Laser Physics Final Exam

19 December 2012
Lecture notes, exercise sheets and notes, and calculators are authorized. A readable writing has a
positive influence on the person in charge of grading the copy. Numerical results play an important
part in the final grade. The three exercises are completely independent.
Numerical values:

Planck constant h=6.6310-34 J.s-1

Speed of light in vacuum c=3108 m.s-1

1. A different kind of three level laser system

We considered in class a three-level system in which a population inversion is established
between levels 1 and 2. Consider a different type of system, depicted in fig. 1, in which level 3
has a long lifetime and level 2 decays fast enough to neglect its population. The transition
probabilities per unit time for the pumping, spontaneous emission of level 3, and laser transition
are WP, A, and F respectively. The populations of levels 1, 2, 3 are N1, N2, and N3.

E3
Spontaneous
emission, A

Laser, F

Pumping,
WP

E2
Fast decay (N2=0)

E1
Figure 1: Energy diagram of the three-level system

1.1 Show that the rate equation for laser population inversion N=N3-N2 can be written as

d
1
N N N 0 FN
dt

Give the expression for and N0 in this case.

1.2 Plot the unsaturated population inversion N0 as a function of pumping rate WP. Compare
this result to the three-level and four-level cases seen in class.
1.3 With a few sentences, comment and explain this behavior

2. A frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser

Consider a unidirectional ring laser based on the Nd:YAG amplifying medium depicted in fig. 2. It
is a four-level laser medium, with a length LA=5 mm, a population inversion lifetime =230 s,
and a cross section of the laser transition at =1 m equal to =2.310-19 cm2. The cavity
roundtrip length is Lcav=1 m, and we will assume that the optical refractive index is n0=1 in the
whole cavity. The unavoidable losses due to imperfections of the setup are equal to =0.5%. The
output coupler transmission in intensity is T=4.5%. In all this exercise, we consider that the
beams all have the same area, with constant intensity distribution, and that the low loss / low
gain approximation is valid.

Nd:YAG
LA=5 mm

Output
coupler T

Extra losses
Fig. 2: Sketch of the ring laser

2.1 Write the rate equations in terms of n, the population inversion density, and I, the optical
intensity as a function of , cav, n0, nth, and Isat (notations are the same as in the lecture for all
these parameters). Give the steady-state solutions of these rate equations.
2.2 The laser is pumped ten times above threshold so that the pumping ratio r=n 0/nth=10.
What is the intracavity intensity of the laser light?
2.3 Is the output coupler optimal in terms of output intensity? Justify your answer. Calculate the
laser intensity at the output Iout. We recall that the unsaturated lineic gain 0= n0.
__________________________________
We want to generate light at twice the optical frequency of the laser light using a second-order
nonlinear medium with length =10 mm. In this medium, the intensity of the laser
(fundamental) light evolves according to the following propagation equation:

dI
I 2 ,
dz
where =1.3310-8 m.W-1 is related to the second harmonic generation arrangement (material,
phase matching, geometry). The fundamental light intensity therefore decreases, and we will
consider that the generated frequency-doubled light intensity is exactly equal to the
fundamental light decrease. We will also consider in all the following that the second-harmonic
generation is weak enough to neglect the pump (fundamental light) depletion when solving the
propagation equation.

Nd:YAG
LA=5 mm

Output
coupler T

Nonlinear medium
=10 mm
Frequency
doubled
light

Extra losses

Fig. 3: Extracavity frequency doubling

2.4 We first consider that the medium is located at the output of the laser (fig. 3). Show that the
intensity of the fundamental light at the output of the nonlinear medium can be written as:
I out, NL I out 1 I out .
2.5 Give the expression and numerical value of the frequency-doubled intensity ISHG. Comment
the conversion efficiency ISHG/Iout. Is the undepleted pump approximation valid?
_____________________________________________
In order to increase the conversion efficiency, the same nonlinear medium is placed inside the
cavity. The output coupler is replaced by a highly reflecting mirror. The cavity mirrors are
completely transparent for the frequency-doubled light, so that there is a single frequencydoubled output from the cavity.
Frequency
doubled
light

Nd:YAG
LA=5 mm

Nonlinear
medium
=10 mm

Extra losses

Fig. 4: Intracavity frequency doubling

2.6 Give a physical explanation as to why intracavity doubling might increase the conversion
efficiency compared to extracavity doubling. Why is the output coupler removed? What element
plays the role of the output coupler?
2.7 By considering the propagation of the laser light over a roundtrip in the cavity, show that the
rate equation for light intensity must be modified to take into account the nonlinear medium as
follows:

Give the expression of

dI
I
n

(
1) I 2 .
dt cav nth
as a function of , , and the laser parameters.

2.8 Using the modified rate equations, derive two equations relating the optical intensity ISS and
the population inversion nSS at steady-state.

2.9 Show that the steady-state intensity can be written as

I SS

I sat

cav 1/ I sat 2 4 cav r cav 1/ I sat

I sat

2 cav

2.10 What is the expression for the output intracavity frequency-doubled light intensity ISHG.
2.11 By differentiating the expression obtained in question 2.10, it is possible to show that the
value of

that maximizes the frequency-doubled light generation is given by

1
I sat cav

Is the nonlinear medium chosen in an optimal way in our case? We will now consider that

1
I sat cav

2.12 What is the expression of the intracavity fundamental intensity when the nonlinear
medium is optimal?
2.13 What is the expression of the frequency-doubled light output when the nonlinear medium
is optimal?
2.14 Compare the fundamental intensity at the output of the laser with optimal outcoupling
(question 2.3), with the frequency-doubled optimal intensity with optimal nonlinear medium
(2.13), at equal pumping n0. Comment.

3. Nonlinear pulse compression

Consider an initial unchirped Gaussian optical pulse, with initial complex envelope
t2
, where t is the pulsewidth. Starting from this pulse, we would like to
E ( z 0, t ) E 0 exp
2
2t

obtain a shorter pulse.

2.1 Can we obtain a shorter pulse by launching the initial pulse in a dispersive medium? Why?
We first send the pulse into a medium of length L exhibiting the optical Kerr effect, in which the
refractive index depends linearly on the intensity. The propagation in this medium can be
described by the following equation
E ( z, t )
2
i E ( z, t ) E ( z, t ) ,
z
Where >0 is the strength of the Kerr effect in the considered medium, and E is the electric field
complex envelope.

Figure 5: Nonlinear pulse compression system

2.2 Show that |E(z,t)|2 is conserved upon propagation.

2.3 Formally integrate the propagation equation between z=0 and z=LNL, to obtain an expression
for E(z=LNL,t).
2.4 We can assume that the Gaussian temporal phase shift induced by the propagation in the
Kerr medium is parabolic by making a first-order Taylor expansion of the phase around t=0.
What is the expression of E(z=LNL,t) in this approximation?
2.5 Show that the propagation in the Kerr medium induces a temporal chirp C (in addition to a
constant phase shift that can be neglected for this problem):

1 iC t 2

E ( z LNL , t ) E0 exp
2t 2

Express C as a function of , E0, and LNL.

2.6 Is the pulse duration at the output of the Kerr medium E(z=LNL,t) shorter than at the input?
2.7 We wish to temporally compress the pulse at the output of the Kerr medium. Can we do so
by propagating the pulse in a dispersive medium? Why? If so, what sign of dispersion 2 should
we use?

2.8 What is the minimal pulsewidth after compression (Kerr medium + dispersive medium), and
what length of dispersive medium LD should we use?
2.9 Numerical example: consider E 02 = 20 m-1, LNL=1 m, t=40 fs. Calculate the minimum
compressed pulsewidth.

Gas-filled hollow-core fiber

(Kerr medium)

Chirped mirrors
(dispersion)

Figure 6: A nonlinear pulse compression setup used to generate 6 fs pulses (Apollon frontend)