Product Description
A classroom-tested introduction to integrated and fiber optics

This text offers an in-depth treatment of integrated and fiber optics, providing graduate students, engineers, and scientists with a solid foundation of the principles, capabilities, uses, and limitations of guided-wave optic devices and systems. In addition to the transmission properties of dielectric waveguides and optical fibers, this book covers the principles of directional couplers, guided-wave gratings, arrayed-waveguide gratings, and fiber optic polarization components.

The material is fully classroom-tested and carefully structured to help readers grasp concepts quickly and apply their knowledge to solving problems. Following an overview, including important nomenclature and notations, the text investigates three major topics:

• Integrated optics
• Fiber optics
• Pulse evolution and broadening in optical waveguides

Each chapter starts with basic principles and gradually builds to more advanced concepts and applications. Compelling reasons for including each topic are given, detailed explanations of each concept are provided, and steps for each derivation are carefully set forth. Readers learn how to solve complex problems using physical concepts and simplified mathematics.

Illustrations throughout the text aid in understanding key concepts, while problems at the end of each chapter test the readers' grasp of the material.

The author has designed the text for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students in physics and electrical and computer engineering, and scientists. Each chapter is self-contained, enabling instructors to choose a subset of topics to match their particular course needs. Researchers and practitioners can also use the text as a self-study guide to gain a better understanding of photonic and fiber optic devices and systems. ... Read more

Product Description
This volumecontains a variety of topics of interest to nearly all optical engineers. Leading authors provide chapters detailing optical modeling, fast Fourier transforms and their applications, basic wavefront aberration theory, the use of spot diagrams for interpretating aberrations, opto-mechanical design, and waveguide gratings. While the chapters are written so a novice in the field can gain an understanding, enough advanced material is included to be of interest to an expert. ... Read more

Product Description
The abstract art movement Op art came to international attention in the mid-1960s, an era of global social and technological change. The movement, which placed emphasis on viewer perception by exploring optical effects in painting, sculpture and light installation, quickly gained in popularity but met with considerable criticism. This important book, published to accompany the first major Op art exhibition by an American museum in twenty-five years, examines the development of the movement, its cultural context and its widespread impact on advertising, fashion and film-making. Featuring visually stunning works by such key figures as Josef Albers, Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely, Optic Nerve offers a timely reappraisal of this highly influential movement.

The first comprehensive survey of Op art to be published for more than thirty years
Features over 200 spectacular images, including the most significant works of this revolutionary artistic movement
Will appeal to anyone interested in modern painting and sculpture ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Head Tripping: Questioning the Reality of Perception
Optic Nerve is a superb, vivid history of a major movement in art, richly illustrated with large color photographs that will amaze, educate, and bring wonder to your life. So rooted in optic neuroscience, cognition, and perceptive psychology, Op Art has also a philosophical underpinning. It is not all about optical illusions of spatial relationships and colored afterimages or virtual shadings from intense contrasting hues. Indeed, as the book demonstates, the artistic examination of color and line relationships goes back to the early 19th century. But it all came together in the zeitgeist of the 1960s cultural revolution, when studies of mind and perception and personal explorations of alternative realities became a hallmark. While Escher's playful drawings and Magritte's surrealism were popular among hippies, enhanced by ultra-violet light and phosphorescent paint reproductions, academics were drawn more toward Op Art artists, whose brief biosketches are provided at the end of the book. Here, Op Art expanded from the Bauhus lessons of Klee and Kandinsky. With some 250 illustrations, we examine the wide variety of forms of this movement and see how it entered mainstream commerce. As an artist myself who has dabbled in illusions as part of my explorations, I found this book to be both beautiful and validating. It is a good read too.

An Op Art retrospective
The publication of "Optic Nerve" was designed to coincide with the exhibition of Op Art at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio last year.As such it is a retrospective on a curious cultural phenomenon that those of us who came of age in the sixties remember well.It was a time of irreverence in many ways as many Americans protested against the war in Vietnam and against racial inequality at home.Op Art, in its kinship with Pop Art, represented an anti-establishment movement in the art world that was not entirely welcome.With the opening of "The Responsive Eye" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965, Op Art came of age.The response of the public was something close to sensational, although the critics were not so thrilled.Almost immediately artifacts of culture, from the interiors of buildings to the covers of magazines, to rock band t-shirts, to advertisements, even to women's dresses, became emblazoned with examples of optic art, or perhaps more properly, "perceptual abstraction."

In a sense Op Art is anti-art in that the artist, instead of helping the viewer to make sense of the painting (which is of course an illusion, as all painting is an illusion), does exactly the opposite by attempting to confuse the eye, and ultimately the mind of the viewer.Instead of expression, in Op Art we have sensation.Dave Hickey, who wrote the introductory chapter entitled "Trying to See What We Can Never Know" believes that "the ramifications of psychedelic drugs, sexual liberation, generational autonomy, optical art, and digital culture have each contributed to a contemporary model of consciousness conceived as a `limited-capacity system.'" (p. 11)In other words, Op Art reminds us that there is lot going on in our heads that we know nothing about.Considering the way our eyes and our mind work together to make sense of the world, this is abundantly true.Op Art seeks to trick the eyes and the mind in such a way as to bring this truth to our consciousness.

While Op Art has its roots in abstract expressionism, and is allied to Pop Art, minimalism, and kinetic art, it differs in many ways.Pop Art emphasizes the mundane aspects of our culture with an eye to satire or at least revelation; but Op Art is only interested in the play between the eye and the mind.Op Art differs from Minimal Art in that it does not emphasize form, and is in fact anti-form.Joe Houston, who wrote the text that accompanies the artwork, says that Op Art differs from kinetic art in that "Op achieved its dynamic impact with potential, not actual, movement, implied primarily in two dimensions." (p. 19)

There are photos of 250 paintings in the book in full color (or black and white as the case may be!) by many artists including the most well known in the movement, including Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, Karl Benjamin, etc., as well as reproductions of some works by allied or precursor artists including Andy Warhol, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.Additionally artwork from the covers of Time and Life magazines from the 1960s, photos of women in Op Art dresses, photos of artists, and of the interiors of exhibition halls recall the sixties milieu when Op Art was in full flower--uh, as it were.

As is true with most forms, a true appreciation of the Op paintings presented here cannot be achieved by seeing them in the pages of a book at less--sometimes considerably less--than actual size.Furthermore, the angle at which a painting is viewed and the ambient lighting, can affect the viewer's experience.As I was reading the text on page 19, the two circles, one black and the other blue, of Alexander Liberman's "Continuous on Red" began to flash back and forth distractingly as my eyes inadvertently viewed them from the side.Viewing the painting head on did not have this affect.I suspect that in a gallery, as one walks away from "Continuous on Red" the painting will call the viewer back.

A nice feature of the book is "Manifestos" from various artists in which they express what Op is all about from their unique perspective.Also interesting are the biographies of the artists (some with photos of the artist) beginning on page 175.There is a general bibliography and mentions of works specific to individual artists.

All in all this is an excellent and very attractive book.I have just one small complaint.I wish that more text about the specific paintings had been included.I would like to have read some explanation of what might have been the artist's intent, or something about the effect the artist was trying to achieve in a particular work.

For readers interested in the optical illusions that inspired Op Art, I recommend The Great Book of Optical Illusions (2002) by Al Seckel.See my review at Amazon.

More than just a catalog of some 250 works by key Op Artists in the field
Joe Houston's OPTIC NERVE: PERCEPTUAL ART OF THE 1960S covers 'Op Art' or the fine art of perceptual abstraction, and is published to accompany the first major exhibition of Op Art in over twenty years. More than just a catalog of some 250 works by key Op Artists in the field, though - packing in color images on nearly every page - OPTIC NERVE also provides a critical and biographical foundation for reference, making it a pick art libraries will want. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides a comprehensive discussion of the statistical properties of speckle, as well as detailed coverage of its role in applications. Some of the applications discussed include speckle in astronomy, speckle in the eye, speckle in projection displays, speckle in coherence tomography, speckle in lithography, speckle in waveguides (modal noise), speckle in optical radar detection, and speckle in metrology.This book is aimed at graduate students and professionals working in a wide variety of fields. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Six stars really
Another phenomenal book from Joe Goodman - everything you really need to know about Speckle presented with crystal clarity, as usual.Simply superb. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive treatment of nonlinear optics emphasizing physical concepts and the relationhip between theory and experiment. Systematically describes a number of sub-topics in the field. Up-to-date references and numerous illustrations will help both beginners and practitioners interested in gaining a more thorough understanding of the subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best nonlinear optics book with physics insight
This book is best for physics students.Boyd's book is a good starting point.Shen's book offers a lot more physics insight.

Not for nonexpert but nevertheless a useful book
This book can be best appreciated when one already has a basic understanding of nonlinear optics, and wants to go beyond some hand waving pictures to delve into maths and subtleties behind the phenomena. That is, if you are just a nonexpert who wants to know what nonlinear optics is, this book might not be the one for you. But if you are a serious physics student who works in nonlinear optics or atomic physics, it's a good reference book.

This is not the book to learn nonlinear optics from
This book is simply not very helpful as a textbook or as a reference.Shen seems to want to create a catalog of all nonlinear phenomena.He gives both too much (mathematical) and too little (practical) information on each subject.The mathematics does not really go beyond Bloembergen'slittle book. ... Read more

Product Description
Quantum mechanics does away with the distinction between particles and waves, and one of the more interesting implications of the wave/particle duality - the discovery that atoms may be manipulated in ways analogous to the manipulation of light with lenses and mirrors - has formed the basis for the relatively new field of atom optics. Pierre Meystre's Atom Optics is the first book entirely devoted to this exciting area of research. Reference links to the leading journals in the field, links to research sites, graphics, and updates can be found online. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Nice book
Not with complicated theory, but sufficient to understand the phenomena and applications. One word: practical. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides a unified treatment of the characteristics of telescopes of all types, both those whose performance is set by geometrical aberrations and the effect of the atmosphere, and those diffraction-limited telescopes designed for observations from above the atmosphere. The emphasis throughout is on basic principles, such as Fermat's principle, and their application to optical systems specifically designed to image distant celestial sources.
The book also contains thorough discussions of the principles underlying all spectroscopic instrumentation, with special emphasis on grating instruments used with telescopes. An introduction to adaptive optics provides the needed background for further inquiry into this rapidly developing area.



* Geometrical aberration theory based on Fermat's principle
* Diffraction theory and transfer function approach to near-perfect telescopes
* Thorough discussion of 2-mirror telescopes, including misalignments
* Basic principles of spectrometry; grating and echelle instruments
* Schmidt and other catadioptric telescopes
* Principles of adaptive optics
* Over 220 figures and nearly 90 summary tables ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not one of the better Textbooks I've read
I'm afraid I can't give this book a very good review.The title should be "Mathematical Analyst of Telescope Aberrations."Even then, unless you are in the process of designing either a Cassegrain Telescope or a Schmidt Camera, the book does little except tell you what papers to consult.For my current project of building a lens based camera for my university's telescope, I found maybe 30 pages out of the entire book which were relevent.And John David Jackson's "Classical Electrodynamics did a better job of explaining most of those topics.

Good book that allows one to understand optical aberrations.
Good, comprehensive book that explains both basics and advanced aspects of optics used in telescopes. Most of the book focuses on optical aberrations and shows how to construct various telescopes and other optical devices like spectrographs with minimized coma, astigmatizm or spherical aberration. The book has chapters about spectrographs, CCDs and active optics which may be helpful to anyone who considers to add such elements to his/her telescope.

Good
Talk a lot about instrument. I think it's very helpful for those who want to know how telescope work. But little about data processing.

Good for Spectrometer Optics
This book has some unique features. It treats the subject mattercarefully, and in detail. The content is very useful. The treatment ofspectrometer optics is particularly useful. The weakness of the book isthat the diagrams are not well done, and the notation can be confusing.Overall, a useful book. ... Read more

Product Description
NOW UPDATED—THE HIGHLY PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ANALYZING LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS

The subject of liquid crystal displays has vigorously evolved into an exciting interdisciplinary field of research and development, involving optics, materials, and electronics. Updated to reflect recent advances, the Second Edition of Optics of Liquid Crystal Displays now offers a broader, more comprehensive discussion on the fundamentals of display systems and teaches readers how to analyze and design new components and subsystems for LCDs. New features of this edition include:

• Discussion of the dynamics of molecular reorientation

• Expanded information of the method of Poincaré sphere in various optical components, including achromatic wave plates and compensators

• Neutral and negative Biaxial thin films for compensators

• Circular polarizers and anti-reflection coatings

• The introduction of wide field-of-view wave plates and filters

• Comprehensive coverage of VA-LCD and IPS-LCD

• Additional numerical examples

This updated edition is intended as a textbook for students in electrical engineering and applied physics, as well as a reference book for engineers and scientists working in the area of research and development of display technologies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A very helpfull and readable textbook
A few fundamental principles like Maxwell's equations are used in the book to develop successful theory. Thorough examples help to apply the theory to very broad range of actual technological problems of modern opticalscience. It makes the book of great use to graduate students and to anyonehaving good mathematical background. ... Read more

Product Description

This book is thorough, up to date, and provides comprehensive and intuitive introduction to fiber optics. With mathematics limited to basic algebra, the book takes a practical approach to understanding fiber optics. It thoroughly describes important concepts for the novice, building up an understanding of optical fibers, their properties, light sources and detectors, and fiber-optic components and their application in fiber-optic systems. It covers the basics of fiber-optic measurement and troubleshooting. Ideal for technicians, entry-level engineers, and other nonspecialists.

Customer Reviews (13)

Good content, but...
This book is good for learning about Fiber Optics for a beginner. My disappointment comes mostly from Amazon. The book arrived with a torn cover and damaged binding. The pages inside look as though they were photo copied. Not the quality I expected for $131. I'd return it but I need it for a class that I'm currently taking. Skip buying this from Amazon directly and try one of the private sellers.

Cisco Optical Instructor
GREAT BOOK!Used a lot of the principles in my lectures.

A good book for starters
A very good starting point. Allows you space to build on what you read.

A good book for learning the Fiber Optics.
The fourth edition of this book is a product of many years of practical experience and trials of previous editions. I always wondered if more information than just reader's level as beginner, intermediate and advanced should be printed on the technical books. What you are looking for in a book and level of satisfaction depends on your involvement in that area of expertise. Please stay with me while I try my thinking on this book. If you are already an expert working in Optical Engineering field this book is not a research paper. Probably you need Warren J. Smith's book Modern Optical Engineering. If you are a student learning about Fiber Optics this book has enough information and practice questions to be qualified as a good text book, but may not be enough for your Graduate School research thesis. If you are like me, a practicing Network Engineer or technician, this book provides everything you need to know and more than enough information. It is written in an easy to understand style, and chapters are in a perfect sequence and length. That's why I am rating it 5 Stars.

Is C.H.L really Jeff Hecht?
C.H.L.'s attempt to justify Hecht's misinformation is a bit weak

1.The G.711 recommendation is probably 30+ years old and the US telephone companies have adhered to it since ratification.In fact, G.711 simply confirmed what the US and European companies were already doing so the US telephone companies were using 64Kbps for voice even before G.711.

2.Packet switching has nothing (or very little) to do with voice.Voice is carried via circuit switched channels.

3.When voice is carried via a digital channel in the US (at 64Kbps, I might add), one form of signaling "steals" the low order bit of an 8 bit voice sample of each sixth sample of the 24 channels on a DS-1 (AKA T-1) circuit.Because of this, a data channel carried over one of these 64Kbps channels is only able to provide 56Kbps.Maybe this is where Hecht went wrong.

But don't buy or not buy Hecht's book based on this one error (in the big scheme of things it's fairly small).The real problem with the book is that it just doesn't do a jood job of explaining optical communications.A better defense of Hecht's book might be that Hecht was attempting to write about all of the uses of optical fiber and not just communications. ... Read more

Product Description
The most up-to-date book available on the physics of photonic devices

This new edition of Physics of Photonic Devices incorporates significant advancements in the field of photonics that have occurred since publication of the first edition (Physics of Optoelectronic Devices). New topics covered include a brief history of the invention of semiconductor lasers, the Lorentz dipole method and metal plasmas, matrix optics, surface plasma waveguides, optical ring resonators, integrated electroabsorption modulator-lasers, and solar cells. It also introduces exciting new fields of research such as: surface plasmonics and micro-ring resonators; the theory of optical gain and absorption in quantum dots and quantum wires and their applications in semiconductor lasers; and novel microcavity and photonic crystal lasers, quantum-cascade lasers, and GaN blue-green lasers within the context of advanced semiconductor lasers.

Physics of Photonic Devices, Second Edition presents novel information that is not yet available in book form elsewhere. Many problem sets have been updated, the answers to which are available in an all-new Solutions Manual for instructors. Comprehensive, timely, and practical, Physics of Photonic Devices is an invaluable textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in photonics and an indispensable tool for researchers working in this rapidly growing field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

God Awful
This is by far the worst book I have had the displeasure of cracking open. The only place this belongs is the bathroom floor, just in case you run out of toilet paper and there are no bibles laying around. Despite his heavy accent, Chuang made no spelling errors in his book. This is because the book doesn't actually use any words besides those in the title. The text is merely a 709 page long hard-bound equation sheet. If you have the misfortune of needing thisturd of a book for a class I suggest you leave it alone and instead rely on Kittel, Liu, and Singh. Keep in mind though that although Singh's book is the closest thing to a readable account of the physics of optoelectronic devices, it is still for the most part a crappy read and is riddled with typos.

A good guide in optoelectronics
From the basic concepts and physics to the branches of optical processes, the book gave a clear, specific and coherent view in optoelectronics, together with a multitude of useful problems.

Very detailed, Nice section on calculating strain effects...
I have mainly used this book to help me understand how to incorporate the effects of tensile and compressive strain in quantum well calculations. It does this very clearly. It covers many other topics, but the main points are: 1) This is a graduate-level text probably unsuitable as a first exposure to this area for undergraduates; and 2) the author is not afraid of diving into the technical nitty-gritty of the areas he covers. He does a great job of explaining concepts in a relatively short amount of text (i.e. it is terse, yet understandable for the most part) and he provides good detail, including much data on III-V material properties. As another example, it gives a complete but condensed discussion of the Marcatili and effective index approximations for calculating single mode cutoffs in rectangular dielectric waveguides for lasers or PICs. This is a great reference book for those who actually want to calculate or design something without using a canned program.

good book, but...
First of all, I want to express regret that there is no excellent book covering the area of theory, fabrication, characterization of semiconductor lasers/devices. Some are too easy and some are too difficult. The symbols and convention are not unified at all, even simple "rate equations" have a lot of versions.

Overall, this book is good for graduate students. A good companion for advanced study. However, I don't like too many equations with only few explanations. By the way, on the small signal analysis of laser modulation, I recommend Coldren's "Diode lasers and photonic integrated circuits". Rate equations there make more sense to me. If you find it hard to understand, maybe try Parker's "Physics of Optoelectronics", an 5-star book. The strength of this book is its completeness, especially on optics, quantum mechanics and electromagnetics.

Excellent book for basic physics of optoelectronics
The book starts with the very basic equations of electromagnetic and semiconductor theory and builds up to more advanced topics such as band structure calculations for semiconductors including strained quantum wells,various optical transitions processes, optical absorption spectra, etc.Inaddition, the book covers the basic theory of laser cavity resonance andthis includes the distributed feedback laser theory.Various waveguide,electro-optical modulators and photodetector principles are also treated inclear detail.The book brings you up to the level of which the researchpapers in the optoelectronic area has been written. ... Read more

Product Description
The advent of lasers in the 1960s led to the development of many new fields in optical physics. This book is a systematic treatment of one of these fields--the broad area that deals with the coherence and fluctuation of light. The authors begin with a review of probability theory and random processes, and follow this with a thorough discussion of optical coherence theory within the framework of classical optics.They next treat the theory of photoelectric detection of light and photoelectric correlation.They then discuss in some detail quantum systems and effects.The book closes with two chapters devoted to laser theory and one on the quantum theory of nonlinear optics.The sound introduction to coherence theory and the quantum nature of light and the chapter-end exercises will appeal to graduate students and newcomers to the field. Researchers will find much of interest in the new results on coherence-induced spectral line shifts, nonclassical states of light, higher-order squeezing, and quantum effects of down-conversion. Written by two of the world's most highly regarded optical physicists, this book is required reading of all physicists and engineers working in optics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Big Book of Quantum Optics
This is the definitive book on Quantum Optics, and contains sections on semi-classical theory, quantum field theory, and lots of other things.Unfortunately, it does not cover research after the mid-1990s.

Bottom Line:This is the best reference book in the field of plain old Quantum Optics.

Very well writen book on Quantum Optics
This book is a self contained one on Quantum Optics. It gives systematic treatment of nearly very aspects of this field, good mathematical description of some methods and idea and even some historical developments of the topics. Though it seems a huge volume, it is really worth reading for EVERY beginner in this field. With this book, one does not need to look for other references to understand the topics.

A good reference for quantum optics research
This book is like an encyclopedia of quantum optics.Its a good book to have on your shelf as a reference but to learn the subject, its a little overwhelming. ... Read more

Product Description
In this third edition of his best-selling book, D.A. Krohn has added three new chapters and updated eight others to give the reader an overall background in fiber optic sensors and new information on market opportunities and wavelength-modulated sensors.

This third edition is a must have for product design engineers, system design engineers, plant engineering/maintenance staff, and anyone involved in measurement, testing, quality, and standards.

Contents: Fiber Optic Fundamentals; Intensity-Modulated Sensors; Phase-Modulated Sensors; Wavelength-Modulated Sensors; Digital Switches and Counters; Displacement Sensors Temperature Sensors; Pressure Sensors; Flow Sensors; Level Sensors; Magnetic and Electric field Sensors; Chemical Analysis; Rotation Rate Sensors (Gyroscopes); Distributed Sensing Systems; Smart Skins and Structures; Market Opportunities. ... Read more

Product Description

The most comprehensive and up-to-date optics resource available

Prepared under the auspices of the Optical Society of America, the five carefully architected and cross-referenced volumes of the Handbook of Optics, Third Edition, contain everything a student, scientist, or engineer requires to actively work in the field. From the design of complex optical systems to world-class research and development methods, this definitive publication provides unparalleled access to the fundamentals of the discipline and its greatest minds.

Individual chapters are written by the world's most renowned experts who explain, illustrate, and solve the entire field of optics. Each volume contains a complete chapter listing for the entire Handbook, extensive chapter glossaries, and a wealth of references. This pioneering work offers unprecedented coverage of optics data, techniques, and applications.

Volume I covers geometrical and physical optics, polarized light, components, and instruments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Starts from the beginning, but actually covers some good distance
Like another reviewer stated, the authors here assume you know nothing about optics. Unlike Hecht's text on the subject they do not start out with wave theory, but instead start with lenses in part one and progress to wave optics in part two. When the authors finally get around to wave optics, they explain wave theory to the point of distraction - an entire chapter actually. Finally, part three discusses quantum optics, with chapters on lasers, holography, and the dual nature of light.

The explanations here are largely prose. There is not much in the way of derivations if that is what you are looking for. Equations are presented, explained, and used in mathematical examples but not derived. The book is well-illustrated. Each chapter has a set of largely numerical problems with answers provided for the odd numbered problems. This is a great text for an undergraduate, particularly for engineers that are trying to approach the problem of learning optics - I say that because that is my background, and I appreciate the emphasis on problem solving coupled with solid explanations. Physicists will probably continue to prefer Hecht.

The only thing I can really complain about is the sky-high price. I suggest looking for used copies, since if you are willing to live with such minor inconveniences as a crease in the cover and coffee stains on one corner that do not obscure the text, you can find usable copies out there for thirty dollars, as I did. The table of contents is not included in the product description, so I show that next:

PART 1 - GEOMETRICAL OPTICS
1. Properties of Light
2. Plane Surfaces and Prisms
3. Spherical Surfaces
4. Thin Lenses
5. Thick Lenses
6. Spherical Mirrors
7. The Effects of Stops
8. Ray Tracing
9. Lens Aberrations
10. Optical Instruments

PART 2 - WAVE OPTICS
11. Vibrations and Waves
12. The Superposition of Waves
13. Interference of two Beams of Light
14. Interference Involving Multiple Reflections
15. Fraunhoffer Diffraction by a Single Opening
16. The Double Slit
17. The Diffraction Grating
18. Fresnel Diffraction
19. The Speed of Light
20. The Electromagnetic Character of Light
21. Sources of Light and Their Spectra
22. Absorption and Scattering
23. Dispersion
24. The Polarization of Light
25. Reflection
26. Double Refraction
27. Interference of Polarized Light
28. Optical Activity and Modern Wave Optics

PART 3 - QUANTUM OPTICS
29. Light Quanta and their Origin
30. Lasers
31. Holography
32. Magneto-Optics and Electro-Optics
33. The Dual Nature of Light

Introductory optics textbook
Part 1: Geometrical Optics. Part II: Physical Optics. Part III: Quantum Optics.

This book has stood the test of time as one of the classic textbooks of physics. It ranks up there with Reitz, Milford & Christy ("Foundations of Electromagnetic Theory") and Symon ("Mechanics") as one of the most-used textbooks in the upper-division undergraduate physics curriculum, and for very good reasons. While not detailed enough for graduate-level treatments (the standard in this case is Born and Wolf, "Principles of Optics"), as its title states, "Fundamentals of Optics" starts with the assumption that the reader knows absolutely nothing about optics and goes from there. Without getting bogged down in daunting mathematics (see "Principles of Optics" for that!), "Fundamentals of Optics" covers ALL of the main points of optics in a very consistently clear and concise manner, so much so that, after twenty years in the business of optical engineering, this book is STILL the first book I go to when I need to review a fundamental optical phenomenon (for actual optical engineering, I still rely on Smith, "Modern Optical Engineering"). Interestingly, some of the more complex aspects of Optics are handled better as chapters in "Fundamentals of Optics" than they are in whole books devoted to these topics! For example, the chapters in "Fundamentals of Optics" that deal with crystal optics and birefringence are pretty much the best treatments that actually explain the phenomenology without getting lost in the finer details.

The best general book on optics
This book has stood the test of time as one of the classic textbooks of physics.It ranks up there with Reitz, Milford & Christy ("Foundations of Electromagnetic Theory") and Symon ("Mechanics") as one of the most-used textbooks in the upper-division undergraduate physics curriculum, and for very good reasons.While not detailed enough for graduate-level treatments (the standard in this case is Born and Wolf, "Principles of Optics"), as its title states, "Fundamentals of Optics" starts with the assumption that the reader knows absolutely nothing about optics and goes from there.Without getting bogged down in daunting mathematics (see "Principles of Optics" for that!), "Fundamentals of Optics" covers ALL of the main points of optics in a very consistently clear and concise manner, so much so that, after twenty years in the business of optical engineering, this book is STILL the first book I go to when I need to review a fundamental optical phenomenon (for actual optical engineering, I still rely on Smith, "Modern Optical Engineering").Interestingly, some of the more complex aspects of Optics are handled better as chapters in "Fundamentals of Optics" than they are in whole books devoted to these topics!For example, the chapters in "Fundamentals of Optics" that deal with crystal optics and birefringence are pretty much the best treatments that I have ever found that actually explain the phenomenology without getting lost in the finer details.I refer to these chapters all the time in my work with solid-state lasers.

This is a great book, and you won't regret owning it.

A good basic book on optics
I had first read the book in college (Purdue).I was a physics major.It is a good basic book about optics.I now have a ten year old asking questions, and I use the book as a reference to explain things to my son. My copy of the book is the third edition.I am purchaseing the fourthedition because it contains the topic of Scherlerion optics.Sorry for themisspellings.

It's a good background in Optics.
This is a good book. It provides me the basic background in optical engineering. Actually, this book belongs to my advisor. He gave me to read and understand the basic idea of optics and it works. Not only did I getthe basic idea of this kind of field, but I also have some advanced ideashow to deal with Optic in reality. Someone may say that this book is tooeasy for him/her, but would you think about it a little bit that how youcould achieve something without the basic idea? ... Read more

Product Description
If you want top grades and thorough understanding of beginning physics, this powerful study tool is the best tutor you can have! It takes you step-by-step through the subject and gives you accompanying related problems with fully worked solutions. You also get hundreds of additional problems to solve on your own, working at your own speed. Famous for their clarity, wealth of illustrations and examples, and lack of dreary minutie, SchaumOs Outlines have sold more than 30 million copies worldwideNand this guide will show you why! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Better tutor than my professor
I had a very uninspired professor that was mad at life and refused to explain concepts clearly. He would yell at us alot. Anyway I bought this book to prepare myself for exams and engineering certifications that require you to know Modern Physics and related concepts. BIG HELP!

A Big Help in your Modern Physics Course
Physics 212 (Modern Physics) is a required course for Aerospace Engineering Students at KFUPM University in Saudi Arabia. I bought this book instead of Schaum's Outline of Modern Physics (ISBN 0070248303) as it was out of print when I needed to buy it. Only 107 out of 527 pages of this book, which I bought, covers the chapters related to modern physics. Therefore, it does not, to my way of thinking, worth to buy it if Schaum's Outline of Modern Physics (ISBN 0070248303) is on stock. However, if this book, which I did not buy, is out of print. Then I have got another talk.

Schaum's outline Beginning physics II: waves, electromagnetism, optics, and modern physics explains modern physics concepts very well indeed.More importantly, it solves problems clearly. Moreover, it helped me a lot in doing my homeworks problems quickly. Finally, it has a lot of solved problems of different ideas that I did not find in the textbook I used for this course, which was Modern Physics (ISBN 0030015472).

I strongly believe that you can make use of this book not only in your modern physics, but also in freshman physics courses as it covers topics such as waves and electromagnetism, which I had already studied in my freshman year physics courses. So, this book could be helpful for you inmore than two physics courses and, in that case, you will hit two birds with one stone if you buy this book. In addition, it is possible that you find Schaum's Outline of Modern Physics (ISBN 0070248303) to be not good. Then, in that event, you know the alternative: Make a beeline to this book.

(Dear readers: Please note that I have rated only the modern physics chapters of this book). ... Read more

Product Description
Quantum optics has witnessed significant theoretical and experimental developments in recent years. This book provides an in-depth and wide-ranging introduction to the subject, emphasizing throughout the basic principles and their applications. The book begins by developing the basic tools of quantum optics, and goes on to show the application of these tools in a variety of quantum optical systems, including lasing without inversion, squeezed states, and atom optics. The final four chapters discuss quantum optical tests of the foundations of quantum mechanics, and particular aspects of measurement theory. Assuming only a background of standard quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory, and containing many problems and references, this book will be invaluable to graduate students of quantum optics, as well as to researchers in this field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

In a word, excellent!
This book is, in a word, excellent!! It places the reader on the cutting edge of science and technology, explains many of the more complicated topics in an easily understood manner, and takes the cookies off the top shelf that all might be able to eat them. Chapters are well thought out, organization of topics is great! A must have for any "serious" student in the field.

A helpful book, but far from easy.
Compared to Wolf and Mandel's tome "Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics", this book gives the reader a lighter job on math without him reading over 100 pages on probability theory and fourier transform. However, this book has two major drawbacks:

1. The author keeps refering to later chapters on some important concept. When I read the first two chapters, I have many undefined concept and unanswered questions, whose answer may be put in chapter 16! For those who are already familiar with this field, it may not be a problem. But a rookie may want a lucid and detailed introduction in the beginning.

2. Some calculation should be elaborated because the result is far from obvious.

Not an easy text for self study

I am a mathematician with extensive experience in electrodynamics and
quantum mechanics.I read this book to teach myself quantum optics.
Since I read it as a self-study text,
I will review it from that perspective.

I didn't find this to be a good pedagogical book.
It is the first quantum optics book that I read,
and I didn't get much out of it.
Thinking that perhaps the problem was inadequate background,
I then read from cover to cover Elementary Quantum Optics by Gerry and Knight.
Although there are some problems with the latter
which are addressed in a separate review,
it did make more sense.

With Gerry/Knight under my belt,
I returned to reread Scully/Zubairy.
It didn't make much more sense the second time than the first.

The presentation of Scully/Zubairy is often sloppy
and too diffuse.Like too many physics texts, it
doesn't always carefully define all its symbols, and
it frequently sneaks in important assumptions
without explicit mention.
It demands a lot of guesswork from the reader.

For example, Chapter 1 tells us that

"as we will discuss in [Chapter 4],
the probability of exciting an atom ...
is governed by [formula (1.5.12)]".

This is a crucial formula, one of the most important in the book.
If the reader turns ahead to Chapter 4,
he does reassuringly find it in equation (4.2.4).
The impression given is that it has somehow been derived
in the intervening 100-odd pages.
But it hasn't,
so far as I have been able to discover.

Is this crucial formula
a new assumption of quantum optics,
or does it somehow follow from
established quantum-mechanical principles?
The reader is left to guess.
Readers who are satisfied
to accept unmotivated statements on authority
may be happier with this book than
readers who seek a fundamental understanding of
the logical structure of the subject.

I was particularly interested in the
Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment treated in Chapter 4,
so I read that chapter particularly carefully.
Indeed I read it very carefully several times,
but I was forced to consult other sources
to understand this experiment.
I think that the text's treatment omits important,
non-obvious assumptions and contains some errors.
However, study of other sources finally convinced me that
the text's final result, equation (4.1.26),
is probably correct.
(Incidentally, I think that the treatment
of this important experiment in Gerry/Knight is also inadequate.)

Figure (4.6) which purports to be
a diagram of this experiment
contains a component which produces a "delay time",
but the text's analysis
never explains the purpose of this component.
From other sources I've learned that
the delay time is extremely important
for some variants of this experiment.
This is fairly typical of the text's haphazard approach.

Chapter 20 discusses a "quantum eraser" experiment whose
result is so startling that Scully and Zubairy
cite Jaynes as considering it
a paradox, a "violent irrationality"
(as Scully and Zubairy paraphrase Jaynes).
It certainly seems that way to me,
and I would very much like to understand this experiment better.

Scully and Zubairy never make clear
if this is an actual experiment which has been performed,
or a "thought experiment".
Surely the exposition of such remarkable claims should be more explicit.

They present a calculation which is claimed to
"resolve the 'Jaynes paradox'".
I was disappointed that I could not follow this calculation because
its exposition is far too vague.
In particular, they obtain their main result, equation (20.3.5),
under the assumption that "the interaction Hamiltonian... depends
on symmetric combinations of the field variables, so that only the symmetric
state ... will couple to the fields".
This might be convincing if they had ever defined their "interaction Hamiltonian",
but the reader is left to guess at which interaction Hamiltonian they might be using.

I cannot recommend this book for readers
who are not experts in quantum optics.
I cannot judge whether it might be useful to experts.

An excellent introduction!
This is the best introductory text on quantum optics that I've read.Its very clear and up to date.The only book that compares as far as clarity of presentation is Loudon's "Quantum Theory of Light" which is alittle out of date. This book is a must have for any grad. student in AMOphysics ! ... Read more

Product Description

This new and fully revised Fifth Edition of Fiber Optic Communications incorporates coverage of significant advances made in the fiber industry in recent years to present a comprehensive and in-depth introduction to the basics of communicating with optical fiber transmission lines. Readers will learn system design as well as operating principles, characteristics, and application of the components that comprise fiber-optic systems. New and expanded topics include Raman amplifier, erbium-doped waveguide amplifier, the arrayed waveguide grating, electroabsorption modulator, optical micro-electro-mechanical (MEMs) components, dispersion compensation, tunable light sources, tunable filters, optical time-division multiplexing, dense and course wavelength-division multiplexing, increased utilization of the optical spectrum, and emphasis on external modulation. Other topics include fiber lasers and optical amplifiers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes, dense wavelength-division multiplexing, fiber Bragg grating technology, new component descriptions (fiber attenuator, circulator, and polarization controller), new phenomena descriptions (polarization mode dispersion, mode-partition noise), and power penalty. Expanded discussions of additional topics include polarization effects in fiber systems, integrated optic components, practical fiber connectors and how to minimize reflections. For practicing design engineers concerned with the selection and application of components and with the design of applications systems. For professionals involved with fiber optics, including high-level engineering decision makers, project managers, technicians, marketing and sales personnel, and teachers.

Customer Reviews (8)

Quick Study onf Fiber Optics
I have read many books looking for quick information regarding fiber optic systems and this book is by far better than any others in terms of giving you the "need to know" basics and principles.I like how clearly the background information on optical is presented.Some other reviews have aptly pointed out:1)If you are a fiber-optics professional and want in depth treatment of specific issues, you may not find it here.However, if you are like most engineers and need to go from a 0 to 65% expert quickly for making decisions, this book is EXCELLENT.Better than others by far in terms of clarity!2)The background info on optical does assume you have had some basic physics including in order to breeze through it.It is still a good starting point even if you haven't.I actually understood some things better after reading this book versus what I remembered from EM/physics courses.A great book.

Good Book
This book has helped me with the basic information and tje advanced information that I needed.

Fiber Optic Communications by Palais
This is a good book for an introductory course in fiber optics for a B.S.E.E. program.

But if you are looking for an in depth description of fiber optics communication, then you should check out "Fiber Optic Communications" by John Senior, published by Prentice-Hall. And for an introduction to the fiber opticstheory without mathematical discussion, "Fiber Optic Communication: An applied approach" by A. Khan, published by Pearson Custom Publishing, is also a good introductory book for students in the telecommunications area.

It does not cover the basic understanding deep enough
If you are looking for a theoretical book concerning basic understanding of fiber optics and fiber optic communication, this is a good book for you. This book contains basic mathematics and physics concepts of the fiber optics. I think this book is suitable for researchers and anybody who is interested in the fiber optics from physics point of view.

But if you are looking for a basic understanding non-mathematical of fiber optics and fiber optic communication, this is definitely not a good book for you. I could say that this book is for graduate students only (toward their master or doctoral degree) with already quite strong understanding of theoretical light physics. If you are students with little or no understanding of such theory, I suggest that you look for other books.

This book covers a quite complete of basic understanding of fiber optics and fiber optic communications. Although this book is a good introduction toward mathematics and physics concepts, it does not cover the basic understanding deep enough. I could say that there are a lot of essential understanding were left unexplained. Like I said before that this book is perfect for somebody that has already quite strong understanding of theoretical light physics.

compare
I have two optical books on hand which is Understanding Fiber Optics and this one. For my own opinion, this one is more simple and understandable, good for anyone that graduate for a long time and forgot the basic theory. ... Read more