Advances in Opto-Electronics Coherent Quantum Optics and Technology Book 6 (Paperback)

While preparing the manuscript ofthis book the author was informed that Profs. H. Dehmelt Univ. ofWashington W. Paul Univ. Bonn and N. F. Ramsey HarvardUniv. havewontheNobel PrizeinPhysics(1989;fortheirNobellectures refertoRev.ModernPhysics Vol.62(l990)pp.525-552).Theirmaincontributions are the pioneering works on the Ramsey resonance method ion trap and so on which are the main topics to be discussed in this book. TherearetwoothergroupspreviouslyawardedwiththeNobelprizeinPhysics for their contributions to laser physics and quantum optics; C. H. Townes N. G. Basov and A. M. Prokhorov were awarded a Nobel prize for their works on the inventionofmasers and lasers as well as the basic studiesofquantum electronics; N. Bloembergen and A. L. Schawlow in 1981 for their works on laser spectros- copy. It is an exceptional case that a branch ofphysics could win the Nobel prize threetimes.Thisfactreflectsandimpliesthatlaserphysicsandphysicsusinglasers are important fields ofbasic study which relate closely to the quantum optics and atomicphysics. Furthermore asthecaseofsemiconductorlasers ithasbecomean importantfield for industrial applications e.g. opticalcommunicationand optical diskmemories. As shownbythese examples itcan beconsideredthatthe studyof laser isauniversaloneinscienceandtechnology coveringawide rangefrombasic physics to industrial applications.