Chapter I Laser Basis

Speaker : Professor Li
 1.5 Population inversion
1. If we want the stimulated emission to
dominate over absorption and spontaneous
emission, we must have a greater number of excited
species in the upper level than the population of the
lower level.
2. Population inversion is an essential condition
for laser action.

E2

E1
3. inversion threshold

Since there are various losses and other losses

associated with laser cavity(spontaneous emission,
absorption, escape diffraction).

Laser has a certain minimum value of N2-N1 for

the production of laser output —— threshold.
 1.5. Producing Population
inversion
two possible ways
1. One is to populate the upper level by
exciting extra atoms or molecules to the upper
level.
2. Depopulate the lower laser level involved in
the laser action. E2

E1
3. pumping mechanisms

1) optical pumping (photons) ———— solid-state lasers

ruby Nd:YAG ,
gas lasers such as
helium-neon laser
carbon dioxide laser

xenon lamp
2) electrical pumping (electrons ) ——
electric discharge
4. metastable state
A metastable state has a relatively longer lifetime ——
a few microseconds(ms) .
 1.6 Two-, Three- and Four-Level
Laser Systems
energy level structure of the laser medium
1.6.1 Two-Level Laser System
Excited state
1.6.2 Three-Level Laser System

Figure Energy level diagram of three-Level Laser System

Figure energy level diagram of ruby laser
1.6.3 Four-Level Laser System

Figure Energy level diagram of carbon dioxide laser

Figure Energy level diagram of Nd:YAG laser
 1.7 Gain of Laser Medium
1. Gain is a very basic concept in electronics —
— the amplifying function of an active component
or circuit.
2. The gain of the laser medium refers to the
extent to which this medium can produce
stimulated emission.
3. gain coefficient —— percentage per unit
length of the active medium.
 4. The amplification or the photon multiplication
offered by the medium :
5. Gain saturation
phenomenon : an active medium at fixed
pumping power, with week input signal one can
measure a fixed gain coefficient, as the input
increasing the measured coefficient decreases with
the input.
Reason ( explanation )

For a given pump input, there is a certain

quantum of excited species in the upper laser level.
As the stimulated emission (initially triggered by
one spontaneously emitted photon) picks up. The
upper laser level is successively depleted of the
desired excited species and the population is
adversely affected.
 1.8 Laser Resonator
1. The constitute of a laser system

R=1 lamp

power supply
 2. functions of resonator
(1) introduce (positive) feedback (from
amplifier to oscillator)
(2) output of laser beam
(3) restrict the mode number —— open cavity
(4) restrict oscillation frequency ( only
standing wave)
(5) squeeze (compress) the frequency
bandwidth—— FP (Fabry—Perot etalon)
(6) prolong the cavity life-time of photon
3. longitudinal modes, oscillation frequency

plane- paralled
resonator

L
standing wave condition :
2L=n λ ( n=1，2, 3 … )
where
L —— length of the resonator
λ —— wavelength
n —— an integer
resonance frequency :

each n corresponds to a standing wave

 there could be a large number of frequencies
for different values of n satisfying the resonance
condition.

𝑣 is called the resonance frequency of the

cavity longitudinal modes .
longitudinal mode ：
each steady standing wave field formed along the resonator axis
called a longitudinal mode ( axial mode ).

𝑐
∆𝑣 = 𝑣𝑛+1 −𝑣𝑛 =
2𝐿

Longitudinal ( mode separation ) inter—mode spacing

𝑐
2𝐿
4. Transverse Modes
the irradiance distribution of the laser output
in the plane perpendicular to the direction of
propagation, in other words, along the
orthogonal axes perpendicular to the laser axis.
1.10 Types of Laser Resonators
1. cavity ( resonator) configuration the end
mirrors used and the inter-element separation
2. stable and unstable resonators
stable resonator : the photons can bounce
back and forth between the
end components indefinitely
without being lost out the
sides of the components.
3. Types of Resonators

Figure Plane-parallel resonator .

Figure (a) Hemispherical resonator and (b) hemifocal resonator .
Figure (a) Concentric resonator and (b) confocal resonator .
Figure Unstable resonator .
1.11 pumping mechanisms

self-study ( P23-P29)

summary
class review questions ( P30 )