Optics has become one of the most dynamic fields of science since the first
volume of Progress in Optics was published, forty years ago. At the time of
inception of this series, the first lasers were only just becoming operational,
holography was in its infancy, subjects such as fiber optics, integrated optics
and optoelectronics did not exist and quantum optics was the domain of only a
few physicists. The term photonics had not yet been coined. Today these fields
are flourishing and have become areas of specialisation for many science and
engineering students and numerous research workers and engineers throughout the
world. Some of the advances in