Fundamentals of Optical Waves and Lasers

Description

This book discusses light, its properties as an electromagnetic wave, interaction with matter, and laser as an optical device. The first part discussions include qualitative arguments such as pictorial representations of the wave dynamics and analogy to other oscillatory systems to facilitate an intuitive understanding of the topics. The second part reviews light-matter interaction. It introduces the light-matter interaction while introducing the particular behavior of light, known as the photon, reviewing various properties of light waves resulting from the interaction with matters including the propagation of light in media. The last two sections focus on the fundamentals of lasers and the practical uses of lasers, including several techniques to control the spatial and temporal characteristics of laser beams. Preface Contents 1 Review of Wave Dynamics 1.1 Oscillation and Wave 1.1.1 Spring–Mass Systems 1.1.2 Frequency Domain Expression 1.1.3 Oscillation to Wave 1.1.4 Sound Wave 1.2 Wave Equation and Solution 1.2.1 Compressive Wave Equation and Solution 1.2.2 Standing Wave and Traveling Wave 1.2.3 Three-Dimensional Compression Wave Equation 1.2.4 Transverse Mechanical Wave 1.3 Resonance 1.3.1 Resonance in Harmonic Oscillations 1.3.2 Resonance in Wave Dynamics 1.4 Big Picture of Electromagnetic Wave 2 Light as EM Wave 2.1 Maxwell's Equations 2.1.1 Gauss's Law 2.1.2 Electric Force 2.1.3 Electric Potential Energy and Potential 2.1.4 Electric Dipole and Interaction with Light 2.1.5 Ampère's Law with Maxwell's Term 2.1.6 Magnetic Force 2.1.7 Magnetic Dipole 2.1.8 Faraday's Law and Maxwell's Term as Lenz's Law 2.2 Wave Equation and Solutions 2.2.1 Wave Dynamics of Electromagnetic Fields 2.2.2 Pictorial Explanation of Electromagnetic Waves 2.2.3 LC Oscillation as a Spring-like Mechanism 2.2.4 Electric Energy Density 2.2.5 Magnetic Energy Density 2.2.6 Algebraic Explanation of Electromagnetic Waves 2.2.7 Plane Wave Solutions 2.2.8 Light Wave as a Flow of Electromagnetic Energy 3 Light Propagation in Matter 3.1 Maxwell Equations in Matter 3.1.1 Electric Dipole and Polarization 3.1.2 Linear Medium 3.2 Light–Matter Interaction 3.2.1 Absorption of Light and Index of Refraction 3.2.2 Amplitude of Light Wave 3.2.3 Phase of Light Wave 3.2.4 Propagation of Poynting Vector 3.2.5 Polarization of Optical Waves 3.3 Light Propagation 3.3.1 Paraxial Wave Approximation and Helmholz Equation 3.3.2 Gaussian Optical Beam 3.3.3 Ray Matrix 3.3.4 Higher Order Hermit-Gaussian Modes 4 Properties of Light 4.1 Reflection and Refraction 4.1.1 Laws of Reflection and Refraction 4.1.2 Coefficients of Reflection and Refraction 4.1.3 External and Internal Reflection 4.2 Interference 4.2.1 Low Visibility in Interferometry 4.2.2 Interference of Multiple Light Rays and Speckles 4.2.3 Unwanted Interference 4.3 Dispersion 4.3.1 Group Velocity 4.3.2 Normal and Anomalous Dispersion 4.4 Diffraction 4.4.1 Diffraction by a Single Slit 4.4.2 Diffraction by a Circular Aperture and Diffraction Limit 4.4.3 Diffraction of a Laser Beam 5 Lasers 5.1 Laser in a Nutshell 5.2 Atomic Physics 5.2.1 Atomic Systems as a Resonator 5.2.2 Absorption and Emission 5.2.3 Optical Energy of Induced Transition 5.2.4 Optical Gain 5.2.5 Population Inversion and Rate Equation 5.3 Optical Resonator 5.3.1 Fabry-Perot Etalon 5.3.2 Passive Resonator 5.3.3 Active Resonator A Maxwell's Term B Management of Optical Polarization B.1 Half-Wave Plate B.2 Beam Attenuation B.3 Faraday Isolator C Interferometry C.1 Temperature/Concentration Measurement C.2 Precise Length Measurement D Solving Helmholtz Equation Index