Book excerpt: William Risk, Timothy Gosnell and Arto Nurmikko have brought together their diverse expertise from industry and academia to write the first fully comprehensive book on the generation and application of blue-green lasers. This volume describes the theory and practical implementation of three techniques for the generation of blue-green light: nonlinear frequency conversion of infrared lasers, upconversion lasers, and wide bandgap semiconductor diode lasers. In addition, it looks at the various applications that have driven the development of compact sources of blue-green light, and reflects on the recent application of these lasers in high-density data storage, color displays, reprographics, and biomedical technology. Compact Blue-Green Lasers is suitable for graduate-level courses or as a reference for academics and professionals in optics, applied physics, and electrical engineering.