"Multi-Wave Mixing Processes - From Ultrafast Polarization Beats to Electromagnetically Induced Transparency" discusses the interactions of efficient multi-wave mixing (MWM) processes enhanced by atomic coherence in multilevel atomic systems. It covers topics in five major areas: attosecond and femtosecond polarization beats of four-wave mixing (FWM) processes; heterodyne detection of FWM, six-wave mixing (SWM) and eight-wave mixing (EWM) processes; Raman and Rayleigh enhanced polarization beats; coexistence and interactions of MWM processes via electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT); multi-dressing MWM processes. The book is intended for researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Nonlinear Optics. Dr. Yanpeng Zhang is a professor at the Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University. Dr. Min Xiao is a professor of Physics at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, U.S.A.

Multi-wave mixing gives rise to new frequency components due to the interaction of light signals with a suitable nonlinear medium. In this book a systematic framework for the control of these processes is used to lead readers through a plethora of related effects and techniques.

"Coherent Control of Four-Wave Mixing" discusses the frequency, temporal and spatial domain interplays of four-wave mixing (FWM) processes induced by atomic coherence in multi-level atomic systems. It covers topics in five major areas: the ultrafast FWM polarization beats due to interactions between multi-color laser beams and multi-level media; coexisting Raman-Rayleigh-Brillouin-enhanced polarization beats due to color-locking noisy field correlations; FWM processes with different kinds of dual-dressed schemes in ultra-thin, micrometer and long atomic cells; temporal and spatial interference between FWM and six-wave mixing (SWM) signals in multi-level electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) media; spatial displacements and splitting of the probe and generated FWM beams, as well as the observations of gap soliton trains, vortex solitons, and stable multicomponent vector solitons in the FWM signals. The book is intended for scientists, researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Nonlinear Optics. Dr. Yanpeng Zhang is a professor and Zhiqiang Nie is a Ph. D. student at the Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Min Xiao is a professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, U.S.A.

Ob zur Oberflachenanalytik oder zur Oberflachenbearbeitung - die Einsatzgebiete von Lasern in der Materialwissenschaft werden standig erweitert. Dabei ablaufende Prozesse beschranken sich gelegentlich auf einfaches Erwarmen und Schmelzen, haufig finden jedoch kompliziertere Vorgange wie die Bildung von Plasma oder kollektive Anregungen statt. Verschiedenste Techniken, die zugehorigen physikalischen Grundlagen und alle wichtigen Prozesse beschreibt dieses Buch, wobei auch neueste Themen wie ultrakurze Laserpulse oder die nichtlineare Oberflachenspektroskpoie zur Sprache kommen. (05/99)

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

Photo-Excited Processes, Diagnostics and Applications covers the area of photo-excitation and processing of materials by photons from the basic principles and theories to applications, from IR to x-rays, from gas phase to liquid and solid phases. The various chapters give a wide spectral view of this developing field. Twelve leading groups worldwide set down to write this book during the past two years which include the most updated techniques used in their laboratories for investigating photo-excited processes and new applications. This book will be useful to scientists and engineers who have a strong interest in photo-assisted processes development for microelectronics and photonics.

Raman imaging has long been used to probe the chemical nature of a sample, providing information on molecular orientation, symmetry and structure with sub-micron spatial resolution. Recent technical developments have pushed the limits of micro-Raman microscopy, enabling the acquisition of Raman spectra with unprecedented speed, and opening a pathway to fast chemical imaging for many applications from material science and semiconductors to pharmaceutical drug development and cell biology, and even art and forensic science. The promise of tip-enhanced raman spectroscopy (TERS) and near-field techniques is pushing the envelope even further by breaking the limit of diffraction and enabling nano-Raman microscopy.