Principles Of Astrophotonics


Book Description

Astrophotonics is the application of photonics to astronomical instrumentation. It is a rapidly developing field that takes a new approach to instrumentation, in which the bulk optics of traditional instruments, such as lenses, mirrors, and diffraction gratings, are replaced with devices embedded within waveguides. This enables instruments that are smaller, modular, more stable, and most excitingly, with optical capabilities not possible with traditional instruments.Astrophotonics has reached a stage of development where many prototype devices are now being tested on sky, and the first fully-fledged instruments incorporating photonic devices are now being used for observations. The field is thus transitioning from one of instrumental research and development to mainstream observational astrophysics.This is the first book focussed on astrophotonics, written by three experts in the field. Beginning with a sound introduction to the basic principles of astrophotonics, it is intended to communicate the current status, potential, and future possibilities of astrophotonics to the wider astronomical, optics and photonics communities.




Principles of Astrophotonics


Book Description

Astrophotonics is the application of photonics to astronomical instrumentation. It is a rapidly developing field that takes a new approach to instrumentation, in which the bulk optics of traditional instruments, such as lenses, mirrors, and diffraction gratings, are replaced with devices embedded within waveguides. This enables instruments that are smaller, modular, more stable, and most excitingly, with optical capabilities not possible with traditional instruments. Astrophotonics has reached a stage of development where many prototype devices are now being tested on sky, and the first fully-fledged instruments incorporating photonic devices are now being used for observations. The field is thus transitioning from one of instrumental research and development to mainstream observational astrophysics. This is the first book focussed on astrophotonics, written by three experts in the field. Beginning with a sound introduction to the basic principles of astrophotonics, it is intended to communicate the current status, potential, and future possibilities of astrophotonics to the wider astronomical, optics and photonics communities.




An Introduction To Plasmonics


Book Description

What is a plasmon? Is it a particle, like a photon or a wave? Plasmonics stands at the frontier of condensed matter physics, which is the world of electrons, optics and of photons. Plasmonics is one of the most active fields in nanophotonics. This book begins by exploring the concepts behind waves, and the electromagnetic description of light when it interacts with metals; it dedicates every chapter thereafter to all aspects of plasmonics. In particular, the surface plasmon polariton wave is explained in full detail, as well as the localized surface plasmon resonance of metallic nanoparticles. The active research area opened by plasmonics, as well as its applications, are also briefly explained, such as advanced biosensing, subwavelength waveguiding, quantum plasmonics, nanoparticle-based cancer therapies, optical nano-antenna and high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.The book is adapted for graduate students and places a special emphasis on providing complete explanations of the fundamental concepts of plasmonics. Further, each of these concepts is illustrated with examples drawn from the most recent scientific literature. Each chapter ends with a set of exercises that will help the reader revise the concepts and go deeper into the world of plasmonics. More than 70 exercises are included.




Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics


Book Description

The field of ultrafast nonlinear optics is broad and multidisciplinary, and encompasses areas concerned with both the generation and measurement of ultrashort pulses of light, as well as those concerned with the applications of such pulses. Ultrashort pulses are extreme events – both in terms of their durations, and also the high peak powers which their short durations can facilitate. These extreme properties make them powerful experiment tools. On one hand, their ultrashort durations facilitate the probing and manipulation of matter on incredibly short timescales. On the other, their ultrashort durations can facilitate high peak powers which can drive highly nonlinear light-matter interaction processes. Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics covers a complete range of topics, both applied and fundamental in nature, within the area of ultrafast nonlinear optics. Chapters 1 to 4 are concerned with the generation and measurement of ultrashort pulses. Chapters 5 to 7 are concerned with fundamental applications of ultrashort pulses in metrology and quantum control. Chapters 8 and 9 are concerned with ultrafast nonlinear optics in optical fibres. Chapters 10 to 13 are concerned with the applications of ultrashort pulses in areas such as particle acceleration, microscopy, and micromachining. The chapters are aimed at graduate-student level and are intended to provide the student with an accessible, self-contained and comprehensive gateway into each subject.




Astrophotonics


Book Description

Written by well-known scientists in the field with vast experience in teaching astrophotonics, this is the first book to bridge astronomy and photonics for the benefit of developing new astronomical instrumentation. The textbook is clearly structured and covers four main methods relevant to observational astronomy: adaptive optics, photometry, interferometry and spectroscopy. It follows a progressive didactical path in photonics, starting from fundamentals of wave- and micro-optics and developing step-by-step the formalisms required for the treatment of optical multilayers, fiber optics and diffraction/holographic gratings. This approach allows students with a physics/engineering background to learn about the problematic of observational astronomy, while, conversely, students of astronomy are exposed to topics in modern photonics. Each chapter is divided into three main sections devoted to the discussion of astronomical concepts required to size an instrument designed for the particular method, the photonic concepts that most suit that instrument, and an analysis of existing, related photonic instruments. A set of exercises and a bibliography complete each chapter. Appendices include a short review of fundamentals of wave optics and photon detectors, plus an overview of project design and management using a real-life example of an astronomical instrumentation project. With its review of the latest instrumentation and techniques, this is invaluable for graduate and post-graduate students in astronomy, physics and optical engineering.




Optical 3D-Spectroscopy for Astronomy


Book Description

Over the last 50 years, a variety of techniques have been developed to add a third dimension to regular imaging, with an extended spectrum associated to every imaging pixel. Dubbed 3D spectroscopy from its data format, it is now widely used in the astrophysical domain, but also inter alia for atmospheric sciences and remote sensing purposes. This is the first book to comprehensively tackle these new capabilities. It starts with the fundamentals of spectroscopic instruments, in particular their potentials and limits. It then reviews the various known 3D techniques, with particular emphasis on pinpointing their different `ecological? niches. Putative users are finally led through the whole observing process, from observation planning to the extensive ? and crucial - phase of data reduction. This book overall goal is to give the non-specialist enough hands-on knowledge to learn fast how to properly use and produce meaningful data when using such a 3D capability.




Wspc Handbook Of Astronomical Instrumentation, The (In 5 Volumes)


Book Description

Review of Volume 4:'The Handbook can be a good reference for a higher-degree science student approaching the subject or for an expert in a similar field in astronomical instrumentation. The reader requiring an in-depth presentation of a specific topic will be guided by the rich reference lists included at the end of each chapter.'The ObservatoryOur goal is to produce a comprehensive handbook of the current state of the art of astronomical instrumentation with a forward view encompassing the next decade. The target audience is graduate students with an interest in astronomical instrumentation, as well as practitioners interested in learning about the state of the art in another wavelength band or field closely related to the one in which they currently work. We assume a working knowledge of the fundamental theory: optics, semiconductor physics, etc. The purpose of this handbook is to bring together some of the leading experts in the world to discuss the frontier of astronomical instrumentation across the electromagnetic spectrum and extending into multimessenger astronomy.




Photonic Signal Processing, Second Edition


Book Description

This Second Edition of "Photonic Signal Processing" updates most recent R&D on processing techniques of signals in photonic domain from the fundamentals given in its first edition. Several modern techniques in Photonic Signal Processing (PSP) are described: Graphical signal flow technique to simplify the analysis of the photonic transfer functions, plus its insights into the physical phenomena of such processors. The resonance and interference of optical fields are presented by the poles and zeros of the optical circuits, respectively. Detailed design procedures for fixed and tunable optical filters. These filters, "brick-wall-like", now play a highly important role in ultra-broadband (100GBaud) to spectral shaping of sinc temporal response so as to generate truly Nyquist sampler of the received eye diagrams 3-D PSP allows multi-dimensional processing for highly complex optical signals Photonic differentiators and integrators for dark soliton generations. Optical dispersion compensating processors for ultra-long haul optical transmission systems. Some optical devices essentials for PSP. Many detailed PSP techniques are given in the chapters of this Second Edition.




Measuring the Universe


Book Description

Astronomy is an observational science, renewed and even revolutionized by new developments in instrumentation. With the resulting growth of multiwavelength investigation as an engine of discovery, it is increasingly important for astronomers to understand the underlying physical principles and operational characteristics for a broad range of instruments. This comprehensive text is ideal for graduate students, active researchers and instrument developers. It is a thorough review of how astronomers obtain their data, covering current approaches to astronomical measurements from radio to gamma rays. The focus is on current technology rather than the history of the field, allowing each topic to be discussed in depth. Areas covered include telescopes, detectors, photometry, spectroscopy, adaptive optics and high-contrast imaging, millimeter-wave and radio receivers, radio and optical/infrared interferometry, and X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, all at a level that bridges the gap between the basic principles of optics and the subject's abundant specialist literature. Color versions of figures and solutions to selected problems are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521762298.







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