Springer Handbook of Lasers and Optics

“Springer Handbook of Lasers and Optics gives a complete and up-to-date overview of this area in one consistent book. It is designed for daily use in the office or laboratory and offers descriptive text, data, and references needed for anyone working with lasers and optical instruments.

It is often said that the 21st century is the century of the photon. In fact, optical methods, materials, and components have reached an advanced state of sophistication hitherto unknown. Optical techniques, particularly those based on lasers, not only find applications in the classical fields of physics and engineering but have expanded into many other disciplines such as medicine, the life sciences, chemistry and environmental research, to mention only a few examples. Nevertheless, progress in optics, photonic materials and coherent light sources continues at a rapid pace: new laser materials are being developed; novel concepts such as optics far beyond the diffraction limit, or nanooptics, are being explored; and coherent light sources generate wavelengths in ranges not previously accessible.
In viewof the pronounced interdisciplinary nature of optics, the SpringerHandbook of Lasers and Optics is designed as a readable desk reference book to provide fast, uptodate, comprehensive, and authoritative coverage of the field. The handbook chapters are grouped into four parts covering basic principles and materials; fabrication and properties of optical components; coherent and incoherent light sources; and, finally, selected applications and special fields such as terahertz photonics, X-ray optics and holography.”