Glasses containing metallic nanoparticles exhibit very promising linear and nonlinear optical properties, mainly due to the surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) of the nanoparticles. The spectral position in the visible and near-infrared range and polarization dependence of the SPR are characteristically determined by the nanoparticles’ shapes. The focus of Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Engineered Metal-Glass Nanocomposites is the interaction of intense ultra-short laser pulses with glass containing silver nanoparticles embedded in soda-lime glass, and nanostructural modifications in metal-glass nanocomposites induced by such laser pulses. In order to provide a comprehensive physical picture of the processes leading to laser-induced persistent shape transformation of the nanoparticles, series of experimental results investigating the dependences of laser assisted shape modifications of nanoparticles with laser pulse intensity, excitation wavelength, temperature are considered. In addition, the resulting local optical dichroism allows producing very flexibly polarizing optical (sub-) microstructures with well-specified optical properties. The achieved considerable progress towards technological application of this technique, in particular also for long-term optical data storage, is also discussed.

Glass Nanocomposites: Synthesis, Properties and Applications provides the latest information on a rapidly growing field of specialized materials, bringing light to new research findings that include a growing number of technologies and applications. With this growth, a new need for deep understanding of the synthesis methods, composite structure, processing and application of glass nanocomposites has emerged. In the book, world renowned experts in the field, Professors Karmakar, Rademann, and Stepanov, fill the knowledge gap, building a bridge between the areas of nanoscience, photonics, and glass technology. The book covers the fundamentals, synthesis, processing, material properties, structure property correlation, interpretation thereof, characterization, and a wide range of applications of glass nanocomposites in many different devices and branches of technology. Recent developments and future directions of all types of glass nanocomposites, such as metal-glasses (e.g., metal nanowire composites, nanoglass-mesoporous silica composites), semiconductor-glass and ceramic-glass nanocomposites, as well as oxide and non-oxide glasses, are also covered in great depth. Each chapter is logically structured in order to increase coherence, with each including question sets as exercises for a deeper understanding of the text. - Provides comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge and literature review for both the oxide and non-oxide glass nanocomposites (i.e., practically all types of glass nanocomposites) - Reviews a wide range of synthesis types, properties, characterization, and applications of diverse types of glass nanocomposites - Presents future directions of glass nanocomposites for researchers and engineers, as well as question sets for use in university courses

Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies, Third Edition is a comprehensive guide to MEMS materials, technologies, and manufacturing with a particular emphasis on silicon as the most important starting material used in MEMS. The book explains the fundamentals, properties (mechanical, electrostatic, optical, etc.), materials selection, preparation, modeling, manufacturing, processing, system integration, measurement, and materials characterization techniques of MEMS structures. The third edition of this book provides an important up-to-date overview of the current and emerging technologies in MEMS making it a key reference for MEMS professionals, engineers, and researchers alike, and at the same time an essential education material for undergraduate and graduate students. - Provides comprehensive overview of leading-edge MEMS manufacturing technologies through the supply chain from silicon ingot growth to device fabrication and integration with sensor/actuator controlling circuits - Explains the properties, manufacturing, processing, measuring and modeling methods of MEMS structures - Reviews the current and future options for hermetic encapsulation and introduces how to utilize wafer level packaging and 3D integration technologies for package cost reduction and performance improvements - Geared towards practical applications presenting several modern MEMS devices including inertial sensors, microphones, pressure sensors and micromirrors

Shortly after the demonstration of the first laser, the most intensely studied theoretical topics dealt with laser-matter interactions. Many experiments were undertaken to clarify the major ablation mechanisms. At the same time, numerous theoretical studies, both analytical and numerical, were proposed to describe these interactions. These studies paved the ways toward the development of numerous laser applications, ranging from laser micro- and nanomachining to material analysis, nanoparticle and nanostructure formation, thin-film deposition, etc. Recently, more and more promising novel fields of laser applications have appeared, including biomedicine, catalysis, photovoltaic cells, etc. This book intends to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in laser ablation, from its fundamental mechanisms to novel applications.

This book offers a systematic overview of polymer joining and highlights the experimental and numerical work currently being pursued to devise possible strategies to overcome the technical issues. It also covers the fundamentals of polymers, the corresponding joining processes and related technologies. A chapter on the extrapolation of finite element analysis (FEA) for forecasting the deformation and temperature distribution during polymer joining is also included. Given its breadth of coverage, the book will be of great interest to researchers, engineers and practitioners whose work involves polymers.

Femtosecond laser micromachining of transparent material is a powerful and versatile technology. In fact, it can be applied to several materials. It is a maskless technology that allows rapid device prototyping, has intrinsic three-dimensional capabilities and can produce both photonic and microfluidic devices. For these reasons it is ideally suited for the fabrication of complex microsystems with unprecedented functionalities. The book is mainly focused on micromachining of transparent materials which, due to the nonlinear absorption mechanism of ultrashort pulses, allows unique three-dimensional capabilities and can be exploited for the fabrication of complex microsystems with unprecedented functionalities.This book presents an overview of the state of the art of this rapidly emerging topic with contributions from leading experts in the field, ranging from principles of nonlinear material modification to fabrication techniques and applications to photonics and optofluidics.

Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena, Second Edition serves as an introduction to the phenomena of ultra short laser pulses and describes how this technology can be used to examine problems in areas such as electromagnetism, optics, and quantum mechanics. Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena combines theoretical backgrounds and experimental techniques and will serve as a manual on designing and constructing femtosecond ("faster than electronics") systems or experiments from scratch. Beyond the simple optical system, the various sources of ultrashort pulses are presented, again with emphasis on the basic concepts and how they apply to the design of particular sources (dye lasers, solid state lasers, semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers, and sources based on frequency conversion). - Provides an easy to follow guide through "faster than electronics" probing and detection methods - THE manual on designing and constructing femtosecond systems and experiments - Discusses essential technology for applications in micro-machining, femtochemistry, and medical imaging