Optical Properties of Solids

by Mark Fox

Overview

Fox (physics and astronomy, U. of Sheffield, UK) presents on introductory textbook on the optical properties of solids written for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate physics students. As is to be expected, the core of the book is built around topics such as interband transitions, excitons, free electron reflectivity, and phonon polaritons, however the term "optical" is considered in a wider sense than meaning referring to the visibly spectral region, allowing the author to include discussions of infrared phenomena such as those due to phonons and free carriers, and also the properties of insulators and metals in the ultraviolet. Similarly the definition of "solid" has been widened to include materials such as polymers and glasses. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199573370
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/20/2010
Series:	Oxford Master Series in Physics , #3
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mark Fox, Professor of Physics at the University of Sheffield, began his research career at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1986, as a Junior Research Fellow. After a post-doctoral position with AT&T Bell Laboratories in the US, he returned to Oxford as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. He moved to Sheffield in 1998, becoming Professor there in 2006.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Classical propagation3. Interband absorption4. Excitons5. Luminescence6. Quantum confinement7. Free electrons8. Molecular materials9. Luminescence centres10. Phonons11. Nonlinear opticsAppendicesA. Electromagnetism in dielectricsB. Quantum theory of radiative absorption and emissionC. Angular momentum in atomic physicsD. Band theoryE. Semiconductor p-i-n diodes

Editorial Reviews

"Fox's book provides an introduction to the subject for a senior-level undergraduate or a beginning graduate course aimed at students who will use or design equipment that depends on modern optical materials. . . . Fox, on the other hand, provides many well-selected examples, showing graphs of the actual dielectric functions associated with solids of technological intent. . . . Fox provides all that one could ask for in an undergraduate text. He describes many of the key devices for the technologies, including laser media based on Ti:sapphire (used for short pulses), gallium arsenide (for high continuous power), and Er:glass (for fiber-optics amplifiers. . . . While straightforward, Fox's problems offer an excellent way for the reader to test his understanding of the materials presented. . . . On the whole, fox has succeeded in offering a good, compact, senior-level presentation of the optical properties of solids." — American Journal of Physics

"[A] useful and sound introduction to the subject."—Materials World

From the Publisher