Woodhead Publishing Handbook of Solid-State Lasers: Materials, Systems and Applications (Woodhead Publishing Series in Electronic and Optical Materials)

Solid-state lasers are widely used in medicine, industry, scientific research, military and remote sensing applications. They comprise a dominant part of the overall laser market. Solid-state lasers are fast replacing gas lasers for many applications. Solid-state lasers possess desirable characteristics such as good reliability and robustness, a high level of safety, user-friendliness, compact size and a low cost to performance ratio. They can be maintenance-free, suitable for high-volume production and they are becoming available in a wide range of wavelengths. Part one covers solid-state laser materials, part two discusses solid-state laser systems and part three looks at solid-state laser applications. Key Features: reviews the materials used in solid-state lasers; explores the principles of solid-state laser systems and their applications; considers defence and environmental applications. Contents: Part 1 Solid-state laser materials: Oxide laser crystals doped with rare earth and transition metal ions; Fluoride laser crystals; Oxide laser ceramics; Fluoride laser ceramics; Neodymium, Erbium and Ytterbium laser glasses; Nonlinear crystals for solid-state lasers. Part 2 Solid-state laser systems and their applications: Principles of solid-state lasers; Powering solid-state lasers; Operation regimes for solid-state lasers; Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) and neodymium-doped yttrium orthvanadate (Nd:YVO4); System sizing issues with diode-pumped quasi-three level materials; Neodymium doped lithium yttrium fluoride (Nd:YLiF4) lasers; Erbium (Er) glass lasers; Microchip lasers; Fiber lasers; Laser mid-infrared system with nonlinear optical conversion; Raman lasers; Cryogenic lasers; Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS); Surgical solid-state lasers and their clinical applications; Solid-state lasers (SSL) in defence programs; Environmental applications of solid-state lasers.