Quantum Electronics (ePub)

Quantum Electronics is that discipline of Physics which dealswith the impact of quantum mechanics on the specific behaviorof electrons in elements or that of any matter. To get an indepth understanding of the quantum electronics as a whole, itis required that atomic physics, which studies and explains theinner workings of atoms in matter, has to be understood verywell. Atomic Physics is widely acclaimed as the most active ofthe testing grounds of the quantum theory and is rightly thefield of extensive research for both its contribution to quantumelectronics and technology in general, as well as for itscontribution to all physics fundamentally. Not only quantumelectronics, but a plethora of other disciplines are heavilyindebted to Atomic Physics in that regard, some of them arequantum chemistry, astrophysics, solid-state physics, laserphysics etc. According to one of the greatest pioneers ofquantum mechanics, Mr. Feynman, if for some reason, all theinformation regarding science that is known to man today hasto go except only one sentence that could be passed on to thenext generation of creatures, then the most important of allinformation to fit into that one sentence would be the idea ofatoms or atomic hypothesis / fact, whichever you want to callit - that describes little particles that are under constantmovement and attracting each other if apart and repelling eachother when squeezed- With a little bit of thinking andimagination applied to that one sentence, one can easily observethe huge information as well as the great evaluation madeabout our world! The primary task of Atomic Physics is todetermine the wave functions as well as the energies emittedout of the quantized electron, leaving everything else related tothe nucleus is left to Nuclear Physics to determine. So, forconcept building we need to put stress on the basics of atomicphysics before moving on the applications of QuantumElectronics.Generation and direct amplification of short laser pulses withhigh output energies requires the use of amplifiers and otherlarge-aperture components, which greatly increases the difficultiesencountered in construction of suitable systems and, in the finalanalysis, their cost. The progress made in the generation ofmaximum pulse intensities shows that the application ofenhancement and compression has raised the intensity ofchirped pulses.In the interaction of ultra-short pulses with solidtargets, the contrast of such pulses should be sufficiently highto ensure that plasma does not form before the main pulsearrives on a target. The contrast may be improved by severalfactors, which manifest themselves in different ways at differenttime intervals. On the microsecond scale, the contrast may bereduced by super-luminescence of laser amplifiers, which can beeliminated effectively by a variety of methods such as spatialfilters, optical switches.