Orazio Svelto is Professor of Quantum Electronics at the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and Director of the Quantum Electronics Center of the Italian National Research Council. His research has covered a wide range of activity in the field of laser physics and quantum electronics, starting from the very beginning of these disciplines. This activity includes ultrashort-pulse generation and applications, development of laser resonators and mode-selection techniques, laser applications in biology and medicine, and development of solid-state lasers. Professor Svelto is the author of more than 150 scientific papers and his researches have been the subject of more than 50 invited papers and international conferences. He has served as a program chair of the IX International Quantum Electronics Conference (1976), as a chair of the European program committee for CLEO '85 and CLEO '90, and he was general co-chair for the first CLEO-Europe Conference (1994). He is an elected member of the Italian "Accademia dei XL" and a Fellow of the IEEE.

Introductory Concepts.- Interaction of Radiation with Atoms and Ions.- Energy Levels, Radiative, and Nonradiative Transitions in Molecules and Semiconductors.- Ray and Wave Propagation Through Optical Media.- Passive Optical Resonators.- Pumping Processes.- Continuous Wave Laser Behavior.- Transient Laser Behavior.- Solid-State, Dye, and Semiconductor Lasers.- Gas, Chemical, Free Electron, and X-Ray Lasers.- Properties of Laser Beams.- Laser Beam Transformation: Propagation, Amplification, Frequency Conversion, Pulse Compression, and Pulse Expansion.- Appendixes: Semiclassic Treatment of the Interaction of Radiation and Matter.- Line Shape Calculation for Collision Broadening.- Simplified Treatment of Amplified Spontaneous Emission.- Calculating Radiative Transition Rates of Molecular Transitions.- Space-Dependent Rate Equations.- Mode-Locking Theory: Homogeneous Line.- Propagation of a Laser Through a Dispersive Medium or a Gain Medium.- Higher Order Coherence.- Physical Constants and Useful Conversion Factors.- Answers to Selected Problems.- Index.

This book is motivated by the very favorable reception given to the previous editions as well as by the considerable range of new developments in the laser field since the publication of the third edition in 1989. These new developments include, among others, quantum-well and muitiple-quantum-welliasers, diode-pumped solid-state lasers, new concepts for both stable and unstable resonators, femtosecond lasers, ultra-high-brightness lasers, etc. This edition thus represents a radically revised version of the preceding edition, amounting essentially to a new book in its own right. However, the basic aim has remained the same, namely to provide a broad and unified description of laser behavior at the simplest level which is compatible with a correct physical understanding. The book is therefore intended as a textbook for a senior-level or first-year graduate course and/or as a reference book. The most relevant additions or changes to this edition can be summarized as follows: 1. A much-more detailed description of Amplified Spontaneous Emission has been given (Chapter 2) and a novel simplified treatment of this phenomenon, both for homogeneous and inhomogeneous lines, has been introduced (Appendix C). 2. A major fraction of a new chapter (Chapter 3) is dedicated to the interaction of radiation with semiconductor media, either in a bulk form or in a quantum-confined structure (quantum-well, quantum-wire and quantum dot). 3.