A discussion of the theories, operating characteristics, and current technology of main fiber laser and amplifier devices based on rare-earth-doped silica and fluorozirconate fibers. It describes the principles, designs, and properties of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier and its role as the cornerstone component in optical communication systems. This second edition contains new and revised material reflecting major developments in academia and industry.

Erbium Fiber Amplifiers is a comprehensive introduction to the increasingly important topic of optical amplification. Written by three Bell Labs pioneers, the book stresses the importance of the interrelation of materials properties, optical properties, and systems aspects of optical fiber amplifiers. All disc-based content for this title is now available on the Web. Key Features * Explains the theory of noise in optically amplified systems in an intuitive way * The book contains a discussion of components used in amplifier fabrication and of the attendant technologies used in real systems * The book provides basic tools for amplifier design as well as systems engineering, including the latest developments in WDM and soliton systems * The book discusses the fundamentals of rare earth ions for the reader desiring more depth in the topic * The book is for either the novice of experienced reader * The chapter have links between them to allow the reader to understand the relationship between the amplifier characteristics, noise, and systems applications * The book contains extensive references

Undoubtedly the applications of polymers are rapidly evolving. Technology is continually changing and quickly advancing as polymers are needed to solve a variety of day-to-day challenges leading to improvements in quality of life. The Encyclopedia of Polymer Applications presents state-of-the-art research and development on the applications of polymers. This groundbreaking work provides important overviews to help stimulate further advancements in all areas of polymers. This comprehensive multi-volume reference includes articles contributed from a diverse and global team of renowned researchers. It offers a broad-based perspective on a multitude of topics in a variety of applications, as well as detailed research information, figures, tables, illustrations, and references. The encyclopedia provides introductions, classifications, properties, selection, types, technologies, shelf-life, recycling, testing and applications for each of the entries where applicable. It features critical content for both novices and experts including, engineers, scientists (polymer scientists, materials scientists, biomedical engineers, macromolecular chemists), researchers, and students, as well as interested readers in academia, industry, and research institutions.

The fiber laser, with its humble beginning in the late 1980s, has undergone tremendous development in the past decade or so, transforming itself from a research curiosity to a major force in modern manufacturing. Today, it is revolutionizing our economy by fundamentally changing the way we mark, machine, and process materials on an industrial scale. The recent development of high-power fiber lasers is also fundamentally shaping a wide range of other areas from physical sciences and medicine to geology and space exploration. In the past few years, the tactical deployment of direct energy weapons based on fiber lasers has become a reality. The development of fiber lasers is rooted in a number of technical areas including optical materials, optical waveguide design, nonlinear optics, optical fiber fabrication, and optical characterization, in addition to optical fiber components, and fiber laser design and architecture. No comprehensive in-depth coverage of such diverse topical areas has appeared in a single book. Many important developments have taken place in the past decade in both academia and industry. This book comprehensively covers the basics, technology and applications of fiber lasers including up-to-date developments in both academia and industry and is aimed to serve as both an introduction and research aid for graduate students, engineers, and scientists who are new to this field and also for veterans in the field