Over the last few years, there has been a convergence between the fields of ultrafast science, nonlinear optics, optical frequency metrology, and precision laser spectroscopy. These fields have been developing largely independently since the birth of the laser, reaching remarkable levels of performance. On the ultrafast frontier, pulses of only a few cycles long have been produced, while in optical spectroscopy, the precision and resolution have reached one part in Although these two achievements appear to be completely disconnected, advances in nonlinear optics provided the essential link between them. The resulting convergence has enabled unprecedented advances in the control of the electric field of the pulses produced by femtosecond mode-locked lasers. The corresponding spectrum consists of a comb of sharp spectral lines with well-defined frequencies. These new techniques and capabilities are generally known as “femtosecond comb technology. ” They have had dramatic impact on the diverse fields of precision measurement and extreme nonlinear optical physics. The historical background for these developments is provided in the Foreword by two of the pioneers of laser spectroscopy, John Hall and Theodor Hänsch. Indeed the developments described in this book were foreshadowed by Hänsch’s early work in the 1970s when he used picosecond pulses to demonstrate the connection between the time and frequency domains in laser spectroscopy. This work complemented the advances in precision laser stabilization developed by Hall.

This book gives a contemporary overview of the technologies of single-frequency fiber lasers. The development of single-frequency fiber lasers is one of the most significant achievements in the field of laser photonics over the past two decades. Owing to the crucial demands of a laser sources with highly stable single-frequency operation, narrow linewidth, low noise, scalable to high output power, compact and robustness structure, fiber lasers have been intensively studied since its introduction to the single-frequency laser community and they still continuously proceed to trigger the emergence of new technologies and applications. This book systematically demonstrates the single-frequency fiber laser technologies from fundamental principles to state-of-the-art progress. Details of selected typical applications of single-frequency fiber lasers are also given and discussed. The reader will acquire a good knowledge of the current situation within this important field.

The new edition of the leading resource on designing digital frequency synthesizers from microwave and wireless applications, fully updated to reflect the most modern integrated circuits and semiconductors Microwave and Wireless Synthesizers: Theory and Design, Second Edition, remains the standard text on the subject by providing complete and up-to-date coverage of both practical and theoretical aspects of modern frequency synthesizers and their components. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, this classic volume describes loop fundamentals, noise and spurious responses, special loops, loop components, multiloop synthesizers, and more. Practical synthesizer examples illustrate the design of a high-performance hybrid synthesizer and performance measurement techniques—offering readers clear instruction on the various design steps and design rules. The second edition includes extensively revised content throughout, including a modern approach to dealing with the noise and spurious response of loops and updated material on digital signal processing and architectures. Reflecting today's technology, new practical and validated examples cover a combination of analog and digital synthesizers and hybrid systems. Enhanced and expanded chapters discuss implementations of direct digital synthesis (DDS) architectures, the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), crystal and other high-Q based oscillators, arbitrary waveform generation, vector signal generation, and other current tools and techniques. Now requiring no additional literature to be useful, this comprehensive, one-stop resource: Provides a fully reviewed, updated, and enhanced presentation of microwave and wireless synthesizers Presents a clear mathematical method for designing oscillators for best noise performance at both RF and microwave frequencies Contains new illustrations, figures, diagrams, and examples Includes extensive appendices to aid in calculating phase noise in free-running oscillators, designing VHF and UHF oscillators with CAD software, using state-of-the-art synthesizer chips, and generating millimeter wave frequencies using the delay line principle Containing numerous designs of proven circuits and more than 500 relevant citations from scientific journal and papers, Microwave and Wireless Synthesizers: Theory and Design, Second Edition, is a must-have reference for engineers working in the field of radio communication, and the perfect textbook for advanced electrical engineering students.

This reference book provides a fully integrated novel approach to the development of high-power, single-transverse mode, edge-emitting diode lasers by addressing the complementary topics of device engineering, reliability engineering and device diagnostics in the same book, and thus closes the gap in the current book literature. Diode laser fundamentals are discussed, followed by an elaborate discussion of problem-oriented design guidelines and techniques, and by a systematic treatment of the origins of laser degradation and a thorough exploration of the engineering means to enhance the optical strength of the laser. Stability criteria of critical laser characteristics and key laser robustness factors are discussed along with clear design considerations in the context of reliability engineering approaches and models, and typical programs for reliability tests and laser product qualifications. Novel, advanced diagnostic methods are reviewed to discuss, for the first time in detail in book literature, performance- and reliability-impacting factors such as temperature, stress and material instabilities. Further key features include: practical design guidelines that consider also reliability related effects, key laser robustness factors, basic laser fabrication and packaging issues; detailed discussion of diagnostic investigations of diode lasers, the fundamentals of the applied approaches and techniques, many of them pioneered by the author to be fit-for-purpose and novel in the application; systematic insight into laser degradation modes such as catastrophic optical damage, and a wide range of technologies to increase the optical strength of diode lasers; coverage of basic concepts and techniques of laser reliability engineering with details on a standard commercial high power laser reliability test program. Semiconductor Laser Engineering, Reliability and Diagnostics reflects the extensive expertise of the author in the diode laser field both as a top scientific researcher as well as a key developer of high-power highly reliable devices. With invaluable practical advice, this new reference book is suited to practising researchers in diode laser technologies, and to postgraduate engineering students.

This thesis deals with the dynamics of state-of-the-art nanophotonic semiconductor structures, providing essential information on fundamental aspects of nonlinear dynamical systems on the one hand, and technological applications in modern telecommunication on the other. Three different complex laser structures are considered in detail: (i) a quantum-dot-based semiconductor laser under optical injection from a master laser, (ii) a quantum-dot laser with optical feedback from an external resonator, and (iii) a passively mode-locked quantum-well semiconductor laser with saturable absorber under optical feedback from an external resonator. Using a broad spectrum of methods, both numerical and analytical, this work achieves new fundamental insights into the interplay of microscopically based nonlinear laser dynamics and optical perturbations by delayed feedback and injection.

Carbon nanotubes belong to new nanomaterials and have been known for almost 20 years, but their history is somewhat lengthier. They have been identified as promising candidates for various applications.High-temperature preparation techniques are conventional techniques for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes using arc discharge or laser ablation, but today these methods are being replaced by low-temperature vapor deposition techniques, since orientation, alignment, nanotube length, diameter, purity, and density of carbon nanotubes can be precisely controlled. The synthesis of carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition on catalyst arrays leads to nanotube models grown from specific sites on surfaces. The controlled synthesis of nanotubes opens up interesting possibilities in nanoscience and nanotechnologies, including electrical, mechanical and electromechanical properties and devices, chemical functionalization, surface chemistry and photochemistry, molecular sensors, and interfacing with moderate biological systems.Carbon nanotubes are used in many applications due to their unique electrical, mechanical, optical, thermal, and other properties. Conductive and high-strength composite materials, energy saving and energy conversion devices, sensors, visualization of field emissions and sources of radiation, means for storing hydrogen, and nanoscale semiconductor devices, probes, and interconnections are some of the many applications of carbon nanotubes.