Laser Physics

Semester BS 8th
Course Title: Laser Physics
Course Code: PHY-606
Credit hrs: 3(3-0)
Lecture= 5
 Table of Content
Optical feedback
 Optical feedback
• The total loss of the system is due to a number of different processes, the
most important ones include:
• transmission at the mirrors, in fact transmission from one of the mirrors
usually provides the useful output, the other mirror is made as reflective as
possible to minimise losses;
• absorption and scattering at mirrors;
• absorption in the laser medium due to transmissions other than the desired
transitions;
• scattering at optical inhomogeneities in the laser medium;
• diffraction losses at the mirrors.
 Optical feedback
• To simplify, let us include all the losses except those due to transmission at the
mirrors in a single effective loss coefficient γ, which reduces the effective gain
coefficient to (k-γ).
• We can determine the threshold gain by considering the change in irradiance of
a beam of light undergoing a round trip within the laser cavity.
• We assume that the laser medium fills the space between the two mirrors M1
and M2 which have reflectance R1 and R2 and a separation L.
• In travelling from mirror M1 to M2 the beam irradiance increases from I0 to I
Optical feedback
 Optical feedback
• where kth is the threshold gain. It is important to realise that the threshold gain is
equal to the steady-state gain in continuous output lasers. This equality is due to
gain saturation, which can be explained as follows.
• Initially, when laser action starts the gain may be well above the threshold value.
The effect of stimulated emission reduces the population of the upper level of the
laser transition so that the degree of population inversion and consequently the
gain will decrease.
• Thus the round trip gain may vary. It is only when G has been equal to unity
• for a period of time that the laser output power settles down to a steady-state
value, that is when the gain just balances the losses in the medium.
 Optical feedback
• In terms of the population inversion there will be a threshold value
Nth= (N2-N1)th
• In the steady state situation (N2-N1) remains equal to Nth regardless of the
amount by which the threshold-pumping rate is exceeded.
• The small signal gain required to support steady state operation depends on
the laser medium through k and γ, and on the laser construction through
R1, R2 and L.
 Optical feedback

• The above equation shows that k can have a wide range of values,
depending not only (N2-N1) but also on the intrinsic properties and design
parameters.
• If k is high then it is relatively easy to achieve laser action. With low gain
media, mirrors must have high reflectivities, be very clean and carefully
aligned.
Optical feedback
 Optical feedback
• The efficiency of laser system is the ratio of the output light power
to input pump power.
• It therefore depends on how effectively the pump power is
converted into producing a population inversion.
• in 1986, optical feedback was considered mainly as a disturbance
affecting the performance of linewidth and noise of a laser, and
impairing the use of the source in optical fiber communication systems.
• That opened the door to important new and groundbreaking
applications. Some applications are now well established as chaos
cryptography and self-mixing interferometry. But some applications are
more recent as random number, microwave tone generation and
ranging. And new applications will most probably keep appearing in the
years to come.
 Problems

• The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is of interest in the laser

field starts from the submillimeter wave region and goes down in
wavelength to the x-ray region. This covers the following regions in
succession: (1) far infrared; (2) near infrared; (3) visible;
(4) ultraviolet (uv); (5) vacuum ultraviolet (vuv); (6) soft x-ray; (7) x-ray.
Draw a chart (to the scale) indicating all the regions in the units of (i)
Angstroms, (ii) Hertz, (iii) electron volts (ev), and (iv) meters.
 Problems
When in thermal equilibrium (at T=300 K), the ratio of the level
populations N2/N1 for some particular pair of levels is given by
1/e. Calculate the frequency ν for this transition. In what region of
the e.m. spectrum does this frequency fall?

The value of signal gain coefficient of a certain laser amplifier is

0.29/m. What’s physical meanings of it?
References:
th
• Svelto, O. 2009. Principles of Lasers. Springer, 5 Edition.
Links:
Thank
You