The article provides a brief historical review of the origin and development of the optical quantum generator as well as its primary applications in the former Czechoslovakia. After the first Czechoslovak lasers, the paper describes progress in the field of coherent light source use for holographic puposes. The tendency to search the optimus holographic interferometry schemes aimed to surface deformation measurements in experimental mechanics is outlined. Topics such as image plane holography, pused ruby laser holography, ESPI and dual-channel speckle interferometry, hybrid experimental-numerical stress state determination but also problems solution for engineering practice are discussed in the article., Milan Držík., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The article describes fundamental and application results obtained in the Department of Quantum Electronics of the Institute of Radio-Engineering and Electronics (IRE) of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague. The early success in detection of the Doppler effect of radiation reflected from the first satellite orbiting the Earth - Sputnik (1957) was in the Department followed by systematic work in the area of ammonia masers, both 14NH3 and 15NH3 (1963-72). Short information is given on the first graduate courses in quantum electronics (1963-64) organized by the Department. Department's program of laser development and applications is discussed in details. The results of four key research projects are reported in the article, i.e., (a) ruby laser and its application in ophthalmology (including the first laser surgery of retina carried out in our laboratory), (b) carbon dioxide IR lasers, (c) UV-Vis gas lasers (blue He-Cd laser, near-ultraviolet nitrogen laser), and (d) tunable dye lasers. Unfortunately, the politically motivated dissolution of the Department in early seventies ended all the promising programs., Jan Blabla, Viktor Trkal., Obsahuje bibliografii, and V anglickém názvu uvedeno chybně Quatum - správně = Quantum