Designing and constructing electro-optical instruments is without a doubt one of the most interdisciplinary activities in engineering. It makes an absorbing and rewarding career, with little danger of growing stale. On the other hand, the same interdisciplinary quality means that instrument building is a bit scary, and keeps us on our toes. The very broad range of technologies involved means that at least one vital subsystem lies outside the designer's expertise, presenting a very real danger of major schedule slippage or outright failure, which may not become apparent until very late in the project...

While most books on electro-optical systems concentrate on an individual subfield, this one presents an overview of the whole field, providing researchers with working knowledge of a number of cross-disciplinary areas. It includes essential information on how to build modern electro-optical instruments such as microscopes, cameras, optical inspection equipment, and spectrometers, and optical-related computer equipment.