V.S. Letokhov – författare

The conference "Laser Science and Technology" was held May 11-19, 1987 in Erice, Sicily. This was the 12th conference organized by the Internatio­ nal School of Quantum Electronics, under the auspices of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. This volume contains both the in­ vited and contributed papers presented at the conference, covering current research work in two areas: new laser sources, and laser applications. The operation of the first laser by Dr. Theodore Maiman in 1960 initia­ ted a decade of scientific exploration of new laser sources. This was fol­ lowed by the decade of the 1970s, which was characterized by "technology push" in which the discoveries of the 1960s were seeking practical applica­ tion. In the 1980s we are instead seeking "applications pull," in which the success and rapid maturing of laser applications provides both inspiration and financial resources to stimulate additional work both on laser sources and applications. The papers presented in these Proceedings attest to the great vitali­ ty of research in both these areas: New Laser Sources. The papers describe current developments in ultra­ violet excimer lasers, X-ray lasers, and free electron lasers. These new lasers share several characteristics: each is a potentially important coher­ ent source; each is at a relatively short wavelength (below 1 micrometer); and each is receiving significant development attention today.

The conference "Laser Science and Technology" was held May 11-19, 1987 in Erice, Sicily. This was the 12th conference organized by the Internatio­ nal School of Quantum Electronics, under the auspices of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. This volume contains both the in­ vited and contributed papers presented at the conference, covering current research work in two areas: new laser sources, and laser applications. The operation of the first laser by Dr. Theodore Maiman in 1960 initia­ ted a decade of scientific exploration of new laser sources. This was fol­ lowed by the decade of the 1970s, which was characterized by "technology push" in which the discoveries of the 1960s were seeking practical applica­ tion. In the 1980s we are instead seeking "applications pull," in which the success and rapid maturing of laser applications provides both inspiration and financial resources to stimulate additional work both on laser sources and applications. The papers presented in these Proceedings attest to the great vitali­ ty of research in both these areas: New Laser Sources. The papers describe current developments in ultra­ violet excimer lasers, X-ray lasers, and free electron lasers. These new lasers share several characteristics: each is a potentially important coher­ ent source; each is at a relatively short wavelength (below 1 micrometer); and each is receiving significant development attention today.

The optoacoustic method has by now an almost one-centurY-long history of appl ication in spectroscopy, but it was only with the advent of the laser that it became a convenient and effective method among the vast family of spectroscopy techniques. The great variety of these techniques is capable of tackling most diversified tasks, such as the achievement of a high sensitiv­ ity and a high spectral or temporal resolution. The optoacoustic method is one of the simplest and most versatile ways to attain a high sensitivity for both gaseous and condensed media. It is precisely for this reason that the method has found wide use, and that we have decided to publish a mono­ graph reviewing the information on this method available in the literature and gathered by us at the Institute of Spectroscopy during the past few years. We hope that such a systematic exposition of the material scattered throughout numerous scientific journals will be of use to many potential readers. The reader will undoubtedly notice the absence in our monograph of references to some recent works, but unfortunately, this is inevitable when the translation and publication of a book in a foreign language takes sev­ eral years. Nevertheless, we tried our best to cover the entire field from the material available to us, but unfortunately, some recent publications might be missing due to the time lag for the translation and publication in a language foreign to us.