SPIE - Education Laser Systems Engineering SC1144

While there are a number of courses on laser design, this course emphasizes a systems-level overview of the design and engineering of systems which incorporate lasers. Starting with a summary of the various types of lasers and their selection, it reviews common laser specifications (peak power, spatial coherence, etc.), Gaussian beam characteristics and propagation, laser system optics, beam control and scanning, radiometry and power budgets, detectors specific to laser systems, and the integration of these topics for developing a complete laser system. The emphasis is on real-world design problems, as well as the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components used to solve them.