LASER

Introduction

Before going into how LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of

Radiation) works, let’s first take a look at how light works.

What is Light?

Light is a kind of energy released by an atom. Light is made up of very small

particles called photons.

Atoms are the basic units of matter. Each atom consists of a nucleus and a set of
electrons orbiting the nucleus.

Nucleus is formed as a result of strong nuclear force between the protons and
neutrons. Protons have positive charge so they are referred as positively charged
particles. Neutrons do not have charge so they are referred as neutral particles.

Neutrons do not have charge so the overall charge of the nucleus is positive.

Electrons have negative charge so they are referred as negatively charged particles.
Electrons always orbit the nucleus because of the electrostatic force of attraction
present between them. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in different orbits or
shells. Each orbit has a unique energy level.

The electrons orbiting at a larger distance from the nucleus have higher energy level
whereas the electrons orbiting at a smaller distance from the nucleus have lower
energy level.
The electrons in the lower energy level need some extra energy to jump from lower
energy level to the higher energy level. This extra energy can be supplied from
various types of energy sources such as heat, electric field or light.

Light shows properties of both waves and particles so it can behave simultaneously
as a particle or a wave. Einstein believed that light is a particle or photon and the
flow of photons is a wave. Light is obtained from various sources like candles, lamps
and sun-rays.

Candles and lamps are called as the man made light sources and sun-rays is called
natural light source.

The first reliable artificial light source (incandescent light bulb) was invented in 1879
by Thomas Edison. In incandescent light bulb, electric current flows through a
filament inside the bulb.

When sufficient electric current is passed through the filament, it gets heated up and
emits visible light. Thus, visible light is emitted from the incandescent light bulb.

What is a LASER?

The word LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of

Radiation. Laser is a device that amplifies or increases the intensity of light and
produces highly directional light.

Laser not only amplifies or increases the intensity of light but also generates the
light. Laser emits light through a process called stimulated emission of radiation
which amplifies or increases the intensity of light. Some lasers generate visible light
but others generate ultraviolet or infrared rays which are invisible.

In general, when electron jumps from a higher energy level to a lower energy level, it
emits light or photon. The energy of the emitted photon is equal to the energy
difference between the energy levels. The loss of electron energy is attributed to the
entire atom. Therefore, it can be thought that the atom is moving from a higher
energy state to a lower energy state.
Laser light is different from the conventional light. Laser light has extra-ordinary
properties which are not present in the ordinary light sources like sun and
incandescent lamp.

The conventional light sources such as electric bulb or tube light does not emit highly
directional and coherent light whereas lasers produce highly directional,
monochromatic, coherent and polarized light beam.

In conventional light sources, excited electrons emit light at different times and in
different directions so there is no phase relation between the emitted photons.

On the other hand, the photons emitted by the electrons of laser are in same phase
and move in the same direction.

Einstein gave the theoretical basis for the development of laser in 1917, when he
predicted the possibility of stimulated emission. In 1954, C.H. Townes and his co-
workers put Einstein’s prediction for practical realization.

They developed a microwave amplifier based on stimulated emission of radiation. It

was called as MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation. Maser operates on principles similar to laser but generates microwaves
rather than light radiation.

In 1958, C.H. Townes and A. Schawlow extended the principle of masers to light. In
1960, T.H. Maimann built the first laser device.

Principles of working of a laser

In lasers, photons are interacted in three ways with the atoms:

 Absorption of radiation
 Spontaneous emission
 Stimulated emission

Absorption of radiation

Absorption of radiation is the process by which electrons in the ground state

absorbs energy from photons to jump into the higher energy level.

The electrons orbiting very close to the nucleus are at the lower energy level or lower
energy state whereas the electrons orbiting farther away from the nucleus are at the
higher energy level. The electrons in the lower energy level need some extra energy
to jump into the higher energy level. This extra energy is provided from various
energy sources such as heat, electric field, or light.

Let us consider two energy levels (E1 and E2) of electrons. E1 is the ground state or
lower energy state of electrons and E2 is the excited state or higher energy state of
electrons. The electrons in the ground state are called lower energy electrons or
ground state electrons whereas the electrons in the excited state are called higher
energy electrons or excited electrons.
Population Inversion

Population inversion is the process of achieving greater population of higher energy

state as compared to the lower energy state. Population inversion technique is
mainly used for light amplification. The population inversion is required for laser
operation.

Consider a group of electrons with two energy levels E1 and E2.

E1 is the lower energy state and E2 is the higher energy state.

N1 is the number of electrons in the energy state E1.
N2 is the number of electrons in the energy state E2.
The number of electrons per unit volume in an energy state is the population of that
energy state.

Population inversion cannot be achieved in a two energy level system. Under normal
conditions, the number of electrons (N1) in the lower energy state (E1) is always
greater as compared to the number of electrons (N2) in the higher energy state (E2).

N1 > N2

When temperature increases, the population of higher energy state (N2) also
increases. However, the population of higher energy state (N2) will never exceeds
the population of lower energy state (N1).

At best an equal population of the two states can be achieved which results in no
optical gain.

N1 = N2

Therefore, we need 3 or more energy states to achieve population inversion. The

greater is the number of energy states the greater is the optical gain.

There are certain substances in which the electrons once excited; they remain in the
higher energy level or excited state for longer period. Such systems are called active
systems or active media which are generally mixture of different elements.
When such mixtures are formed, their electronic energy levels are modified and
some of them acquire special properties. Such types of materials are used to form 3-
level laser or 4-level laser.

3-level Laser

Consider a system consisting of three energy levels E1, E2, E3 with N number of
electrons.

We assume that the energy level of E1 is less than than E2 and E3, the energy level
of E2 is greater than E1 and less than E3, and the energy level of E3 is greater than
E1 and E2.

It can be simply written as E1 < E2 < E3. That means the energy level of E2 lies in
between E1 and E3.

The energy level E1 is known as the ground state or lower energy state and the
energy levels E2 and E3 are known as excited states. The energy level E2 is
sometimes referred to as Meta stable state. The energy level E3 is sometimes
referred to as pump state or pump level.
The N number of electrons in the system occupies these three energy levels. Let
N1 be the number of electrons in the energy state E1, N2 be the number of electrons
in the energy state E2 and N3 be the number of electrons in the energy state E3.

To get laser emission or population inversion, the population of higher energy state
(E2) should be greater than the population of the lower energy state (E 1).

Under normal conditions, the higher an energy level is, the lesser it is populated. For
example, in a three level energy system, the lower energy state E 1 is highly
populated as compared to the excited energy states E2 and E3. On the other hand,
the excited energy state E2 is highly populated as compared to the excited energy
state E3. It can be simply written as N1 > N2 > N3.

Under certain conditions, the greater population of higher energy state (E 2) as

compared to the lower energy state (E1) is achieved. Such an arrangement is called
population inversion.

Let us assume that initially the majority of electrons will be in the lower energy state
or ground state (E1) and only a small number of electrons will be in excited states
(E2 and E3).

When we supply light energy which is equal to the energy difference of E 3 and E1,
the electrons in the lower energy state (E1) gains sufficient energy and jumps into the
higher energy state (E3). This process of supplying energy is called pumping.

We also use other methods to excite ground state electrons such as electric
discharge and chemical reactions. The flow of electrons from E1 to E3 is called pump
transition.

The lifetime of electrons in the energy state E3 is very small as compared to the
lifetime of electrons in the energy state E2. Therefore, electrons in the energy level
E3 does not stay for long period. After a short period, they quickly fall to the Meta
stable state or energy state E2 and releases radiation less energy instead of
photons.

Because of the shorter lifetime, only a small number of electrons accumulate in the
energy state E3.

The electrons in the Meta stable state E2 will remain there for longer period because
of its longer lifetime. As result, a large number of electrons accumulate in Meta
stable state. Thus, the population of metal stable state will become greater than the
population of energy states E3 and E1.
It can be simply written as N2 > N1 > N3.

In a three level energy system, we achieve population inversion between energy

levels E1 and E2.

After completion of lifetime of electrons in the Meta stable state, they fall back to the
lower energy state or ground state E1 by releasing energy in the form of photons.
This process of emission of photons is called spontaneous emission.
When this emitted photon interacts with the electron in the Meta stable state E 2, it
forces that electron to fall back to the ground state. As a result, two photons are
emitted. This process of emission of photons is called stimulated emission.

When these photons again interacted with the electrons in the Meta stable state,
they forces two Meta stable state electrons to fall back to the ground state. As a
result, four photons are emitted. Likewise, a large number of photons are emitted.

As a result, millions of photons are emitted by using small number of photons.

We may get a doubt, in order to excite an electron we hit the electron with a photon.
This excited electron again emits photon when fall back to the ground state. Then
how could light amplification or extra photons is achieved.

We may also use other types of energy sources such as electrical energy to excite
electrons. In such case, a single photon will generates large number of photons.
Thus, light amplification is achieved by using population inversion method. The
system which uses three energy levels is known as 3-level laser.

In a 3-level laser, at least half the population of electrons must be excited to the
higher energy state to achieve population inversion. Therefore, the laser medium
must be very strongly pumped. This makes 3-level lasers inefficient to produce
photons or light. The three level lasers are the first type of lasers discovered.

4-level Laser

Consider a group of electrons with four energy levels E1, E2, E3, E4.

E1 is the lowest energy state, E2 is the next higher energy, E3 is the next higher
energy state after E2, E4 is the next higher energy state after E3.

The number of electrons in the lower energy state or ground state is given by N 1, the
number of electrons in the energy state E2 is given by N2, the number of electrons in
the energy state E3 is given by N3 and the number of electrons in the energy state
E4 is given by N4.

We assume that E1 < E2 < E3 < E4. The lifetime of electrons in the energy state
E4 and energy state E2 is very less. Therefore, electrons in these states will only stay
for very short period.

When we supply light energy which is equal to the energy difference of E 4 and E1,
the electrons in the lower energy state E1 gains sufficient energy and jumps into the
higher energy state E4.

The lifetime of electrons in the energy state E4 is very small. Therefore, after a short
period they fall back into the next lower energy state E 3 by releasing non-radiation
energy.
The lifetime of electrons in the energy state E3 is very large as compared to E4 and
E2. As a result, a large number of electrons accumulate in the energy level E 3. After
completion of their lifetime, the electrons in the energy state E 3 will fall back into the
next lower energy state E2 by releasing energy in the form of photons.

Like the energy state E4, the lifetime of electrons in the energy state E2 is also very
small. Therefore, the electrons in the energy state E2 will quickly fall into the next
lower energy state or ground state E1 by releasing non-radiation energy.

Thus, population inversion is achieved between energy states E 3 and E2.

In a 4-level laser, only a few electrons are excited to achieve population inversion.
Therefore, a 4-level laser produces light efficiently than a 3-level laser. In practical,
more than four energy levels may be involved in the laser process.

In 3-level and 4-level lasers, the frequency or energy of the pumping photons must
be greater than the emitted photons.
In general, the electrons in the lower energy state can’t jump into the higher energy
state. They need sufficient energy in order jump into the higher energy state.

When photons or light energy equal to the energy difference of the two energy levels
(E2 – E1) is incident on the atom, the ground state electrons gains sufficient energy
and jumps from ground state (E1) to the excited state (E2).

The absorption of radiation or light occurs only if the energy of incident photon
exactly matches the energy difference of the two energy levels (E2 – E1).

Spontaneous emission

Spontaneous emission is the process by which electrons in the excited state return
to the ground state by emitting photons.

The electrons in the excited state can stay only for a short period. The time up to
which an excited electron can stay at higher energy state (E2) is known as the
lifetime of excited electrons. The lifetime of electrons in excited state is 10 -8 second.
Thus, after the short lifetime of the excited electrons, they return to the lower energy
state or ground state by releasing energy in the form of photons.

In spontaneous emission, the electrons move naturally or spontaneously from one

state (higher energy state) to another state (lower energy state) so the emission of
photons also occurs naturally. Therefore, we have no control over when an excited
electron is going to lose energy in the form of light.

The photons emitted in spontaneous emission process constitute ordinary incoherent

light. Incoherent light is a beam of photons with frequent and random changes of
phase between them. In other words, the photons emitted in the spontaneous
emission process do not flow exactly in the same direction of incident photons.

Stimulated emission

Stimulated emission is the process by which incident photon interacts with the
excited electron and forces it to return to the ground state.

In stimulated emission, the light energy is supplied directly to the excited electron
instead of supplying light energy to the ground state electrons.

Unlike the spontaneous emission, the stimulated emission is not a natural process it
is an artificial process.

In spontaneous emission, the electrons in the excited state will remain there until its
lifetime is over. After completing their lifetime, they return to the ground state by
releasing energy in the form of light.

However, in stimulated emission, the electrons in the excited state need not wait for
completion of their lifetime. An alternative technique is used to forcefully return the
excited electron to ground state before completion of their lifetime. This technique is
known as the stimulated emission.
When incident photon interacts with the excited electron, it forces the excited
electron to return to the ground state. This excited electron release energy in the
form of light while falling to the ground state.

In stimulated emission, two photons are emitted (one additional photon is emitted),
one is due to the incident photon and another one is due to the energy release of
excited electron. Thus, two photons are emitted.

The stimulated emission process is very fast compared to the spontaneous emission
process.

All the emitted photons in stimulated emission have the same energy, same
frequency and are in phase. Therefore, all photons in the stimulated emission travel
in the same direction.

The number of photons emitted in the stimulated emission depends on the number
of electrons in the higher energy level or excited state and the incident light intensity.

It can be written as:

Number of emitted photons α Number of electrons in the excited state + incident light
intensity.
Characteristics of Laser

Laser light has four unique characteristics that differentiate it from ordinary light:
these are

 Coherence
 Directionality
 Monochromatic
 High intensity

Coherence

We know that visible light is emitted when excited electrons (electrons in higher
energy level) jumped into the lower energy level (ground state). The process of
electrons moving from higher energy level to lower energy level or lower energy level
to higher energy level is called electron transition.

In ordinary light sources (lamp, sodium lamp and torch light), the electron transition
occurs naturally. In other words, electron transition in ordinary light sources is
random in time. The photons emitted from ordinary light sources have different
energies, frequencies, wavelengths, or colors. Hence, the light waves of ordinary
light sources have many wavelengths. Therefore, photons emitted by an ordinary
light source are out of phase.

In laser, the electron transition occurs artificially. In other words, in laser, electron
transition occurs in specific time. All the photons emitted in laser have the same
energy, frequency, or wavelength. Hence, the light waves of laser light have single
wavelength or color. Therefore, the wavelengths of the laser light are in phase in
space and time. In laser, a technique called stimulated emission is used to produce
light.
Thus, light generated by laser is highly coherent. Because of this coherence, a large
amount of power can be concentrated in a narrow space.

Directionality

In conventional light sources (lamp, sodium lamp and torchlight), photons will travel
in random direction. Therefore, these light sources emit light in all directions.

On the other hand, in laser, all photons will travel in same direction. Therefore, laser
emits light only in one direction. This is called directionality of laser light. The width of
a laser beam is extremely narrow. Hence, a laser beam can travel to long distances
without spreading.
If an ordinary light travels a distance of 2 km, it spreads to about 2 km in diameter.
On the other hand, if a laser light travels a distance of 2 km, it spreads to a diameter
less than 2 cm.

Monochromatic

Monochromatic light means a light containing a single color or wavelength. The

photons emitted from ordinary light sources have different energies, frequencies,
wavelengths, or colors. Hence, the light waves of ordinary light sources have many
wavelengths or colors. Therefore, ordinary light is a mixture of waves having different
frequencies or wavelengths.

On the other hand, in laser, all the emitted photons have the same energy,
frequency, or wavelength. Hence, the light waves of laser have single wavelength or
color. Therefore, laser light covers a very narrow range of frequencies or
wavelengths.

High Intensity

You know that the intensity of a wave is the energy per unit time flowing through a
unit normal area. In an ordinary light source, the light spreads out uniformly in all
directions.

If you look at a 100 Watt lamp filament from a distance of 30 cm, the power entering
your eye is less than 1/1000 of a watt.
In laser, the light spreads in small region of space and in a small wavelength range.
Hence, laser light has greater intensity when compared to the ordinary light.

If you look directly along the beam from a laser (caution: don’t do it), then all the
power in the laser would enter your eye. Thus, even a 1 Watt laser would appear
many thousand times more intense than 100 Watt ordinary lamp.

Thus, these four properties of laser beam enable us to cut a huge block of steel by
melting. They are also used for recording and reproducing large information on a
compact disc (CD).

Laser Construction

A laser or laser system consists of three important components: a pump source,

laser medium and optical resonator.

Pump Source

The pump source or energy source is the part of a laser system that provides energy
to the laser medium. To get laser emission, first we need to produce population
inversion. Population inversion is the process of achieving greater number of
electrons in higher energy state as compared to the lower energy state.

The source of energy supplies sufficient amount of energy to the laser medium by
which the electrons in the lower energy state are excited to the higher energy state.
As a result, we get population inversion in the active medium or laser medium.
Examples of energy sources include electric discharges, light from another laser,
chemical reactions, and flash lamps. The type of energy source used is mostly
depends on the laser medium. Excimer laser uses chemical reaction as energy
source, a helium laser uses an electric discharge as energy source and Nd:YAG
laser uses light focused from diode laser as energy source.

Laser Medium
The laser medium is a medium where spontaneous and stimulated emission of
radiation takes place. Generally, the population of lower energy state is greater than
the higher energy state. However, after achieving population inversion, the
population of higher energy state becomes greater than the lower energy state.

After receiving sufficient energy from source, the electrons in the lower energy state
or ground state are excited to the higher energy state (in the laser medium). The
electrons in the excited state do not stay for long period because the lifetime of
electrons in the excited state is very small. Hence, after a short period, the electrons
in the excited state will fall back to the ground state by releasing energy in the form
of light or photons. This is called spontaneous emission. In spontaneous emission,
each electron emits a single photon while falling to the ground state.

When these emitted photons collide with the electrons in the excited state or meta
stable state, it forces meta stable electrons to fall back to the ground state. As a
result, electrons again release energy in the form of photons. This is called
stimulated emission. In stimulated emission, each electron emits two photons while
falling to the ground state.

When these emitted photons are again interacted with the meta stable state
electrons then again two photons are emitted by each electron. Thus, millions of
photons are generated by using only a small number of photons.

If we use electrical energy as energy source then a single photon or few photons
(which are produced spontaneously) will produce large number of photons by
stimulated emission process. Thus, light amplification is achieved in laser medium.
Laser medium is also known as active medium or gain medium.

The laser medium will determine the characteristics of the laser light emitted. The
laser medium can be solid, liquid, or gaseous.

Ruby laser is an example for solid-state laser. In this, a ruby crystal is used as an
active medium. In this laser, xenon discharge tube which provides a flash light acts
as pump source.

Helium – Neon laser is an example for gaseous laser. In this, neon is used as an
active medium. In this laser, radio frequency (RF) generator acts as pump source.

Optical Resonator

The laser medium is surrounded by two parallel mirrors which provides feedback of
the light. One mirror is fully reflective (100 % reflective) whereas another one is
partially reflective (<100 % reflective). These two mirrors as a whole is called optical
resonator. Optical resonator is also known as optical cavity or resonating cavity.

These two mirrors are given optical coatings which determine their reflective
properties. Optical coating is a thin layer of material deposited on materials such as
mirror or lens. Each mirror is coated differently. Therefore, each mirror will reflect the
light differently. One mirror will completely reflect the light whereas another one will
partially reflect the light.
The completely reflective mirror is called high reflector whereas the partially
reflective mirror is called output coupler. The output coupler will allows some of the
light to leave the optical cavity to produce the laser’s output beam.

When energy is supplied to the laser medium, the lower energy state electrons in the
laser medium will moves to excited state. After a short period, the electrons in the
excited state will fall back to the ground state by releasing energy in the form of
photons or light. This process of emission of photons is called spontaneous
emission. Thus, light is produced in an active medium by a process called
spontaneous emission.

The light generated within the laser medium will bounce back and forth between the
two mirrors. This stimulates other electrons to release light while falling to the ground
state. Likewise, a large number of electrons are stimulated to emit light. Thus, optical
gain is achieved.

This amplified light escapes through the partially reflecting mirror. The process of
stimulating electrons of other atoms to produce light in the laser medium is called
stimulated emission.

The light in the laser medium is reflected many hundreds of times between the
mirrors before it escape through the partially reflecting mirror. The light escaped from
the partially reflecting mirror is produced by the stimulated emission process. Hence,
this light will travel to large distances without spreading in the space.

Methods of Achieving Population Inversion

Under normal conditions, more electrons are in a lower energy state than in a higher
energy state. Population inversion is a process of achieving more electrons in the
higher energy state than the lower energy state.

In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to the laser

medium. The process of supplying energy to the laser medium is called pumping.
The source that supplies energy to the laser medium is called pump source. The
type of pump source used is depends on the laser medium. Different pump sources
are used for different laser mediums to achieve population inversion. Some of the
most commonly used pump sources are as follows:

 Optical pumping
 Electric discharge or excitation by electrons
 Inelastic atom-atom collisions
 Thermal pumping
 Chemical reactions

Population inversion is easily achieved when the system of molecules or atoms have
the energy levels with favorable properties. For example, the upper energy level has
a long lifetime and the lower energy level has a short lifetime.

Optical Pumping
As the name suggests, in this method, light is used to supply energy to the laser
medium. An external light source like xenon flash lamp is used to produce more
electrons (a high population) in the higher energy level of the laser medium.

When light source provides enough energy to the lower energy state electrons in the
laser medium, they jump into the higher energy state E3. The electrons in the higher
energy state do not stay for long period. After a very short period, they fall back to
the next lower energy state or meta stable state E2 by releasing radiation less
energy.

The meta stable state E2 has greater lifetime than the lower energy state or ground
state E1. Hence, more electrons are accumulated in the energy state E2 than the
lower energy state E1. Thus, population inversion is achieved. Optical pumping is
used in solid-state lasers such as ruby lasers.

Electric Discharge or Excitation by Electrons

Electric discharge refers to flow of electrons or electric current through a gas, liquid
or solid.

In this method of pumping, electric discharge acts as the pump source or energy
source. A high voltage electric discharge (flow of electrons, electric charge, or
electric current) is passed through the laser medium or gas. The intense electric field
accelerates the electrons to high speeds and they collide with neutral atoms in the
gas. As a result, the electrons in the lower energy state gains sufficient energy from
external electrons and jumps into the higher energy state. This method of pumping is
used in gas lasers such as argon lasers.
The process of achieving population inversion in the gas laser is almost similar to the
solid laser. The only difference is the pump source used for supplying energy and
the type of material or medium (solid or gas) used as a laser medium. In solid lasers,
an external light source like xenon flash lamp is used as pump source whereas, in
gas lasers, a high voltage electric discharge is used as a pump source.

Inelastic Atom-Atom Collisions

Like the electric discharge method, here also a high voltage electric discharge acts
as a pump source. However, in this method, a combination of two types of gases,
say X and Y are used. The excited state of gas X is represented as X+ whereas gas
Y is represented as Y+. Both X and Y gases have the same excited states (X+ and
Y+).

When high voltage electric discharge passes through a laser medium having two
types of gases X and Y, the lower energy state electrons in gas X will move to the
excited state X+ similarly the lower energy state electrons in gas Y moves to the
excited state Y+.

Initially, during electric discharge, the lower energy state electrons in gas X or atom
X gets excited to X+ due to continuous collision with electrons. The excited state
electrons in gas X+ now collide with the lower energy state electrons in gas Y. As a
result, the lower energy state electrons in gas Y gains sufficient energy and jump into
the excited state Y+. This method is used in the Helium–Neon (He-Ne) laser.

Thermal Pumping

Sometimes we can achieve population inversion by heating the laser medium. In

thermal pumping, heat acts as the pump source or energy source. In this method,
population inversion is achieved by supplying heat into the laser medium.
When heat energy is supplied to the laser medium, the lower energy state electrons
gains sufficient energy and jumps into the higher energy level.

The process of achieving population inversion in thermal pumping is almost similar to

the optical pumping or electric discharge method, except that in this method heat is
used as pump source instead of light or electric discharge.

Chemical Reactions

If an atom or a molecule is produced through some chemical reaction and remains in

an excited state at the time of production, then it can be used for pumping. The
hydrogen fluoride molecule is produced in an excited state when hydrogen and
fluorine gas chemically combine. The number of produced excited atoms or
molecules is greater than the number of normal state atoms or molecules. Thus,
population inversion is achieved.

For example, H2 + F2 → 2HF, in this chemical reaction, hydrogen (H2) and fluorine
(F2) molecules are chemically combined to produce hydrogen fluoride molecule
(2HF) in an excited state.

Types of lasers

What is a laser?

LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A laser is

a device which produces highly directional light. It emits light through a process
called stimulated emission of radiation which increases the intensity of light.

A laser is different from conventional light sources in four ways: coherence,

directionality, monochromacity, and high intensity.
The light waves of ordinary light sources have many wavelengths. Hence, the
photons emitted by ordinary light sources are out of phase. Thus, ordinary light is
incoherent.

On the other hand, the light waves of laser light have only one wavelength. Hence,
all the photons emitted by laser light are in phase. Thus, laser light is coherent.

The light waves from laser contain only one wavelength or color so it is known as
monochromatic light.

The laser beam is very narrow and can be concentrated on a very small area. This
makes laser light highly directional.

The laser light spreads in a small region of space. Hence, all the energy is
concentrated on a narrow region.Therefore, laser light has greater intensity than the
ordinary light.

Types of lasers

Lasers are classified into 4 types based on the type of laser medium used:

 Solid-state laser
 Gas laser
 Liquid laser
 Semiconductor laser

Solid-state laser

A solid-state laser is a laser that uses solid as a laser medium. In these lasers, glass
or crystalline materials are used.

Ions are introduced as impurities into host material which can be a glass or
crystalline. The process of adding impurities to the substance is called doping. Rare
earth elements such as cerium (Ce), erbium (Eu), terbium (Tb) etc are most
commonly used as dopants.

Materials such as sapphire (Al2O3), neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet

(Nd:YAG), Neodymium-doped glass (Nd:glass) and ytterbium-doped glass are used
as host materials for laser medium. Out of these, neodymium-doped yttrium
aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) is most commonly used.

The first solid-state laser was a ruby laser. It is still used in some applications. In this
laser, a ruby crystal is used as a laser medium.
In solid-state lasers, light energy is used as pumping source. Light sources such as
flashtube, flash lamps, arc lamps, or laser diodes are used to achieve pumping.

Semiconductor lasers do not belong to this category because these lasers are
usually electrically pumped and involve different physical processes.

Gas laser

A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas inside
the laser medium to produce laser light. In gas lasers, the laser medium is in the
gaseous state.

Gas lasers are used in applications that require laser light with very high beam
quality and long coherence lengths.

In gas laser, the laser medium or gain medium is made up of the mixture of gases.
This mixture is packed up into a glass tube. The glass tube filled with the mixture of
gases acts as an active medium or laser medium.
A gas laser is the first laser that works on the principle of converting electrical energy
into light energy. It produces a laser light beam in the infrared region of the spectrum
at 1.15 µm.

Gas lasers are of different types: they are, Helium (He) – Neon (Ne) lasers, argon
ion lasers, carbon dioxide lasers (CO2 lasers), carbon monoxide lasers (CO lasers),
excimer lasers, nitrogen lasers, hydrogen lasers, etc. The type of gas used to
construct the laser medium can determine the lasers wavelength or efficiency.

Liquid laser

A liquid laser is a laser that uses the liquid as laser medium. In liquid lasers, light
supplies energy to the laser medium.

A dye laser is an example of the liquid laser. A dye laser is a laser that uses an
organic dye (liquid solution) as the laser medium.

A dye laser is made up of an organic dye mixed with a solvent. These lasers
generate laser light from the excited energy states of organic dyes dissolved in liquid
solvents. It produces laser light beam in the near ultraviolet (UV) to the near infrared
(IR) region of the spectrum.

Semiconductor laser

Semiconductor lasers play an important role in our everyday life. These lasers are
very cheap, compact size and consume low power. Semiconductor lasers are also
known as laser diodes.

Semiconductor lasers are different from solid-state lasers. In solid-state lasers, light
energy is used as the pump source whereas, in semiconductor lasers, electrical
energy is used as the pump source.

In semiconductor lasers, a p-n junction of a semiconductor diode forms the active

medium or laser medium. The optical gain is produced within the semiconductor
material.

Helium-Neon laser

Helium-Neon laser definition

Helium-Neon laser is a type of gas laser in which a mixture of helium and neon gas
is used as a gain medium. Helium-Neon laser is also known as He-Ne laser.

What is a gas laser?

A gas laser is a type of laser in which a mixture of gas is used as the active medium
or laser medium. Gas lasers are the most widely used lasers.
Gas lasers range from the low power helium-neon lasers to the very high power
carbon dioxide lasers. The helium-neon lasers are most commonly used in college
laboratories whereas the carbon dioxide lasers are used in industrial applications.

The main advantage of gas lasers (eg: He-Ne lasers) over solid state lasers is that
they are less prone to damage by overheating so they can be run continuously.

What is helium-neon laser?

At room temperature, a ruby laser will only emit short bursts of laser light, each laser
pulse occurring after a flash of the pumping light. It would be better to have a laser
that emits light continuously. Such a laser is called a continuous wave (CW) laser.

The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave (CW) laser ever constructed. It
was built in 1961 by Ali Javan, Bennett, and Herriott at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Helium-neon lasers are the most widely used gas lasers. These lasers have many
industrial and scientific uses and are often used in laboratory demonstrations of
optics.

In He-Ne lasers, the optical pumping method is not used instead an electrical
pumping method is used. The excitation of electrons in the He-Ne gas active
medium is achieved by passing an electric current through the gas.

The helium-neon laser operates at a wavelength of 632.8 nanometers (nm), in the

red portion of the visible spectrum.

Helium-neon laser construction

The helium-neon laser consists of three essential components:

 Pump source (high voltage power supply)

 Gain medium (laser glass tube or discharge glass tube)
 Resonating cavity

High voltage power supply or pump source

In order to produce the laser beam, it is essential to achieve population inversion.

Population inversion is the process of achieving more electrons in the higher energy
state as compared to the lower energy state.

In general, the lower energy state has more electrons than the higher energy state.
However, after achieving population inversion, more electrons will remain in the
higher energy state than the lower energy state.

In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to the gain

medium or active medium. Different types of energy sources are used to supply
energy to the gain medium.
In ruby lasers and Nd:YAG lasers, the light energy sources such as flashtubes or
laser diodes are used as the pump source. However, in helium-neon lasers, light
energy is not used as the pump source. In helium-neon lasers, a high voltage DC
power supply is used as the pump source. A high voltage DC supplies electric
current through the gas mixture of helium and neon.

Gain medium (discharge glass tube or glass envelope)

The gain medium of a helium-neon laser is made up of the mixture of helium and
neon gas contained in a glass tube at low pressure. The partial pressure of helium is
1 mbar whereas that of neon is 0.1 mbar.

The gas mixture is mostly comprised of helium gas. Therefore, in order to achieve
population inversion, we need to excite primarily the lower energy state electrons of
the helium atoms.

In He-Ne laser, neon atoms are the active centers and have energy levels suitable
for laser transitions while helium atoms help in exciting neon atoms.

Electrodes (anode and cathode) are provided in the glass tube to send the electric
current through the gas mixture. These electrodes are connected to a DC power
supply.

Resonating cavity

The glass tube (containing a mixture of helium and neon gas) is placed between two
parallel mirrors. These two mirrors are silvered or optically coated.

Each mirror is silvered differently. The left side mirror is partially silvered and is
known as output coupler whereas the right side mirror is fully silvered and is known
as the high reflector or fully reflecting mirror.

The fully silvered mirror will completely reflect the light whereas the partially silvered
mirror will reflect most part of the light but allows some part of the light to produce
the laser beam.
Working of helium-neon laser

In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to the gain

medium. In helium-neon lasers, we use high voltage DC as the pump source. A high
voltage DC produces energetic electrons that travel through the gas mixture.

The gas mixture in helium-neon laser is mostly comprised of helium atoms.

Therefore, helium atoms observe most of the energy supplied by the high voltage
DC.

When the power is switched on, a high voltage of about 10 kV is applied across the
gas mixture. This power is enough to excite the electrons in the gas mixture. The
electrons produced in the process of discharge are accelerated between the
electrodes (cathode and anode) through the gas mixture.

In the process of flowing through the gas, the energetic electrons transfer some of
their energy to the helium atoms in the gas. As a result, the lower energy state
electrons of the helium atoms gain enough energy and jumps into the excited states
or metastable states. Let us assume that these metastable states are F 3 and F5.

The metastable state electrons of the helium atoms cannot return to ground state by
spontaneous emission. However, they can return to ground state by transferring their
energy to the lower energy state electrons of the neon atoms.

The energy levels of some of the excited states of the neon atoms are identical to
the energy levels of metastable states of the helium atoms. Let us assume that these
identical energy states are F3 = E3 and F5 = E5. E3 and E5 are excited states or
metastable states of neon atoms.
Unlike the solid, a gas can move or flow between the electrodes. Hence, when the
excited electrons of the helium atoms collide with the lower energy state electrons of
the neon atoms, they transfer their energy to the neon atoms. As a result, the lower
energy state electrons of the neon atoms gain enough energy from the helium atoms
and jumps into the higher energy states or metastable states (E 3 and E5) whereas
the excited electrons of the helium atoms will fall into the ground state. Thus, helium
atoms help neon atoms in achieving population inversion.

Likewise, millions of ground state electrons of neon atoms are excited to the
metastable states. The metastable states have the longer lifetime. Therefore, a large
number of electrons will remain in the metastable states and hence population
inversion is achieved.
After some period, the metastable states electrons (E3 and E5) of the neon atoms will
spontaneously fall into the next lower energy states (E2 and E4) by releasing photons
or red light. This is called spontaneous emission.

The neon excited electrons continue on to the ground state through radiative and
nonradiative transitions. It is important for the continuous wave (CW) operation.

The light or photons emitted from the neon atoms will moves back and forth between
two mirrors until it stimulates other excited electrons of the neon atoms and causes
them to emit light. Thus, optical gain is achieved. This process of photon emission is
called stimulated emission of radiation.

The light or photons emitted due to stimulated emission will escape through the
partially reflecting mirror or output coupler to produce laser light.

Advantages of helium-neon laser

 Helium-neon laser emits laser light in the visible portion of the spectrum.
 High stability
 Low cost
 Operates without damage at higher temperatures

Disadvantages of helium-neon laser

 Low efficiency
 Low gain
 Helium-neon lasers are limited to low power tasks

Applications of helium-neon lasers

  Helium-neon lasers are used in industries.
 Helium-neon lasers are used in scientific instruments.
 Helium-neon lasers are used in the college laboratories.

Applications of Lasers

Laser is an optical device that generates intense beam of coherent monochromatic

light by stimulated emission of radiation.

Laser light is different from an ordinary light. It has various unique properties such as
coherence, monochromacity, directionality, and high intensity. Because of these
unique properties, lasers are used in various applications.

The most significant applications of lasers include:

 Lasers in medicine
 Lasers in communications
 Lasers in industries
 Lasers in science and technology
 Lasers in military

Lasers in Medicine

1. Lasers are used for bloodless surgery.

2. Lasers are used to destroy kidney stones.
3. Lasers are used in cancer diagnosis and therapy.
4. Lasers are used for eye lens curvature corrections.
5. Lasers are used in fiber-optic endoscope to detect ulcers in the intestines.
6. The liver and lung diseases could be treated by using lasers.
7. Lasers are used to study the internal structure of microorganisms and cells.
8. Lasers are used to produce chemical reactions.
9. Lasers are used to create plasma.
10. Lasers are used to remove tumors successfully.
11. Lasers are used to remove the caries or decayed portion of the teeth.
12. Lasers are used in cosmetic treatments such as acne treatment, cellulite and hair
removal.

Lasers in Communications

1. Laser light is used in optical fiber communications to send information over large
distances with low loss.
2. Laser light is used in underwater communication networks.
3. Lasers are used in space communication, radars and satellites.

Lasers in Industries

1. Lasers are used to cut glass and quartz.

2. Lasers are used in electronic industries for trimming the components of Integrated
Circuits (ICs).
3. Lasers are used for heat treatment in the automotive industry.
 4. Laser light is used to collect the information about the prefixed prices of various
products in shops and business establishments from the bar code printed on the
product.
5. Ultraviolet lasers are used in the semiconductor industries for photolithography.
Photolithography is the method used for manufacturing printed circuit board (PCB)
and microprocessor by using ultraviolet light.
6. Lasers are used to drill aerosol nozzles and control orifices within the required
precision.

Lasers in Science and Technology

1. A laser helps in studying the Brownian motion of particles.

2. With the help of a helium-neon laser, it was proved that the velocity of light is same
in all directions.
3. With the help of a laser, it is possible to count the number of atoms in a substance.
4. Lasers are used in computers to retrieve stored information from a Compact Disc
(CD).
5. Lasers are used to store large amount of information or data in CD-ROM.
6. Lasers are used to measure the pollutant gases and other contaminants of the
atmosphere.
7. Lasers helps in determining the rate of rotation of the earth accurately.
8. Lasers are used in computer printers.
9. Lasers are used for producing three-dimensional pictures in space without the use of
lens.
10. Lasers are used for detecting earthquakes and underwater nuclear blasts.
11. A gallium arsenide diode laser can be used to setup an invisible fence to protect an
area.

Lasers in Military

1. Laser range finders are used to determine the distance to an object.

2. The ring laser gyroscope is used for sensing and measuring very small angle of
rotation of the moving objects.
3. Lasers can be used as a secretive illuminators for reconnaissance during night with
high precision.
4. Lasers are used to dispose the energy of a warhead by damaging the missile.
5. Laser light is used in LIDAR’s to accurately measure the distance to an object.