Physics 208, Fall 2004

Introduction to Quantum Electronics and Nonlinear Optics

When and where: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30-11, room 395 LeConte Hall

Format: two 1.5-hr class meetings per week (student participation strongly encouraged); discussion on individual basis (by appointment)

Instructor: Associate Professor Dmitry Budker

Office hour: Wednesdays, 1-2, 273 Birge or by appointment

Course credit will be given on the basis of the homework (50%) and oral presentations (50%). Each student is required to make at least one presentation during the semester; more presentations are encouraged! A brief one-page (professionally formatted and edited) abstract of the presentation should be turned in at the time of presentation. Please include the presenter's name and the date of the presentation in the abstract.

Synopsis and goals of the course:
The course will provide an introduction and overview of the the vast fields of quantum electronics and ninlinear optics, with a choice of specific topics determined by the mutual interests of the audience and the instructor. Initially, I anticipate that the following themes will be touched upon most extensively:

Required text: no text will be required, but several texts will be recommended

Recommended texts (general):

  1. R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics, 2nd ed., Academic Press, 2003 (Physics QC446.2 .B69 2003)
  2. G. S. He and H. Liu, Physics of Nonlinear Optics, World Scientific, 1999 (ISBN: 9810233191; Physics QC446.2 .H6 1999 )
  3. D. Budker, D. F. Kimball, and D. P. DeMille, Atomic Physics. An Exploration through Problems and Solutions, Oxford University Press, 2004 [ISBN:0198509499, 0198509502 (pbk.); Physics QC776 .B83 2004)] (Click here)

Recommended texts (good textbooks on specific subfields):

  1. C. Rulliere, Femtosecond Laser Pulses: Principles and Experiments, Springer-Verlag; 2nd edition, 2004 (ISBN 0387017690)
  2. J.-C. Diels and W. Rudolph, Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena. Fundamentals, Techniques and Applications on a Femtosecond Time Scale; 2nd edition; to be published
  3. R. Trebino, Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating: The Measurement of Ultrashort Laser Pulses, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002 (ISBN 1-4020-7066-7)
  4. A. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Introduction to Fiber Optics, Cambridge, 1998 (ISBN 0-521-57785-3)
  5. C. Cohen-Tannoudji, Atoms in Electromagnetic Fields, 2nd ed., World Scientific, 2004.

Physics (and not-quite-physics) bed-time reading:

  1. Charles H. Townes, How the Laser Happened: Adventures of a Scientist, Oxford University Press, 1999 (ISBN: 0195122682)
  2. Seabrook, W. Doctor Wood, Modern Wizard of the Laboratory. New York, Harcourt, Brace and company, 1941 (Physics Library QC16.W6 S4)
  3. Margarita Ryutova-Kemoklidze, The Quantum Generation: Highlights and Tragedies of the Golden Age of Physics, Springer Verlag, 1995 (ISBN: 0387532986)

News flash!

Seminars and Colloquia

Lecture Notes, Viewgraphs, Electronic Tutorials

Assorted Physics-Related Links, Web Resources

Individual research topics and presentations:

Homework:

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer: This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).