Reviewing the development of optical fibre lasers and amplifiers over the past few years, this book is a compilation of chapters written by several contributors.

One of the most exciting prospects for optical fibres made from fluoride glasses is the possibility of providing long distance optical communication systems without the need for repeaters. This objective has stimulated much of the work into fluoride glasses over the past ten years, and has prompted the writing of this book. It has also emerged that fluoride fibres can transmit both visible and infrared energy (from about 0.5 to 5, urn) and that they have many applications outside the field of telecommunications. These include optical fibre sensors (particularly in remote infrared...