Tunable Laser Optics, 2nd Edition

1

Introduction to Lasers

1.1 Introduction

Lasers are widely applied in academic, medical, industrial, and military research. They are also used beyond the boundary of research, in numerous engineering and manufacturing applications that continue to expand.

Optics principles and optical elements are applied to build laser resonators and to propagate laser radiation. Optical instruments are utilized to characterize laser emission and lasers have been incorporated into new optical instrumentation. This book focuses on the optics and optical principles needed to build lasers, the optical instrumentation necessary to characterize laser emission, and the laser-based optical instrumentation. The emphasis is on practical and utilitarian aspects of ...