Preface

Broadly tunable lasers have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact in many and diverse fields of science and technology. From a renaissance in spectroscopy, to laser guide stars, to laser cooling, the nexus is the tunable laser. Tunable Laser Optics was conceived from a utilitarian perspective to distill into a single, and concise, volume the necessary optics to provide the foundations necessary to work efficiently and productively in an environment employing tunable lasers. The theoretical tools presented in this book use humble, practical mathematics. Mainly derived from the application of Dirac’s notation, these tools are widely applicable throughout optics: from interference, to diffraction, to refraction, to dispersion, and to reflection. Although the emphasis is on optics involving macroscopic low- divergence, narrow-linewidth lasers, some of the principles described are also applicable to the microscopic and nanoscopic domains.

The style, and selection of subject matter, in this book was determined by a desire to reduce entropy in the search for information in this wonderful and fascinating field. Albeit the physics and the optics included are based on firm and ageless principles, this second edition offers a revised, expanded, and updated version of the first edition published in 2003.

F. J. Duarte

Interferometric Optics