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.