Photonics and Laser Engineering: Principles, Devices, and Applications

Ever since getting this text shortly after it came out I have referenced it far more than any of my other laser/optics books. I am especially pleased with the author's treatment of Gaussian optics and ray tracing. The only place it lacks is in some spectroscopic applications. It would have been nice to see a section on mode matching into an optical cavity, also. This book, along with Lasers by Siegman, are the best books on lasers out right now. It has definitely been worth the money. Basic enough for a novice, but thorough enough for a practicing professional. You cant go wrong with this book

Excellent but difficult to follow at times ...

As an Optics Ph.D., I have studied from many different books written by different authors with different backgrounds. When it comes to Lasers, this book definitely makes the top 3 reference books (together with Siegman and Svelto). This book distinguishes itself from similar ones in two major aspects. First one is the very well written Chapters 2 and 3, where the author introduces the matrix approach for cavity design. It is extremely useful for anyone who is working with free space lasers, and this book covers all the information and derivations for this powerful and practical approach which many other books underrate. The second aspect is the overall organization and the style of the book (easy to follow derivations and clear explanations) which make this book ideal for self-learning students. If you are a beginner in laser physics, or a professional who is building lasers, you will find very useful and complete information in this book.