Page 20 - High Power Laser Handbook

Foreword

he High-Power Laser Handbook, edited by Hagop Injeyan and
Gregory D. Goodno, is both comprehensive and timely. It is
Tcomprehensive in that the laser technologies discussed include
gas, chemical, and free-electron lasers, with a special emphasis on
solid-state laser technologies, including semiconductor diode lasers,
solid-state lasers, and fiber lasers, as well as power scaling and appli-
cations of high-power lasers.
The book is timely because 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of
the demonstration of the ruby laser by Theodore Maiman at the
Hughes Research Laboratory in Malibu, California. From the begin-
ning, it was recognized that the laser would become useful for mili-
tary applications, from radar to cutting metal at a distance. It was also
recognized that the laser would provide unprecedented peak powers
that could fuse hydrogen isotopes. After 50 years, laser technology
has matured to the point that the supposed pipe dreams of the 1960s
are now becoming reality.
The laser is now an essential tool in scientific research, from biology,
chemistry, and physics to applied physics and engineering. Laser tech-
nology has enabled subwavelength resolution microscopy, which, in
turn, is rapidly becoming an essential tool in biology and neurology.
Lasers are the most precise form of electromagnetic radiation, enabling
optical clocks of unprecedented accuracy (less than one second in the
age of the universe). Lasers also allow the most precise measurements
of length ever attempted. For example, they can measure to less than
one billionth of an optical wavelength in the 4-km-length arms of the
Laser Interferometer Gravitation Wave Observatory, which searches
for the direct detection of gravitational waves that reach across the uni-
verse. In addition, lasers can control molecules and atoms in order to
alter and control chemical reactions or to cool atoms to a single
quantum state, known as the Bose-Einstein condensation.
Lasers have also affected our ability to optimize materials. By laser
peening jet engine turbine blades, we have improved engine perfor-
mance and reliability. Laser cutting of metals is now the preferred tool
for manufacturing. Laser marking of surfaces is ubiquitous and allows
the labeling and tracking of a multitude of parts. The laser transit is the
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