Lovers 11.49 qonlineat phenomena called parametric amplification, by the intera ovens of frequencies Vy and inside a suitable nonlinear median ne ene? pave protons of frequency y= (1 vp) oF (1 ~ vp) 1, we Can generate 11.7.8 Modification of laser output The output of lasers are not always highly coherent and monochromatic. The output may be continuous or pulsed. Even within a pulse, it may consist of large number of spikes (as in Ruby laser and Nd : YAG laser). Depending on the threshold inversion density power output may vary. Asinthe case of vibrations of stretched strings where in addition to the fundamental frequency, higher harmonics are also possible, for a given length of the laser cavity in addition to the fundamental, few harmonics are possible. These harmonics differ in frequency by (c/2L), where L is the length of the cavity and c is the velocity of light. These are called longitudinal modes, Also, not only the group of photons travelling back and forth exactly along the optic axis of the laser cavity contribute for the output; even photons very slightly off the axis but making sufficient number of rips within the cavity, before going away from the resonator mirrors, may also contribute for the output. These are called transverse modes. Thus the output consists of several longitudinal and transverse modes of slightly different wavelengths. It is often desirable to modify the laser output to suit a particular application. Q-Switching for obtaining short, intense bursts of pulses from lasers. ion mere population inversion is not sufficient. Since there are losses, the inversion density must be high enough to produce gain compensating the losses, The inversion density for which gain is equal tothe loss is called threshold imersion density. If we deliberately introduce some losses inside the cavity, the threshold inversion density increases. Hence we can build up the inversion density 10 a high value and correspondingly gain also increases but since gain is le than the deliberately introduced loss no oscillation takes place, Now suddenly removing the introduced loss, the threshold inversion density switches back to its original value, Under this condition the gain is very much higher than the loss and intense Anplification takes place and all the available energy 1s emitted as a single large Pulse, Since in this process the quutlity Q of the cavity Is switched t0 a high value (on Femoving the deliberately introduced loss) this technique is called Q-switehing. There are different methods of Q-switching. In the ordinary pulsed mode, the output of an insulating © J laser sueh as Nd +¥AG consists of many random ‘spikes’ of about 1 jes duration with a separation of 1118 and the length of train of spikes may be about L ms. Peak powers within spikes are typically of the order of kilowatts, When the laser Is Q-switched the Q-switching is a techniqu Weknow that to get laser a11.20 Solid State Physics result isa single pulse of high power typically in the megawatt range, with a duration of 10-100ns. Mode locking The output from laser cavity may support oscillations in many modes simultane. ously. The output of such a laser varies with time and depends on the relative Phase, frequencies and amplitudes of the modes. The output irradiance may exhibit smaf, fluctuations. Suppose we force the modes to maintain the same relative phase with respect to one another, then the output of the laser consists of a sequence of shon pulses, seperated in time by 2L/c where L is the length of the cavity, each of peak power equal to N times the average power (where N is the number of modes in the cavity). Thus mode locking is a technique of producing periodic, high power, short duration laser pulses. Using this technique pulses of pico sec. duration with nano sec, pulse seperation and peak powers of the order of megawatts can be produced. 11.8 Laser Systems The first laser was constructed in 1960 by T. Maiman employing a crystal of ruby as the active medium. Since that time, there has been rapid increase in the types of lasers and in the range of lasing materials. Since it is not possible to cover the entire range, description of the construction and mode of operation of some of the more cominonly available and important lasers are presented here. These can be classified broadly into four groups : gas, doped insulator, semi-conductor and dye lasers. All the systems must satisfy the following basic requirements for laser operation. 1. There must be an active medium (solid, liquid or gas) with suitable energy levels for lasing transition to occur. . 2. Population inversion is to be achieved through proper excitation (such as optical pumping using flash lamp or another laser, electric discharge through gas, high injection current through semiconductor junction etc.). 3. There must be optical feedback mechanism forming resonant cavity for true laser oscillation, (In the absence of this in few systems with very high gain, we may get amplified output but it will not be highly collimated and coherent). Normally feedback is provided with the help of dielectric mirrors or polished and coated ends of a crystal rod or cleaved crystal face, depending on the system. 11.8.1 Gas lasers Gas laseis are the most widel (He-Ne) ki dioxide last a t y used lasers; they range from the low power helium neon lasers used in teaching and research laboratories to very high power carbon 15 used in industries. Most gas lasers are excited by electron collisions iaLasers 11.21 as discharge. Since the SneeBY levels of gaseous atoms / molecules are discrete Fical pumping is not possible: For efficient optical pumpin ; me pain Pumping broad energy bands ( He-Ne Laser Inthe He-Ne laser the active medium is a mixture of ten parts of helium to one of neon. The neon provides the energy levels for the laser transitions. Though helium atoms are not directly involved in the laser transition, they provide an efficient excitation mechanism for the neon atoms. Most of the He-Ne lasers are excited by adirect - current (d.c) or radio frequency (r.f) discharge created by applying a high voltage (~ 2 to 4 KV) across the gas filled tube of narrow diameter. (The gas mixture js taken at a pressure of fraction of a torr to several torr. The output laser power is highest when gas pressure (in torr) times discharge tube diameter (in millimeters) is 3,6 to 4 torr mm). A schematic of a typical He-Ne laser is shown in Fig. 11.14. Output Mirror Mirror ‘Output Fig. 11.14. Construction of a typical low power laser such as the He-Ne laser. The load resistor serves to limit the current once the discharge has been initiated. Excitation process ifn Mowe Nesom During electric discharge, the’ inerg| 2's —M# x electrons by impact with He = © css 3, 20 2s—M. = atoms excite them to one of the ‘Wo metastable states designated 218 and 235 as shown in energy level diagram (Fig, 11.15). e1+He+ Het +e Where e, and ¢2 are the electron energies before and after colli- Sion. Two of the higher states of Nehave almost exactly the same (nergy as two of the metastable lium states. With the energy discharge tube walls Fig. 1.15 Energy levels relevant to the operation ofthe He-Ne laser,M indicates a metastable state.11.22 Solid State Physies h so close, collision of excited He atoms with ground state Ne atoms Fesultsj atch so close, mati pe of energy transfer called resonant transfer, ited He atoms ff and 2S states return to the ground state upon excitation of the NCON ators a it ‘Moms te their excited states 38 and 2s, On collision exci Het +Ne-> He+ Net, A population inversion is thus cre: and also between 2s and 2p levels in Ne, Transitions between th between the 3p and 2p levels are forbid iden by quantum mechanical Selection rule There are three possible oscillations in He-Ne system, sf +1 The 0.6328 1m (632.8 nm) oscillation: The upper level of transition is one of t level is belonging t has life time 10~ ime is shorter th; condition for population inversion is fulfilled Th to long lived 1s state, fi) The 1.15 ym oscillation: For this transition the upper laser level is 2s of Ne which s being pumpedty Toaecatt cnergy transfer collisions with 235 of He. Thie Uses the same lower laser level 2p as the 0.6328 jum transition, As result of 1.1 the population of 2p increases by reducing its inversion between 3s and 2p. The 3.39 j.m oscillation: The upper laser level is 3s of Ne which serves a8 upper laser level for 0.6328,4m transition also. The lower laser level is belonging to 3p group. This transition has higher gain than the other two transitions. This transi- tion reduces the population of 35 thereby reducing the inversion density of 0.6328,4m transition, iii) Thus build up of 1.15m and 3.39 zm transitions reduces 0.6328 jam transition 2 overcome this problem, in order to get only 0.6328;.m output, the Heer ube aes ate made up of glass or quartz that absorb strongly 1.15jam and 3.394m. in the end mirrors which provide optical feedback are multilayer dle cose Provide reflectivity only for 0,6328jzm oscillation and hence the output va is 0.6328,.m only. tion of Another problem that one encounters in He-Ne laser is due to nes ‘e atoms at metastable Is levels of Ne after a fast decay from 2 further © atoms decay as rapidly as possible back to the ground state, olny Mothe gl the 3s and 2s states of Ne, is not Possible, Transition from a on to cennance ths State is achieved by the collisions with the discharge tube wal the discharge tube diameter is kept small. adLasers 11.23 He-Ne taser j By increasing 4 Sa telatively tow © disch output power f Scharge curres : * * yond ; not increase the la: Neis radiative, jy vt Certain value. The reason is as follows: The transition 2p-lsof only. If one in MMmercial neon lamps the lig ht emission is di it creas, ; n on is due to this transition populated by gic" the discharge current in ¢ lectron exeinns na He-Ne laser, 2p levels of Ne get in POPULALION inversion settion also. Population of the 2p levels implies decrenns 10 of 0.6328 zm and 1.15yem transitions. Hence lasing ceases at Power device; efficiency is less th ‘an 0.02 percent, ‘Mt through the gas, one © fe laze higher tube currents, The basic strug, of discharge tube, resonant cavity ay ture of the He-, S Used in syste Te Cemented to ‘Ne laser is relatively simple. There are two types ‘ms. In one type the Teflecting mirrors forming the ; the ends of the discharge tube. In another type the Piented ae deed ©xternal to the tube and the tube is sealed with glass windows oriented’ at the Brewster angle to the axis of the tube as seen in Fig. 11.14. This has two advantages, 1. The Brewster windows result in the output being polarized. 2. The Tadiation with its electric vector vibrating parallel to the plane of incidence is 100% transmitted and hence loss is minimized. The He-Ne lasers are very compact. The output power varies from 0.5 mW to a maximum of about 100 mW. The cost varies from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 5 lakhs. Although 632.8nm is the standard wavelength, other wavelengths 543 nm (green), 594nm (yellow-orange), 612 nm (red-orange) are also available now. Applications: He-Ne laser radiation is extremely useful in a wide range of applications because itis highly collimated, coherent and has an extremely narrow linewidth, Few of the applications are given below: 1. Very widely used in laboratories for all interferometric experiments. 2. Used widely in metrology in surveying, alignment etc., 3. The tightly focussed beam from a He-Ne laser can be scanned across a surface to read bar codes, special characters or other symbols, He-Ne laser scanners have also been used for optical character recognition. 4. Used in three dimensional recording of objects called holography. Gi) The Carbon dioxide laser | The carbon dioxide laser invented in the year 1963 by C.K.N. ey binh but settled in United States of America, is one of the most powerful and eficiea | “rs, Unquestionably this laser ranks first from the stand point of potential indus! plications, ; ort in He-Ne act aetive medium is C 02 gas. As He is used for excitation of Ne atoms in ‘Iter, cules are used. in C Op laser for efficient excitation of C Oz molecules N2 mole11.24 Solid State Physics Jdition of He to the gas mixture enhances the efficiency. The ratio of co, , Np: He is 1:4:5, optimum value of pressure-tube diameter prod 33 torr mm. Pressutes of UCt is aroung Excitation process CO; molecules have a more complicated structure and have ene: correspond to rotating or vibrating motions of the entire molecular COQ)? molecule, composed of two oxygen atoms and a carbon atom undergoes three different types of vibrational oscillations, as shown i TBY levels thar structure, between them, in Fig. 11.16, Oxygen ‘Oxygen BBS et 6 4 O----O- Or---Or-4O ee Fig. 11.16 Vibrational modes of the CO; molecule. Bending modes (Ovo) ‘These three fundamental vibrational configurations are called vibrational modes. Atany one time, the molecule can be vibrating in any linear combinations of these fundamental modes. A set of three quantum numbers (V1, v2, v3) are used to denote the modes of vibration. It also represents the amount of energy or number of energy quanta associated with each mode. The set (100), for example, represents a molecule vibrating in a pure symmetric mode with one quantum of vibrational energy. The set (010) represents a molecule in its bending mode while (001) represents an asymmetric | mode, In addition to these vibrational modes, the molecule can also rotate and thus ithas closely spaced rotational energy levels associated with each vibrational energy | level. The radiation associated with the energy difference between the vivrational | rotational transitions are in the near and far infrared region. j Simplified energy level diagram for the CO laser is given in Fig. 11.17. | | | | 1n CO» laser, the excitation is provided by electric discharge. Excited Nz moleculss | tnunsfer energy to the COz molecules in resonant collisions, exciting them t0 te | (001) levels which are metastable levels with relatively longer life time. With : E cient pumping, a population is produced between the (001) state and the (100) 2% (020) states: and laser oscillations begin, ‘The strongest line of the CO2 laser is | wavelength of 10.64m, in the infrared, A. weaker line at 9.4jam competes with th | 10.6 line for the available excited molecules, The He increases the laser efsie"™?| Lasers 11.25 04 | Nitrogen <—— Cathon dioxide ————> Bnersy wD (001) upper teaser level «) ee \ser transition ga bono) we ry oF 6 ym a “ ae ees is i TN, ground state CO, ground state fig. 11.17. Simplified energy level diagram’for the CO; laser. Each vibrational level has Pe rotational levels associated with it, J = 1,2,... The 10.6m line is the strongest. 41 106.m by speeding up the transition from the lower laser level of 10.6xm viz. the (100) energy level to the ground level, thereby maintaining a large population inversion. CO; lasers are capable of producing very high output powers because of the high tficiency up to about 30%. Since operating in high power infrared region, special materials must be used for windows, mirrors and other laser components. Germanium, gallium arsenide, zinc sulphide, zinc selenide and various alkali halides are used as optical materials. The power output of the C O2 laser is approximately proportional tothe tube length. It is relatively easy to obtain CW outputs of 100 W from a laser Imlong. The schematic of a typical low power CO laser is shown in Fig. 11.18. Water out Water in HAM Wi YyYP]PPYP- Y, LLL i! Gas in Gas out Fig. 11.18 A schematic of a typical CO; laser. The Ste orgy Supply for a CO laser must provide a sufficiently high voltage of the ii Per metre to maintain a discharge, C Op lasers, tens of metres long have {0 get CW output powers ranging to the tens of kilowatts. Two different ae11.26 Solid State Physics configurations ar useful in obtaining very high power laser output. They are TEA CO) laser and G: z dynamic laser. TEA CO) laser In the CO) laser the output power can be increased by increasing the BAS pressure At atmospheric pressure to initiate and maintain electric discharge, 12kV per cm voltage is required. In longitudinal Configuration with tube length I m and above, applying such a high clectric field is not possible. In TEA (Transverse Excitatio, Atmospheric) laser the discharge is arranged to take place at a number of points in a direction transverse to the laser cavity rather than longi Me. 11.19. With this arrangement, gigawatts of peak power short pulses with about 20 pulses occurring per second, Pin cathodes and ballast resistors Discharge High region voltage| = yy ouput } " “ M “Anode bar Fig. 11-19 TEA Laser. The discharge occurs perpendicular to the laser cavity. Gas dynamic laser In this configuration population inversion is created through the application of ther- modynamic principles rather than via a discharge. A nitrogen-carbon dioxide mixture is heated, compressed and then allowed to expand into a low pressure region. During heating and compression the Population of the energy states reaches the Boltzmann distribution appropriate to the higher temperature. At high temperatures most of the energy is stored in the vibrational modes of the nitrogen molecule. At lower temperatures, after expansion into the low Pressure region, resonant collisions of the nitrogen molecules with the carbon dioxide molecules populate (001) state of CO ‘and create a population inversion, With very active pumping of this type, CW output Powers in excess of 100 kW have been achieved, Applications ; ; ; cent CO) lasers are very widely used in industry from the period of its livvention: nO: years, these Jasers are used in the field of medicine also. Few applications of ©° lasers are:Lasers 11.27 ) Material processing such as cutting, drilling, welding, etching, surface hardening cle. 2) surgery: Inthe field of medicine, medical CO} laser is used as scalpel for bloodless CO} lasers are used for pollution monitoring and remote sensing (LIDAR applications). 11.8.2 Solid state lasers solid state lasers are generally optically pumped using flash lamps. Recently flash fanps are being replaced by laser diodes for efficient pumping. iy Ruby laser ‘The first material in which laser action was demonstrated by T. Maiman in 1960 is ruby. The active laser particles are Cr3+ ions present as impurities in Al 03 crystal. gical Cr?* concentrations are ~ js 0.6943 pm i.e. 694.3 nm. Excitation process ‘The pumping of ruby is usually performed by subjecting it to the light of intense flash lamps. When bound in the host lattice of an Al,Q3 crystal the energy levels of the Cr>+ ions broaden into bands. The chromium ions absorb strongly in the blue and green portions of the visible spectrum emitted by the flash lamp as shown in the energy level diagram in Fig. 11.20. Thus the energy absorbed corresponding to the two absorp- tion bands 4Fy and “Fy, cause Cr* ions to be excited to these levels, The ions then undergo Nonradiative transitions to (wo lower-lying metastable energy states 2B. ‘These state fn, ser Transitions, The two corresponding emission I nes reat 94,3 nm anc 6927 mm respectively. Stimulated cms ea ute c laser level, As scen earlier, such lasers have a hi ji : eer ine usually dominates. Since this 0.05 percent by weight. The emission wavelength Green bern opie rove 28 rum Niwates Ctl it faut tot Como ect Fig, 11.20 Energy-level diagram for the ruby laser “The wavelengths of the two laser lines Ry and Ro depend upon temperature. The values given here are typical re the upper levels of the two alled the Ry and Re jon at the 694.3 nm , ground Level happens to be the igh threshold. Hence very intense level11.28 Solid State Physics : is required to achieve population inversion between th Inser iovels and ground state lower laser lenere This can operate only in Pb ‘Fig. 11.21 shows a. typical “el mode, setup of an optically pumped ie laser, such as ruby. Ruby rod is a cylindrical rod, nearly 10 cm long “=> and 0.5cm in diameter. Its ends are grounded and polished such that the end faces are exactly par- allel and also perpendicular to the axis of the rod. In the case of inter. nal mirror configuration one end of the rod is silvered for 100% reflection while the other end is Silvered for nearly 90%. refles. tion. In the case of external mirror Configuration, the end mirrors are Positioned outside as shown in Fig. 11.21. The helical xenon flash lamp surrounds the ruby rod, The flash excitation is Provided by the discha ‘ i bank across the lamp; the Ba secondary high voltage (~ 20 kV) tr Fig. 11.21 Typical setup [ Of 8 pulsed ruby laser using flashlamp pumping and external mirrors, the laser rod quickly becomes Very hot. To avoid any dama, 'ge to the crystal, the system is cooled with the help of a coolant (water) circulating around the tuby rod. Output beam characteristics The pumping flash lasts for a time dura- tion of around Ims. Once the flash lamp is fired, within 0.5 ms the population inversion exceeds the threshold’ value and hence stimulated emission builds up rapidly and depopulates the upper laser level much faster than the pump ares Tate. Hence the laser action momentarily at swith a2 stops and before the laser output falls to Fig. 11.22 The output of Ru! Zero again the population built exceeds number of spikes. os threshold value and laser action is again : mping flash ends Ht a initiated. This process repeats itself many times before the aie wit about the output consists of a large number of spikes of. about 1 ws kes are typicallY separation as shown in Fig. 11.22. Peak powers within the spi Laser output ——~Lasers 11.29 of kilowatts. When the Inser is Q-switched, it results in a single pulse of great over the megawatt range, with a duration of 10-100 ns, Applications periby aser is used ina variety of applications; })_ Distance measurement using ‘pulse echo" technique 2) Pulsed holography 3) Used in atmospheric ranging, scattering studies and lidar measurements 4) Used for trimming resistors and integrated circuit masks 5) Used for drilling high quality holes 6) Inmilitary, used as target designators and range finders 7) Used in general research applications such as plasma production and fluorescence spectroscopy. ii)Nd: YAG Laser Upper energy levels (populated by pumping) [S32.4F 72] — Fast nonradiative decay (Fs. ?Hyn] — Upper laser level Pump be, 0:73 um Laser transition 4 ly Ground state Fiz, 11.23, Simplified energy level diagram for the neodymium ion in ¥AG showing the Principal laser transitions. The host medium for this Jaser is Yttrium Alumi Y3 AlsG19) With 1.5% trivalent neodymium ions (Nd?) present a . The (NdS*) ions Ccupy the lattice sites of Yttrium ions as substitutional impurities and provide the Cuetey levels for both pumping and lasing transitions, When an (Nd"*) ion is placed Da host crystal lattice it is subjected to the electrostatic field of the surrounding ions, the so-called erystal field. The erystal field modifies the transition probabilities a11.30 Solid State Physics 3 between the various energy levels of the Nd?* ion so that some transitio, tre forbidden in the free fon, become allowed. The ground and fist oo Whi Tovels ofthe Na ion split into the groups of levels.as shown in Fig lie nergy Structure: The length of the Nd : YAG laser rod varies from 5cm to 10cm d power of the laser and its diameter is generally 6 to 9 mm, The laces ena he flash lamp are housed in a elliptical reflector cavity. Since the nor f°4 aM ali located at the foci of the ellipse, the light emitted by the lamp is efter 2? to the rod. The ends of the rod are polished and made optically fat sa

11.32 Solid State Physics to create population inversion and provide optical feedback. To obtain stimulated emission, there must be a region in the device where there are many excited elec- trons and holes present together. This is achieved by forming a homojunction from very heavily doped n and p materials. In such n-+ type material, the Fermi level lies within the conduction band. Similarly, for the p+ type mate- rial Fermi level lies in the valence band. Fig. 11.25 shows the heavily doped p-n junction a) in equi- librium and b) with forward bias condition. When the junction is forward biased with a voltage that is nearly equal to the energy gap voltage P-type * ty Toles n-type {Fermi leva} @ t SN ev hy { Holes a Fermi 7 level © Fig. 11.25 Heavily doped p-n junction: (a) in equilibrium and (b) with forward bias (the broken lines represent the Fermi level in equilibrium (a) and with forward bias (b)). (Eg/e), the electrons and holes are injected across the junction in sufficient numbers to create a population inversion in a narrow zone called the active region (Fig. 11.26). If doping level of n region is higher than that of p region, then the junction current is carried mainly by electrons. If Le is the diffusion length of electrons injected into the p region, the thickness f of the active region can be approximated to Le. For heavily doped GaAs at room temperature Le is 1 — 34m. Since GaAs has direct bandgap, the electrons and holes have a higher probability of radiative recombina- tion. The photons thus produced may either interact with valence band electrons and be absorbed (stimulated absorption), or interact with the conduction band electrons thereby stimulating radiative recombination (stimulated emission) producing. further sre 5. Fig. 11.26. Diagram showing the active region and mode volume ofa semiconduct"8 baslasers 11.33 of the same energy (Eg = hv). If the injected carrier concentration is large, avert ag emission can exceed the absorption so that optical amplification is simile active region. To provide feedback, there is no need to use external oti a The case of diode lasers. The diode is cleaved along natural crystal plane ie pane ofthe junction so thatthe en faces are perfectly parallel. For es junction plane is (100) and the cleaved faces are (110) planes, The high si index (& 3.6) of GaAs ensures sufficiently high reflection atthe materialair rene co that tere is no need for Separate extemal mirrors to provide optical ick. Laser oscillations occur when the round trip gain exceeds the total losses. feiconductors, the major losses are due to scattering at optical inhomogenctes he semiconductor material and free carrier absorption. i Metal contacts Fig. 11.27, Schematic construction of a GaAs homojunction semiconductor diode laser tying side lengths 200 — ~400u m. The emission is confined to the junction region. Inthe active region additional charge carriers present increases its refractive index ae that of the surrounding material, thereby forming a dielectric waveguide. Ke the difference in refractive index between the centre waveguiding layer and tountng regions is very less (about 0.02 only), the waveguiding effect is not ete bg Therefore the radiation generated in the active region extends to some * eon ite active region, thereby forming the mode volume. The waveguiding ae ten simple homojunction laser diodes of the form shown in Fig. 11.27 abe laser action on vigorous pumping. They can be operated only in the tes re ie i temperature because of very high threshold pumping current heeshong es ly of the order of 400A mm7?). The onset of laser action at the ening real density is indicated by a sudden increase of light output intensity at joy teBion as shown in Fig, 11.28 beeveg weld, spontaneous emission takes place and output emission is : be Spectrally wide. Above threshold there is a marked decrease in aa 11.34 Solid State Physics spectral width and abrupt increase in intensity of the output, a Fig. 11.29. | iS iMlustrateg in Stimulated ight | Spontaneous emission { output | emission > i nti z ® 6 Threshold curent Spon enission (a) <— Curent —> — Fig. 11.28 Light output - current charac- Fig. 11.29 Radiant output as a function teristic of an ideal semiconductor laser. of frequency for a p-n junction laser: fa) below threshold (spontaneous emission; (b) with the dominant laser mode above threshold. The GaAs laser emits light at 900nm (infrared) while a GaAsP laser radiates a 650 nm (visible red region). Unlike other lasers, for diode lasers divergence is high since the active region emitting radiation acts as a narrow single slit diffracting the output. Along the direction parallel to the layer, divergence is around 10° while in the direction normal to the active layer it is around 40°. ii) Heterojunction lasers We have seen that the threshold current density for homojunction lasers is very large due to poor optical and carrier confinement. Heterojunction lasers have high efficiency even at room temperatures, Threshold current density reduces to 104 mm? and CW operation is possible. Using multilayers in the laser structure, carriers are confined a narrow region so that population is built up at lower current levels. With operatiog currents of less than 50 mA, output powers of about 10 mW can be produced. Lasers with lifetimes in excess of 40,000 hours are now available corresponding to contin? operation over a five-year period. In optical fibre communications, itis desirable to have a laser emitting at wavelengths in the region 1.1 to 1.6j4m, where PRS optical fibers have minimum attenuation and dispersion. From lasers fabricated “ quaternary compounds such as Gay Jn As) y Py, wavelengths in tis 8S be obtained. Semiconductor laser applications Semiconduc! § are ible. Te zs adusion lasers are the cheapest and smallest lasers available. ‘They oped produced and easily fabricated into arrays using the same techniques de" |Lasers 11.35 jstors. The laser output can be casily modulated by modulating the current af the laser diode, Also they are small in size and highly efficient. These Proper- | cate made these lasers well suited as light sources for fibre - optic communication ties ha stem. 11.9 Applications of Lasers jn 1960, when invented laser was called “an invention in search of applications” Nobody was knowing what to do with such an intense, highly directional beam. Very fist application of laser was in the field of medicine but within an year in quite a lot ofareas, lasers started finding their applications. We can now say that there is no field in which lasers are not being used. Let us sec applications of lasers in few fields. 11.10 Lasers in Industry In manufacturing industry lasers are used for welding, cutting and drilling applica tions, Welding With increased power output, it is possible to use the laser (primarily C03) as a welding tool. The advantages of laser welding are: + Very high welding rates are possible (with 1OkW C02 laser 5 mm thick stainless steel plates can be welded at a speed of 10cm/sec). Dissimilar metals can be welded Minimum amount of distortion of the surrounded area (i.e. very less heat affected zone) Any extremely complex shaped contours can be welded using computers for Controlling the deflection of the laser beam. Microwelding is done with great ease. Being non-contact method, the work piece is not stressed. Cutting tates cut through a wide variety of materials, rapidly and precisely. With low. off, Whit the fem With high 2 ‘walt C Power C Op laser, insulation from electrical wires and cables are striped. ¢ the insulation material absorbs the radiation metal conductor reflects ce Hence without any damage to the electrical wire the insulation can be loved, Power levels, glass and quartz are easily cut with COz laser. With O2 Jaser 3 mm thick quartz plate can be cut at a rate of 2envsec. a11.36 Solid State Physics «With the same laser quoted above, oxygen assisted laser cutting can be done ay arate of 1 cm/sec in a low-carbon steel plate of 1 cm thick. Any desired shape can be cut. © Cut finish used to be very smooth (cosmetic) requiring no further treatment such as grinding and polishing. Lasers are used to cut a large number of models and sizes of dresses and suits, Synthetic fabrics are particularly suited to this technique, since the cut edges are melted by the beam and any fraying is prevented. Drilling Most drilling systems operate in a pulsed mode. To get the drill of desired depth and size, number of pulses, and the energy of each pulse are to be controlled. © One of the first application of the laser was to drill diamond dies used in the extrusion of wire. Lasers are used to drill aerosol nozzles and control orifices within the required precision e ~ Lasers are used to drill holes in ‘difficult to drill’ materials such as ceramics etc. ¢ Holes of micron order can be easily drilled using lasers. (In this small range drill bits can not be used). Heat treatment Heat treatment is common in the tooling and automotive industry. Wherever it is desirable to treat only a portion of a large item, lasers are very useful. For example, an automobile piston ring alone has to be heat treated and hardened without affecting the entire piston. The greatest advantage of use of laser system in industry is that a single system can be used for all the above applications by proper adjustment of its power. Being 11.10.1 Lasers in electronic industry Lasers are widely used for material processing in electronic industry. Let us see fe such important applications. Scribing Scribing involves drawing fine ‘ ’ . ‘ cl fers. in brittle ceramic and semiconductor Wa When bent they break along the line scribed. Low power CO lasers are genet? used for this purpose, hiLasers 11.37 soldering ipifcult to solder’ materials such as platinum, silver, palladium are soldered using tasers. Sheets as thin as 25 micron can be soldered without any damage to the sheet. ‘his is 2 fluxless soldering and non- contact method. Nd : YAG laser is used for this process. Trimming Film resistor trimming is effectively carried out using Nd : YAG laser. First a film of figher thickness and hence lower resistance value is taken. Using pulsed laser without thermal damage to the substrate, the resistance material is gradually removed from the surface and its resistance is continously monitored and controlled. IL.11 Lasers in Medicine The very first application of laser was in the field of medicine. «© Ophthalmologists started using Argon ion lasers for welding retinal detachment. The retina is the light sensitive layer at the back of the eye. If it is torn and extends itmay lead to blindness. The green beam of Argon ion laser is strongly absorbed by red blood cells of the retina and welds the retina back to the eye ball. Since this beam passes through the eye lens and the vitrious chamber without being absorbed, this treatment is done without surgery. For cataract removal lasers are used « Using ultraviolet radiation from Excimer laser, eye lens’ curvature correc- tion is being carried out. This is based on photoablative effect invented by Prof. Srinivasan. * Laser scapels are used for bloodless surgery. When the tissues are cut the blood veins cut are fused at their tips by the infrared laser and hence there is no blood loss, * Inlaser angioplasty for removal of artery block Nd : YAG lasers are used. The laser radiation is sent through fiber to the region of block, burns the excess growth and regulates the blood flow without need for bypass surgery. Indermatology, lasers are used fo remove freckles, acne, birth marks and tattoo. When such regions are illuminated with blue-green laser light, the radiation is absorbed by the blood and heats up. The blood vessels are closed and excess blood flow is stopped. Lasers are used in destroying kidney stones and gallstones. Laser pulses sent through optical fibers shatter the stones into small pieces. Lasers are used in cancer diagnosis and therapy. When suscept growth region 's illuminated with ultraviolet laser, the porferin, a natural dye accumulated in Cancerous region glows with red colour indicating the presence of cancerous cells. When photosensitive dye is injected into the patient’s body, the dye is >.11.38 Solid State Physics i illuminated wi concentrated in cancer cells, When suscept areas fs illuminated with taser of approximate wavelength, cancer cells arc destroyed. 11.12 Lasers in Scientific Fields It is impossible to list out all the applications of lasers in scientific fields. Let us see few important applications. 11.12.1 Lasers in metrology ‘When Amstrong landed in the moon in 1969, he placed a reflecting mirror there, A pulsed laser pulse was sent from the earth to the moon; its reflected signal was received and the distance between the earth and the moon was calculated with cen- limeter accuracy. Now-a-days for surveying and alignment lasers are used. Using laser ie Omen any displacement can be measured with an accuracy of nanometer (10~? m). 11.12.2. Lasers in defence Lasers are finding wide range of applications such as ranging, guiding weapons to the intended target and beam itself acting as a weapon. * Pulsed laser beam directed towards the target returns after reflection. The time- delay in its round-trip is measured to determine the range of the target. If the object is in motion, the reflected signal is Doppler shifted and by measuring this Shift the velocity of the moving object is also calculated. Nd : YAG or Nd : glass lasers are used for this purpose. ¢ Lasers are used to guide the missiles. The head of the missile sends a laser beam to the target and from the collection of light scattered from the target, the angle of line of sight is determined. The difference, if any, the trajectory of bomb and the angle of line of the error signal. The error correcting signal controls the direction of motion of the bomb and brings it onto the target. Since infrared radiation is not absorbed by fog, smoke or haze in the atmosphere, CO» lasers are used for this purpose- * Laser weapons have two uses in defence; one to disable the enemy weapons and another to destroy them. Lasers with moderate powers are used to damage the infrared sensors on guided missiles or the sensitive electronic éyes of SPY satellites, To destroy the weapons very-high powers (of megawatts order) are required. Still there are many problems Associated with such programmes. between the glide angle of sight is fed to servo loop acting asLasers 11.39 123 Lasers in nuclear energy ie Nuclear fusion offers a low cost and pollution free energy. Extremely high "temperature and pressures are required in order to make light nuclei to overcome their mutual repulsion and combine to release energy. Laser assisted inertial confinement method generates highly compressed plasma of heavy isotopes of hydrogen, namely deuterium D and tritium 7. In the presence of such high compression, the core reaches a temperature of about 10°K. To achieve these conditions enormous amount of laser pulse energy is needed. Many countries are in the process of developement of laser fusion projects. Lasers are used for isotope separation. Isotopes are chemically almost identical. Each isotope absorbs light at different characteristic wavelength. Using a tunable dye laser it is possible to ionize one isotope without disturbing the other. Ionized isotope can be separated from the other using electrostatic fields. From natural U-238, ionized U-235 atoms are separated using this method. 1112.4. Lasers in optical communications The amount of information that can be sent over an electro magnetic wave is pro- potional to the bandwidth of the wave. Since lasers operate with exceedingly large bandwidth, optical communication using lasers is very attractive. Lasers are used in two types of communication; one, open space communication and another fiber optic communication. * Open space communication requires the environment free from fog, dust and rain. Since lasers are highly directional laser communication is very attractive when compared to microwave communication (To achieve the directionality as that of the laser of beam waist 1 mm diameter, the microwave antenna must be 100m in diameter). * Now-a-days conventional metallic cables are replaced ‘by fiber optic cables because of the following advantages. Enormous bandwidth (as large as 10° GHz) Electrical isolation Immunity to interference and cross talk Signal security Small size and weight Low transmission loss Ruggedness and flexibility 8. Low cost MAVeene Wewillbe studying about fiber optical communication in more detail in Chapter 12. j11.40 Solid State Physics 11.12.5 Lasers in consumer electronics industry Diode lasers as well as low power He-Ne lasers are Used in different electronic industries. They are used every day in different fields, consumer Supermarket scanners Now-a-days on almost all consum: scans the bar code label, the dark lines of the code absorb Ii reflect light. This light modulation is Tegistered by a: information passes to the Computer which in turn i the price. Such barcodes are used in libraries also, ler items, bar codes are printed. When laser light light while the bright lines photosensitive light detector. This identifies the product and displays 11.13 Optical Data Storage in Compact Disc (CD) The optical data storage techniques have. resulted in increased storage’ capacities! Part icularly after the birth of lasers many new techniques have emerged. In 1980 first generation optical disc emerged as a result of intense research, The‘principle of CD is that the data (Audio/Video/Text etc.) to be stored is frst Converted into binary form as 0's & 1's. It is then stored in the form of reflecting and non-reflecting micro- Points in spiral path on a disc is shown in Fig. 11.30. Land and groove steuctane of an optical disc is shown in Fig, 11.31. Normally data is stored in the groove structure, During the read-out process, variation in the reflected intensity of laser is converted back into data. Normally the substrate-is coated with a'thin metal layer to enhance reflectivity. L, Fig. 11.30 Basic configuration of an optical disc system.Lasers 11,41 NA=nsino (n=1 forait) —y\ pie O82 fig, 1131 Groove and land structure ofan optical Fig. 11.32 Concepts of numer. dt. ical aperture and spot size Tread and write in a CD, laser beam is focussed usig a convex lens. Sharper the fous, larger the storage capacity. The focussed spot size is given by (0.6 1/N.A) vite isthe wavelength of the laser and NVA is the numerical aperture ofthe lens sed to focus the laser. As shown in Fig. 11.32, since NA =n sin 9, for lens of shorter foal length 0 is large and hence NA is larger. Ths results in sharper focus, Therefore toget smaller spot size, one has to choose a laser of shorter wavelength A and lens of shorter focus. ILI3.1 Classification of CD These CD's can be classified based on their storage technique and capabilites, CD-ROM (Read only memory) Te substrate ofthe dis is either plastic or photo-polymer, Signal to be stored is first ‘orverted into binary. This is then stored in the form of reflecting and non-reflecting Se Points in spiral path on a metallic masterusing sharply focused laser beam. This, Fa datas pressed onto the substrate by injection molding. Thus mass predation CD atlow cost is possible. The data thus replicated from the master on a plastic nat can be read any number of time from the memory stored but cannot be ed and hence this name. “WORM (Write once read many) Inti : | mae the active layer isa reflecting chemical coating on the substrate, The lset Generated in the CD writer burns the chemical coating and thereby creates11.42. Solid State Physics reflecting and non reflecting micro-points, We can write the data once a humber of times but the data written can not be either copied or erased any ot and hence the name ‘Write Once and Read Many(WORM)’. For co; and revvrite has to be written by burning the chemical coating, This technique we use cto functions such as marriages etc. © USE to record any CD RIW (Read/Write) In this type of CD we can write the data, read and rewrite after two different materials) iz. ph cls wae Baie ceed th en viz. phase change materials and magneto-optic In phase change recording, active material is thin layer of Germanium Anti Tellurium (GeSbTe) alloy on the plastic/polymer substrate. This GeSbTe allo Pail in its polycrystalline state on the substrate. When the pulsed laser beam is fouccan on the active material to ‘write’, it locally melts the alloy and on cooling the mice spot turns to be amorphous in nature. Since the reflectivity of the amorphous ria is different from that of the polycrystalline state, the intensity of the reflected signal varies according to the data written when ‘read’ with laser of lesser power. Usin a laser pulse of intermediate power and longer pulse duration, the amorphous mat can be made to become crystalline by a process called annealing. Thus data can be written, read, erased and rewritten. H TH Tit itt ttt ttt 1H @ o © @ © Fig. 11.33. Different steps inyolved in magneto optical recording. In magneto-optical recording, active medium is a thin layer of an amorphous Terbium iron cobalt (7bFeCo) magnetic film coated on the substrate. In this film, atomic magnets are oriented in the upward direction perpendicular tothe film as shown in Fig, 11.33(a). Magnetic field is applied in the downward direction but the field strength is not sufficient to reverse the magnetic domains. To ‘write’, when focussed laser pulse falls on the film, it results in strong localized heating. At this temperature, due to the presence of magnetic field in the opposite direction, domain reversal takes place and the atomic magnet gets oriented in the opposite direction (Fig, 11.33(+)). Te ‘read’, plane polarized light is focussed on the written spot. The plane of polarization kwise depending on whether of the reflected light rotates either clockwise or anticloc! the magnetic domain is oriented up or down..as shown in Figs. 11.33 (c) and (d). By analyzing the reflected light, data can be retrieved. To ‘erase’ the data, magnetic field is applied in the upward direction and focussed laser pulse results in the retrivalLasers 11.43 etic polarization in the upward direction (F se erased nd rewrite, en yn 11.33(e)). Thus data can be py (Dieta! versatile disc) 1996, leading electronic companies introduced a new read-only optical system I JDigital Versatile Disc(DVD) with enough capacity(4.7 GB) to hold 135 minutes caressed video, or more than'90% of all feature-length movies using laser of sgoer wave length and focusing lens of larger numerical aperture. Within couple of susiflerent industries have stated manufacturing DVD-R/W, DVR (Digital video recording) With this system, 22GB can be recorded on a single layer of 12cm disc. The most important commercial application of this system is the recording of high-definition digital video. Three generations evolved so far are compare in Table 11.2. In Fig. 11.34, three generations of optical disc systems are shown, By reducing the spot size using a laser afshorter wavelength and objective lens of higher numerical aperture, storage density is increased. Table 11.2 Comparison of various parameters. Generation First (1980) Second (1996) Third (2000) ‘Type CD-Audio(CDROM DVD DVR Light Semiconductor Semiconductor Semiconductor Laser Laser Laser Wavelength (nm) 780(IR) 650(Red) 400(Violet) NA. of objective 0.45 0.60 0.85 Spot size(ym) 02 0.22 outs ‘Track spacing(um) 1.60 0.74 0.32 Capacity 650MB 4.7GB 2GB "113.2 Capacity of CD in normal use Size: 126m diameter Capacity : 680 Mbytes of information "orage capacity equivalent i) i) iy i) atleast 500 computer floppy discs 0.2 million of types A4 pages of word processed text 10 different encyclopaedias each of 20 volumes Complete telephone directory of a large country ~ NY Fig. 11.35 Recording (construction) of a hologram. . Object beam and reference beam should travel almost equal distances (i.e. from the beam splitter till reaching the recording material both the beams should have traveled almost equal distance). The path difference should not exceed the coherent length of the source. §. All the components are to be rigidly fixed to the table. . In total darkness the recording material is loaded such that emulsion side faces the object. : 7. Without disturbing the table, the laser (whose control switch is out side the table) has to be switched on and the exposure given. 8. The exposed plate is to be removed and processed in the developer and fixer; Then it has to be washed well and dired. The dried plate is called ‘hologram’. When such a hologram is viewed in white light, it appears as shown in Fig, 11.36. Fig. 11,36 Appearance of a hologram when viewed in white light.11.48 Solid State Physics 11.16 Reconstruction of a Hologram Vibration isolation table is not required for reconstruction of hologram, ‘he splitter is removed and the reference beam is used for reconstruction (Fig, 14.39) 20" hologram (the grating structure) diffracts the light and the diffracted light recs” forms virtual image. Itis identical to the object and hence it appears as ifthe objert really present. By moving the head side wise the observer can get three dimension) effect (Fig. 11.38). Since while recording, the secondary waves from each and ever point on the object reach the entire plate, each bit of the plate has full information about the object. Hence if the hologram is cut into pieces, each piece contains fy information, i. from each piece, full image can be reconstructed. ‘Viewing direction Fig. 11.37 Reconstruction of a hologram, Holograms of many objects can be recorded in a single hologram. Keeping the reference beam at a particular angle, hologram of an object is recorded. Now by slightly changing the angle of the ref- erence beam, hologram of second object is recorded. Likewise many objects can be recorded in a single holographic plate. Such a technique is called multiplexing. While reconstructing, by gradully chang- Fig. 11.38 Three dimensional effec ing the angle of reconstructing beam, ‘observed in a hologram when viewing images of all objects recorded can be direction Is changed viewed one after another. Some holograms can be reconstructed (viewed) under sun light or any other white light. While recording, if the object waveLasers 11.49 ference wave are made to interfere from opposite directions in the recoding pitte ra agg plane fringes are created, After development, when these holograms cit under white light, depending on the spacing between the fringe planes, view get 2 satisfying the Bragg condition (2d ind = nd) is reconstructed, lene of the image depends on the interplanar fringe spacing, These pew it reflection hologram. Most of the display holograms of this tne colour of iealed white lig op 116 Holographic interferometry y is not merely an art, It is a very useful scientific tool in the area of ron-destructive testing of objects. When a defective objective is deformed it deforms we tte defective region. This can be holographically recorded. First the object is recorded giving an exposure to the recording material. Then the object is loaded (assed) and second exposure is given on thessame recording material, After this double exposure, the recording material is processed. When reconstructed, two image treves are formed one corresponding to the normal position of the object and another coresponding to the deformed position of the object. These two image waves interfere toproduce interference pattern on the object under study. These fringes are contours oflocations of same displacement, Hence when recorded holographically by double exposure method and reconstructed, one can observe variation in fringe pattern at defective region. The fringe pattem at the defect point will exhibit discontinuity if, there is a crack on the object (Fig. 11.39 (a)). Crowding of fringes can be seen if there is a weak point which has deformed more when compared with normal region Holography Fe, / a rapa Double exposure hologram showing (a) a crack on the object (b) a weak region ‘ime average hologram representing the vibration of an object. >11.50 Solid State Physics (Fig, 11.39 (b)). Thus double exposure holographic int non- destructive study of objects. ferferometry Any harmonically vibrating object can be recorded holo; + struction fringes representing the contours of regions of ee On recon. appear on the image of the object (Fig. 11.39 (c)). This ‘time ia interferometry’ is very useful in vibrational analysis of any vibrating compete nent of i S Very useful a machine. 11.17 Conclusion One of the most widely used optoelectronic devices of this era is ‘laser’. Though called ‘an invention in search of applications’ nearly 45 years back, now lasers find their applications in almost all fields. To cut very thick plates of metals, high power C0) lasers are in use; with an ease with which a sharp blade slices butter, lasers cut thick metal plates. For highly controlled micro interactions also lasers are used. Prof. Srinivasan’s photoablative effect helped him to drill a hole through human hair to convert it into a pipe. Very high power Nd : YAG/Nd : Glass lasers used for nuclear fusion studies at California University are named ‘Shiva Taser systems’ as the radiation from such lasers resemble in characteristics the highly intense radiation from the third eye of ‘Lord Shiva’ in Indian mythology. Lasers are used as very effective light sources in fibre optic communication systems. For high density optical data storage (to read, _ write and erase) diode lasers are used in CD writers/PCs. Though very high power lasers cost in crores of rupees, small diode lasers (used as pointers) cost only few tens of rupees. Summary 1. Laser is an acronym for ‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation’, 2. Excitation of atoms from lower energy state to higher energy sate dP 3 interaction of radiation with matter is known as stimulated abs0rP1™ ' oe n electron in the excited level Ea falls spontaneously 1° aah 1 after its lifetime a photon is emitted. This process '$ ene iven by £2 — “ neous emissi a 's emission. The energy of the emitted photon is gi 4. Wher 5 oto" Whew age in the excited level Ep is induced (stimulated) PY 2 — E}), the electron moves to lower energy level or iat a. ed miss! Peas