Laser

5
Can we produce a light brighter than sunlight? Is it possible to
send light through a very large distance without spreading? Do we
have any source of light having complete coherence and perfectly
monochromatic? All these characteristics you will find in LASER.

INTRODUCTION TO LASER

Lasers are devices that amplify light, just as transistors

5.1 amplify electronic signals at audio, radio or microwave
frequencies. Lasers have covered radiation at wavelengths
ranging from the infrared range to ultraviolet and even the soft X-ray
range.
In this chapter, we shall discuss the laser principles and devices in
detail. A laser device consists of (1) laser medium like atoms, mole-
cules, ions or semiconductor crystals; (2) pumping processes to excite
these atoms, ions or molecules into higher quantum-mechanical
energy levels; and (3) suitable optical feedback elements that allow
the beam of radiation to either pass once through the laser medium or
bounce back and forth repeatedly through the laser medium.
LASER is the acronym of Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation. It is a light of special properties. Now we
know that light is composed of ‘particles’ whose motion probability
is determined by its wavelike behavior. The stimulated emission has
the same frequency and phase as the incident radiation. So laser light
would be very different from normal light. It is coherent. Two sources
are coherent when they vibrate in the same phase or there is a constant
phase difference. Coherent light sources have numerous applications.
The light beams from lasers with coherence lengths of up to 1014
cycles will make many experiments and practical applications pos-
 5.2
Engineering Physics
sible otherwise which would not be possible with the previously available light sources of coherence lengths
extending almost up to 107 cycles.
Many scientists tried to find methods for amplified stimulated emission, but it was realised in 1960, about
half a century after Einstein’s prediction.
The first laser was invented by TH Maiman in May, 1960. It was a solid ruby laser. After the solid ruby
laser, many kinds of lasers were invented—first, the uranium laser by IBM labs (in Nov., 1960), He–Ne Laser
by Bell Laboratories in 1961, the semiconductor laser by Robert Hall at General Electric Labs in 1962, the
Nd: YAG laser and CO2 laser in 1964, the argon-ion laser in 1964, the chemical laser in 1965, and the metal
vapour laser in 1966.
Einstein in 1917 predicted the phenomenon of stimulated emission—the basic principle involved in the
lasing action. When an atom is in the excited state, it can make a transition to a lower energy state by emitting
a photon. The emission process takes place in two different ways.
(i) Usually, the atom in the excited state cannot remain in the excited state for more than 10– 8 second.
After this interval, it emits radiation by jumping to a lower state even in the absence of any incident
radiation. This occurs spontaneously. The rate of spontaneous emissions depends upon the number of
atoms in the excited state.
(ii) In the second process, a photon of frequency n is incident on the atom in the excited state. This
incident photon triggers the atom in the excited state to emit radiation. This is known as stimulated
emission of radiation. The rate of stimulated or induced emission depends both on the intensity of
the external fields and on the number of atoms in the excited state.
The stimulated emission phenomenon was first used by Ch. Townes in 1954 in the construction of MASER,
the microwave amplifier. The MASER application was later extended to optical frequencies, which led to
the development of the laser.

SPONTANEOUS AND STIMULATED EMISSION

We need to begin with the idea of atomic energy levels. We shall consider an idealised atom with
5.2 two electron energy levels and one electron. The electron may be in either of the two energy
levels.
If the electron is in the higher level 2, it may fall down into the lower level 1. In its doing this, it must give
up an amount of energy equal to the energy difference between the two levels. This is the law of conservation
of energy being applied. This energy is given up in the form of light.

Level 2

Energy Electron

Level 1

Either this... ...or this

Fig. 5.1 Idealised atom with two electron energy levels and one electron
 5.3
Laser
Light is also quantised and represented as groups of photons. Each photon carries one quantum of light
energy. The amount of energy in a quantum depends upon the wavelength (colour) of the light.

E = ___ = hv
hc
(5.1)
l
where E is the energy of photon, l is the wavelength, n is the frequency of light (photon), c is the velocity of
light in vacuum, and h is the Planck’s constant.
From Eq. (5.1), we infer that red light at 670 nm has a low energy and short wavelength such as blue light
at 470 nm has a high energy per photon. Here, the wavelength of light is linked to the energy of a photon in a
defined way. Thus, an electron in the idealised atom has given out a photon of defined energy, emitting light
of a defined wavelength or ‘colour’.
Some street lights contain sodium atoms which take electrical energy to move their electrons into higher
levels and then fall back down to the lower level, giving light at 589 nm, the characteristic yellow colour of
street lights. This process is known as spontaneous emission. The atom emits light spontaneously without
external influences.
Other effects may occur if the atom is not isolated. Photons of the energy equal to the energy difference
between upper and lower level may be utilised to move an electron from the lower level to the upper one.
This process is known as Absorption, because the photon is absorbed in the process. If an atom with its
electron in the upper level is exposed by a photon of the correct energy then it may cause the electron to fall
to the lower level. This is known as stimulated emission which is very different from spontaneous emission.
In the spontaneous process, the photon may travel in random direction and be emitted at any time. However,
stimulated emission causes the emitted photon to travel in the identical direction to the passing photon and at
the same time. The entire process is depicted in Fig. 5.2. Now we finally get to lasers.

Leve1 2 Leve1 2
Photon Photon Photon 2 Photons
Energy Electron
In Out In
Out
Leve1 1 Leve1 1
Absorbtion Spontaneous Stimulated
emission emission

Fig. 5.2 Absorption, spontaneous and stimulated emission

Now let us consider a group of N atoms so that the three processes outlined above, all happen. Out of
these, N1 atoms have their electrons in the lower level and N2 atoms have their electrons in the upper level.
Let us look at the rate at which each process occurs.
Spontaneous Emission Out of N2 atoms having electrons in the upper level, a certain proportion ‘a’ of the
upper level electrons will emit in a given time. So, rate of spontaneous emission,
dN2
____ μ N2 = aN2
dt
Absorption Out of N1 atoms present in the lower level, a certain proportion ‘b’ of the lower level electron
interacts with n number of incident photons in a given time.
Rate of absorption = b N1 n
 5.4
Engineering Physics
Stimulated Emission Similarly, the rate of stimulated emission is given by the same form of equation with
only consideration that the N2 atoms are in the upper level and the electrons of these atoms will interact with
n photons.
Rate of stimulated emission = b N2 n
The condition for the lasing action is that the last of these expressions is the largest, i.e., rate of stimu-
lated emission should be greater than spontaneous emission. To increase the rate we should increase b,
N2 and n. Now ‘a’ and ‘b’ are constants depending on the particular atom used and are thus fixed once the
material is fixed. So to make the rate of stimulated emission greater than the rate of spontaneous emission,
we require n to be large, i.e., we need many photons in the laser. Also, for stimulated emission to be greater
than absorption, we require N2 to be greater than N1, i.e., more number of atoms should have their electrons
in the upper level than in the lower level, i.e., the population of the excited atoms should be more than that
of the lower level. This is known as population inversion as it is normal for electrons to be in their lowest
energy level. This can be seen from the fact that in the absence of any external influences, i.e., no photons, n
= 0, the rate of stimulated emission will be zero and only spontaneous emission is possible, which will allow
any electron that began in the upper level to fall to the lower level, but not vice-versa.
The main difficulty in producing a laser is creating this necessary population inversion in the populations
of the two levels. It must be noted here that we are considering many atoms, each with a single electron,
which may be in one of the two levels. We do not have many electrons in one atom since it would restrict
their movements between levels by the rules governing how many electrons may occupy a single level of a
particular atom.
Now assuming that we have a population inversion, N2 > N1, we can get the SE part of LASER. Now how
do we amplify light using this? Consider a single photon entering a region with the atoms inside. This photon
will pass by an atom with its electron in the upper level and cause it to emit a second photon traveling in the
same direction by the process of stimulated emission. There are now two photons, each of which can cause
stimulated emission in two more atoms to give four photons, and so on.

Pop. inv.

Laser output

M1 OC

Fig. 5.3 Process of population inversion

Thus, we have amplification, which is also known as gain. The region containing the atoms is known as
the gain medium. The final stage in a laser is to get this first photon to amplify. This is done by placing the
gain medium between two mirrors. This forms what is known as a laser cavity.
A schematic diagram of a typical laser cavity is shown in Fig. 5.4. Mirrors M1 and M2 have intensity
reflectivity very high, for mirror M1 with almost ~ 99.5% or higher and M2 which is also called Output Cou-
pler (OC) with intensity reflectivity typically 98%-90%.
 5.5
Laser

R1 ~ 99.5% R2 ~ 98 95%

Gain medium
Laser output
M1 M2 or OC

Fig. 5.4 Typical laser cavity with mirrors on two sides

To understand the process of light amplification, consider initially no light in the cavity. Therefore, spon-
taneous emission is the only possible process for the atoms to undergo transition and this duly occurs. As
stated earlier, the spontaneously emitted photons may travel in any direction out of the gain medium, and
most of them are lost from the cavity. However, out of the millions of photons emitted by the millions of
atoms in any real medium, there is bound to be at least one photon which travels directly to one of the mirrors
and is reflected back to the gain medium. This will act now as our first photon. As this photon passes through
the gain medium, it produces stimulated emission of photons as described above and by the end of the gain
medium there are, say, ten photons. In this process, the important part is that all these photons are traveling in
the same direction as the first photon, and will be reflected back to the gain region by the other mirror. These
ten photons now each produce stimulated emission of photons, and when they get out of the medium to the
first mirror again, there are 100 which are reflected back to the gain medium again and are amplified to 1000,
and so on. This process of multiplication of photons builds up in an avalanche-like manner, which is shown
in Fig. 5.5. In this process, very high-amplitude electromagnetic waves are generated.

Wasted spontaneous emission

First Photon
Mirror
Mirror 10 Photons Amplified Comes back
2 1

All come back Amplified 100 Photons

Gain medium

Fig. 5.5 Complete process of ideal light amplification

Thus, very rapidly we get a large amount of photons traveling back and forth in the cavity. In this idealised
case no photons are lost from the steadily amplified beam so the photon number just goes on increasing. In
any real laser cavity, some photons are always lost for many various reasons. One of these is quite deliber-
ate. One of the mirrors is made to reflect only part of the light, and to allow the rest through. This is then the
output beam of the laser and the ‘leaky’ mirror is referred to as the Output Coupler (OC). A steady state will
be reached where the gain exactly replaces the photons lost from the cavity by the output coupler. There will
 5.6
Engineering Physics
be then a constant number of photons in the cavity at any given time. For example, for a laser with a gain of
1.12 (a realistic gain than 10 used earlier as the illustration) and an output coupler which reflects just 80% of
the light we have the following figure.

100 Photons 20 Out

Mirror 89 Photons 80 × 1.12 gain 80 Come back

2 Mirror
1
All come back 89 × 1.12 gain 100 Photons (Reflects 80%)

Again...

Gain medium

Fig. 5.6 Real process of light amplification through stimulated emission of radiation at equilibrium

Thus, the output beam has photons which are traveling in a fixed direction with a fixed wavelength (colour)
defined by the energy levels of the electrons in the atoms of the gain medium.
Since the waves are traveling in the same direction, same phase and energy, constructive interference takes
place and a coherent beam of light is produced. All the individual waves are now combined in phase that
gives the resultant light as a single wave. The amplitude of the resultant wave is proportional to the square of
the number of contributing atoms, i.e., N 2. The intensity (I N 2) of the resultant beam is much higher than
the incoherent beam because the number of contributing atoms is very large. Therefore, the intensity of light
produced due to stimulated emission is much higher than the light produced due to spontaneous emission.
The stimulated emission is the main process of the laser.

5.2.1 Relation Between Spontaneous and Stimulated Emission Probabilities

(Einstein’s Coefficients)
We know that an atom in an excited state emits radiation in two different ways: (i) spontaneous emissions,
and (ii) stimulated or induced emissions. Stimulated emissions are produced by external effects but spon-
taneous emissions are not produced because of external effects. Stimulated emission arises because of the
presence of external electromagnetic radiation of suitable frequency. The frequency of the emitted radiation
is equal to that of the incident radiation in stimulated emission.
We shall now establish the relation between spontaneous and stimulated emission probabilities:
Let us consider an assembly of atoms in the cavity in thermal equilibrium at a temperature T containing
radiation of frequency n and energy density (i.e., energy per unit volume of the cavity) u (n). Let Nl and Nh
be the number of atoms in the lower energy state l and higher energy state h respectively at any instant. The
probability that the numbers of atoms in the state l absorb a photon and rise to the state h per unit time is
Nl Pl Æ h = Nl Bl Æ h u(v) (5.2)
This is because the probability of transition from the lower state l to the higher state h, i.e., Pl Æ h is directly
proportional to the energy density u (n). Here, Bl Æ h is called the Einstein’s coefficient of absorption.
The probability of emission is a sum of two parts, one which is independent of the radiation density
(spontaneous emission of radiation) and the other proportional to it (stimulated emission of radiation). The
probability that the number of atoms in the state h that drop to l, either spontaneously or under stimulation,
emitting a photon per unit time is
 5.7
Laser
Nh Ph Æ l = Nh [Ah Æ l + Bh Æ l u(v)] (5.3)
where,
Ah Æ l = Einstein’s coefficient of spontaneous emission
Bh Æ l = Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated (induced) emission
In thermal equilibrium, emission and absorption must balance. Thus,
Nl Bh Æ l u(v) = Nh [Ah Æ l + Bh Æ l u(v]
or, u(v) [Nl Bl Æ h – Nh Bn Æ l u(v] = Nh Ah Æ l
u(v) = Nh Ah Æ l/[Nl Bl Æ h – Nh Bn Æ l]
Ah Æ l/Bh Æ l
\ u(v) = _____________________ (5.4)
[(Nl/Nh)(Bl Æ h/Bh Æ l) – 1]
Einstein proved thermodynamically that the probability of stimulated absorption must be equal to the
probability of stimulated emission,
i.e.,
Bl Æ h = Bh Æ l (5.5)
Ah Æ l/Bh Æ l
u(v) = ___________ (5.6)
[(Nl/Nh) – 1]
Now the equilibrium distribution of atoms among different energy states is given by Boltzmann’s law
which is applied to the system of gas molecules. This law is applied to a system of particles which are iden-
tical, distinguishable and having any spin. This is also applicable to solid crystalline materials because the
positions of atoms are distinguishable. Now consider an assembly of atoms at an absolute temperature T in
which the atoms are in different energy states. Let N0 be the number of atoms per unit volume in ground
state. Then the number of atoms N per unit volume in an excited state of energy E is given by the Boltzmann
distributions law:
N = N0 e(–E/kT) (5.7)
where k = Boltzmann constant.
If Nh and Nl be the number of atoms per unit volume in the states of energies Eh and El then
Nl
___ = e(Eh/El)/kT = ehv/kT (5.8)
Nh
Consequently,
Ah Æ l/Bh Æ l
u(v) = _________ (5.9)
[ehv/kT – 1]
This is the formula for energy density of photons of frequency n in equilibrium with atoms in energy states
l and h at a temperature T.
According to Planck’s radiation formula,
8p hv3 _________
1
u(v) = ______ (5.10)
c3 [ehv/kT – 1]
Comparing Eqs (7) and (8), we have
8p hv3
Ah Æ l ______
_____ = (5.11)
Bh Æ l c3
 5.8
Engineering Physics
This is the required relation in the form of a ratio between the spontaneous emission and stimulated emis-
sion coefficients. The ratio is proportional to n 3. This shows that the probability of spontaneous emission
rapidly increases with the difference in energy between the two states.
Here, it has been noted that if we had not assumed the presence of stimulated emission, we cannot derive
the expression for u (n), the energy density, which is similar to Planck’s law. The stimulated emission was
predicted by Einstein and was confirmed by quantum theory.

POPULATION INVERSION

Normally, it is a natural phenomenon that the number of atoms in the excited state is less than the
5.3 number of atoms in the lower energy state, i.e., N2, the population of higher energy level is less
than the population N1 of the lower energy level (N2 < N1). Now to make N2 > N1, i.e., the number
of atoms N2 more in the higher energy level than the number of atoms, N1 in the lower energy level is known
as population inversion or inverted population. This is also called the negative value of T. Here, the nega-
tive value of T is not a physical quantity but it is a convenient mathematical expression signifying the non-
equilibrium state of the system. When the system has a number of states, then out of many states one of them
may have a negative temperature with respect to the other state or states. So a system in which population
inversion is achieved is called an active system. The method of raising the atoms from lower energy states to
higher energy states is called pumping.
We know the processes of absorption, spontaneous emission and stimulated emission. The spontaneous
emission process is independent of external factors and is not suitable to make population inversion. Einstein
showed that the two processes (absorption and stimulated emission) are equally probable under normal cir-
cumstances. They can be acted upon from outside. Among the two processes, the relative number of atoms
in the two states will decide which process predominates over the other. If N1 > N2, absorption predominates
over emission. On the other hand, if N2 > N1, the stimulated emission dominates over the absorption. Accord-
ing to the Boltzmann distribution law

[
N2 = N1 exp – ________
kT ]
(E2 – E1)
(5.12)

For a positive value of the temperature T, if energies E2 > E1 then the number of atoms in the two states
will be N2 < N1. This implies that the population of atoms in the lower energy state is more than in the higher
energy state. Therefore, the photons incident on the atoms are very likely to be absorbed rather than to pro-
duce stimulated emission. Thus, the absorption process is predominant. To achieve the population inversion
condition, i.e., stimulated emission to dominate over the absorption process, it is necessary to increase the
population of the higher energy state. The situation is known as population inversion. The process of creating
a population inversion is called pumping.

PUMPING AND ACTIVE SYSTEM

To attain population inversion, the atoms in the material must be continuously excited from lower
5.4 energy levels to higher energy levels. To keep population in the higher energy levels, energy has
to be supplied to the medium. This process is known as pumping. By heating the material, the
state of population inversion cannot be achieved. To achieve this condition, one may think about heating the
material. But by heating the material, the average energy of atoms is increased without the required situation,
i.e., N2 > N1. Therefore, to achieve this condition, different methods are used.
 5.9
Laser

5.4.1 Optical Pumping

In the method of optical pumping, optical energy in the form of photons is used to excite the atoms in the
medium. For supplying optical energy, a discharge tube is employed to excite atoms from the ground state
to a higher or excited state. The excited atom from the uppermost level spontaneously falls to the metastable
state to create a state of population inversion with respect to the ground state. In doing so, some of the photons
are released with a frequency and, hence, energy equal to the difference between higher state and metastable
state. Obviously, the frequency of pumping photons must be higher than that of emitted photons, so that the
atoms can be sent from the lower level to the upper level. This reduces the efficiency of the laser.
The pumping level should accommodate a range of energies, so it should be wide enough. If it has limited
energy then it can be employed for only a specific frequency which limits the alternative of the source and
a large amount of energy would be wasted. Hence, light sources emitting a range of wavelength are used to
excite the atoms. Optical pumping is suitable for any medium which is transparent to light.

5.4.2 Electrical Pumping

Electrical pumping is used for some mediums which can conduct electricity without affecting laser activity.
This method is suitable for gases. In a gaseous medium, the gas is ionised by a pulse of high electric voltage.
The current flowing through the gas provides necessary energy to excite the atoms to the uppermost level.
From this level, the atoms jump to the metastable state, creating a state of population inversion with respect
to the ground or lower state.
Electrical pumping is also employed in case of a semiconductor laser medium. In this medium, instead of
atoms, the charge carriers (electrons and holes) are excited and a state of population inversion is achieved in
the junction region. In the junction area, electrons combining with holes develop laser. Therefore, in a semi-
conductor laser, electrical energy is directly converted to light energy.
In fact, energy (electrical, optical, chemical, whatever) would be pumped in to sustain the inversion, and
a beam of light would be extracted. Such a device for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
is called a laser. Figure 5.7 and 5.8 shows the principle of the LASER.

METASTABLE STATE

The atoms are energised to a higher energy level by absorbing energy from external sources like
5.5 optical, electrical, etc. They remain in an excited state for a very short period of 10 - 8 second;
after that, they spontaneously release their excess energy. For stimulated emission to occur, the
atoms should remain excited long enough, typically for 10- 4 second, as atoms are continuously lifted up to
the excited state by pumping and a number of them rapidly undergo spontaneous transition to the lower level.
Therefore, the state of Population Inversion (PI) is difficult to be achieved. To achieve that state (PI), the
excited atoms should remain in the uppermost level till the condition N2 > N1 gets satisfied. So a metastable
state is such a long-lived upper energy level from where the excited atoms do not return to the lower level
instantly. In the metastable state, the excited atoms remain for an appreciable time for 10-6 s to 10-3 s, which
is a very long time for an atom in the excited state to create a state of population inversion. The population of
atoms in the metastable state is greater than that in the lower state, which leads to population inversion.
 5.10
Engineering Physics

Fig. 5.7 Figure depicting population inversion: five atoms in a group where one is in a ground state and remaining
four are in an excited state. One atom (on the left) spontaneously returns to the groud state by emitting a
photon, which causes a nearby atom to be stimulated into emitting an inphase photon og iys own.

MAIN COMPONENTS OF LASER

There are three main components of a laser system: (1) active medium, (2) optical pumping sys-
5.6 tem, and (3) optical resonator. Let us understand the function of each one in producing required
laser light.

5.6.1 Active Medium

An active medium is defined as a medium which, when excited, attains the state of population inversion and
causes light amplification. This implies that the whole process is performed in this medium and light ampli-
fication is achieved in this region. The active medium may be of any type—solid, liquid, or gas. In the active
medium, only some atoms residing in a particular energy state are responsible for stimulated emission and
light amplification. These atoms are called active centres and the remaining atoms support the active centres.
The medium containing the active centres is called the active medium.
 5.11
Laser
Pumping energy

Active
Mirror medium

Partial
mirror

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 5.8 A schematic presentation of the laser. (a) Pumping of an active medium, initiation of the population
inversion. (b) The reflected photons transverse the cavity, stimulating other atoms to emit photons and the
beam builds up. (c) Almost all the medium contributes to the stimulating emission and laser action
takes place.

5.6.2 Optical Pumping System

Two basic mechanisms can produce population inversion in a laser, either by creating an excess of atoms or
molecules in a higher energy state, or by reducing the population of a lower energy state.
To produce a population inversion in a laser medium, energy should be added to the system in order to
excite the atoms or molecules into higher energy levels. If we add thermal energy to the medium, it is not
sufficient (under thermodynamic equilibrium) to produce a population inversion, because heat only increases
the average energy of the population, but does not increase the number of atoms or molecules in the excited
state relative to that in the lower state. The ratio of the number of atoms at two energy levels (1 and 2) under
thermodynamic equilibrium is given by Eq. (5.12) and can be written in the following way:
N2 / N1 = exp[– (E2 – E1) / k T]
 5.12
Engineering Physics
where N1 and N2 are the number of atoms in level 1 and level 2, with the energies E1 and E2 respectively,
k is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the temperature in Kelvin. From the equation, at thermodynamic
equilibrium, N2 can be greater than N1 only if the temperature is a negative number, referred to a population
inversion as a negative temperature.
To acquire the required population inversion for laser activity, atoms or molecules must be selectively
excited to specific energy levels. To attain the condition for population inversion, the atoms have to be raised
to an excited state continuously. This requires energy to be supplied to the system. In optical pumping, a light-
source discharge tube is used. In the electric discharge pumping method, ionisation in the medium occurs due
to an electric field and the atom goes to the excited state. This method is used in gas lasers.
Excited level E2 As the atoms have a large number of energy levels, two, three
or four energy levels are eligible for the pumping process. The
transition between two levels due to which stimulated emission
No laser output occurs is called lasing transition. The uppermost level is called
Nonradiative transition the pumping level. The two-level pumping schemes cannot lead
Ground level E1 to laser action. For population inversion, the population in the
uppermost level must be greater than that of in the lower state. It
Fig. 5.9 Two-level pumping scheme
is possible only when the upper level will populate faster than its
depopulation. For this, the lifetime of spontaneous emission should be longer, i.e., the lifetime at upper level
E2 should be longer. The light source must be highly monochromatic. However, practically, more number of
atoms cannot be excited to the upper level. The pumping excites the atoms from the ground state and induces
the atoms for transition from upper to lower level. Hence, population and depopulation processes take place
simultaneously. Therefore, in two-level schemes, the state of population inversion cannot be reached. The two
level-pumping scheme is shown in Fig. 5.9.
The widely used pumping schemes are (a) three-level pumping scheme, and (b) four-level pumping
scheme.
For most lasers, light and electricity are the excitation mechanisms of choice. Either light or electrons can
furnish the energy necessary to excite atoms or molecules to selected higher energy levels, and the transfer
of energy is not required to directly elevate electrons to a specific upper level of the laser transition. Some
methods can be rather complex, but these often produce better-performing lasers. One often utilised approach
excites an atom or molecule to a higher energy level than required, there after it drops to the upper laser level.
Indirect excitation can be applied to excite atoms in a surrounding gas mixture, which then transfer their
energy to the atoms or molecules responsible for producing the laser action.
As previously discussed, the amount of time spent by an atom or molecule in an excited state is critical
in determining whether it will be stimulated to produce emission and participate in a cascade of photons, or
lose its energy through spontaneous emission. Excited states commonly have lifetimes of only a few hundred
nanoseconds before they release their energy by spontaneous emission, a period that is too short to likely
undergo stimulation by another photon. A critical requirement for laser action to successfully take place is to
have a longer-lived state that is suitable for the upper energy level. Such states do exist for certain materials,
and are referred to as metastable states (see Fig. 5.10). The average lifetime before spontaneous emission
occurs for a metastable state is of the order of a microsecond to a millisecond, quite a lengthy and sufficient
period of time on the atomic timescale. With this much long lifetimes, excited atoms and molecules can
develop significant amounts of stimulated emission. Laser action is only possible if the population builds up
faster than it decays in the upper energy level, maintaining a population larger than that of the lower level.
For laser applications, the atoms and molecules having longer spontaneous emission lifetimes are more suit-
able.
 5.13
Laser
Three-level laser energy diagram Four level pumping scheme or
leser energy diagram
Pumping E3
Highly excited level E4 Highly excited level
level Pumping
E2 Metastable
level level E3 Upper level
(Metastable)
Laser transition

emission
Excitation

Population

Laser
Excitation
Population inversion Laser
Laser between output
inversion output
between these 2 levels
these 2 levels Lower
E2 laser level
Natural
Ground depopulation
level E1
Three-Level E1 Ground
Four-level state
(a) (b)

Fig. 5.10 Three and four-level pumping scheme for laser production

The simplest functional energy-level structure for laser operation is a three-level system, which is illus-
trated in Fig. 5.10(a). In this system, the ground state is the lower energy level E1, and a population inversion
is created between this level and a higher-energy metastable state with the energy E2. Most of the atoms or
molecules are initially excited to a short-lived high-energy state E3 that is higher than the metastable level E2
(ground level E1 > metastable level E2 > excited higher level E3). From this state, they quickly decay to the
intermediate metastable level E2, which has a much longer lifetime (~order few ms to milliseconds) than the
higher energy state. Because each atom’s residence time in the metastable state is relatively long, the popu-
lation tends to increase and leads to a population inversion between the metastable state E2 and the lower
ground state E1 (which is continuously being depopulated to the highest level). Stimulated emission results
from the fact that more atoms are available in the upper excited (metastable) state E2 than in the lower state
E1 where absorption of light would most likely occur.
Although the three-level laser system works for all practical purposes, as illustrated by the first laser, a
couple of problems restricts the effectiveness of this approach. The main problem occurs because the lower
laser level is the ground level, which is the normal occupied state for most atoms or molecules. In order to
produce the population inversion, a majority of ground-state electrons must be elevated to the highly excited
energy level, which requires a significant input of external energy. In addition, the population inversion is dif-
ficult to maintain for an appreciable time, and therefore, three-level lasers must be operated in pulsed mode
rather than continuously.
Lasers utilising four or more energy levels to avoid some of the problems mentioned above, and there-
fore are more commonly used. Figure 5.10(b) illustrates a four-level scheme of operation. The energy level
structure is similar to that in the three-level system (ground level E1 > lower laser level E2 > metastable level
or upper laser level E3 > excited higher level E4), except that after the atoms drop from the highest level E4
to the metastable upper state E3, in this case, they do not drop all the way to the ground state E1, in a single
step. Because the population inversion is not created between the ground state E1 and the upper level E3
(rather between E3 and E2), the number of atoms or molecules that must be elevated is drastically reduced in
this model. If, for example, in a typical four-level laser system, if only 1% or 2% of the atoms or molecules
reside in the lower laser level E2 (which is above the ground state) then exciting only 2% to 4% of the total to
the higher level E3 will achieve the required population inversion. Another advantage of separating the lower
laser level E2 from the ground level E1 is that the lower level atoms will naturally fall to the ground state. If
the lower laser level has a lifetime that is much shorter than the upper level, atoms will decay to the ground
 5.14
Engineering Physics
level at a rate sufficient to avoid accumulation in the lower laser level. Many of the lasers designed under
these restraints can be operated in a continuous mode to produce an uninterrupted beam.

5.6.3 Optical Resonator

An optical resonator plays a major role in the generation of the laser output, with high directionality to the
laser beam and producing gain in the active medium to overcome the losses due to straying away of photons
from the laser medium, diffraction losses due to definite sizes of the mirrors, radiation losses inside the active
medium due to absorption and scattering, etc. In order to maintain laser action, one has to confine the laser
medium and the pumping mechanism in a special way that should encourage stimulated emission rather than
spontaneous emission. In practice, photons need to be confined in the system to allow the number of pho-
tons created by stimulated emission to exceed all other mechanisms. This is achieved by bounding the laser
medium between two mirrors as shown in Fig. 5.11.

Fig. 5.11 Optical resonator

On one end of the active medium is the high reflectance mirror (100% reflecting) or the rear mirror, and
on the other end is the partially reflecting mirror or the output coupler. The laser emanates from the output
coupler, as it is partially transmissive. Stimulated photons can bounce back and forward along the cavity, cre-
ating more stimulated emission as they go. In the process, any photons which are either not of the correct
frequency or do not travel along the optical axis are lost.

TYPES OF LASERS

There are many types of lasers available for research, medical, industrial, and commercial uses.
5.7 Lasers are often described by the kind of lasing medium they use, e.g., solid state, gas, excimer,
dye, or semiconductor.
(1) Solid State lasers have lasing material distributed in a solid matrix, e.g., the ruby or neodymium–
YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) lasers. The neodymium–YAG laser emits infrared light at 1.064 mm.
(2) Gas lasers (helium and helium–neon, He–Ne, are the most common gas lasers) have a primary output of
a visible red light. CO2 lasers emit energy in the far-infrared, 10.6 mm and are used for cutting hard materi-
als. (3) Excimer lasers (the name is derived from the terms excited and dimers) use reactive gases such as
chlorine and fluorine mixed with inert gases such as argon, krypton, or xenon. When electrically stimulated,
a pseudomolecule or dimer is produced and when lased, they produce light in the ultraviolet range. (4) Dye
lasers use complex organic dyes like rhodamine 6 G in liquid solution or suspension as lasing media. They
are tunable over a broad range of wavelengths. (5) Semiconductor lasers, sometimes called diode lasers, are
 5.15
Laser

Fig. 5.12 Some commonly available laser systems

not solid-state lasers. These electronic devices are generally very small and use low power. They may be built
into larger arrays, e.g., the writing source in some laser printers or compact disc players.

THE RUBY LASER

The first laser was created in 1961 by Theodore Maiman (1927) at the Hughes Research Labo-
5.8 ratories. He used a rod of synthetic ruby as the lasing medium. The crystalline structure of ruby
is similar to that of corundum, i.e., a crystal of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), in which a small part of
atoms of aluminum (about 0.05 %) is replaced with ions of Cr +3. The energy levels of Cr 3+ that are important
for the operation of a ruby laser are shown in Fig. 5.14. The ruby rod is illuminated by an intense impulse of
light, which is generated by a helical xenon discharge lamp as shown in Fig. 5.13. The ends of the ruby rod
are highly polished and silvered to serve as laser mirrors. The impulse of light creates the required population
inversion of electrons in the ruby rod and due to the presence of mirrors, the laser generation is excited. The
duration of the laser impulse is a little bit shorter than the pump impulse of the flash lamp.
When the flash tube is switched on, there is an intense burst of light lasting for a few milliseconds. Absorp-
tion of this light energy excites many of the chromium ions to the bands of energy levels indicated by E3 and
E39 in Fig. 5.14. During the relaxation of chromium ions, they give up the energy to the crystal in nonradia-
tive transitions as they drop down to a pair of metastable states labeled E2 in Fig. 5.14. These metastable states
are about 1.79 eV above the ground state. The intense flash provides more number of photons of sufficient
energy and thereby more atoms make the transition to the states E2 via the process described as above than
remain in the ground state. As a result, the populations of the ground state and the metastable states become
inverted and lasing takes place if a cavity is provided. The cavity is formed by the silvered ends of the ruby
crystals. One of the mirrors reflects almost all photons of light having a wavelength of 694.3 nm and the other
end is only partially reflecting (99%) in order to leak the laser emission.
We should stress that the ruby laser works in the pulsed mode due to the high pump energy. Today many
four-level lasers have been developed. Since they need far less power to create and to sustain the population
inversion, they can work in the continuous wave (cw) mode.
 5.16
Engineering Physics

Fig. 5.13 Ruby laser

3 E3

Relaxation

E3 Nonradiative
transitions
2
Energy, eV

Green Metastable E2
states
550.0 nm Blue
Laser

Photon
1 Absorption 694.3 nm
Stimulated
emission

Ground
state E1
0

Fig. 5.14 Energy levels of the ruby laser

ND:YAG LASER

Neodymium doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers were first invented by J E Geusic,
5.9 H M Markos and L G Van Uiteit in 1964 at Bell Labs. It was developed by the same technology as
the Ruby Laser. The gain medium is the YAG crystal which is doped with around 1% neodymium
by weight. When they were first invented, the lasing medium for YAG lasers were stimulated optically by
flash lamps. In the world today, YAG lasers have numerous applications in the medical and scientific field for
processes such as Lasik surgery and laser spectroscopy.
 5.17
Laser
Nd:YAG laser is one of the prominent solid state lasers. Solid state lasers use ions suspended in a crystal-
line matrix to produce laser light. The ions or dopants provide the electrons for excitation, while the crystal-
line matrix propagates the energy between ions. The two main classes of dopants in the laser medium are
chromium (Cr3+) for ruby lasers and neodymium (Nd3+) for Nd:YAG and Nd:glass lasers. The Nd:YAG and
Nd:glass lasers are in general very similar to each other in structure and lasing action. Excitation is achieved
by any one of krypton or xenon flash lamps, and an output wavelength of 1.06 µm in the near infrared region
of the spectrum is obtained. The Nd:glass laser uses a glass host material for the neodymium ions. The glass
rods have the advantage that they can be grown to larger sizes more economically than the YAG crystals, but
glass has a lower thermal conductivity which limits the pulsed operation of the Nd:glass laser. Therefore,
Nd:glass lasers are used in applications which require low pulse repetition rates and high pulse energies (up
to 100 joules per pulse). In general, the pulse operation of the neodymium lasers make them desirable for hole
piercing and deep keyhole welding applications.
The host material in Nd:YAG lasers is a complex crystal of Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (YAG) with the
chemical composition Y3Al5O12. Figure 5.15 shows the schematic of a Nd:YAG Laser. The YAG crystal has
a relatively high thermal conductivity, which improves thermal dissipation in the laser cavity, so continuous
wave operation up to a few hundred watts is possible. When operated in a pulsed mode, high pulsing rates
can be achieved, and average powers of up to 1 kW are available. The actual lasant is the Nd+3 ions which
have been doped into a YAG crystal. Pure Y3Al5O12 is a colorless, optically isotropic crystal that possesses a
cubic structure characteristic of garnets. In Nd :YAG about 1% of Y3+ is substituted by Nd3+. The radii of the
two rare earth ions differ by about 3%. Therefore, with the addition of large amounts of neodymium, strained
crystals are obtained—indicating that either the solubility limit of neodymium is exceeded or that the lattice
of YAG is seriously distorted by the inclusion of neodymium. When doped with approximately 1% Nd, the
crystal takes on a light blue color.
Total
reflector Output
Flash lamp coupler

Nd: YAG Crystal

Laser
output

Flash lamp

Power
supply

Fig. 5.15 Schematic diagram of Nd:YAG Laser

As shown in Fig. 5.15 and 5.16, the arrangement of laser rod Nd:YAG, twin elliptical reflector, excitation
flashlamp or arc-lamp or laser diode for pumping purpose, high reflective dielectric coating end mirror on the
left and partial reflector outcoupler on the right side is made such that on switching on the power, the flash-
lamp emits radiation and gets focused on the laser rod. The YAG crystal rods are typically 10 cm in length
and 9 cm in diameter. The two ends are polished and silvered and constitute the optical resonator.
Generally, a cooling system is required for operation of ND:YAG lasers. With an efficiency of about 3%,
a typical ND:YAG produces thirty times as much waste heat as laser output; this heat must be removed in
 5.18
Engineering Physics
Laser rod Nd:YAGm Nd: Glas

High reflective dielectric coating

end mirror

Partial reflector
outcoupler

Excitation
Twin elliptical flashlamp, arc-lamp, laser diodes
reflector

Fig. 5.16 Showing the mechanism of lasing action in Nd:YAG laser

order to ensure proper laser operation. Flooding the optical compartment with water can remove waste heat;
however, the water absorbs a significant amount of the flashlamp energy, and the turbulence of the water can
produce optical distortion and imaging problems. These problems can be overcome by flowing water over the
outside of the optical cavity and by encasing the lasing rod and flashlamp with transparent cooling jackets.
Furthermore, the flashlamp electrode assemblies should be cooled to prevent thermal loading, and deionized
water should be used to prevent any electrical conduction through the water.
The output characteristics of a Nd:YAG laser can be altered by varying the pumping discharge waveform.
For a high-pulse energy in a pulse time of one millisecond, a long lamp pulse is used to obtain a six to seven
Joule pulse composed of many spiked oscillations within the pulse. Such a laser can operate at several hun-
dred cycles per second and is useful in laser cuttings. Laser beam pulse frequency and shape can be tailored
by using Q switching, where a shutter moves rapidly in and out of the path of the beam. In this manner, beam
output is interrupted until a high level of population inversion and energy storage is achieved in the resonator.
If the optical cavity is switched from no reflections (low Q) to near total reflection (high Q), the cycle can be
optimized to build up the maximum population inversion before the pulse is generated (switched from low to
high Q). This results in a beam pulse with a high energy (up to one joule) and a short pulse period (down to
10 ns), which is especially useful for deep hole drilling applications.

Energy
Group of
[eV]
energy FaST
levels (Non radiative)
for transitions
1.5 pumping
E3
Laser
1.0 transitions
Optical 1.0.6[mm]
pumping
0.73 9mm]
0.5 0.8 9mm]

E2

0.0 E

Fig. 5.17 Simplified energy levels of Nd:YAG

 5.19
Laser
As can be seen from the energy level diagram in Fig. 5.17, Nd lasers are four level lasers. Nd ions have
two absorption bands, and excitation is done by optical pumping, either by flash lamps for pulsed lasers,
or by arc lamps for continuous wave lasers.
The flash lamp is switched on and the optical pumping excites the Nd ions from the ground state E1
to higher group of energy levels E4 by absorbing optical energy corresponds to wavelengths 0.73 µm and
0.8 µm.
From these excited energy levels, the Nd ions are transferring into the upper laser level indicated by E3 by
a non-radiative transition. Now there is a stimulated emission of photons from the upper laser level E3 to the
lower laser level E2, and the wavelengths of the emitted photons are 1.06 µm. Then there is a transition from
the lower laser level E2 to a ground level E1, which will be a non-radiative transition.

Applications
ND:YAG lasers are widely used in a variety of applications, including
1. Material processing, such as drilling and welding, cutting
2. Medical applications such as cataract surgery, gall bladder surgery
3. Laser ranging, in particular for laser range-finders and target designators used in a military context
4. Scientific applications like the study of inertial confinement fusion

GAS LASER

Gas lasers can be further divided into neutral atom, ion and molecular lasers, whose lasing medi-
5.10 ums are neutral atoms, ions or gas molecules respectively.

5.10.1 The Helium–Neon Laser

Figure 5.18 shows a schematic sketch of an He–Ne laser. It consists of a gas tube containing 15% helium
gas and 85% neon gas. A totally reflecting flat mirror is mounted at one end of the gas tube and a partially
reflecting concave mirror is placed at the other end. The concave mirror focuses parallel light at the flat mirror
and also acts as a lens that transmits part of the light so that it emerges as a parallel beam. The helium–neon
(He–Ne) laser is a kind of neutral atom gas laser, the common wavelength of an He–Ne laser is 632.8 nm. It
is tunable from infrared to various visible light frequencies. Pumping is done by a dc electrical discharge in
the low-pressure discharge tube. First, the He atom is excited. Because the Ne atom has an energy level very
near to an energy level of He, through kinetic interaction, energy is readily transferred from He to Ne; and
the Ne atom emits the desired laser light. The typical power of an He–Ne laser is below 50 mW, hence it is
widely used in holography, scanning, measurement, optical fiber communication, etc. It is the most popular
visible light laser.
Population inversion is achieved somewhat differently in the continuous wave mode (cw) helium–neon
(He–Ne) gas laser. The energy levels of helium and neon, which are important for operation of the laser, are
shown in Fig. 5.19.
Helium has an excited energy state E2, He at 20.61 eV above the ground state E1, He. Only helium atoms
are excited to state E2, He by an electric discharge. Neon has an excited state E3, Ne that is 20.66 eV above its
ground state. This is very close to the energy state of He, i.e., E2, He, just 0.05 eV above the first excited state of
helium. The neon atoms are excited to the state E3, Ne by collision with the excited helium atoms. The kinetic
 5.20
Engineering Physics

Fig. 5.18 Schematic drawing of an He-Ne laser

Stimulated
Helium Collision E3, Ne Neon emission
E2,He
E2, Ne 1.96 eV
20.66 eV
20.61 eV

18.70 eV

Absorption

Spontaneous
emission

E1,He E1, Ne

Fig. 5.19 Energy levels of the He-Ne laser

energy of the helium atoms provides the extra 0.05 eV of energy needed to excite the neon atoms. There is
lower excited state of neon E2, Ne at 18.70 eV above its ground level and 1.96 eV below the excited state E3, Ne.
Since state E2, Ne is normally unoccupied, population inversion between states E3, Ne and E2, Ne is obtained
immediately. The stimulated emission occurring between these states results in photons of energy 1.96 eV
(632.8 nm), which produces a bright red light. After stimulated emission, the atoms in the state E2, Ne decay
to the ground state by spontaneous emission. Note that there are four energy levels involved in the He–Ne
laser.

5.10.2 CO2 Laser

Lasing action in a CO2 molecule was first presented by C Patel in 1964. He transmitted an electric discharge
pulse through pure CO2 gas in a laser tube, and got a small laser output. CO2 is the gas in which the lasing
 5.21
Laser
process occurs, but other gas additives to the laser tube improve the total efficiency of the laser. The standard
CO2 laser includes in the active medium a mixture of CO2 with N2 and He. The optimal proportion of these
3 gases in the mixture depends on the laser system and the excitation mechanism. In general, for a continuous
wave laser, the proportions are CO2:N2: He::1:1:8
CO2 is a linear molecule, and the three atoms are situated on a straight line with the carbon atom in the
middle. In Fig. 5.20, the three vibrational modes of CO2 molecule are illustrated: symmetric stretch mode
(v1), bending mode (v2), and asymmetric stretch mode (v3).

Carbon Carbon Carbon

Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen
v1 = 4 × 1013 [Hz] 13
v3 = 7 × 10 [Hz]
Symmetric stretch and contraction v2 = 2 × 1013 [Hz]
Asymmetric stretch and contraction
Bending
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 5.20 Different vibrational modes of CO2

Lasing Transitions in a CO2 Laser Lasing transitions in a CO2 laser occur when the molecule is going
from higher energy level of the asymmetric mode into one of the other two, as can be seen in Fig. 5.18. The
transition to the symmetric stretching mode corresponds to the wavelength of 10.6 mm. and the transition to
the bending mode corresponds to the wavelength of 9.6 mm.
Each of the vibrational energy levels is subdivided into many rotational levels. Transitions can occur
between vibrational energy levels with different rotational levels, so there are many lasing lines around the
main vibrational transitions.
CO2 Laser Operation Electric discharge Nitrogen N2 Carbon dioxide CO2
is created in the laser tube. This discharge is 0.4
produced by dc excitation. The energy of the Asymmetric Symmetric Bending
accelerated electrons is transferred by col- stretch stretch
Laser
lisions to the nitrogen molecules and to the
0.3 transitions
CO2 molecules. Here, nitrogen molecules Collisions (R10) 9.6 [ mm]
help in the process of the excitation of the (P10)
CO2 molecules. The first vibrational energy 10.6 [mm]
Energy [eV]

level of the nitrogen molecule is very similar

0.2 Collisions
to the asymmetric stretching mode of the CO2
molecule (see Fig. 5.21). Therefore, energy
can be easily transferred from the excited Pumping
nitrogen molecules to the CO2 molecules.
The purpose of adding Helium molecules in 0.1 Fast
the gas mixture is to evacuate the lower laser decay
energy level so that population inversion is
maintained and to stabilise the electrical dis-
Ground level
charge by taking heat away from the lasing 0
area. Gas pressure inside the CO2 laser tube
Fig. 5.21 Energy-level diagram of CO2 laser
is 5–30 [Torr], of which 10% is CO2 gas, 10%
is N2 and the 80% is He.
 5.22
Engineering Physics

5.10.3 Types of CO2 Lasers

There are different types of CO2 lasers, based on the same physical principles. The difference between them
is in their structure, excitation mechanism, and the output radiation. A few CO2 lasers are described below.
Flowing CO2 Gas Lasers In these lasers a fresh gas mixture flows continuously through the laser tube
while lasing lasts. Flowing gas is used when the maximum power is needed out of the CO2 laser. The gas
flows along the tube and is released out into the atmosphere (since it is non-poisonous). These lasers are very
simple, and require only small gas purity. Hundreds of watts can be achieved at the output of these lasers.

Gas in Cooling
water out

Discharge Laser
medium out

Cooling +V –V Gas out

water in

Fig. 5.22 CO2 laser tube

Sealed-off CO2 Laser In this type, the gas laser is filled with the appropriate mixture of gasses and sealed.
High electric voltage is applied to electrodes at both ends of the gas tube. The accelerated electrons excite
the gas molecules. The problem with sealed-off lasers is the dissociation of the CO2 molecules into CO and
oxygen with time. To reduce this effect, a catalysing agent is added to the gas mixture. This catalysing agent
reverses the dissociation reaction and restores the CO2 molecule which is required for lasing. The output
power achievable is less than 200 watts. For higher output power, it is necessary to take away the heat gener-
ated inside the laser, and a flowing gas is needed. Sometimes, a gas reservoir is added to the sealed-off tube
to allow some refreshment of the lasing gasses from the reservoir to the tube. The new class of sealed CO2
lasers is made from metal with no glass tube. These lasers are not excited by direct high voltage that creates
the electric discharge, but by a Radio Frequency (RF) voltage.
CO2 Laser Inside a Waveguide When the laser tube diameter is reduced to a size of about 1 millimetre,
a waveguide is made. The radiation inside the small diameter tube is confined to move along the tube, with
low loss. Using ceramic tubes, very small CO2 lasers can be made. An output of up to 50 watts of continuous
wave radiation can be produced.
Transverse Flow CO2 Gas Lasers When the gas flow inside the laser is perpendicular to the laser axis, it is
possible to have a much larger flow since the distance is very short. Since cooling by gas flow is very efficient,
it is possible to get very high power output out of these lasers. Both the gas flow and the electric discharge
in these lasers are along the width of the laser. Thus, the distance between the electrodes is short, so electric
discharge can be achieved even for gas at very high pressure (up to a few atmospheres). Transverse flow is
used for very high-power CO2 lasers.
 5.23
Laser

5.10.4 Properties of CO2 Lasers

1. Give high output power. Some commercial CO2 lasers produce more than 10 kW continuously.
2. Output spectrum of laser is in the Infra-Red (IR) spectrum, i.e., between 9–11 mm.
3. Very high efficiency (up to 30%) is achievable.
4. It can operate both continuously or in a pulsed way.
5. Average output power is 75 W for slow flow of gas, and up to few hundred watts for fast gas flow.
6. Very simple to operate, and the gasses are non-toxic.
Summary of CO2 Lasers According to Groups
• Gas laser
• Emit in the Infra-Red (IR) spectrum (l = 9–11 mm)
• Electrical excitation
• Continuous wave, although pulsed operation is possible
• Four-level laser

SEMICONDUCTOR LASER
All laser diodes are built from semiconductor materials, and all show electric properties which are
5.11 characteristics of electrical diodes. For this reason, the diode lasers have other names such as
semiconductor lasers—according to the composed materials,
Junction lasers—Since they are composed of a p-n junction,
Injection lasers—Since the electrons are injected into the junction by the applied voltage.
The diode laser was invented independently in 1962, at three different research laboratories in the US.
The researchers succeeded in getting a coherent electromagnetic radiation from a forward biased diode
(p-n junction) made from the semiconductor GaAs.

5.11.1 Laser Diode Construction

The basic structure of the layers of the simplest laser diode is shown in Fig. 5.23.
These layers of semiconductor materials are arranged Metal
such that at the p-n junction an active region is created, in x
contacts
which photons are created by the recombination process. On
y
the top and bottom layers, a layer of metal allows connect- SiO2
z
ing external voltage to the laser. The voltage is applied to p+
Active
metal contacts above and below the semiconductor layers.
n+
region
The sides of the crystalline semiconductors are cut to serve L Mirror
facet
as mirrors at the end of the optical cavity.
Metal contact

Fig. 5.23 Basic structure of a laser diode

 5.24
Engineering Physics

5.11.2 Output Laser Radiation from a Diode Laser

– Power Figure 5.24 depicts the shape of the electromagnetic

+ supply
Laser
laser radiation for a simple laser diode built of layers.
radiation The radiation comes out of a rectangular shape of a
very thin active layer, and spreads at different angles
in two directions.
Junction p+ GaAs
area p -GaAs
5.11.3 Summary of Diode Lasers
n-GaAs to this Point
Mirror • Charge carriers in a semiconductor laser diode are
facets both the free electrons in the conduction band, and
Fig. 5.24 Radiation profile out of a simple laser diode the positive holes in the valence band.
• In a p-n junction, electrons can ‘fall’ to the holes,
which are lower energy states.
• Current passing through a p-n junction of a diode laser, causes both kinds of charge carriers (electrons
and holes), to ‘combine’ together in the junction, through a process of recombination. Their energy is
released in a form of photons of light. The energy of a photon is approximately equal to the energy of
the energy gap.
• The energy gap is determined by the chemical composition of the diode laser, and by the crystal
structure.

5.11.4 I-V Curve of Diode Laser

If the condition of population inversion (which is required for the
laser action) does not exist, the photons will be emitted by spon-
Stimulated
taneous emission. These photons will be emitted randomly in all
Output power

emission
(Diode laser) directions, that is the basis of operation of a Light Emitting Diode
Spontaneous (LED).
emission
Threshold The condition for population inversion depends on pumping. By
(LED)
current increasing the current injected through the p-n junction, we arrive at
the threshold current which fulfills this condition. An example of the
Current
power output from a laser diode as a function of the injected current
Fig. 5.25 Output power from a diode is shown in Fig. 5.25.
laser as a function of input It is easily seen that the slope of this graph in a stimulated emission
current (laser) is far greater than the slope at spontaneous emission (LED).
The threshold current for lasing is determined by the intercept of the tangent to the graph at stimulated
emission with the current axis (this point is very close to the point of change in the slope). When the current
threshold is low; less energy will be wasted in the form of heat, and more energy will be transmitted as laser
radiation (the laser efficiency increases). Practically, the important parameter is current density, which is
measured in units of amperes per centimetre squared [A/cm2] of the cross-section of the junction.
The name of each family of diode lasers is given by the type of materials near the active layer:
 5.25
Laser
Homojunction Laser The entire laser is made from one substance, usually GaAs. In this simple structure,
the emitted photons are not confined in the directions perpendicular to the laser axis. Thus, the laser is not
efficient.
Single Heterostructure On one side of the active layer is a material with a different energy gap. Differ-
ent energy gaps of the two layers cause a difference in the index of refraction of the materials, so we can
build waveguide structures that confine the photons to a specific area. Usually, the second layer is made
of a material which is similar to the first layer but has a lower index of refraction. Examples are GaAs and
GaAlAs, typical materials used for adjacent layers in a diode laser.
Double Heterostructure On both sides of the active layer is another material which is different from
the active layer and has a lower index of refraction (higher energy gap). For example, active layer of GaAs
confined between two layers of Ga–Al–As. In this structure, light is confined into the active layer. Thus,
these types of structures increase the laser efficiency, and make possible the operation of diode lasers at room
temperatures.

5.11.5 Advantages of Diode Lasers

Very high efficiency (more than 20% of the input energy is emitted as laser radiation), high reliability,
very long lifetime (estimated more than 100 years of continuous operation), very cheap price are the main
advantages. Diode lasers are fabricated using mass production techniques used in the electronic industry,
and there is a possibility to perform direct modulation of the emitted radiation by controlling the electric
current through the p-n junction. The emitted radiation is a linear function of the current and can reach
a modulation rate of tens of GHz. Other advantages are small volume, small weight, very low thresh-
old current, low energy consumption, narrow spectrum band which can be a few kilohertz in special
diode lasers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LASERS

The main characteristics of laser radiations are (a) monochromaticity, (b) coherence, (c) high
5.12 directionality, and (d) extreme brightness.
(a) Monochromaticity The laser light is almost perfectly monochromatic, much more mono-
chromatic than that of any conventional monochromatic source. The optical resonator formed by two mirrors
sustains only specific frequencies from the broad band. The mirrors convert the continuous emission band
into a group of sharply defined discrete lines. By some suitable frequency-selective mechanism, a single line
can be selected out from these lines.
(b) Coherence The beam of laser light is completely coherent, i.e., all waves are exactly in phase with one
another. An interference pattern can be obtained also using beams from separate lasers. This is inherent in the
process of stimulated emission which is responsible for laser action.
(c) High Directionality A laser emits light only in one direction. The width of a laser beam is extremely
narrow and hence a laser beam can travel to long distances without spreading. They can be brought to an
extremely sharp focus.
(d) Extreme Brightness Extreme brightness is the unique property of a laser beam. Due to high energy
density and directional property, it can vaporise even the hardest metal; a laser beam can produce tem-
peratures of the order of 104°C at a focused point. Further, a one milliwatt rediation of a helium–neon laser
appears brighter than the sun.
 5.26
Engineering Physics

USES OF LASERS
The most significant applications of lasers include telecommunications, medicine, manufacturing,
5.13 the military, consumer goods and basic research.
(1) Telecommunications Telecommunications is one of the most important uses of lasers.
Light from diode lasers is modulated by the signal that contains the information, which is then transmitted
through a network of optical fibres. Future developments will most likely include tuneable lasers compatible
with wavelength division multiplexing, a technique which will even further enlarge the bandwidth of fibre
optic systems.
(2) Medicine Lasers are frequently used in surgery and medical diagnostics. Surgeons can now use (carbon
dioxide) lasers as bloodless scalpels because the optical beam cauterises the incision as it is made. Lasers are
also used to open up clogged arteries using a technique called laser angioplasty. Cancer treatment is a small
but promising field that, today, is based on photodynamic therapy. In terms of the number of procedures, the
most important growth areas are eyesight correction and cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery also relies heav-
ily on lasers for removal of pigments, tattoos, unwanted hair, spider veins, and skin resurfacing.
(3) Manufacturing The automotive industry relies greatly on high power CO2 lasers for cutting and weld-
ing metals. Nd:YAG lasers are used in drilling holes, spot welding and marking. The printing industry uses a
range of lasers, mostly ion lasers, but the trend is to use high-power diode lasers. The semiconductor industry
is a major user of ultraviolet (excimer) lasers for photolithography. Photolithography plays an important role
in the manufacture of integrated circuits with hundreds of millions of transistors on a semiconductor chip.
The entertainment industry (i.e., laser light shows) is based on ion lasers.
(4) Military So far, (mercifully) lasers have been found to make poor weapons. On the other hand, they are
extensively used in guiding missiles to their destination, range finders and other target designators. It is sug-
gested that in future ‘star-wars’ applications lasers will be used in space-based weapons and other airborne
systems.
(5) Consumer Goods DVDs, CD-ROMs, optical discs, etc, all rely on diode lasers. Big changes are com-
ing with the development of laser diodes emitting in the blue and ultraviolet end of the spectrum. Shorter
wavelengths (eg., blue and UV) will enable optical storage devices to pack more information per disc. Diode
lasers are also at the heart of laser printers, barcode scanners, laser pointers, security devices, etc.
(6) Basic Research Lasers are the product of basic research, and researchers around the world are still
developing new types of lasers. Physicists, chemists, biologists are major users of lasers, in areas such as
spectroscopy, biology (e.g., the human genome program), laser fluorescence, holography, etc. Some experi-
ments aiming to achieve controlled nuclear fusion, which one day may produce abundant and clean energy,
also rely on lasers. Laser-induced fusion, is a technique in which light from lasers is used to raise the tem-
perature of a deuterium and tritium pellet to 109°C.
(7) Chemical Applications Lasers can initiate or hasten certain chemical reactions which could not be
possible in the absence of suitable photons. They can be utilised for investigating the structure of molecules.
Raman spectroscopy is a method in which lasers have made so much impact that a separate branch named
Laser Raman Spectroscopy has grown rapidly. By the use of lasers, the Raman spectrum can be obtained
for much smaller samples and much faster too. Not only that, but by the use of lasers some interactions also
arise due to high-intensity excitation, which provide additional information.
 5.27
Laser

HOLOGRAPHY
A two-dimensional image of an object is the outcome of ordinary photography. To focus the
5.14 image on the photographic plate, a lens system is used. In this case, focusing is only in a single
plane and all other planes are out of focus. Therefore, a three-dimensional object is recorded in
two dimensions. The intensity variations are recorded on the photographic plate while the phase distribution
prevailing at the plane of the photographic plate is completely lost. Therefore, a photograph does not contain
the three-dimensional character of the object. The quality of depth in a photograph is missing. This feature
is recorded by holography. Holography is a Greek word where holes implies the whole and graphy implies
the writing, i.e., holography implies ‘complete recording’. Dennis Gabor (1948) of the Imperial College of
Science and Technology, University of London, discovered the principle of holography. With the advent of
lasers, Leith and Upatnicks in 1962 revised Gabor’s idea in photography. This technique records and repro-
duces an image of the object without the use of lenses. The modification in holography is that the light waves
reflected from the object are recorded instead of the image of the object, and the photographic record is called
a hologram. We should note here that a holograph has no resemblance to the object in spite of it containing
all information about the object in a kind of optical code. A three-dimensional image of the original object is
formed when the holograph is illuminated by a coherent source of light. The image-formation process from
a hologram is known as the reconstruction process. It involves a two-step process.
The first step involves the transformation of the object into a hologram. This is done by illuminating an
object by coherent light which will produce interference fringes in a photographic emulsion. The second step
involves the retransformation or reconstruction of the hologram into the image of the object which means
a process involving reillumination of the developed interference pattern using light of same wavelength to
produce a three-dimensional image of the original object.

5.14.1 Principle of Holography Mirror

When light is incident on a point object, the reflected wave-

fronts are spherical in nature with their centres at the point
object. For a three-dimensional solid object, each point of Laser beam
the object will form its own reflected spherical wavefront. Reference beam
Therefore, the resulting wave pattern reflected from the Object
entire object is highly complex. This wave pattern cannot
be recorded on a photographic plate as such but it can be
recorded by mixing the reflected wave pattern or object
beam with a known wave called the reference wave. Inter-
ference will take place between the waves reflected from the Beam reflected
object and the reference wave which modifies intensity at from object
all points according to the phase relationship between the Photographic Hologram
film
waves at those points. Thus, the phase variations in the wave
pattern reflected from the object are converted into intensity Fig. 5.26 Construction of a hologram
variations.
 5.28
Engineering Physics
Construction of a Hologram Figure 5.26 shows the basic principle of making a hologram. The object is
illuminated by a highly intense laser beam. The laser beam is divided into two parts by using a beam split-
ter not shown in the figure. One part of the beam is directly incident on the object, and the second part of
the beam is incident on a mirror and reflected as a reference beam. The beam reflected from the object and
the second beam, called the reference beam, after being reflected from the mirror is projected on the pho-
tographic plate. Thus, the photographic film is exposed simultaneously by both the reference beam and the
beam reflected from the object. These two beams are highly coherent and highly directional. The resulting
complex interference pattern is formed on the photographic film. After developing this photographic film, it
will act as a hologram. The density at any point of the hologram depends both on the amplitudes and phases
of the interference waves that reach the point.
The structure of the hologram is like a diffrac-
tion grating—it has opaque and transparent regions
very closely spaced. Thus, the film contains all the
information needed to reproduce the wave field of
the object.
Reconstruction of the Image To view the object,
Direct
transmitted the image is reconstructed. The optical arrangement
Hologram laser beam is simply reversed and the hologram is illuminated by
a coherent light from the laser as shown in Fig. 5.27.
Both real and virtual images are formed. When the
viewer moves his eyes from side to side, the near
Real image of parts of the object seem to move with respect to the
the object far parts. Thus, when viewing the hologram, one
Virtual sees the image depth, and hence a three-dimensional
object
effect is obtained.
Here, the hologram acts as a complex grating;
Fig. 5.27 Reconstruction of image therefore, it diffracts the light incident on it. So zero-
order diffraction takes place, in the direct direction
of the beam giving no information because the laser beam passed through the hologram has only amplitude
variation but no information regarding phase variation. In all other directions from the hologram, the dif-
fracted waves of different orders carry both the information of intensity as well as phase variations. This way,
reconstruction of the object wavefronts is made. Here, one of the diffracted beams forms real image while the
other beam forms a virtual image as shown in Fig. 5.27.
Concluding Remark Laser will ultimately fulfill its promise in the huge field that is called analytical
chemistry, and become increasingly prolific in diagnostic medicine. Spectral properties and spatial coherence
will assure this as the lab shrinks to chip-scale. The future world of pharmagenomics will rely on lasers for
genetic typing and perhaps for activation of the appropriate therapeutic course.
Lasers may also hold the key to the future of energy. Information from huge systems, such as the NIF
and Laser MegaJoule and the rapid progress in tabletop high-repetition petawatt systems may converge to
practical fusion power sources. Much has been accomplished in very few years, and the outlook is bright for
numerous spin-offs to come. It is clear, in any case, that laser is telling us again that science fiction of the
past sometimes does become a scientific fact of the future.
 5.29
Laser

Solved Problems

1 In an He–Ne laser system, the two energy levels of Ne involved in lasing action have energy
values of 20.66 eV and 18.70 eV. Population inversion occurs between these two levels. What will
be the wavelength of a laser beam produced? What will be the population of the metastable energy
level with respect to the upper excited level at room temperature (27°C)?

Solution Referring to the energy-level diagram of He–Ne laser, the energy levels involved are labeled as
upper level E3, Ne, metastable level E2, Ne and ground level E1, Ne.
Given, E3, Ne = 20.66 eV, E2, Ne = 18.70 eV E1, Ne = 0 eV

hv = E2 – E1 = ___
hc
l
h = 6.625 × 10–34 Js = 4.14 × 10–15 eVs
c = 3 × 108 m/s
k = 8.625 × 10–5 eV/K

l = _______ = _____________
hc hc
E2 – E1 E3, Ne – hc/E2, Ne

4.14 × 10–15 eVs × 3 × 108 m/s

l = _________________________
(20.66 – 18.70) eV
= 6.3376 × 10–7 = 633.76 × 10–9 = 633.76 nm
The laser output will have a wavelength of 633.76 nm.
N2
___ = exp [–(E2 – E1)/kT]
N1
kT = 8.625 × 10–5 eV/K × (273 + 27)K = 0.025 eV
N3, Ne
_____ = exp [– (E3, Ne – E2, Ne)/kT]
N2, Ne
N3, Ne
\ _____ = exp [– (20.66 – 18.70)/0.025] = exp [–75.75] = 1.26 × 10–33
N2, Ne
\ N2, Ne = 7.89 × 1032 N3, Ne
The above result implies that the metastable population is 1032 times the population in the excited states.

2 Find out the separation between metastable and excited levels for two wavelengths of 9.6 mm
and 10.6 mm emitted from a CO2 laser source. Calculate the frequency and hence the energy of the
light photons emitted. How many photons are required to be emitted per second to obtain a laser
output power of 10 kW?
 5.30
Engineering Physics

Solution Given two wavelengths: 9.6 mm and 10.6 m m

h = 6.62 × 10–34 Js = 4.14 × 10–15 eVs
c = 3 × 108 m/s
k = 8.625 × 10–5 eV/K
hc 1.2422 × 10–6 eVm
hv = E2 – E1 = ___ = ________________ = 0.129 eV
l 9.6 × 10–6 m
and
hc 1.2422 × 10–6 eVm
E2 – E1 = ___ = ________________ = 0.117 eV
l 10.6 × 10–6 m
So the estimated separation between the two required levels is 0.129 eV and 0.117 eV respectively. The
energy of the photon is also respectively 0.129 eV and 0.117 eV. The frequency of the two different types of
photons will be
c 3 × 108 m/s
v = __ = ___________ = 3.125 × 1013 Hz
l 9.6 × 10–6 m
3 × 108 m/s
v = __ = ____________
c
= 2.83 × 1013 Hz
l 10.6 × 10–6 m
To get 10 kW output power, 10000 J/s power is required
The energy of one photon is
hv = 6.625 × 10–34 × 3.125 × 1013 = 2.07 × 10–20 J
Similarly, for other photon the energy in joules is
hv = 6.625 × 10–34 × 2.83 × 1013 = 1.87 × 10–20 J
So, the number of photons per second required is
(10000 J/s)/2.07 × 10-20 = 4.83 × 1023 photons/second, and
(10000 J/s)/1.87 × 10-20 = 5.34 × 1023 photons/second.
So, approximately one mole of atoms are involved in the process in one second.

3 A typical laser system is capable of lasing at infrared wavelengths. The light output at 3.124 mm
is very prominent. What is the difference in the energy levels of the excited state and metastable
state? What will be the energy of a photon emitted? What will be the frequency of the light emitted?
If 1 mole of photons are emitted per second, what is the power of the laser output? Can you predict
the type of the laser produced?

Solution l = 3.124 mm = 3.124 × 10–6 m

hc 1.2422 × 10–6 eVm
hv = E2 – E1 = ___ = ________________ = 0.398 eV
l 3.124 × 10–6 m
Energy difference between the metastable and excited states is 0.398 eV and hence the photon energy
emitted is also 0.398 eV.
 5.31
Laser
The frequency of the photon is
3 × 108 m/s
v = __ = _____________
c
= 9.6 × 1013 Hz
l 3.124 × 10–6 m
The energy in joules is
hv = 6.625 × 10–34 × 9.6 × 1013 = 6.36 × 10–20 J
One mole of photon
6.022 × 1023 × 6.36 × 10–20 = 38299.92 = 38.3 kJ
Therefore 38.3 kW of output power of laser beam is observed. Obviously, it will be a CO2 laser light.

4 A ruby laser has its metastable state at 1.79 eV from which stimulated emission produces laser
light. Calculate the wavelength of the light. At room temperature when the population inversion is
not achieved, calculate the ratio of the population of the atom in the metastable state to that in the
ground state.

Solution The difference in the energy levels

E2 – E1 = 1.79 eV
hc 1242.18
E2 – E1 = ___ = _______,
l l
where, energy is in J, wavelength in nm.
1242.18 1243.18
l = _______ = _______ = 693.95 nm
E2 – E 1 1.79
Therefore, emitted light will have a wavelength of 693.95 nm.
Now the population ratio at temperature T for two different states having energy E2 and E1 is given by the
relation
N2
___ = exp [–(E2 – E1)/kT]
N1
Taking room temperature = 27°C + 273 = 300 K
Thermal energy at room temperature = k T = 8.625 × 10–5 eV/K × 300 K = 0.025 eV
N2
___ = exp [–(E2 – E1)/kT]
N1
= exp [–1.79/0.025] = exp [–71.6] = 8.026 × 10–32

5 A ruby laser emits light of 693.95 nm wavelength as calculated in the above problem. If
1 mole of Cr+3 ions are involved in population inversion process in a pulse, calculate the pulse
energy in eV.

Solution Given, l = 693.95 nm;

hc 1242.18 1242.18
E2 – E1 = ___ = _______ = _______ = 1.79 eV
l l 693.95
1.79 eV is the energy of the single photon and 1 mole (= 6.022 × 1023 Cr+3 ions are involved in population
inversion that produce a laser pulse.
 5.32
Engineering Physics

Therefore, the energy is 6.022 × 1023 × 1.79 eV = 1.077 × 1024 eV.

6 A ruby laser emits light of 693.95 nm wavelength. The duration of pulses is 0.1 ns. Calculate the
coherence length, bandwidth and line width.

Solution Given, l = 693.95 nm;

[The coherence length can be used for quantifying the degree of a temporal coherence as the propagation
length (and thus propagation time) over which coherence degrades significantly.]
(a) Coherence length = (coherence time) × (velocity of light in vacuum)
Lcoh = tcoh × c
Lcoh = 0.01 × 10–9 × 3 × 108 = 0.03 m
1 1
(b) Bandwidth, Dv = ___ = _______ = 1010 Hz
tcoh 1 × 10–9

l2 (693.95 × 10–9)2
(c) Line width, D l = __
c Dv = ______________ × 1010 = 0.016 nm
3 × 108

7 A laser beam of 693.95 nm wavelength on earth is focused by a lens or mirror of 2 m diameter

on to a crater on the moon. The distance of the moon is 3.82 × 108 m from the earth. How much
larger will be the spot on the moon? Neglect the effect of earth’s atmosphere.

Solution Angular spread is given by

l 693.95 × 10–9 m
dq = __ = ______________ = 3.469 × 10–7 rad
d 2
\ ( )
360°
dq = 3.469 × 10–7 rad × ____ = (1.98 × 10–5)° = 0°0¢0.07≤
2p
Area spread, i.e., area of the spot on the moon
A = (D dq)2 = (3.82 × 108 × 3.469 × 10–7)2
= 17570.56 m2 = 1.76 × 104 m2
This gives a circular area of radius 74.78 m.

8 A laser having power of 75 mW, wavelength of 720 nm and an aperture 5 mm is focused with
a lens of focal length of 0.1 m. Calculate the area and intensity of the image.

l 720 × 10–9 m
Solution dq = __ = ___________
–3
= 1.44 × 10–4 rad
d 5 × 10
Area spread = (f dq)2 = (0.1 × 1.44 × 10–4)2 = 2.074 × 10–10 m2
Intensity of the image is given by
power 75 × 10–3
I = __________ = ___________ = 3.616 × 108 W/m2
areal spread 2.074 × 10–10
 5.33
Laser

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Laser light is produced due to (b) Stimulated emission process

(a) interference of light (c) Population inversion process
(b) spontaneous emission of light (d) All of the above
(c) light Amplification by stimulated emission 7. Which of the following is not a pumping
of radiation process?
(d) diffraction phenomenon (a) Optical pumping
2. Which laser was invented first? (b) Electrical pumping
(a) Semiconductor laser (c) Chemical pumping
(b) Ruby laser (d) Thermal pumping
(c) He–Ne laser 8. Which of the following scheme does not produce
(d) CO2 laser lasing action?
3. Which of the following is a gas laser? (a) Two-level scheme
(a) CO2 laser (b) Three-level scheme
(b) Ruby laser (c) Four-level scheme
(c) Semiconductor laser (d) Five-level scheme
(d) Dye laser 9. High-power laser light is obtained from
4. Two different light sources are sending light and (a) CO2 laser
spots from both beams on a screen is obtained. (b) semiconductor laser
Which of the following statements is true? (c) He–Ne laser
(a) The broad and faint spot is a laser while the (d) ruby laser
bright and narrow spot is an ordinary light. 10. Pulsed laser light is produced from a
(b) The broad and bright spot is a laser while the (a) ruby laser
narrow and faint spot is an ordinary light.
(b) carbon laser
(c) The broad and low intensity spot is an ordi-
(c) carbon dioxide laser
nary light, the narrow and highly intense
spot is a laser light. (d) none of the above
(d) Actually both the spots will merge into each 11. Which of the following is not a laser property?
other and form an interference patterns. (a) Coherence
5. A highly coherent beam is produced. The beam (b) Highly directional
is (c) Extreme brightness
(a) laser light (d) Divergence
(b) ordinary light 12. Production of laser does not include
(c) converged light from the sun (a) active medium
(d) spark produced between the gap of two (b) two highly silvered optically flat mirrors
electrodes (c) optical cavity
6. Which of the following conditions is very essen- (d) one highly silvered and other partially
tial for the production of laser light? silvered optically flat mirror
(a) Spontaneous emission process
 5.34
Engineering Physics
13. Which source of light is brightest? (c) Arc light
(a) Sunlight (d) Flash light
(b) Laser light

Answers to MCQs
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (a) 6. (d) 7. (d) 8. (a)
9. (a) 10. (a) 11. (d) 12. (b) 13. (b)

Practice Problems

1. A laser system is capable of lasing at infrared lation inversion of two states responsible for lasing
wavelengths. If out of several possible wavelengths action. [5.9 × 10–29]
the most prominent wavelength is 750 nm and 1 mm, 6. Imagining that we chop a continuous laser beam
then calculate the difference between upper excited which is assumed to be perfectly monochromatic
and lower metastable state in eV for this wave- having a wavelength of 623 nm into 0.1 ns pulses
lengths. [1.65 eV, 0.00124 eV] using a suitable shutter, calculate the resultant line
2. Calculate the wavelength of radiation for width, bandwidth and coherence lengths.
the CO2 laser having an energy difference of [3 cm, 1010 Hz, 0.13 Å]
0.121 eV between two states involved in lasing
7. A laser beam of 8 × 10–7 m wavelength and 5 ×
action. [102479.3 Å]
10–3 m aperture on the earth is sent on the moon. The
3. The laser light emitted in ruby laser has a wave- distance of the moon is 3.82 × 108 m from the earth.
length of 7000 Å and the total number of Cr +++ ions How much will be the angular spread of the beam
is 2.8 × 1019. Calculate the energy of a photon and and the areal spread when it reaches the moon?
total energy available per laser pulse. [1.6 × 10–4 radian, 4.096 × 109 m2]
[1.77 eV, 7.92 J]
8. A laser having power of 50 mW, wavelength of
4. Calculate the population inversion ratio for the 720 nm and aperture of 5 mm is focused with a lens
two states involved in lasing action in a ruby laser at of 0.1 m focal length. Calculate the angular spread,
temperatures of 27°C and 227°C. Consider the emit- area and intensity of the image.
ted wavelength is 7000 Å. [5.9 × 10–29, 1.4 × 1016] [1.44 × 10–4 radian, 2.074 × 10–10 m2,
5. He–Ne laser produces light of 7000 Å wavelength 2.411 × 10 8 W/m2]
at room temperature (= 27°C). Calculate the popu-

Short-answer Questions

1. How is a ruby laser favorable to lasing action? 4. What are the other gases used in a CO2 laser? What
Why are the end faces of a ruby rod silvered? is the proportion?
2. What is the function of He atoms in an He–Ne 5. Why are four-level lasers more efficient than three-
laser? level lasers?
3. Why is laser action not possible without popula- 6. What is an optical resonator cavity, and what is
tion inversion between two atomic levels? its role?
 5.35
Laser
7. In lasers, the active medium of broad absorption 11. How is stimulated emission made to be more
band is required. Why? dominant than spontaneous emissions in a laser?
8. How does metastable state act in laser media? 12. What is the function of mirrors in Ruby and
9. Why is a narrow tube used in an He–Ne laser? He–Ne lasers?
What happens if its diameter is increased? 13. What is coherence length, line width and band-
10. Why is a laser more coherent and more mono- width?
chromatic than ordinary light? 14. What do you mean by pulsed and continuous
laser?

Long-answer Questions

1. What do you mean by lasers? Define spontaneous (iv) active medium, (iv) optical resonator, (vi) popu-
and stimulated emissions. lation inversion, (vii) metastable state.
2. Define the following terms: (a) population inver- 8. Explain construction and working of the He–Ne
sion, (b) pumping, and (c) active system. laser with the help of an energy level diagram.
3. Explain the process of stimulated emission. Draw 9. Explain construction and working of a semicon-
a neat diagram to represent the component of a ruby ductor laser.
laser. Explain the operation. 10. Explain in detail the construction and working of
4. Explain the operation of a gas laser with the essen- a CO2 laser.
tial components. How does stimulated emission take 11. Deduce the relation between spontaneous and
place with the exchange of energy between helium stimulated emission probabilities.
and neon atoms? 12. What are Einstein’s coefficients? Derive
5. What are different uses to which laser beams are Einstein’s relation.
put? 13. Explain the principle of optical pumping and
6. Differentiate between spontaneous emission and stimulated emission of radiation. Discuss the prop-
stimulated emission in their mechanism and charac- erties of laser radiation and mention some of its
teristics. Which one of them is maximised in a laser applications.
operation? 14. Laser action is sometimes called ‘inverted absorp-
7. Explain the terms (i) stimulated emission, tion’. Explain in what situation may A / B be small
(ii) spontaneous emission, (iii) optical pumping, enough for laser action?

Questions From Previous Exams

(i) State the properties of LASER. (GTU- Jan’ 2009)

It has four properties namely, coherence, high intensity, high directionality and high monochro-
matic.
(ii) What is the lifetime of charge carrier in metastable state? (GTU- Jan’ 2009)
–3 –2
The lifetime of charge carrier in metastable state is 10 to 10 second.
(iii) State the full form of LASER (GTU- Jan’ 2009)
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
5.36
Engineering Physics
(iv) Describe the construction and working of Nd-YAG laser (GTU- Jan’ 2009)
(Refer Section: 5.9)
(v) Derive the relation between Einstein’s A and B coefficients. (GTU- Jan’ 2009)
(Refer Section: 5.2.1)
(vi) Briefly explain stimulated emission. (GTU- Jan’ 2010)
It is process in which there is emission of a photon whenever an atom transits from a higher energy
state to lower energy state under the influence of an external agency, i.e., inducing photon
(vii) Explain (i) population inversion (ii) pumping (iii) optical resonator. (GTU- Jan’ 2010)
Population Inversion It is the state of achieving more number of atoms in excited state compared
to the ground state, i.e., N2 > N1.
Pumping It is a mechanism of exciting atoms from the lower energy state to higher energy state by
supplying energy from an external source.
Optical resonator It is pairs of reflecting mirrors; of which one is being perfect reflector and other
being partial reflector. It is used for amplification of photons thereby producing an intense and highly
coherent output.
(viii) Describe the construction and working of Nd: YAG Laser with a suitable energy level dia-
gram. (GTU- Jan’ 2010)
(Refer Section: 5.9)
(ix) State the characteristics of LASER. Explain the method of construction and reconstruction of
a hologram. (GTU- Jan’ 2010)
(Refer Section: 5.12, 5.14)
(x) What is population inversion? (GTU- June’ 2010)
Population Inversion It is the state of achieving more number of atoms in excited state compared
to the ground state, i.e., N2 > N1.
(xi) The active medium in Nd: YAG laser is Nd+3 (GTU- June’ 2010)
(xii) In carbon dioxide laser, the energy difference between two levels is 0.121 eV. Calculate the wave-
length of radiation. (GTU- June’ 2010)
Given 0.121 eV and hence 1 eV = 1.602 × 10–19 J
E2 – E1 = 0.121 × 1.602 × 10–19 J
h = 6.626 × 10–34 Js
c = 3 × 108 m/s
l = hc/(E2 – E1)
l = 1.0225 × 10–5 m
(xiii) Explain the construction and working of CO2 laser with a suitable energy level diagram
(GTU- June’ 2010)
(Refer Section: 5.10)
(xiv) Established the relation between Einstein’s coefficients. (GTU- June’ 2010)
(Refer Section: 5.2.1)