Note that some of these titles are quite old - truly vintage - and may be of interest more for collectible value than anything else. However, it is quite remarkable how much was actually known about the physics and technology of lasers only a couple of years after their invention!
This inexpensive ($21.95) book contains a wealth of interesting projects that can be performed with diode and helium-neon lasers. These projects range from interferometers, to communications, to fiberoptics, to holography, to light shows. Something for everyone. There are a few small technical errors but nothing that reading Sam's Laser FAQ won't correct. :)
There is now a new edition with a new title. Aside from the goofy title, it sounds like an updated version of a very good book:
Lasers, Ray Guns, & Light Cannons: Projects from the Wizard's Workbench
McComb, Gordon
McGraw Hill, 1997
Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214
ISBN: 0-0704-5035-8
Table of Contents:
This includes plans for a HeNe laser power supply as well as complete ruby/Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers and other interesting stuff. (The laser projects are almost identical to those in [3], below.)
This includes plans for two HeNe laser power supplies as well as complete ruby/Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers and other interesting stuff. (The laser projects are almost identical to those in [2], above.)
Extensive information on how to build lasers and how to use them, as well as info on building laser instruments (including several interferometers and spectrographs) and making holograms of various types (optical, microwave, acoustic). All of John Strong's (genius experimentalist) and Jeral Walker's columns on photonic devices are in this absolutely fabulous collection. See the section: Light and its Uses - Complete Table of Contents for a complete list of articles.
The book describes the construction of several types of lasers by amateurs including HeNe, argon ion, dye, CO2, and nitrogen - all from scratch (e.g., the HeNe and argon lasers require glassworking to fabricate the plasma tube.) It is not for the absolute beginner but suitable for anyone who has some considerable hobbyist type experience with electronics and/or lasers.
Note: To actually construct most of these projects requires a fair degree of skill and determination; access to some machining, glassworking, and/or high vacuum facilities; a source of electronic, optical, and mechanical components; and a stock of chemicals and other materials. However, much of this can be provided without the assets of a major R&D laboratory but will require improvisation. Nonetheless, the book makes for some very interesting and educational reading even if you are not going to be building anything. See the chapters starting with Amateur Laser Construction for more info on how to get started in home-built lasers.
This book is out of print but available at some libraries. It provides various driver circuits and a miniature laser + driver + battery built into a very small package.
Forrest Mims has also written a number of articles on how to use and build lasers. He is also an occasional contributor to the USENET newsgroups including those on the sci.electronics hierarchy.
This book includes descriptions of many common lasers, construction, and applications.
If you always wanted to really understand terms like population inversion, hyperfine transitions, and quantum efficiency, this old but solid book is for you. Be prepared for some heavy math. However, it does include some practical aspects of laser construction as well.
More heavy math, less practical information than [10].
Coverage of optical fibers, lenses, lasers, applications. A potpourri of topics, some rather sporadic but interesting nonetheless. Just take any circuits with a grain of silicon (if you look at Figure 7.2 you will know what I mean!).
Includes basic laser theory, descriptions of various types of lasers, some applications.
Introduction to lasers with emphasis on applications.
Much useful information but the only actual projects uses an IR laser diode to construct a simple communication link. And, their pathetic attempt at a laser diode driver circuit is amusing to say the least! (Hint: the design cannot possibly work as described.)
This is a nice article on general power supply considerations for HeNe and (small sealed) CO2 lasers.
Basic principles, types of lasers, applications.
They have chapters on many aspects of solid state laser system design including pulse forming networks for flashlamp systems. Latest edition has substantial material on DPSS lasers as well. The 1st through 3rd editions are well worth having as well since there is some information in earlier editions that has been dropped from later ones.
This is a very well written and easy to understand book on the practical aspects of creating outstanding holograms at home.
The following may be the earlier edition:
The Holography Handbook
Fred Unterseher, Jeannene Hansen, and Bob Schlesinger
Ross Books
ISBN: 0-89496-057-1
This book gives a fair amount of information on just about every type of laser ever invented or commercialized. Not a lot of details but all the basic characteristics are covered.
This text, which empansizes the physics of lasers over the mathematics, includes many examples, tables, end-of-chapter problems with solutions provided, along with 250 illustrations. It is suitable for advanced level courses.
Interesting and very readable treatment of the people and developments (mainly the MASER) that laid the foundation for the invention of the laser followed by the frenetic pace of laser research and commercialization in the 1960s (the bulk of the book).
Introductory level, perhaps intended for kids.
Power supply circuits for an HeNe laser tube and 4 difrerent laser diodes.
This one is pre-laser!
You may be able to find many of these items in a large public or university library. The old issues of magazines are often on microfilm or microfiche. Older books like "Light and its Uses" [5] may be locked away in the dungeons of the library's archives so you may have to ask for them.
Most of these publications also feature an email service to keep you informed of the latest hot industry news with links to associated on-line articles. You can generally subscribe to these with even fewer or no questions asked as long as you have an email address.
The major players are probably Photonics Spectra, Laser Focus World, and Lasers& Optronics Magazine For additional possibilities, see the section: Laser Related Publications.
Occasionally, there may be a bonus issue like the telephone book thickness "2000 Buyers Guide" from Laser Focus World or the full color spectrum (and other laser info) wall chart found in the August, 2000 issue of Photonics Spectra (that is, if your office mate didn't beat you to it!).
Subscriptions to both the publication and email news service are available via their Web sites.
In the good old days (say 2 years ago), IBM had a patent database Web site which included complete text and graphics for patents covering most of the years relevant to lasers and it was totally free. That was then taken over by another organization (I refuse to help with their cash flow by naming them) resulting in a blitz of banner ads. Now, with the crash of the .bom, oops, .com bubble, they are charging for graphics downloads via subscription (text is still free). (Should by any chance someone from that unnamed company read this, I have no problem with charging for regular commercial use of a patent database. However, for the private individual who browses occasional patents to satisfy their curiosity rather than commercial gain, I think that the best approach would be to allow limited free access to the graphics - say 30 patents/month. This would cost you nothing and would generate good will and recommendations rather than abuse. And I wouldn't have removed 37 links to your service from my Web site!)
For now, I would recommend the US Patent & Trademark Office. They are free (your tax dollars at work!) and have complete text and graphics but require that your browser has a late model TIFF reader plug-in. It must be able to display TIFF files using ITU T.6 or CCITT Group 4 (G4) compression. See their: Patent Full-Page Images Help Page for information on system requirements and recommended plug-ins.
Patents may be located by number, subject, inventor, (and other fields), or boolean text, as well as more advanced criteria. All patents referenced by a particular patent as well as all patents which reference that patent may be instantly located. The complete patent documents including diagrams are available at this web site for download. Copies may also be ordered (for a small fee).
Searching on the key word 'laser' will turn up too many patents to consider. However, narrowing this with 'semiconductor' or 'driver' will restrict the search enough to home in on patents of interest. There will still be many that are likely to be of interest - you can spend days (or longer) at this!
Of course, it is also possible to search for patents the old fashioned way at your local large public library or by browsing the main patent office stacks in Washington, DC. However, these sorts of methods seam terribly archaic in comparison to the use of a modern patent database engine.
I know of two newsgroups most suitable for discussion of laser related topics:
Generally, sci.optics is to be preferred as it attracts many serious and knowledgeable participants. However, quite often, questions may appear only on alt.lasers. There are many others that may be of interest including sci.engr.lighting, sci.optics.fiber, those in the sci.electronics and sci.physics hierarchies, and more. Check with your ISP to determine what is available - it may be possible to request they add specific groups.
As with any type of discussion group, listen before you dive in. Get a feel for the types of questions that are typical and do not post a reply unless you are fairly confident of your answer! Basic questions are acceptable but it is proper etiquette to first attempt to locate the answer by checking past postings by searching at Google Groups (formerly Deja.com/Dejanews) or one of the other public USENET archives.
A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document also exists for sci.optics. The Sci.Optics FAQ may already have answered your question as well.
If you don't know how to access USENET newsgroups, check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider - maybe it's even in the user manual - what a concept!), or your local system administrator or network guru. Usually News access is via the software provided by your ISP, from within your Web browser (e.g., Netscape or Internet Explorer), through the use of a special News utility, or from within other programs like GNUS EMACS. Some initial configuration will have to be done to identify the NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) server (your newsfeed) to whatever software you are using - this is site specific - your ISP or keeper of the magic will know. :)
Currently the traffic on the EIO forums is relatively low compared to the USENET newsgroups but they are worth checking from time-to-time. And, with the increase in SPAM, this has gotten worse since the EIO forums allow for contributions via direct email there is apparently no effective SPAM filtering. I have repeatedly attempted to get them to only permit postings via the Web pages but have been ignored. I consider these essentially dead at this point.
Currently, traffic is next to nonexistent but who knows?
However, so far (May, 2003) there has been only about 40 postings on this forum since 2000!
Of these, the first two are most likely to deal with laser technology, engineering, construction, and repair. As with the other technical forums, traffic is relatively low but worth checking and posting with serious questions since people who are knowledgeable are likely to monitor these discussion groups.
The fourm include topics from Scientific American, the SAS, general research and experimentation, and a variety of other science related discussions. Laser specific traffic is quite small but the high chance of finding someone with similar interests balances this out to some extent!
Note: PKU is now (at least temporarily) out of business but some parts of its Web site may continue to exist until their Web space contract runs out.
SVBx appeared just about the same time PKU was closing down and sells very similar sorts of stuff. There may be a connection.
Once subscribed, all email sent to a specified address is distributed to all users of the listserver group. Thus, you can elect to participate in any or all discussions, or simply just monitor the traffic for your own interest or research. As with USENET newsgroups, don't jump into a discussion without having an idea of the context - what has already transpired and then only if you have a valid question or can contribute in a knowledgeable way to the discussion.
You can find a large number of totally public lists at Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists and at Tile.net - Lists but these sites have few, if any, related to our types of laser discussions (unless you are interested in laser eye surgery). But never fear, there *are* others available.
The following are some general laser listservers with information on the charters and how to subscribe:
This list is dedicated to all aspects of lasers from home construction to light show hardware and software. Join by sending email to Majordomo@neurotica.com with "subscribe lasers your_email_address" (without the "". Your email address may be omitted if it is the one your are using to send the request) in the body of the message.
Technical and safety issues relating to all aspects of laser used in display and entertainment.
Anyone with an interest in laser communications is welcome to join. You don't need to be a ham radio operator. See the section: Amateur Laser Communications for more info.
The SPIE would probably be considered the predominant photonics professional organization. However, not many people must know about this listserver as the traffic is quite low. Note: SPIE is replacing these email discussion groups with technical forums which can be found at the SPIE Technical Group Home Page. See the section: Laser Discussion Groups and Technical Forums.
USENET newsgroup postings for the last several years can also be searched via Google Groups (formerly Deja.com/Dejanews). While there are other public USENET archives, although the name keeps changing, Google Groups probably has the largest and most reliable newsgroup coverage and goes back the farthest (to 1995). Thus I see little reason to use other archives which may come and go and provide more sporatic coverage.
Private discussion groups and technical forums often have searchable archives as well. See the section: Newsgroups, Discussion Groups and Technical Forums, Listservers
The sections that follow provide links to many other laser related sites with the first of these being a Webring currently under development. This should be of particular interest to the hobbyist and experimenter.
Several hundred links have been accumulated over time from various USENET newsgroups, other discussion groups and technical forums, Net searches, links found at other Web sites, and private email. They are loosely grouped by the type of information provided but are otherwise only in somewhat more-or-less alphabetical order.
(Also see: Sam's Neat, Nifty, and Handy Bookmarks for additional Web site listings.)
The Laser, Optics, and Holography Ring brings together Websites that either are about lasers, optics and holography, or contain information in related areas. It was developed, and is owned and managed by Flavio Spedalieri (fspedalieri@nightlase.com.au) of Nightlase Technologies.
