- Email: [email protected]
Introduction to the Optical Transfer Function
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Optics & Laser Technology 36 (2004) 515 – 516 www.elsevier.com/locate/optlastec
Book reviews Optoelectronics of solar cells Greg P. Smested. Bellingham, Washington, USA: SPIE Press, 2002, 100 pages, $35:50, ISBN 0-8194-4440-5. This short text claims ‘to provide an overview for those in the 6elds of optics and optical engineering’ on the subject of solar cells, with particular emphasis on the engineering perspective on solar cells as a viable option to conventional energy sources. The book is published by SPIE, an organization well known to most optical engineers as the organizer of a number of major conferences and meetings world-wide across the wide spectrum of optical applications seen today. The author’s biography, published with the text, shows that he has considerable experience, and indeed edits a journal in the 6eld. The volume (given its less than 100 pages perhaps not the best term to use) is conveniently written for the non-specialist and covers the range of topics that would be expected—after an introduction, the absorption of solar energy and the basics of solar cells, a short treatise on photoelectrochemistry and ‘light concentrators’ (lensing systems), 6nishing with a brief essay on the economics of photovoltaic cells and systems. As such it covers the essentials of the subject and provides the broad viewpoint of the 6eld. The style is very readable, the diagrams clear and unfussy and the mathematics set at a level that the average graduate student (or indeed his teacher) can understand. The book does, however, lack an embedded set of references to the journal literature—having said that, at the
end there is a ‘basic solar energy library for the optical specialist’ containing a number of more general references and websites—perhaps that is su=cient for the readership at which it is aimed. There is really not a great deal more to add about the book—it is easily digested but short, and as such is surprisingly expensive at over $35. The author could have made more of his expertise in the applications of solar cells and the economic issues surrounding their use— the last chapter on the economics and broader implications of the use of solar cells is less than 10 pages long and skims the surface of what is a signi6cant debate. The book would make a useful text for, say, a non-specialist course on solar cells—if such a course exists—but the author has missed a clear opportunity to appeal to a wider audience by not setting the work more squarely in the context of the economic and indeed political signi6cance of the solar versus fossil fuel energy debate, giving more examples and discussion on what is a topic of broad interest. You may choose to buy it, but I suspect, given its brevity, it will be an occasional reference from a library for an introduction to the technical aspects of what is a broad and interesting subject. K.T.V. Grattan Department of Electrical; Information Engineering; School of Engineering; City University; Northampton Square London ECIV 0HB; UK E-mail address: [email protected]
doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.01.014
Introduction to the Optical Transfer Function Charles S. Williams and Orville A. Becklund; SPIE Press, 2002 (Reprinted from 1989 publication), 414 pages, £60.50, ISBN 0-8194-4336-0 This is a second publication of a textbook aimed at undergraduate students of optics, physical sciences, engineering and mathematics. It is skilfully written to meet the needs of students whose mathematical background is limited to a course in calculus. Special appendices are provided to cover some of the basic mathematics of transform theory and diFraction, concentrating on spherical wave fronts. Careful attention is paid to relevant physical principles as well as to practical features
of experimental optics. In this way this is an excellent textbook aimed at a wide audience. It introduces the study of the optical transfer function (OTF) with a valuable historical summary of the subject. The material is then shown to unfold in a suitable logical way starting with a de6nition and clari6cation of basic concepts, such as the frequency spectrum, etc. in one dimension gradually extending the analysis to two dimensions, encompassing small aberrations, etc. Next, notational conventions and co-ordinate systems are carefully described preparing the ground for the study of the diFraction integral and wave front aberration. It restricts the subject matter to well-established areas dealing with the optical function, excluding by deliberate choice topics on the geometrical
516
Book reviews / Optics & Laser Technology 36 (2004) 515 – 516
approximation of the OTF and sampled images or polychromatic OTF considerations. Each chapter is followed by a list of well selected, up to date references and excellent use is made of various illustrations. The book is a labour of love and a useful comprehensive treatment of the subject. It is hoped that the interested reader may be persuaded to delve more deeply into the subject of diFraction, and the underlying fundamentals of physics relating to the various theories of light, so strongly associated with the subject matter of the book, whose developments are best expressed
in terms of symplectic geometry. An addition of this would serve to extend the horizons of the student up to the frontiers of modern research in mathematical physics. One way to achieve this would be by the inclusion of an extra brief appendix illuminating the connection. In conclusion, it is an excellent textbook in the area of optics and is highly recommended. Phiroze Kapadia 2 Milton Close; Lexdon; Colchester; Essex C034JB; UK
doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.01.015
Synchrotron Radiation H. Wiedemann, Springer Berlin, 2003, 274 pp., price £63.00, ISBN 3-540-43392-9 This is an excellent book on the subject of synchrotron radiation written by an author who is a well known and respected contributor to this 6eld of research work. Since its discovery in 1945, the study of synchrotron radiation and its applications extends over a wider range which includes high-energy electron accelerators, free electron lasers and astrophysical applications. This, in turn, calls for a skilful selection of material. The book is written so as to appeal to the widest possible range of readers. With this end in view, it starts from 6rst principles using a mathematical and physical background making it suitable for use by undergraduate and 6rst year graduate students of physics. Furthermore, using physical ideas, the understanding of the subject is carefully built up, before presenting more detailed mathematical derivations. An important decision lies in limiting the analysis to essentially semiclassical derivations using Maxwell’s equations and excluding detailed quantummechanical considerations which would involve more lengthy derivations. doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.02.010
Accordingly, the book opens using ideas, based on Maxwell’s equations, to describe physically the radiation emitted by an accelerated charged particle. A section is also included on a short introduction to special relativity, before considering spectral and spatial photon distributions associated with the accelerated free charged particle. These considerations lead naturally to a useful discussion of accelerator physics, beam optics and storage ring design followed by a more rigorous discussion of synchrotron radiation. Devices and useful aspects regarding undulators are followed by a concluding chapter on free electron lasers. Each chapter is associated with exercises and an appendix includes solutions which serve as a vital part in helping a student to build up a genuine grasp of the subject. Additional appendices provide a list of mathematical formulae, constants, units and formulae associated with electromagnetic radiation. In conclusion, the various diagrams and the list of references, combine to provide a much needed text-book which, very eFectively, 6lls a gap in the literature on the subject. Phiroze Kapadia 2 Milton Close; Lexdon; Colchester; Essex; CO3 4JB; UK
Optics & Laser Technology 36 (2004) 515 – 516 www.elsevier.com/locate/optlastec
Book reviews Optoelectronics of solar cells Greg P. Smested. Bellingham, Washington, USA: SPIE Press, 2002, 100 pages, $35:50, ISBN 0-8194-4440-5. This short text claims ‘to provide an overview for those in the 6elds of optics and optical engineering’ on the subject of solar cells, with particular emphasis on the engineering perspective on solar cells as a viable option to conventional energy sources. The book is published by SPIE, an organization well known to most optical engineers as the organizer of a number of major conferences and meetings world-wide across the wide spectrum of optical applications seen today. The author’s biography, published with the text, shows that he has considerable experience, and indeed edits a journal in the 6eld. The volume (given its less than 100 pages perhaps not the best term to use) is conveniently written for the non-specialist and covers the range of topics that would be expected—after an introduction, the absorption of solar energy and the basics of solar cells, a short treatise on photoelectrochemistry and ‘light concentrators’ (lensing systems), 6nishing with a brief essay on the economics of photovoltaic cells and systems. As such it covers the essentials of the subject and provides the broad viewpoint of the 6eld. The style is very readable, the diagrams clear and unfussy and the mathematics set at a level that the average graduate student (or indeed his teacher) can understand. The book does, however, lack an embedded set of references to the journal literature—having said that, at the
end there is a ‘basic solar energy library for the optical specialist’ containing a number of more general references and websites—perhaps that is su=cient for the readership at which it is aimed. There is really not a great deal more to add about the book—it is easily digested but short, and as such is surprisingly expensive at over $35. The author could have made more of his expertise in the applications of solar cells and the economic issues surrounding their use— the last chapter on the economics and broader implications of the use of solar cells is less than 10 pages long and skims the surface of what is a signi6cant debate. The book would make a useful text for, say, a non-specialist course on solar cells—if such a course exists—but the author has missed a clear opportunity to appeal to a wider audience by not setting the work more squarely in the context of the economic and indeed political signi6cance of the solar versus fossil fuel energy debate, giving more examples and discussion on what is a topic of broad interest. You may choose to buy it, but I suspect, given its brevity, it will be an occasional reference from a library for an introduction to the technical aspects of what is a broad and interesting subject. K.T.V. Grattan Department of Electrical; Information Engineering; School of Engineering; City University; Northampton Square London ECIV 0HB; UK E-mail address: [email protected]
doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.01.014
Introduction to the Optical Transfer Function Charles S. Williams and Orville A. Becklund; SPIE Press, 2002 (Reprinted from 1989 publication), 414 pages, £60.50, ISBN 0-8194-4336-0 This is a second publication of a textbook aimed at undergraduate students of optics, physical sciences, engineering and mathematics. It is skilfully written to meet the needs of students whose mathematical background is limited to a course in calculus. Special appendices are provided to cover some of the basic mathematics of transform theory and diFraction, concentrating on spherical wave fronts. Careful attention is paid to relevant physical principles as well as to practical features
of experimental optics. In this way this is an excellent textbook aimed at a wide audience. It introduces the study of the optical transfer function (OTF) with a valuable historical summary of the subject. The material is then shown to unfold in a suitable logical way starting with a de6nition and clari6cation of basic concepts, such as the frequency spectrum, etc. in one dimension gradually extending the analysis to two dimensions, encompassing small aberrations, etc. Next, notational conventions and co-ordinate systems are carefully described preparing the ground for the study of the diFraction integral and wave front aberration. It restricts the subject matter to well-established areas dealing with the optical function, excluding by deliberate choice topics on the geometrical
516
Book reviews / Optics & Laser Technology 36 (2004) 515 – 516
approximation of the OTF and sampled images or polychromatic OTF considerations. Each chapter is followed by a list of well selected, up to date references and excellent use is made of various illustrations. The book is a labour of love and a useful comprehensive treatment of the subject. It is hoped that the interested reader may be persuaded to delve more deeply into the subject of diFraction, and the underlying fundamentals of physics relating to the various theories of light, so strongly associated with the subject matter of the book, whose developments are best expressed
in terms of symplectic geometry. An addition of this would serve to extend the horizons of the student up to the frontiers of modern research in mathematical physics. One way to achieve this would be by the inclusion of an extra brief appendix illuminating the connection. In conclusion, it is an excellent textbook in the area of optics and is highly recommended. Phiroze Kapadia 2 Milton Close; Lexdon; Colchester; Essex C034JB; UK
doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.01.015
Synchrotron Radiation H. Wiedemann, Springer Berlin, 2003, 274 pp., price £63.00, ISBN 3-540-43392-9 This is an excellent book on the subject of synchrotron radiation written by an author who is a well known and respected contributor to this 6eld of research work. Since its discovery in 1945, the study of synchrotron radiation and its applications extends over a wider range which includes high-energy electron accelerators, free electron lasers and astrophysical applications. This, in turn, calls for a skilful selection of material. The book is written so as to appeal to the widest possible range of readers. With this end in view, it starts from 6rst principles using a mathematical and physical background making it suitable for use by undergraduate and 6rst year graduate students of physics. Furthermore, using physical ideas, the understanding of the subject is carefully built up, before presenting more detailed mathematical derivations. An important decision lies in limiting the analysis to essentially semiclassical derivations using Maxwell’s equations and excluding detailed quantummechanical considerations which would involve more lengthy derivations. doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2004.02.010
Accordingly, the book opens using ideas, based on Maxwell’s equations, to describe physically the radiation emitted by an accelerated charged particle. A section is also included on a short introduction to special relativity, before considering spectral and spatial photon distributions associated with the accelerated free charged particle. These considerations lead naturally to a useful discussion of accelerator physics, beam optics and storage ring design followed by a more rigorous discussion of synchrotron radiation. Devices and useful aspects regarding undulators are followed by a concluding chapter on free electron lasers. Each chapter is associated with exercises and an appendix includes solutions which serve as a vital part in helping a student to build up a genuine grasp of the subject. Additional appendices provide a list of mathematical formulae, constants, units and formulae associated with electromagnetic radiation. In conclusion, the various diagrams and the list of references, combine to provide a much needed text-book which, very eFectively, 6lls a gap in the literature on the subject. Phiroze Kapadia 2 Milton Close; Lexdon; Colchester; Essex; CO3 4JB; UK