The author has written an introductory textbook on light and X-ray optics with applications for optical devices and microscopic imaging. This text masterfully integrates light and X-ray optics and could benefit a wide readership of advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in material or physical chemistry and biomedical engineering.
The reader will have quick access to the differences between visible light and X-ray optics through Fermat’s principle in geometric optics, as well as classical (Fraunhofer, Fresnel) diffraction to dynamic diffraction phenomena. Some readers might be interested in the coverage of light and X-ray interferometry in addition to phase-contrast microscopy.
Confocal or near-field microscopy are also brought in context with respect to negative material. Advanced topics include the dynamic diffraction of quantum beams, unique features of dynamic X-ray diffraction and optical phenomena in photonic structures. This excellent text could benefit from selected or suggested exercises.
Review by Axel Mainzer Koenig, CEO, Mainzer Koenig Research Associates, Portland, OR, USA
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or its publisher, Optica (formerly OSA).