K.K.

Wagh Institute of Engineering Education & Research, Nashik

Model Question & Answers
Course : Applied Physics ( A )
UNIT-3 - Lasers and Fibre Optics
Q.1 – Define – 1) spontaneous emission , 2) stimulated emission, 3) stimulated absorption. (4)
Ans. 1) Spontaneous Emission : Let us consider an atomic system having two energy levels E1 & E2. If the atom
is in the excited state E2 & there is no radiation nearby, then after the lifetime of energy level E2 the atom falls on
its own accord spontaneously from E2 to E1 & during the transition radiation gets emitted has the frequency
ν = (E2 - E1 ) / h. This process is called as spontaneous emission. The emitted radiation is random in character &
produces incoherent beam of light.

2) Stimulated Emission : The atom is in the excited state E2. Now if a photon is made incident
on it with a frequencyν = (E2 - E1 ) / hbefore the lifetime of energy level E 2 then it can force the
atom in E2 level to fall to the lower level E1 & emit a photon of same frequency alongwith the
incident photon. Both the photons travel in the same direction & are in phase i.e. coherent beam
of light gets produced during the stimulated emission.

3) Stimulated Absorption : At 0oK, always lower energy levels are populated more than
higher energy levels. Hence E1 is more populated than E2. Now if a photon is made incident
on an atomic system then atom in E 1 level absorbs the incident photon & goes to a higher
energy level E2. This process is called stimulated absorption.

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Q.2- What is population inversion ? Explain the properties of laser. (6)
Ans. – Population Inversion : Let N1 = Number of atoms in lower energy level E1
N2 = Number of atoms in lower energy level E2.

Always at 0oK, N1 > N2 .

To produce the laser beam from a given system , stimulated emission process must be
dominant process. To have more stimulated emission number of atoms in E2 should be more
than number of atoms in E1. Hence , making , N2 > N1 in any given system to have more
stimulated emission process is called population inversion.

Properties of Laser : 1) Coherence : A conventional source as an incandescent lamp or sun

produces incoherent light wave since they emit radiation consisting random wavelength light
waves with no common phase relationship. Laser source emits waves of same frequency & are
in phase. Hence light generated by it is highly coherent.

2) Directionality : The conventional sources emits light in all directions. Lasers emit light only
in one direction as the photons traveling along the optical axis of the systems are selected.

3) Divergence : Light from conventional sources spreads out in the form of spherical wavefronts
& hence it is highly divergent. The divergence or angular spread of the laser beam is extremely
small.

4) Intensity : The intensity of light from a conventional source decreases rapidly with distance ,
as it spreads in the form of spherical waves. One can look at the source without any harm to his
eyes. In contrast, a laser emits light in the form of a narrow beam which propogates in the form
of plane waves. The intensity of the laser beam stays nearly constant with distance as the light
travels in the form of plane waves.

5) Monochromaticity: The light from normal monochromatic source spreads over a wavelength
range of the order of 100A0 to 1000A0 . The laser light is highly monochromatic. The spread is
of the order of few Angstroms ( < 10A0 ) only.

Q.3- Define the terms: i) Pumping ii) Metastable state iii) Population inversion
iv) Active Medium ( 1 M each)

Ans. i) Pumping : To produce laser beam, stimulated emission process should be dominant one
& hence large number of atoms must be present in the excited state. The process of
particle or atom transfer from lower energy state to higher energy state is called as
pumping.

ii) Meta-stable state : The atomic energy states having the lifetime greater than the normal
i.e. greater than 10-8 sec. Lifetime of meta-stable state is in milliseconds.

iii) Population inversion : Let N1 – No. of atoms in lower energy state & N2- No. of atoms
Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.
 in higher state. At thermal equilibrium always N1 > N2. But to have more & more
stimulated emission it is required to make N2 > N1 by some artificial method. Making
N2> N1 is called as population inversion.

iv) Active material or medium: The material or medium in which population inversion is
achieved to produce laser light is called as active material or medium.

Q.4- What is meta-stable state? What role do such states play in the operation of lasers? (4)

Ans.: Meta-stable states are atomic energy states having the lifetime greater than the normal
i.e. greater than 10-8 sec. Lifetime of meta-stable state is in milliseconds ( approximately
10-3 sec ).

To produce the laser beam, stimulated emission process must be dominant one & for it is
necessary to achieve steady state population inversion condition so that large number of
atoms must be present in higher energy state for a longer time than the lower one.
Hence to create this condition one of the higher energy state must be a meta-stable
state.

Q.5- What is population inversion ? Why it is necessary for lasing? (4)

Ans. – Always at 0oK or at thermal equilibrium the number of non-excited particles or atoms in
the lower energy level are very large compared to atoms in the excited state. By some
technique, number of atoms in the excited energy level are made greater than the lower
energy level i.e. population in higher energy level exceeds that of a population of lower
energy level. This state is known as population inversion.

To produce laser beam from some active material more & more stimulated emission
process are required to take place so as to get the incoming light amplified coherently. In
order to produce more & more stimulated emission process large number
of atoms must be in excited state & hence it is very much essential to produce
population inversion condition.

Q.6- What is population inversion ? How it is achieved by optical pumping? (4)

Ans.- Always at 0oK or at thermal equilibrium the number of non-excited particles or atoms in
the lower energy level are very large compared to atoms in the excited state. By some
technique, number of atoms in the excited energy level are made greater than the lower
energy level i.e. population in higher energy level exceeds that of a population of lower
energy level. This state is known as population inversion.

The process by which it is made is called as pumping. In optical pumping external

light is made incident on the material to produce high population in some particular
excited energy level by stimulated absorption process. To achieve this one of the excited
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 energy level must be the metastable state. It is suitable for any medium, which is
transparent to light. Optical pumping is done in Ruby Laser.

Q.7 – Explain Three level laser system. 5M

Ans. – Let us consider a material in which three energy levels E1, E2, E3 are present with population
inversion N1, N2, N3 respectively. Out of three energy level E 2 is a metastable state as shown in Fig.
below. At thermal equilibrium N1 > N2 and N1 > N3 means E1 is more populated.
Let us make a photon incident on the material with a frequency ν = ( E3 -E1 / h ) which acts as a
pumping radiation and as a result of it atoms will be raised from E1 to E3. Since E3 carries the normal
lifetime , after it atoms will make non-radiative transition with E2. So if the pumping radiation is sufficient
to make E3 more and more populated then in due course of time N2 > N1 and steady state population
inversion will get produced. Now nearby photon will triggered the atom on E 2 to make a transition with
E1 and a photon will be emitted alongwith the incident photon and slowly stimulated emission process will
be increased and laser light will be emitted between E 2 to E1.
Example of three level laser system is Ruby Laser.

Q. 8 – Give the examples of two, three, four level laser system. 3M

Ans. – Two Level Laser System - Semiconductor laser
Three Level Laser System - Ruby laser
Four Level Laser System - He-Ne gas laser, N2-CO2 gas laser

Q.9 - State the applications of laser in industry,IT and medical field. 3M

Ans: 1) Industrial field:
i) Laser is used in cutting, welding and drilling of thin metal and plastic sheets.
ii) Laser is used to develop hologram and in laser printer.
Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.
 iii) Laser is used in barcode reading.

2) IT field:
i) Laser is used in surveying and ranging in LIDAR system.
ii) Laser is used In barcode reading.
iii) Laser is used in optical fiber communication.

3) Medical field:
i) Laser is used in painless and bloodless cancer surgery.
ii) Laser is used in painless and bloodless dental surgery.
iii) Laser is used in skin treatment.
iv) Laser is used in eye retina surgery.

Q.10- Explain the propogation of light through fibre on the basis of ray optics. (5)
Ans.- In the fibre light propogates by using the principle of total internal reflection of light.
When the light goes from denser medium to the rarer medium, if the angle made by the
light at the interface is greater than critical angle ( Critical angle = sin-1[ R.I. of rarer
medium / R.I. of denser medium] ) then all the light is reflected in the same medium,
which is called as total internal reflection of light.

A fibre optic is a piece of very thin, highly pure glass called as a core coated with outside
covering of similar glass having low refractive index called as a cladding. Cladding helps
to keep the light travelling through the core using the principle of total internal reflection of
light & it gives strength to the cable.

Let the ray of light be incident on the aperture of fibre making an angle i with the axis of the
core & θ is the angle of refraction. Let n2 be the refractive index of cladding & n1 be the

Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.

 R.I. of core such that n2 < n1. Now if the incident ray strikes the core cladding upper
surface by making angle greater than the critical angle then it will get totally internally
reflected from upper surface & will strike the lower surface . At the lower surface again
the angle made by the incident light will be greater than the critical angle & it will get
totally internally reflected on the upper surface . It will get continued till the light reaches
the other end of the fibre. Thus the light will propogate through fibre.

Q.11- Explain the optical link with fibre media & advantages of fibre optic communication over

the others. (5)

Ans. – Fibre Optic Communication : Optical link with fibre media consists of a transmitter, optical fibre
& the receiver. In a transmitter a non-electrical signal such as sound is converted into electrical
signal in telecommunication by transducer which is amplified and modulated in proper form then fed
to laser diode where it is converted into laser light signal. The light signal is then transmitted through
optic fiber .Then it is fed to receiver where photo detector converts it into electrical signal which is
amplified and converted into original form by demodulator and given as output to the speaker.

In this way different type of data in the form of electrical signal is transferred from one
location to other location using optic fiber. Transmission link is shown in Fig. below.

Q.12 - State the advantages of optical fiber communication over usual communication.
Ans. - Advantages of Fibre optic communication :
1) The transmission of signal is due to internal reflection of light through the core which
is covered by cladding & hence low loss in signal during transmission.
2) Due to low loss, can transmit the signal over long distances.
3) The fibres are light weight & occupy less space .

4) Large information carrying capacity i.e. large signal width.

Since the frequency of light used as a carrier is of the order of 10 15Hz; extremely large as
compared to conventional radio waves ( 106Hz) & microwaves (1010Hz) , a light beam
acting as a carrier wave is capable of carrying far more information in comparison to
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 radio waves & microwaves.

5) It provides secure communication.

6) Immune to radio wave frequency interference, electromagnetic interference & noise.

7) Reduced power requirement.

8) Few joining points in linking compare to copper cable.

Q.13 – Explain the term Resonant or Optical Cavity. 3M

Ans.-

Q.14- Explain total internal reflection of light waves. 3M

Ans. - Total internal reflection of light waves : To achieve total internal reflection of light waves
light should travel from denser medium to the rarer medium, if the angle made by the
light at the interface separating the denser medium to the rarer medium is greater than
critical angle ( Critical angle = sin-1[ R.I. of rarer medium / R.I. of denser medium] ) then
all the light is reflected into the same medium. This is called as total internal reflection of
light ( Condition 3 as per given in figure below ). In case of condition 1 given in figure
below light ray is making angle with the interface less than the critical angle and hence all
the light is refracted into another media, in case of condition 2 given in figure below light
ray is making angle with the interface equal to the critical angle and hence all the light is
refracted along the interface and in case of condition 3 in figure given below light ray is

Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.

 making angle with the interface greater than the critical angle and hence all the light is
reflected into the same media that is the total internal reflection of light wave.

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Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.

Mrs. Joshi S.S., KKWIEER,NASHIK.