This book, written from an industrial vantage point, describes the characteristics, design, and operation of solid-state lasers. As the title implies, the emphasis is placed on the technical aspects of these systems rather than on theoretical concepts. Lengthy mathematicalderivationshavebeenavoidedbecausethetheoryisnottreatedasanend initself, butratherservestoexplaintheexperimentalresultsobservedinthelaboratory. However, there is suf?cient theoretical background provided in each chapter to make the book self-contained. Solid-State Laser Engineering is mainly intended for the practicing scientist or engineer who is interested in the design or use of solid-state lasers. The response from readers has shown that the comprehensive treatment of the subject makes the work useful also to students of laser physics who want to supplement their theoretical knowledgewiththeengineeringaspectsoflasers.Althoughnotwrittenintheformofa collegetext, thebookmightbeusedinanadvancedcollegecourseonlasertechnology. After a historical overview, the book starts with a review of the basic concepts of laser physics (Chap. 1). Analytical expressions of the threshold condition, gain, and output of laser oscillators are derived in Chap. 3. An oscillator followed by one or more ampli?ers is a common architecture in pulsed solid-state laser systems to boost output energy. Energy storage and gain of ampli?ers is discussed in Chap. 4. Four chapters deal with the basic subsystems of solid-state lasers. These are the active medium, the optical resonator, the pumping system, and the thermal mana- ment. Properties of solid-state laser hosts and active ions are reviewed in Chap.
Walter Koechner received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Technology in Vienna, Austria, in 1965. He has published numerous papers in the fields of solid-state lasers, optics and solid-state physics. Dr. Koechner is founder of Fibertek, Inc., a research company specializing in the design, development and production of advanced solid-state lasers, optical radars, and remote sensing systems.
