Read more
This book provides a basic overview of optical principles for non-specialists who find themselves working with optical components and systems. The book assumes a basic background in mathematics, but does not overwhelm with heavy mathematical equations. In addition to basic principles, the book includes applications and worked examples throughout. Each chapter contains a set of suggested experiments to help readers visualize the principles. MATLAB® simulations help readers understand the effects of parameter changes on the outcome. The book also discusses advanced topics.
List of contents
Optical Systems and Components. Light Sources. Light Detection. Manipulation of Light. Polarization. Geometrical Optics. Imaging Systems. Guiding Lightwaves. Optics, Electronics, Software, and Applications. Optical Sensing. Advanced Experiments. Advanced Topics. References. Appendices. Index.
About the author
Araz Yacoubian is a research scientist with experience in the optics-related fields. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering-electrophysics from the University of Southern California. His experience includes integrated optics, nonlinear optics, optical image processing, holography, electro-optics, and optical communication. Examples of his work include a demonstration of the first water immersible hologram and its application to contact lens tinting, development of a deployable real-time liquid crystal light valve-based image-processing unit, development of a surface and subsurface detection and imaging system based on a combination of optical/acoustic methods, as well as development of novel broad spectral band detectors and imagers.
Summary
A Valuable Reference for Understanding Basic Optical Principals
Need a crash course in optics? If you are a non-specialist with little or no knowledge of optical components, systems, or hardware, who suddenly finds it necessary to work with optics in your given field, then Optics Essentials: An Interdisciplinary Guide is the book for you. Aimed at engineers and other interdisciplinary professionals tackling optics-related challenges, this text provides a basic overview of optical principles, concepts, and applications as well as worked examples throughout. It enables readers to gain a basic understanding of optics and sense of optical phenomena, without having to commit to extended periods of study.
Contains MATLAB
® Simulations and Suggested Experiments
The book provides MATLAB simulations to help the reader visualize concepts, includes simple experiments using everyday materials that are readily available to solidify optical principles, and provides worked examples throughout. It contains a set of suggested experiments in each chapter designed to help the reader understand and visualize the basic principles. While this book assumes that the reader has a basic background in mathematics, it does not burden or overwhelm them with complex information or heavy mathematical equations. In addition, while it also briefly discusses advanced topics, readers are directed to the appropriate texts for more detailed study.
Comprised of 11 chapters, this illuminating text:
- Describes light sources, such as lasers, light-emitting diodes, and thermal sources
- Compares various light sources, and photometric and radiometric parameters
- Discusses light detection, including various detector types, such as photon detectors and thermal detectors, and other topics re
Additional text
"Optical technology is essential in many applications in medicine, communication, imaging and even in such a unique field as secure document and currency forensics and authentication. Because humans strongly rely on their sense of sight, quite often a non-optical engineer considers optics as something "obvious". They simplify or completely ignore the complexity of the physics of optics and optical phenomena. A basic comprehensive optics book linking application to physics of optics is going to be very helpful."—Dr. Tomasz Jagielinski, Cummins Allison Corporation
"... provides a basic overview of optical principles, concepts, and applications, as well as worked examples throughout the text. The author enables readers to gain a basic understanding of optics without having to commit to an in-depth study. The book includes MATLAB simulations to help the reader visualize concepts. It also contains a set of suggested experiments in each chapter. The content should be easy to grasp by technical professionals, technical managers, researchers, and students. This book is for the non-specialist with little or no knowledge of optical components, systems, or hardware."—A. Zakery, Professor of Physics, Shiraz University, Iran, from Optics & Photonics News, October 13, 2015
"This book will enable the reader to make a start in solving the often difficult optical problems and also to learn enough to ask a consultant intelligent questions. It is almost as good as having Dr. Yacoubian In the building, if not at your elbow. The Table of Contents and Index are unusually complete and detailed. Applications in Matlab will be very "enlightening". —Dr. Fred Jeffers, IEEE Life Fellow, San Diego, California, USA
"…a valuable introduction for students and a valuable addition to the bookshelves of non-optics professionals." —Fiber & Integrated Optics, September 2016
