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Expert has over 45 years of extensive experience in the design, modeling, fabrication, and operation of lasers, using them for measurements and other applications and with laser safety. He is familiar with all types of lasers including excimer lasers, Nd:YAG, argon ion, CO2, dye, HeNe, and FEL. His PhD is in quantum electronics, which includes coherent sources such as lasers.

Expert has conducted extensive research on both discharge and electron-beam pumped excimer lasers, including KrF, XeCl, and XeF. He is very familiar with the devices (laser chamber, optics, and pulsed power), kinetics, and applications.

In performing research on and using lasers, Expert is, of course, very familiar with the optics associated with these devices. This includes the laser cavity mirrors, other optics within the cavity (e.g. Q-switch, polarizer), and external optics, including mirrors, gratings, lenses, filters, and nonlinear crystals. He is well versed in optical damage issues, and has performed research on glancing incidence mirrors. In addition, he has been involved in the design of very specialized optics. He has published a 2nd edition of a book that discusses in detail how lasers work, and how to set up complex optical systems that utilize lasers.

Familiar with optical damage from his work with high-peak power lasers (excimer, Nd:YAG, and CO2), Expert has studied laser surface cleaning of mirrors.

Expert is knowledgeable of the optical diagnostics used to detect and characterize optical radiation from laser beams, incoherent sources, and linear accelerators. This includes diagnostic instruments, commercial devices (see Summary under Photonics Technology for examples), custom devices (designed by Expert), proper usage of these devices, and analysis and interpretation of their outputs.

Expert's experience in laser applications is quite diverse. It includes using lasers to measure physical phenomena (interferometry, spectroscopy, imagery, reflectometry), laser surface cleaning, laser particle acceleration, photoacoustic calorimetry, laser-triggered spark gaps, and endoscopic photocoagulation. Typically, his involvement covers everything, including concept, design, engineering, safety, testing, and usage.

Expert has performed research to create innovative laser beams, such as ones with radial polarization, Bessel beams, and flattop beams required for effective laser cleaning applications. Measuring the characteristics of these beams is also an area of his expertise.

Besides lasers and optics, Expert is adept with the other devices and physics associated with the photonics field. These include optical detectors (e.g. PMT, photodiode, video cameras), optical instruments (e.g. spectrometers, power meters), optical hardware (e.g. mounts, translation stages), electronics (e.g. oscilloscopes, delay generators, video frame grabber boards), and optical fibers. He also maintains a large library of vendor brochures, catalogs, and other printed literature.

Expert is intimately familiar with all issues related to managing photonics R&D This work includes planning, coordinating, and managing activities as well as resolving technical and managerial issues, customer or end-user interactions, market analysis, and strategic planning.

Expert has been performing research for nearly 30 years on accelerating relativistic electrons using a high-power laser beam. Since an electron linear accelerator is used during this process, he is also familiar with these devices and their associated physics. He is familiar with the basic fundamental principles of accelerators, their associated hardware and equipment, and their applications both in research and industry.

Expert's experience includes relativistic electron beams, which stems from his laser particle acceleration research, and non-relativistic electron beams, which stems from his electron-beam pumped excimer laser research. He is knowledgeable of electron-beam sources (cold, hot, and photoexcited cathodes), electron beam physics, and electron beam interactions with matter.

Expert has performed pioneering research on electron-beam pumped excimer lasers, including KrF, XeCl, and XeF. He is proficient in the devices (laser chamber, optics, and pulsed power), kinetics, and applications of these lasers.

Expert has performed research in this area, with special emphasis on using a UV laser. This research includes optimization of the technique, developing engineering designs for cleaning systems, and cost analysis. He is also familiar with alternative cleaning techniques, such as CO(2) snow. Since 1990, he has performed research and development on using a pulsed laser beam to remove both molecular and particulate contamination from optical surfaces without damaging the optical coating on the surface. Such a process can also be used to clean non-optical surfaces and remote surfaces, and it can be more effective and have less total cost (capital plus operational) than conventional methods.

As part of his laser surface cleaning research, Expert is familiar with issues related to determining the cleanliness of a surface. He is also experienced with corrosion or tarnishing of surfaces and has performed research on inhibiting corrosion of mirror surfaces.

As the principal investigator and program manager for both small and multimillion-dollar programs, Expert has extensive experience in cost estimation and cost/benefit analysis, especially for experimental R&D projects. These costs include labor and materials for all phases of the project.