Laser Cavity: (Type Here)

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LASER CAVITY
Laser Physics Notes

CHAPTER 4
Laser Physics Notes Chapter # 4
Laser:
Lasers are the devices, which generate light in both visible and invisible range
based on the principle of stimulated emission
Laser is an acronym for “Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”.
Laser technology is at the core of the wider area of photonics, essentially because
laser light has a number of very special properties:
 It is usually emitted as a well-directed laser beam which can propagate over
long lengths without much divergence and can be focused to very small
spots, where a high intensity is achieved.
 It can have a very narrow optical bandwidth, whereas e.g. most lamps emit
light with a very broad optical spectrum.
 It maybe emitted continuously or alternatively in the form of short or
ultrashort pulses, with durations from microseconds down to a few
femtoseconds. The temporal concentration of energy in addition to the
potential of strong special confinement in a beam focus allows for even far
higher intensities to be generated.
The laser device has three primary components:
I. Lasing medium
II. Pumping source
III. Laser cavity or optical resonator
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Laser Cavity:
A laser generally requires a laser resonator (laser cavity), in which the laser
radiation can circulate and pass a gain medium which compensates the optical loss.
The laser cavity is the heart of the laser device.
A laser resonator typically contains multiple laser mirrors, one of them being an
output coupler, a laser gain medium and possibly additional optical elements e.g.
for wavelength tuning, Q-switching or mode locking. It can be linear resonator,
having two end mirrors, or a ring resonator.
Light confined in the laser cavity reflects multiple times. It produces standing waves
of certain resonance frequencies. The cavity provides positive feedback of the
laser. The pattern of standing waves produced in laser cavity is called modes. The
modes of standing waves in laser cavity have two types called:
 Longitudinal modes
 Transverse modes
The types of laser cavity are distinguished by the focal lengths of the two mirrors
and the distance between the mirrors. The geometry of laser cavity is chosen in
such a way that the light beam remains stable. Resonator types are also designed
to meet other criteria such as minimum beam waist or no focal point inside cavity.
Conditions for radiation modes:

The radiations within the laser cavity of a laser device set up a pattern of electric
field and magnetic field. This pattern is called modes of cavity. These modes have
two independent types called longitudinal modes and transverse modes.
The necessary conditions which determines radiation modes created in the laser
cavity are
 Standing waves
 Properties of optical signal
 Longitudinal modes
 Transverse modes
 Common optical cavities
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Standing waves:
Standing wave also known as stationary wave, which oscillates in time but whose
peak amplitude profile does not move in space.
The peak amplitude of the wave oscillations at any point in space is constant with
time, and the oscillations at different points throughout the wave are in phase. The
points of zero displacements in standing waves are called nodes. The points of
maximum displacements in standing waves are called antinodes.
The electromagnetic waves inside the laser cavity move along the optical axis of
the device. The optical cavity is created between the two mirrors. The multiple
reflections of radiation from the mirrors increase the length of active medium. The
mirrors also determine the boundary condition for electromagnetic radiations
inside the laser cavity. The cavity with two mirrors is called Febry-Perot resonator.
The laser beam is ejected out of laser cavity in the direction of optical axis.
The ejected laser beam is phase coherent and monochromatic. The light
amplification by stimulated emission increases the amplitude of output laser beam.
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There must be a phase condition along with amplitude condition. The phase delay
must be some multiple of 2π when wave makes a complete round trip inside the
laser cavity.
Consider length between the mirrors is ‘L’. The optical path from one mirror to the
other mirror and back to the first mirror is called roundtrip. The optical path ‘2L’ of
round trip must be an integer multiple of wavelength. The wave must start with the
same phase at the mirror.
The suitable wavelengths which create standing waves must fulfil the condition:
2𝐿 = 𝑚𝜆𝑚
2𝐿
𝜆𝑚 = 1
𝑚
L → Length of optical cavity
m → No. of modes
The mode is equal to the number of half wavelengths inside the optical cavity. The
wavelength of mode ‘m’ inside the laser cavity is ‘λm’.
The wavelength ‘λm’ in medium is given as:
𝜆𝑜
𝜆𝑚 =
𝑛 2
λo → wavelength of light in vacuum

n → refractive index of active medium
The wavelength ‘λo’ and frequency ‘ν’ of light in vacuum are related as:
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𝑐 = 𝜆𝑜 𝜈
For ‘m’ modes;
𝜈 = 𝜈𝑚
So, we have:
𝑐 = 𝜆𝑜 𝜈𝑚
Putting value of ‘λo’ from equation 2 in above equation:
𝑐 = 𝑛𝜆𝑚 𝜈𝑚
𝑐
𝜈𝑚 =
𝑛𝜆𝑚 3
Put equation 1 in equation 3

𝑐
𝜈𝑚 = 𝑚 ( )
2𝑛𝐿
The above relation gives the frequency of the longitudinal modes formed in laser
cavity.
The frequency of first mode of oscillation is for m = 1
𝑐
𝜈1 =
2𝑛𝐿
The mode for m = 1, is called basic longitudinal mode.it has the basic frequency of
the optical cavity.
The frequency of each mode is equal to integer (mode no. ‘m’) times the frequency
of basic longitudinal mode.
The frequency of 2nd mode of oscillation is for, m = 2:
𝑐
𝜈2 = 2 ( )
2𝑛𝐿
The difference ‘Δν’ between frequencies of adjacent longitudinal modes is:
∆𝜈 = 𝜈2 − 𝜈1
𝑐 𝑐
∆𝜈 = 2 ( )−
2𝑛𝐿 2𝑛𝐿
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𝑐
∆𝜈 =
2𝑛𝐿
The mode spacing ‘Δν’ is equal to the basic frequency of the laser cavity. The
refractive index ‘n’ is assumed constant throughout the optical cavity. Hence length
of the active medium is equal to the length of the optical cavity.
Allowed Frequencies Inside Cavity:

The allowed frequencies of longitudinal modes inside a laser cavity having length
‘L’ and refractive index ‘n’ is given as:
𝑐
𝜈𝑚 = 𝑚 ( )
2𝑛𝐿
The difference ‘Δν’ between frequencies of adjacent allowed modes is
𝑐
∆𝜈 =
2𝑛𝐿
In practice, these frequencies are not defined mathematically as single frequencies
but each has a width of frequencies around the possible modes.
The allowed frequencies inside laser cavity are determined from the length ‘L’ of
the cavity and the value ‘n’ of refractive index of the active medium. Only those
frequencies are allowed which create nodes at both mirrors. The distance between
two consecutive nodes is λ/2. Thus, cavity length must be an integral multiple of
half their wavelengths.
The allowed frequencies have a constant interval. This interval is equal to the basic
frequency of the cavity. The longitudinal modes explain that only specific
frequencies are possible inside the laser cavity.
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From all these possible frequencies, only those frequencies which have
amplification above certain minimum are emitted out of the laser cavity. The
minimum amplification is called lasing threshold.
The condition of lasing threshold says
𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
The height of each lasing line depends on the losses in a round trip inside the cavity,
including the emitted radiation through the output coupler.
The marked region under the curve and above the lasing threshold include the
range where lasing can occur.
The height of the gain curve depends on the length of the active medium and its
excitation. The possible longitudinal modes of laser are marked as perpendicular
lines at equal distances from each other. Only frequencies from those allowed
inside the cavity, are above the lasing threshold.
The 5 allowed frequencies are shown in diagram below. These frequencies are
spaced at equal distances.
The mode spacing is given as

𝑐
∆𝜈𝑀𝑆 =
2𝑛𝐿
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Gain Curve of Active Medium:

The measure of ability of a laser medium to increase optical power is called gain or
amplification. The ratio of output power and input power is called amplification
factor.
The plot of gain as a function of frequency is called gain curve.
The plot is shown below and it describes the width of the fluorescence line.
The emission of electromagnetic radiation due to de-excitation of atoms in a
medium is called fluorescence. The initial excitation is caused by the absorption of
energy from incident radiation. The fluorescence line width δνLW of a laser is width
of the amplification curve at half the maximum height.
The gain curve of the active medium marked with the lasing threshold and possible
longitudinal modes of the laser is shown below.
The fluorescence line width determines the maximum width of all emitted laser
lines. The approximate number of possible longitudinal laser modes ‘N’ is given as:
𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
𝑁=
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠
𝛿𝜈𝐿𝑊
𝑁=
∆𝜈𝑀𝑆
Mode Controlling Factors:

The factors which control the number of longitudinal modes created in laser cavity
are:
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Length of Laser Cavity:

The length of laser cavity for single mode oscillation is given as
𝑐
𝐿=
2∆𝜈
The distance between adjacent longitudinal modes become half when length of
cavity is made double.
The number of possible longitudinal modes under the fluorescence curve is given
as:
𝛿𝜈𝐿𝑊
𝑁=
∆𝜈𝑀𝑆
It shows number of possible laser modes under the fluorescence curve becomes
double when distance ΔνMS between adjacent longitudinal modes becomes half.
A single mode laser can be made by reducing the length of cavity such that only
one longitudinal mode will remain under the fluorescence curve with GL ˃ 1. In such
single mode laser, the exact distance between the mirrors is critical. If there will be
no modes to fulfil the condition, no lasing will occur.
The disadvantage of this method is that the short length of the cavity limits the
power output of the laser.
Addition of Extra Mirror:

The addition of extra mirror inside the laser cavity can control the number of
longitudinal modes of the laser.
The operation of a laser in single mode with 3 mirrors is shown below. It has two
cavity lengths ‘L1’ and ‘L2’ at the same time. The length ‘L1’ is chosen in such a way
that only one longitudinal mode will be under the fluorescence curve of the laser.
The laser as a system needs to fulfil the conditions for both cavities.
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Intensity Distribution of Radiation:

The distribution of the intensity of the radiation across the cross-sectional area
perpendicular to optical laser axis has different shapes. These shapes depend upon
the position of mirror. Any change in the position of mirror changes these shapes.
These shapes are known as transverse electromagnetic modes.
Shape of Transverse Modes:

The transverse electromagnetic mode is denoted by TEMmn. Where ‘m’ is the
number of points of zero illumination along x-axis and ‘n’ is number of points of
zero illumination along y-axis. The laser beam is advancing along z-axis.
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“TEM” Modes:
The transverse electromagnetic modes describe the shape of the intensity
distribution in the cross-section of the beam.
The dark areas mark places where laser radiation hit. Each TEM is marked with two
indexes as TEMmn.
There is one TEM which does not fit this classification. It has a special name called
“Bagel”. It is composed of TEM01 and TEM10 oscillating together.
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Intensity Profile of TEMmn of Laser:

The total intensity profile is a superposition of all existing transverse modes when
a laser operates. The lowest transverse mode TEM00 has the smallest diameter
compared to other transverse modes.
The laser may operate in a single basic transverse mode when a pinhole is put inside
the laser cavity. The diameter of pinhole is equal to the diameter of the lower
mode. The lowest transverse mode TEM00 can pass through the pinhole and all
higher modes are attenuated. The radiation inside the optical cavity is moving back
and forth so only basic mode TEM00 will be amplified and appear in the output.
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Properties of Basic Transverse Mode:

The properties of basic transverse mode or basic Gaussian transverse mode
“TEM00” are:
 The basic Gaussian transverse mode can be focused to the smallest spot as
compared to all other transverse modes.
 The basic Gaussian transverse mode has the “maximum spatial coherence”
as compared to other transverse modes.
 The spatial distribution of a Gaussian beam remains Gaussian when laser
beam propagates through space.
Properties of Optical Cavity:

The main properties of laser cavity are:
 The region between two mirrors of the laser device is called optical cavity or
laser cavity
 The imaginary line connecting the centers of the end mirrors is called optical
axis. It is in the middle of optical cavity.
 There are different shapes of mirrors of cavity
 There are different lengths between mirrors of cavity
 The beam diameter limiting factor inside the laser cavity is called aperture.
The aperture is determined by the diameter of the active medium but in
some lasers a pinhole is inserted into the laser cavity
 A specific optical cavity is determined by the active medium, optical power
in it and specific application.
 All radiations emitted through the output coupler are called losses inside
optical cavity. The gain of the active medium must overcome these losses.
 The losses inside the optical cavity are due to misalignment of the mirrors.
The misalignment is generated when cavity mirrors are not exactly aligned
perpendicular to the laser axis and parallel to each other. The radiation inside
the cavity will not be confined during its path between the mirrors due to
misalignment
 The optical elements of cavity are not ideal. Each interaction with optical
elements inside the cavity causes some losses due to absorption and
scattering. Every time a laser beam passes through a limiting aperture, it
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diffracts. It is not always possible to increase the aperture for reducing the
diffraction. Such increase will allow lasing in higher transverse modes which
are not desired.
Types of Laser Cavities:

The region between two mirrors of the laser device is called optical cavity or laser
cavity.
Important laser cavities are:

 Plane parallel cavity
 Concentric spherical cavity
 Confocal cavity
 Big radius cavity
 Semi spherical cavity
 Semi concave cavity
 Convex-Concave cavity
Plane Parallel Optical Cavity

The plane parallel cavity has two plane mirrors (R1 = ∞ and R2 = ∞) at both ends.
These mirrors are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the laser optical axis.
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Advantages:
 Optimal use of all volume of the active medium
 No focusing of the laser radiation inside the optical cavity
Disadvantages:
 High diffraction losses
 Very high sensitivity to misalignment. Thus, very difficult to operate
Concentric Spherical Cavity:

This cavity has two spherical mirrors of same radii. The distance between the
centers of the mirrors is equal to twice the radius of curvature of each mirrors.
𝐿
𝑅1 = 𝑅2 =
2
The focusing of the beam is at the center of the cavity
Advantages:
 Very low sensitivity to misalignment
 Low diffraction losses
Disadvantages:
 Limited use of the volume of active medium
 Maximum focusing of the radiation inside the optical cavity
Confocal Cavity
This cavity has two spherical mirrors of same radii (R1 = R2 = L). this arrangement
causes much less focusing of the beam at the center of the cavity.
The focal point of each mirror is at the center of the confocal cavity while center of
curvature of the mirrors is in the center of the cavity in spherical cavity.
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Advantages:
 Little sensitivity to misalignment
 No high focusing inside the cavity
 Medium use of volume of the active medium
Big Radius Cavity:

The cavity with radius of curvature of the mirrors longer than cavity length is big
radius cavity (R1 ˃˃ L & R2 ˃˃ L). This cavity is a better compromise than confocal
cavity between plane parallel and circular optical cavities.
This cavity has two spherical mirrors with big radii of curvature at both ends. The
distance between the centers of the mirrors is much less than the radius of
curvature of each of them (R1 ˃˃ L & R2 ˃˃ L). this arrangement causes much less
focusing of the beam at the center of the cavity.
Advantages:
 Medium sensitivity to misalignment
 Medium diffraction losses
 No high focusing of the beam
 Good use of the volume of the active medium
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Semi-Spherical Cavity:
This cavity is created with one plane mirror and one spherical mirror. The radius of
curvature of spherical mirror is equal to the length of the cavity. This cavity is similar
in properties to circular cavity with the advantage of the low price of the plane
mirror. Most He-Ne lasers use this cavity.
Advantages:
 Low sensitivity to misalignment
Unstable Resonator:
The convex-concave cavity is an example of unstable resonator. The concave mirror
is big and its radius of curvature is longer than the length of cavity.
The convex mirror is small and its radius of curvature is small. The standing wave
pattern is not created inside such cavity. The radiation does not move in the same
path between the mirrors. The radius of curvature of both mirrors meets at the
same point.
Advantages:
 High volume of the modes inside the active medium
 All the power inside the cavity is emitted out of the laser
 The laser radiation is emitted out of the laser around the edges of the small
mirror
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 This cavity is used in high power lasers which cannot use standard output
coupler
Disadvantages:
 The beam shape has a hole in the middle
Stable Laser Cavity:

The cavity in which radiation is captured inside the cavity is called a stable laser
cavity.
The standing waves are created in the cavity when beam of laser moves between
the mirrors. The geometry of the cavity determines its stability. It is possible to use
unstable resonator only if the active medium has high gain. A stability criterion is
needed to determine the stability of a cavity.
Stability Criterion:
The stability criterion for laser cavity is determined from geometric parameter
defined for each of the mirrors of an optical cavity. A graphical representation of
the geometric parameters is shown below:
The geometric parameter for mirror ‘M1’ is defined as:

𝐿
𝑔1 = 1 −
𝑅1
The geometric parameter for mirror ‘M2’ is defined as:
𝐿
𝑔2 = 1 −
𝑅2
The cavity is stable if
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0 < 𝑔1 × 𝑔2 < 1
The stability diagram of all laser cavities is shown below. The geometric parameters
of the mirrors ‘g2’ and ‘g1’ are along x-axis and y-axis.
Laser Gain:
The factor by which an input power of the beam of light is amplified by an active
medium is called laser gain.
The laser gain is a measure of the ability of a laser medium to increase optical
power. The output power of the laser is determined by two factors
Active medium gain:

The active medium gain depends upon two factors:
 Population inversion
 Fluorescence line-shape of the spontaneous emission that is related to the
lasing transition.
Losses in laser cavity:

The losses in laser cavity depend upon
 Reflections from end mirrors
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 Radiation losses inside the active medium due to absorption and scattering
 Diffraction due to laser components
Condition for Laser:

In a round trip path of the radiation between the laser mirrors, the gain must
exceed or at least be equal to the losses is required for laser action. The system
goes into oscillation when gain exceeds the roundtrip losses.
The stable condition is stated as
𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
Fluorescence Line Shape of The Laser:

The laser action inside active medium is possible only for those wavelengths for
which medium have fluorescent emission. The fluorescent line is described by
plotting spontaneous emission radiation intensity as a function of frequency or
wavelength for the specific lasing transition. The main transition is the visible
spectrum is from level ‘E5’ to level ‘E2’ as shown below.
The fluorescent emission is at red wavelength of 632.8 nm.
Loop Gain:
There are many losses when radiation takes a round trip in the laser cavity.
 Scattering and absorption losses at the end mirror
 Output radiation through the output coupler
 Scattering and absorption losses in the active medium and at the side walls
of the laser.
 Diffraction losses because of the finite size of the laser components.
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These losses cause some of the radiation not to take part in the lasing process. A
necessary condition for lasing is that the total gain will be a little higher than all the
losses.
The loop gain is defined as
𝐸5
𝐺𝐿 =
𝐸1
GL → loop gain
E1 → intensity of radiation at the beginning of the loop
E5 → intensity of radiation at the end of the loop
The round-trip path of the radiation through the laser cavity is divided into sections
(1→5). The point ‘5’ is the same point as ‘1’.
Loop Gain Without Losses:

Consider active medium has constant refractive index ‘n’. the active medium gain
when radiation is on the way from point ‘1’ to point ‘2’ is defined as:
𝐸2
𝐺𝐴 =
𝐸1
𝐸2 = 𝐺𝐴 × 𝐸1 4
On the way from point ‘2’ to point ‘3’, the radiation is reflected from the rear
mirror. The rear mirror has reflectivity R1. Thus,
𝐸3 = 𝑅1 × 𝐸2 5
Put equation 4 in 5
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𝐸3 = 𝑅1 × (𝐺𝐴 × 𝐸1 ) 6
On the way from point ‘3’ to point ‘4’, the radiation passes again through the active
medium and amplified.
Thus, active medium gain is given as
𝐸4
𝐺𝐴 =
𝐸3
𝐸4 = 𝐺𝐴 × 𝐸3 7
Put equation 6 in 7
𝐸4 = 𝐺𝐴 × [𝑅1 × (𝐺𝐴 × 𝐸1 )]
𝐸4 = 𝑅1 × 𝐺𝐴2 × 𝐸1 8
On the way from point ‘4’ to point ‘5’, the radiation is reflected from the output
coupler. The output coupler has reflectivity ‘R2’. Thus,
𝐸5 = 𝑅2 × 𝐸4 9
Put equation 8 in 9:
𝐸5 = 𝑅2 × [𝑅1 × 𝐺𝐴2 × 𝐸1 ]
𝐸5 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐺𝐴2 × 𝐸1 10
This completes the loop. The active medium loop gain without losses is:
𝑬𝟓
𝑮𝑨 = √
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑬𝟏
Loop Gain with Losses:

Assume that losses occur uniformly along the length ‘L’ of the cavity. The loss factor
can be defined using analogy to Lambert formula for losses.
Therefore, the loss factor ‘M’ is defined as:
𝑀 = 𝑒 −2𝛼𝐿
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α → loss coefficient
2L → path length which is twice the length ‘L’ of the cavity
Now including the loss factor ‘M’ in equation 10
𝐸5 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐺𝐴2 𝐸1 𝑀
The loop gain is given as:
𝐸5 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐺𝐴2 𝐸1 𝑀
𝐺𝐿 = =
𝐸1 𝐸1
𝐺𝐿 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐺𝐴2 𝑀
𝐺𝐿 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐺𝐴2 𝑒 −2𝛼𝐿 11
Gain Threshold (GL)th:

The active medium gain is defined as
𝐺𝐴 = 𝑒 𝛽𝐿
𝐺𝐴2 = 𝑒 2𝛽𝐿 12
β → gain coefficient of active medium which is uniformly distributed along the

length of the cavity
Putting equation 12 in 11:
𝐺𝐿 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑒 2𝛽𝐿 𝑒 −2𝛼𝐿
𝐺𝐿 = 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑒 2(𝛽−𝛼)𝐿
There is a threshold condition for amplification in order to create oscillation inside
laser cavity.
The threshold condition for continuous laser is:
(𝐺𝐿 )𝑡ℎ = 1
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑒 2(𝛽−𝛼)𝐿 = 1
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Fluorescence Line-Shape:
The fluorescence is an optical phenomenon in which the absorption of energy in
the form of photons triggers the emission of fluorescent photons with a longer
wavelength.
The fluorescence line is described by plotting radiation intensity of spontaneous
emission as a function of frequency for specific lasing transition. The fluorescence
line is narrow when the transition is between the narrow levels.
The less energy is required to achieve population inversion when fluorescence line
is narrower. The ideal fluorescence line shape is a spike pulse.
Fluorescence Line-Width:
All possible spontaneous transition lines, plotted as a function of frequency make
the continuous fluorescence line-shape. The width of fluorescence line is called
fluorescence line-width. It is the measure of the width of the fluorescence line at
half of its maximum height.
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The fluorescence line-width ‘Δν’ is expressed by wavelengths or frequencies of two

points on the spontaneous emission graph at half the maximum height as:
∆𝜈 = |𝜈2 − 𝜈1 |
𝑐 𝑐
∆𝜈 = | − |
𝜆2 𝜆1
𝑐𝜆1 − 𝑐𝜆2
∆𝜈 = | |
𝜆1 𝜆2
𝑐∆𝜆
∆𝜈 = | |
𝜆1 𝜆2
The approximation, (λ1λ2 = λo2) can be used because linewidth ‘Δλ’ is much smaller
than each of the wavelengths (Δλ << λ1 & Δλ << λ2). Where ‘λo’ is wavelength at the
center of emission spectrum of the laser.
𝑐∆𝜆
∆𝜈 = | |
𝜆2𝑜
In a similar way
𝑐 𝑐 𝑐𝜈1 − 𝑐𝜈2
∆𝜆 = |𝜆2 − 𝜆1 | = | − |=| |
𝜈2 𝜈1 𝜈1 𝜈2
𝑐∆𝜈
∆𝜆 = | |
𝜈1 𝜈2
These mathematical relations will be used for determining the coherence of the
laser.
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Broadening the Fluorescence Line:

There is a lot of similarity between the shape of the gain curve and the fluorescence
line. The reason is that the active medium curve is directly proportional to the width
of the fluorescence line of the spontaneous emission.
It is important to distinguish between the linewidth of the laser and the linewidth
of specific longitudinal mode, which can contain many longitudinal modes.
The certain mechanisms which are responsible for broadening the linewidth of a
laser are:
 Natural Broadening
 Doppler Broadening
 Pressure Broadening
For many applications, especially when temporal coherence is required a small
bandwidth of the emitted laser wavelength is required.
Natural Broadening:
This broadening is always present and comes from the finite transition time the
upper laser level to the lower laser level. The natural linewidth is narrow (104 to 108
Hz) compare to the radiation frequency of visible light (1014 Hz).
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Each energy level has a specific width (Δν) and specific lifetime (Δt). Natural
broadening results from uncertainty principle.
∆𝐸∆𝑡 > ℎ
∆𝐸 = ℎ∆𝜈
Where,
1
∆𝜈 >
∆𝑡
For example,
Δt = 10-8 s gives Δν = 108 Hz
Δt = 10-4 s gives Δν = 104 Hz
The longer the specific energy level transition lifetime, the narrower is its linewidth.
Doppler Broadening:
The doppler shift is a well-known phenomenon in wave motion. It occurs when
source is in relative motion to the receiver. The frequency detected is shifted by an
amount determined by the relative velocity between the source and the receiver.
Since gas molecules are in constant motion in random directions, each molecule
emits light while it is moving relative to the laser axis in a different direction. These
distributions of the frequency shifts cause the broadening of the laser linewidth.
The doppler broadening occur specially in gas lasers as a result of movement of gas
molecules. Its influence is mostly in low pressure gas lasers.
Pressure broadening:
The pressure broadening is caused by collisions between the molecules of the gas.
It is the largest broadening mechanism in gas lasers with pressure of more than
10mmHg. As the pressure increases, the broadening increases.
Line Broadening Mechanism:

A line-broadening mechanism is referred to as homogeneous when it broadens the
line of each atom in the same way. In this case the line shape of the single atom
cross section and that of the overall absorption cross section are identical.
27
A line broadening mechanism is said to be homogeneous when it distributes the

atomic resonance frequencies over some spectral range.
Homogeneous Broadening:
The first homogeneous line broadening mechanism we consider is due to collisions.
It is called collision broadening. The collision broadening is due to the collision of
an atom with other atoms, ions, free electrons or with the walls of the container in
a gas. The collision broadening is due to the interaction of atom with the lattice
phonons in a solid.
A second homogeneous line broadening mechanism originates from spontaneous
emission. Since this emission is an inevitable feature of any transition, the
corresponding broadening is called natural or intrinsic broadening. In case of
natural broadening, it is easiest to consider the behavior in terms of the spectrum
of the emitted radiation.
The laser light has a very important property which is very sharp or very narrow
range of frequencies. This is in contradiction with the uncertainty principle. It
demands that the excited atoms must stay for an infinite time in the excited state
to define the state energy with zero uncertainty.
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle:

The uncertainty principle is stated as:
∆𝐸∆𝑡 ≈ ћ
Where
1
∆𝜈 =
∆𝑡
If
∆𝑡 = 10−8 𝑠
1
∆𝜈 = −8
= 108 𝐻𝑧
10
If
∆𝑡 = 10−4 𝑠
28
1
∆𝜈 = = 104 𝐻𝑧
10−4
 The longer the specific energy level transition lifetime, the narrower is its
linewidth Dn.
 When the atom becomes excited, it will stay excited only for the duration of
the lifetime and return to the ground level emitting the excess photons.
 To overcome this contradiction between uncertainty and lifetime of the
excited atom, it can be conceded that the excited levels have a range of
energy and the atoms will be distributed over these levels. The most
probability is at the frequency νo as shown below:
Inhomogeneous Broadening:
The first case of inhomogeneous broadening occurs for ions in ionic crystals or
glasses. Such ions experience a local electric field produced by surrounding atoms
of the material. Due to material inhomogeneities that are particularly significant is
a glass medium, these fields differ from ion to ion. The local field variations produce
local variation of energy levels and thus of the ion’s transition frequencies.
For random local field variations, the corresponding distribution of transition
frequencies turns out to be given by a Gaussian function.
A second inhomogeneous broadening mechanism, typical of gas, arises from
atomic motion. It is called Doppler broadening.
29
Assume that an incident electromagnetic wave of frequency ν is propagating in the

positive z-direction and let νz be the component of atomic velocity along the z-axis.
According to the doppler effect, when two sources are moving, the relative motion
affects one another. The frequency increases, if an ambulance is moving towards
the observer. The frequency decreases, if an ambulance is moving away from the
observer.
The atoms emit the electromagnetic spectrum in continuous motion. The
spectrometer will measure different frequencies depending in the direction of
motion.
The following equation gave the measured relative doppler frequencies:
𝜈
𝜈 = 𝜈𝑜 (1 ± )
𝑐
The figure below gives the comparison between the line-width broadening due to
Doppler, Collision and Natural effect.
Hole Burning Effect:

A distortion of the gain shape in a laser medium (or loss spectrum in a saturable
absorber medium) caused by saturation effects of a standing wave is called hole
burning effect.
When counter propagating narrow-bandwidth light waves are superimposed, they
form a so-called standing wave interference pattern. The period of which is half the
wavelength.
It has two effects in a laser gain medium
 The gain is saturated preferentially in the antinodes of the pattern
30
 The resulting amplification is dominated by the excitation density in the

antinodes, as the nodes are not “seen” by the light wave.
This leads to a deformation of the spectral shape of the gain (inhomogeneous gain
saturation), in particular to a gain saturation which is stronger for the wavelength
of the saturated light field than for some other wavelengths.
The illustration of spatial hole burning in a laser crystal is shown in figure. A strong
beam with the blue standing wave intensity pattern saturates the gain (red curve).
It experiences a more strongly reduced gain than the green curve, corresponding
to a weaker beam with slightly different wavelength.
Similarly, the loss spectrum of a saturable absorber medium can obtain a dip. The
latter effect can occur e.g. in a rare-earth-doped fiber and is the basis for e.g. the
construction of an automatic tracking filter, as it sometimes used in the context of
single frequency fiber lasers.
Spatial hole burning can have various consequences for the operation of lasers:
 The effect can make it difficult to achieve single frequency operation with
standing wave laser resonators, because the lasing mode experiences
stronger gain saturation than competing non-lasing modes.
31
 The optical bandwidth of a free-running laser (with excitation of multiple

axial modes) may be much larger, when the gain medium is near an end of
the laser resonator, rather than e.g. in the middle. This is because resonator
modes with similar optical frequencies have strongly overlapping intensity
patterns near the resonator ends, but not in the middle of the resonator. The
spatial variation of the interference contrast can be easily calculated when
assuming a Gaussian optical spectrum.
 The effective broadening of the gain spectrum (increased gain bandwidth)
sometimes leads to shorter (although often chirped) pulses in a mode locked
laser.
 When spatial hole burning occurs in a saturable absorber section e.g. of a
fiber laser, this effect tends to stabilize single-frequency operation.
 Spatial hole burning can reduce the laser efficiency, when excitation in the
nodes cannot be utilized. This effect may be avoided, however if energy
migration via inter-ion energy transfer occurs.
Note that ring resonators often allow counter propagating waves in the laser
medium to be avoided and thus spatial hole burning to be eliminated. Even in
standing wave resonators, spatial hole burning can be suppressed by the use of
special polarization states. Also note that the hole burning effect is suppressed for
lasing with a sufficiently large bandwidth.
This is often the case in e.g. mode locked lasers; here its obvious already in the time
domain that a circulating pulse cannot overlap (interfere) with itself in the gain
medium, unless the time for travelling from the gain medium to an end mirror and
back again is comparable to or shorter than the pulse duration.
Types of Lasers:
Lasers can be of three types depending upon their operation
 Continuous wave laser
 Pulsed laser
 Ultrafast laser
32
Continuous wave laser:

A continuous wave laser produces a continuous uninterrupted beam of light. These
lasers are continuously pumped and continuously emit light. The emission occurs
in a single resonator mode. It has very stable output.
Pulsed Laser:
A pulsed laser emits light in the form of optical pulses. Different types of pulsed
lasers are used depending on the pulsed duration, pulse energy, pulse repetition
rate and wavelength. The term pulsed laser is often used for Q-switched lasers.
Ultrafast Laser:
The ultrafast laser produces short pulses of light, typically less than 1ps. These
devices often rely on techniques such as mode locking to create a train of pulses.
Ultrafast lasers are important probe of electron dynamics in atoms and molecules.
The term ultrafast laser is often used for mode-locked lasers.
Methods of Pulsing Lasers:

The pulsed lasers can be produced by external modulator. The output of pulsed
lasers achieved using external modulator and internal modulator is shown below:
The pulsed laser can be achieved by:
Gain Switching:
Gain switching is a method for pulse generation by quickly modulating the laser
gain via the pump power.
33
If a high pump power is suddenly applied to a laser, laser emission sets in only with
a certain delay, as it starts with weak fluorescence light, which first needs to be
amplified in a number of resonator roundtrips. Therefore, some amount of energy
can be stored in the gain medium, which is subsequently extracted in form of a
short pulse. The pulse obtained can be shorter than the pump pulse and also
shorter than the upper-state lifetime; the dynamics are essentially as in the
phenomenon of spiking, where the pump power is applied for a short enough time
to generate only a first spike.
The higher the pump pulse energy, the shorter is the pulse buildup time and
consequently the required pump pulse duration. The pulse buildup time of a gain
switched laser can be increased by using a longer laser resonator, but this also
increases the output pulse duration. The pump power may be completely switched
off between the pulses, or may be kept at a level just below the laser threshold.
Q-switching:
Q-switching is a technique for obtaining energetic short pulses from a laser by
modulating the intracavity losses and thus the Q factor (a measure of the damping
of resonator modes) of the laser resonator. The technique is mainly applied for
generation of nanosecond pulses of high energy and peak power with solid-state
bulk lasers.
34
Cavity Dumping:
Cavity dumping is a technique for pulse generation which can be combined either
with Q-switching or with mode locking, or sometimes even with both techniques
at the same time. In any case, the basic idea is to keep optical losses of the laser
resonator as low as possible for some time, so that an intense pulse builds up in
the resonator, and then to extract this pulse within about one cavity roundtrip time
using a kind of optical switch such as an acousto-optic modulator or a pockels cell.
Mode Locking:
Mode locking is a method to obtain ultrashort pulses from lasers, which are often
called mode-locked lasers. Here, the laser resonator contains some kind of mode-
locking device either an active element or a nonlinear passive element, which
causes the formation of an ultrashort pulse circulating in the laser resonator.
35
Q-Switching
The Q-switching is used to generate intense short pulses of light with a laser. It
produces a high output pulse. The Q-switching produces a high population
inversion in the metastable state. The stored energy is emitted in the form of very
intense pulse of laser radiation. The Q-switched lasers produce pulses of 10ns to
250ns.
The quality factor Q of a laser is the ability of the cavity to store energy. The optical
cavity increases the quality factor Q from a low value to a high value in Q-switching.
The high value of Q means, high energy can be stored in the cavity. The low value
of Q means, cavity will dissipate its energy rapidly.
The generation of a Q-Stitched pulse (sometimes called giant pulse) can be
described as follows:
 Initially, the resonator losses are kept at a high level. As lasing cannot occur
at that time, the energy fed into the gain medium by the pumping
mechanism accumulates there. The amount of stored energy is often limited
only by spontaneous emission (particularly for continuous pumping) in other
cases (with strong enough gain) by the onset of lasing or strong ASE (a
process where luminescence is amplified), if not simply by the pump energy
available. The stored energy can be a multiple of the saturation energy.
 Then, the losses are suddenly reduced to a small value, so that the power of
the laser radiation builds up very quickly in the laser resonator. This process
typically starts with noise from spontaneous emission, which is amplified to
macroscopic power levels within hundreds or thousands of resonator
roundtrips.
36
 Once the temporally integrated intracavity power has reached the order of
the saturation energy of the gain medium, the gain starts to be saturated.
The peak of the pulse is reached when the gain equals the remaining
resonator losses. The large intracavity power present at that time leads to
further depletion of the stored energy during the time where the power
decays. In many cases, the energy extracted after the pulse maximum is
similar to that before the pulse maximum.
The pulse duration achieved with Q switching is typically in the nanosecond range
and usually well above the resonator round-trip time. The energy of the generated
pulse is typically higher than the saturation energy of the gain medium and can be
in the millijoule range even for small lasers. The peak power can be orders of
magnitude higher than the power which is achievable in continuous wave
operation. Even for lasers with moderate size and with moderate focusing of the
beam, the peak intensity can be sufficient for optical breakdown in air.
In most cases, Q-switched lasers generate regular pulse trains via repetitive q-
switching. The pulse repetition rate is typically in range from 1-100 KHz, sometimes
higher. Passively Q-switched microchip lasers have reached pulsed durations far
below 1 ns and repetition rates up to several megahertz, whereas large laser
systems can deliver pulses with many kilojoules of energy and durations in the
nanosecond range.
Techniques of the Q-Switching:

There are four different techniques of Q-switching
 Mechanical Shutters
 Rotating Reflector Method
 Electro-Optical Shutters
 Passive Shutter
37
Mechanical Shutters:
A shutter introduced in front of one of the mirrors in laser cavity is called
mechanical shutter. The active medium is continuously pumped by keeping the
shutter closed. The population inversion in the cavity goes on increasing and
ultimately reaches to a high value.
The shutter is opened suddenly when high population inversion is achieved. The
energy stored in the cavity will be released in the form of a short pulse. It has high
value of intensity. If the shutter is opened in a time much shorter than the required
for the building of laser oscillation, the output would consist of a giant pulse of light.
If the shutter opening is slow, the output would be a series of pulses having smaller
peak power.
Rotating Reflector Method:

The end mirror of the cavity is replaced with a 100% reflecting prism in rotating
reflector method of Q-switching.
The prism spins rapidly around its axis which is set at right angle to the resonator
axis. As the prism revolves, it faces the cavity with its reflecting side and makes Q-
value high for a short time. The Q-value drops when the prism is out of this position.
The Q-value drops to minimum as it revolves on further rotation.
The laser action can occur only when the prism is brought into alignment with the
laser cavity. If the rotating reflector rotates at 1000 rev/s, then the time in which
the Q-value of cavity switches from its maximum to minimum value is about 10-7s.
In place of total reflecting prism, the total reflecting mirror of optical resonator can
be made to rotate with the help of motor. The speed required for an optical
resonator of length 50 cm is of the order of 30,000 rev/min.
38
Electro-optical shutters:
The electro-optical shutters alter the refractive index of a cell by applying an
electric field to obtain faster Q-switching. Two such effects are called Pockels effect
and Kerr effect.
Pockels Effect:
The Pockels effect was first described in 1906 by German physicist Friedrich
Pockels.
The Pockels effect is the linear electro-optic effect, where the refractive index of
the medium is modified in proportion to the applied electric field strength.
This effect can only occur in non-centrosymmetric materials. A crystal like
potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) is a device which when subjected to an
applied dc voltage, becomes birefringent.
Birefringence is the property of optically non-isotropic transparent optical
materials that the refractive index depends on the polarization direction
(direction of the electric field). The crystal which splits the light wave into two
waves travelling at different velocities is called Birefringent.
This crystal offers different refractive indices for different polarized light. One wave
is called ordinary wave having refractive index no. Other wave is called
extraordinary wave having refractive index ne. The refractive index of material
varies linearly with the applied electric field in Pockels effect.
39
There are two polarizers placed between active medium and output reflecting
mirror in the laser arrangement designed for Q-switching with a Pockels cell. The
two polarizers are oriented in such a way that transmitted light is polarized in the
same plane. The Pockels cell is placed between the polarizers. When no voltage is
applied to the Pockels cell, the light traverses the polarizer and the cell is without
any loss. When voltage is applied to the Pockels cell, then the cell becomes
birefringent and rotates the polarization vector of the light passing through it by
90o. The passage of light is blocked.
The quality factor Q of laser is maximum when Pockels cell is off and is minimum
when the Pockels cell is on.
The Q-switching rate depends on the frequency of the voltage applied to the cell.
A Pockel cell requires a voltage of 1-5 KV. The Q-switching time is about 10-9 s. The
pulses of 10-8 s duration with peak power of 106 W to 109 W can be generated by
using this method.
Kerr Effect:
The Kerr effect is a nonlinear optical effect which can occur when light propagates
in crystals and glasses, but also in other media such as gasses. It can be described
40
as a change in refractive index caused by electric fields, and being proportional to

the square of electric field strength.
The birefringence is proportional to the square of the applied electric field in Kerr
effect. The refractive index varies as the square of the electric field intensity in Kerr
effect. The Kerr effect is different from the Pockels effect. The process of Q-
switching is same as discussed in Pockels effect. Here Kerr cell is also used as
electro-optical shutter. The voltage requires for operation is about 10-20 KV.
Passive Shutter:
The passive shutter consists of a cell containing dye solution. The cell made of
vanadium phthalocyanine in nitrobenzene is used in ruby laser. These dyes are
chosen because their energy difference corresponds to that of laser transition. The
concentration is adjusted in such a way that the oscillations can just take place with
the dye cell in the cavity.
The laser pumps the dye molecules into the upper energy levels. They remain there
for a short duration. As the dye molecules in the lower level are few, the dye is
transparent to laser light and therefore, Q-switching has been done.
Mode Locking:
The laser light is composed of a set of discrete frequencies formed due to standing
waves. It generates longitudinal modes of light waves in laser cavity. The laser
41

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Laser Physics Notes

Conditions for radiation modes:

λo → wavelength of light in vacuum

Put equation 1 in equation 3

Allowed Frequencies Inside Cavity:

The mode spacing is given as

Gain Curve of Active Medium:

Mode Controlling Factors:

Length of Laser Cavity:

Addition of Extra Mirror:

Intensity Distribution of Radiation:

Shape of Transverse Modes:

Intensity Profile of TEMmn of Laser:

Properties of Basic Transverse Mode:

Properties of Optical Cavity:

Types of Laser Cavities:

Important laser cavities are:

Plane Parallel Optical Cavity

Concentric Spherical Cavity:

Big Radius Cavity:

Stable Laser Cavity:

The geometric parameter for mirror ‘M1’ is defined as:

Active medium gain:

Losses in laser cavity:

Condition for Laser:

Fluorescence Line Shape of The Laser:

Loop Gain Without Losses:

Loop Gain with Losses:

Gain Threshold (GL)th:

β → gain coefficient of active medium which is uniformly distributed along the

The fluorescence line-width ‘Δν’ is expressed by wavelengths or frequencies of two

Broadening the Fluorescence Line:

Line Broadening Mechanism:

A line broadening mechanism is said to be homogeneous when it distributes the

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle:

Assume that an incident electromagnetic wave of frequency ν is propagating in the

Hole Burning Effect:

 The resulting amplification is dominated by the excitation density in the

 The optical bandwidth of a free-running laser (with excitation of multiple

Continuous wave laser:

Methods of Pulsing Lasers:

The pulsed laser can be achieved by:

Techniques of the Q-Switching:

Rotating Reflector Method:

as a change in refractive index caused by electric fields, and being proportional to

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