Optical resonance

Interview with Yuen-Ron Shen, professor emeritus of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Shen recalls his childhood in Shanghai and later Taiwan, and he describes his father’s work as both a businessman and chemical engineering professor. He discusses his undergraduate studies in engineering in Taiwan and his decision to pursue graduate studies at Stanford. Shen recounts how his increasing interest in physics led him to study at Harvard under Nicolaas Bloembergen, where he began working on non-linear optics. He describes his continuation at Harvard for a postdoctoral position and then his acceptance of a position at Berkeley. Shen discusses the process of writing his book on non-linear optics, as well as his collaborations in the fields of solid states physics and materials science. Toward the end of the interview, Shen reflects on his involvement in scientific exchanges between the US and China over the years, and he shares his thoughts on the future of scientific relations between the US and China.

Some of the topics discussed include:  the development of his career along with the problems of the simultaneous development of his wife Ursula Lamb's career in academia; radiation; megnetron oscillators; laser theory; quantum theory of lasers; government funding of research.  Some of his associates mentioned are:  Arnold Nordsieck, George Uhlenbeck, Van der Pol, Charles Townes, Leonel Menegozzi, William Wing, Marlan Scully, E. T. James, William Bennett, Richard Fork, Sargent, among others.

Some of the topics discussed include:  the development of his career along with the problems of the simultaneous development of his wife Ursula Lamb's career in academia; radiation; megnetron oscillators; laser theory; quantum theory of lasers; government funding of research.  Some of his associates mentioned are:  Arnold Nordsieck, George Uhlenbeck, Van der Pol, Charles Townes, Leonel Menegozzi, William Wing, Marlan Scully, E. T. James, William Bennett, Richard Fork, Sargent, among others.

Boyer, former head of the laser division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, discusses the origins of the Los Alamos Laser Program, the influence of Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) High-energy Laser Program on his own program, the connection with his earlier nuclear rocket propulsion studies; Abraham Hertzberg’s proposal of the gas-dynamic laser concept and his visit to Los Alamos to discuss laser function. Los Alamos’s growing interest in laser fusion in the 1960s, their awareness of Ray Kidder’s work at Livermore, the three-pronged approach to laser fusion taken at Los Alamos, the development of interest in chemical lasers with AFWL support; in glass lasers; carbon dioxide laser fusion work; development of the electron-beam CO₂ laser and patent dispute with AVCO; the Division of Military Application interest in isotope separation and weapons simulation; comparison with the Livermore program; molecular isotope separation program at Los Alamos vs. Livermore and Exxon Nuclear exploration of the atomic vapor process; influence of Basov & Aleksandr Prokhorov’s work and others on Boyer’s group; technical problems of compressing thermonuclear fuel; electron attachment instability; problem of the wavelength effect; computer codes and modeling; laser fusion target design; laser system designs; frequency conversion work for isotope separation; large CO₂ lasers at Los Alamos; self-oscillation and target reflection problems in them; resonator optics of large CO₂ laser; Helios Design; Antares design; Boyer’s High Energy Laser Review Group participation and the contrast between Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Energy research and development policy.