years working as an applied laser physicist, first for the South African Atomic Energy Corporation and then later in a private laser company. He is currently chief researcher at the CSIR National Laser Centre in South Africa and is the research group leader for mathematical optics. Andrew sits on several international conference committees, chairs the SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) international conference on laser beam shaping and the OSA’s (Optical Society of America) Diffractive Optics and Holography technical group. He holds honorary professorships at the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Kwazulu-Natal.