Page 16 - Tunable Lasers Handbook

Preface

Light and color are concepts that have always invoked thoughts of joy and won-
der. Perhaps the essence of light is well captured in the realm of poetry where
light has been identified as a “changing entity of which we can never be sati-
ated” (Gabriela Mistral, 1889-1957).
This book is about changing light; it is about light sources that emit the
colors of the rainbow and beyond. Indeed, the central theme of this book is
changing light of high spectral purity or, as a physicist would say, tunable
coherent radiation.
Tunable lasers ar unique physical systems that enjoy an abundance of appli-
cations ranging from physics to medicine. Given this utilitarian aspect, the sense
of wonder in tunable lasers extends beyond beauty.
Tunable Lasers Handbook provides a broad and integrated coverage of the
field, including dispersive tunable laser oscillators, tunable excimer lasers, tun-
able CO, lasers, dye lasers, tunable solid-state lasers, optical parametric oscilla-
tors, tunable semiconductor lasers, and free electron lasers. In this regard, the set
of coherent sources considered here spans the electromagnetic spectrum from
the near ultraviolet to the far infrared. Further features are the inclusion of both
discretely and broadly tunable lasers, pulsed and continuous wave lasers, and
gain media in the gaseous, liquid, and solid state.

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