This new, updated and enlarged edition of the successful and exceptionally well-structured textbook features new chapters on such hot topics as optical angular momentum, microscopy beyond the resolution limit, metamaterials, femtocombs, and quantum cascade lasers. It provides comprehensive and coherent coverage of fundamental optics, laser physics, and important modern applications, while equally including some traditional aspects for the first time, such as the Collins integral or solid immersion lenses.
Written for newcomers to the topic who will benefit from the author's ability to explain difficult theories and effects in a straightforward and readily comprehensible way.

Dieter Meschede studied physics in several places including Hannover, Cologne, Boulder, and Munich. He has been professor of experimental physics since 1990. At the University of Bonn his current scientific interests are directed towards light-matter interactions at the most elementary level, i.e. with single atoms and single photons for applications in quantum technology.

Preface xix

1 Light Rays 1

1.1 Light Rays in Human Experience 1

1.2 Ray Optics 2

1.3 Reflection 2

1.4 Refraction 3

1.5 Fermat’s Principle: The Optical Path Length 5

1.6 Prisms 8

1.7 Light Rays in Wave Guides 10

1.8 Lenses and Curved Mirrors 15

1.9 Matrix Optics 17

1.10 Ray Optics and Particle Optics 23

Problems 25

2 Wave Optics 29

2.1 Electromagnetic Radiation Fields 29

2.2 Wave Types 37

2.3 Gaussian Beams 40

2.4 Vector Light: Polarization 50

2.5 Optomechanics: Mechanical Action of Light Beams 58

2.6 Diffraction 63

2.7 Fraunhofer Diffraction 67

2.8 Fresnel Diffraction 71

2.9 Beyond Gaussian Beams: Diffraction Integral and ABCD Formalism 77

Problems 77

3 Light Propagation in Matter: Interfaces, Dispersion, and Birefringence 83

3.1 Dielectric Interfaces 83

3.2 Interfaces of Conducting Materials 89

3.3 Light Pulses in Dispersive Materials 94

3.4 Anisotropic Optical Materials 103

3.5 Optical Modulators 110

Problems 119

4 Light Propagation in Structured Matter 121

4.1 Optical Wave Guides and Fibers 122

4.2 Dielectric Photonic Materials 132

4.3 Metamaterials 143

Problems 147

5 Optical Images 149

5.1 Simple Lenses 149

5.2 The Human Eye 151

5.3 Magnifying Glass and Eyepiece 152

5.4 Microscopes 154

5.5 Scanning Microscopy Methods 161

5.6 Telescopes 166

5.7 Lenses: Designs and Aberrations 169

Problems 177

6 Coherence and Interferometry 181

6.1 Young’s Double Slit 181

6.2 Coherence and Correlation 182

6.3 The Double-Slit Experiment 185

6.4 Michelson interferometer: longitudinal coherence 191

6.5 Fabry–Pérot Interferometer 197

6.6 Optical Cavities 202

6.7 Thin Optical Films 208

6.8 Holography 210

6.9 Laser Speckle (Laser Granulation) 214

Problems 216

7 Light and Matter 219

7.1 Classical Radiation Interaction 220

7.2 Two-Level Atoms 229

7.3 Stimulated and Spontaneous Radiation Processes 239

7.4 Inversion and Amplification 242

Problems 246

8 The Laser 249

8.1 The Classic System: The He–Ne Laser 251

8.2 Other Gas Lasers 261

8.3 The Workhorses: Solid-State Lasers 268

8.4 Selected Solid-State Lasers 271

8.5 Tunable Lasers with Vibronic States 279

8.6 Tunable Ring Lasers 281

Problems 283

9 Laser Dynamics 285

9.1 Basic Laser Theory 285

9.2 Laser Rate Equations 291

9.3 Threshold-Less Lasers and Micro-lasers 295

9.4 Laser Noise 298

9.5 Pulsed Lasers 305

Problems 316

10 Semiconductor Lasers 319

10.1 Semiconductors 319

10.2 Optical Properties of Semiconductors 322

10.3 The Heterostructure Laser 330

10.4 Dynamic Properties of Semiconductor Lasers 339

10.5 Laser Diodes, Diode Lasers, and Laser Systems 345

10.6 High-Power Laser Diodes 348

Problems 350

11 Sensors for Light 353

11.1 Characteristics of Optical Detectors 354

11.2 Fluctuating Optoelectronic Quantities 357

11.3 Photon Noise and Detectivity Limits 359

11.4 Thermal Detectors 364

11.5 Quantum Sensors I: Photomultiplier Tubes 366

11.6 Quantum Sensors II: Semiconductor Sensors 370

11.7 Position and Image Sensors 374

Problems 377

12 Laser Spectroscopy and Laser Cooling 379

12.1 Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) 379

12.2 Absorption and Dispersion 380

12.3 The Width of Spectral Lines 382

12.4 Doppler-Free Spectroscopy 388

12.5 Light Forces 394

Problems 404

13 Coherent Light–Matter Interaction 407

13.1 Weak Coupling and Strong Coupling 407

13.2 Transient Phenomena 410

14 Photons: An Introduction to Quantum Optics 417

14.1 Does Light Exhibit Quantum Character? 417

14.2 Quantization of the Electromagnetic Field 418

14.3 Spontaneous Emission 421

14.4 Resonance Fluorescence 427

14.5 Light Fields in Quantum Optics 435

14.6 Two-Photon Optics 444

14.7 Entangled Photons 448

Problems 455

15 Nonlinear Optics I: Optical Mixing Processes 457

15.1 Charged Anharmonic Oscillators 457

15.2 Second-Order Nonlinear Susceptibility 459

15.3 Wave Propagation in Nonlinear Media 464

15.4 Frequency Doubling 466

15.5 Sum and Difference Frequency 477

15.6 Optical Parametric Oscillators 479

Problems 482

16 Nonlinear Optics II: Four-Wave Mixing 485

16.1 Frequency Tripling in Gases 485

16.2 Nonlinear Refraction Coefficient (Optical Kerr Effect) 487

16.3 Self-Phase Modulation 494

Problems 495

A Mathematics for Optics 497

A.1 Spectral Analysis of Fluctuating Measurable Quantities 497

A.2 Time Averaging Formula 502

B.1 Temporal Evolution of a Two-State System 503

B.2 Density Matrix Formalism 504

B.3 Density of States 505

Bibliography 507

Index 519

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