Although much work has been performed on measure- ments and interpretation of light absorption by opaque or nearly opaque solids, it is surprising to note that until recently relatively little reliable experimental data, and much less theoretical work was available on the nature of transparent solids. This, in spite of the fact that a vast majority of engineering and device ap- plications of a solid depend on its optical transparency. Needless to say, all solids are both transparent and opa- que depending on the spectral region of consideration. The absorption processes that limit the...

The past decade has seen a major resurgence in optical research and the teaching of optics in the major universities both in this country and abroad. Electrooptical devices have become achallenging subject of study that has penetrated both the electrical engineering and the physics departments of most major schools. There seems to be something about the laser that has appealed to both the practical electrical engineer with a hankering for fundamental research and to the fundamental physicist with a hankering to be practical. Somehow or other, this same form of enthusiasm has not previously...

The past decade has seen a major resurgence in optics research and the teaching of optics throughout the major universities both in this country and abroad. Electrooptical devices have become a challenging form of study that has penetrated both the electrical engineering and the physics departments of most major schools. There seems to be something challeng- ing about a laser that appeals to both the practical electrical engineer with a hankering for fundamental research and to the fundamental physicist with a hankering to be practical. Somehow or other this same form of enthusiasm has not...

This book is an account of the manner in which the optical phenomena observed from solids relate to their fundamental properties. Written at the graduate level, it attempts a threefold purpose: an indication of the breadth of the subject, an in-depth examination of important areas, and a text for a two-semester course. The first two chapters present introductory theory as a foundation for subsequent reading. The following ten chapters broadly concern electronic properties associated with semiconductors ranging from narrow to wide energy gap materials. Lattice properties are examined in the...