This book is warmly welcomed as the first textbook devoted to quantum confined laser devices. Its author is a highly respected researcher who is also strongly committed to teaching. Now a wide audience can profit from the experience and expertise that Peter Blood has gained in researching and teaching semiconductor laser physics.
The book is extremely well structured, with careful introductions to basic concepts, followed by detailed treatments of more advanced topics—several of which can be related to the author’s research activity. The book is aimed at senior undergraduates and early-career researchers, but I suspect that many experienced researchers will quickly come to rely on this book as a ready source of enlightenment on the intricacies of quantum well and quantum dot laser diodes.
One particular feature of the book is its use of generous page margins, which often include informative diagrams and additional remarks. Each chapter includes a highlighted chapter summary, and most chapters have a number of exercises to check understanding or else to probe a little deeper into particular topics. Further reading is also provided—sometimes to enable the reader to appreciate the historical context of this area of activity. The book is completed by an extensive reference list and seven appendices.
Finally, one must salute the considerable effort made by the author in bringing all of this material together in a highly digestible form.
Review by K. Alan Shore, Bangor University School of Electronic Engineering, Wales, United Kingdom.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or OSA.