There is some incertitude on the creation of the term “photonics” and some ambiguity about its frontiers (and differences with respect to optoelectronics and electro-optics). Many authors consider the French scientist Pierre Agrain as the “father” of photonics, as of 1967, even if it would be more correct to refer to an almost simultaneous invention of the word by a group of French physicitsts working in lasers and fiber optics and by a Dutch group of high speed photography specialists. The first appearance of this word was apparently in 1952 [ ]. A very interesting analysis of the use of the term photonics, embracing history, philosophy, and sociology of science, was published recently [ ].
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