The Laser Guidebook

I wrote this book because it is something I long wanted to have on my
bookshelf. Several excellent textbooks describe the physics of lasers.
Handbooks tabulate laser lines reported in the scientific literature. But
I have never found any other book devoted to the functional
characteristics of commercial lasers—information vital to those of us
who work with lasers.

This book is intended both as a reference and a tutorial introduction
to the practical aspects of lasers. It cannot duplicate the in-depth
coverage of laser physics found in the best textbooks. However, the first
six chapters give an overview of lasers and the accessories used with
them that should help the reader new to the field make sense of the
chapters on specific lasers. The overall treatment is qualitative,
intended to give the reader the intuitive understanding of lasers
needed to put them to work.

Most chapters share a common structure to make reference use
easier. Laser types in wide use are described in the most detail,
including the characteristics of commercial devices. Readers looking for
a quick tabulation of commercial lasers should turn to the appendix,
which lists lasers by wavelength, and cites the relevant chapter where
more details can be found.

The impetus for this new edition was the impressive advances over
the past few years in many areas of laser technology, notably in
semiconductor, solid-state, free-electron and x-ray lasers. This edition
greatly expands the coverage of semiconductor lasers, reflecting their
growing importance in the field. Where progress is most rapid, the
chapters look at research developments which are likely to have an
impact on commercial laser technology during the lifetime of this
edition. It isn’t easy to keep up, and it sometimes seemed that
something new appeared each time I thought I had finished a
chapter—but that’s one thing that makes laser technology so
stimulating. An inevitable tradeoff of expanding the new coverage has
been reducing the space devoted to some older lasers, such as ruby,
which are being replaced for many applications.

Earlier, shorter versions of many chapters originally appeared in
Lasers & Applications magazine, now Lasers & Optronics, which also
has published excerpts. I am grateful to that magazine’s founding
publisher, Carole Black, for sharing my belief that this material would
be useful to the laser community. I also received much valuable help
from members of the magazine’s editorial staff, particularly Richard
Cunningham, Robert Clark, Breck Hitz, Jim Cavuoto, and invaluable
encouragement from some of the magazine’s readers. Comments on the
first edition have helped me fine-tune this version.

Many people have given graciously of their time to check for errors
and misunderstandings in earlier versions of these chapters, both in
the first edition and this one. Thanks particularly to Bob Anderson,
Steve Anderson, Stephanie Banks, Tony Bernhardt, Mark Boehm, Dan
Botez, Gerry Bricks, Joan Bromberg, Carl Burns, Evan Chicklis, Paul
Crosby, Brian Davis, Mark Dowley, Gary Forrest, Horace Furumoto,
Bob Goldstein, John Grace, Tim Grey, Hans-Peter Geieneisen, Ken
German, Don Heller, Randy Heyler, Chuck Higgins, Jim Higgins, Dan
Hogan, Bill Hug, Steve Jarrett, Bill Jeffers, Tony Johnson, Joanne
LaCourse, Steve Lewellan, Andrew Kearsley, Paul Kenrick, Gary
Klauminzer, Tom Kugler, Phil LadenLa, Kurt Linden, Arlan Mantz,
Peter Moulton, Ed Neister, Ross Payne, Stephen Picarello, Bob Pitlak,
Dick Roemer, Bob Rudko, Ken Sample, Roger Sandwell, Mike Sasnett,
Dick Steppel, Jim Stimson, Tom Stockton, Tim VanSlambrouck, Bill
Vaughan, David Wall, Colin Webb, Sicco Westra, Dave Whitehouse,
Ben Woodward, Bill Young, and Peter Zory. Any mistakes that slipped
through are my fault, not theirs.

I also owe thanks to my editors at McGraw-Hill, Harry Helms, Roy
Mogilanski, Rich Krajewski, and Dennis Gleason for the first edition,
and Dan Gonneau and David Fogarty for the second. Finally, thanks to
my wife Lois for running innumerable errands and applying
encouragement when needed.

Jeff Hecht

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