Dr. Arthur R. McGurn Publishes Physics Book

Olga Bonfiglio
College of Arts and Sciences staff writer

Arthur R. McGurn, a physics professor at Western Michigan University, has just published a new book, Nonlinear Optics of Photonic Crystals and Meta-Materials.

The book is a brief introduction to the ideas and phenomena that occur in the nonlinear optics of photonic crystals and metamaterials. These are illustrated within the context of simple models which provide an easy understanding of the physical phenomena that are important in these two rapidly developing areas of nano-photonic technology.

“The book was meant to help students prepare quickly to pursue research topics in the fields of photonic crystals and meta-materials with some focus on the nonlinear optics of these systems,” said McGurn.

He provides an introduction and discussion of some of the basic principles of linear and nonlinear optical nano-systems and focuses on engineered optical systems that have been of recent interest in physics, engineering, and applied mathematics for their opto-electronic applications. These include photonic crystals and meta-materials, and in the following discussions the operating principles of photonic crystals and meta-materials are outlined.  Some of the recent technological applications treated include negative refractive index, electromagnetic cloaking, the perfect lens, enhanced generation of second harmonics of radiation, and the properties of solutions.

The 134-page book is published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers. It is also available through IOP ebooks,™ a digital publisher that focuses on physics.

McGurn has been a WMU faculty member since 1981 and a full professor of physics at WMU since 1993.  His area of research is in condensed matter physics and optics. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1975. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, the Electromagnetics Academy and the Optical Society of America.