LASER

Laser stands for

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of

Radiation.

Ruby Laser
 Coherent and Monochromatic light waves

Incoherent and un monochromatic light waves

Characteristics or Properties of laser:

1. Coherent beam of light.
2. Monochromatic beam of light.
3. Intense beam of light.
4. Unidirectional beam of light.
Laser action:

Stimulated Absorption
Radiation

leads to three
Spontaneous Emission
distinct processes.

Material Stimulated Emission

Stimulated Absorption:

E2 Excited state
Incident Photon

h = E2 − E1

Energy E1 Ground state

Before After

This transition is known as stimulated absorption.

The number of absorption transitions depends on,

1. The number of atoms in the ground state E1.

2. The density of photon in the incident beam.
 Meta-stable States:
The excited state is unstable.

The atoms stay in the excited state for a very short time known as a ‘life time’
of that state.

The time for which the atoms stay in the excited state is called as ‘life time’ of
that state.

The life time of the excited H2 atom is of the order of 10-8 sec.

Some of the excited states have longer life time of the order of 10-3 seconds.

The state having longer life time are called as ‘Meta-stable States’.

Meta-stable States plays very important role in laser action.

Spontaneous Emission: The process which will take place after
stimulated absorption.

E2

Emitted Photon
h = E2 − E1
Energy E1
Before After

The emission of photons when the atom make transition from excited state
to ground state on its own accord after completing its life time is called as
‘spontaneous emission’ .
This emission is,
1. Independent of outside circumstances.
2. It is random in character because photons emitted in this process moves
in different directions and they are incoherent.
 Stimulated Emission:
Incident Photon
Coherent,
h = E2 − E1 Unidirectional
E2

Emitted Photons
h = E2 − E1
Energy E1
Before After

This phenomenon of forced emission of photons is called as ‘stimulated emission’.

This process depends on the number of atoms in the excited state and photons
incident on them.
This process of stimulated emission gives very interesting results,

1. The emitted photon is identical to the incident photon in all respects. It has
same frequency, same phase, and same state of polarization as incident
photon. Both photons travel in the same direction.

2. This process can be controlled from outside.

3. The most important thing that happens is multiplication of photons.

4. In all we get monochromatic, coherent, unidirectional and amplified beam

of light called as LASER.
 Population inversion:

Spontaneous Number of atoms

Depend upon
Emission in Excited state
While
Number of atoms
Stimulated in Excited state as
Depend upon
Emission well as number of
It incident photons
mean

If large number of atoms can be excited to upper energy levels then the
probability of stimulated emission i.e. light amplification increases.

The process of getting large number of atoms in excited state than lower
level is called as ‘population inversion’.

The system in which population of higher energy state is more than

population of lower energy state is called as ‘Negative Temperature State’.
 E2 N2
If, N1 = Number of atoms in lower energy state E1. Higher or excited state

Energy
N2 = Number of atoms in excited energy state E2.
E1 N1
Normally, N1  N 2 Lower or ground state

Depopulates
Process 1: Stimulated Absorption Ground state
The rate at which process occurs is expressed as, R12 = Pa . N1 − − − −(1)
Depopulates
Process 2: Stimulated Emission Excited state
The rate at which process occurs is expressed as, R 21 = Pe . N 2 − − − −(2)
At equilibrium, Pa = Pe
N1  N 2 R12  R21 Absorption > Emission
To produce more emission it
For LASER Emission > Absorption
is essential to have N2 > N1.
This is called as ‘Population Inversion’.
The system in which population inversion is achieved is called as ‘active system’.
Pumping: ‘Population Inversion’ is achieved by a process called as ‘Pumping’.

The method of rising atoms from lower energy level to higher energy level
and to achieve population inversion is called as ‘Pumping’.
OR
The process of supplying energy to the medium with which the system is
converted into the state of population inversion is called as ‘pumping’.

Most commonly used methods for pumping are,

1. Optical pumping.
2. Electric discharge and
3. Direct conversion etc.

Three important pumping schemes are widely used. They are known as,

1. Two level pumping scheme.

2. Three-level pumping scheme.
3. Four-level pumping scheme.
Two-level Pumping Scheme:

E2
Photon Photons
Photon
h = E2 − E1

E1
pumping Lasing action

This type of pumping scheme is used in semiconductor lasers, in

which electrical energy is directly converted into light energy.

There is no any role of meta-stable state in this type of pumping.

Population inversion is achieved by different way.
Three-level Pumping Scheme:

E3
Non-radiative transistion

E2
Photon Meta-stable state

h = E3 −E1 Photons
Photon
h = E2 − E1

E1
pumping Lasing action

Population inversion can be achieved with the help of

meta-stable state.
Four-level Pumping Scheme:

E4
Non-radiative transition

E3
Photon Meta-stable state
Photon Photons
h = E3 −E1
h = E2 − E1

E2

E1
pumping Lasing action

In this scheme also the population inversion can be achieved

with the help of meta-stable state but more effectively and faster
than three-level pumping scheme.
Optical Resonator or Resonant Cavity:
Ground state atom
Excited state atom
Stimulated to ground state
Photon
nλ

LASER
Animation

Fully Partially
Reflecting Reflecting
Active Medium
Surface Surface
Optical resonator is most important and essential
arrangement in every LASER system. Because of this
arrangement the atoms bounce back and forth between two
surfaces and cause further stimulated emission so that the
number of photons get multiplied rapidly.
Gas Laser: CO2 Laser:
The Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is a molecular gas laser based on a gas mixture carbon
dioxide (CO2), Helium (He) and Nitrogen (N2) as a gain medium.
Depending on manufacturing, continuous output power varies between a few watts to
several hundred watts.
Principle of Vibration Modes of CO2 Laser:
Carbon dioxide

Symmetric Stretching Asymmetric Stretching Bending mode

A CO2 molecule is a linear molecule and with carbon atom in the middle. It undergo 3
independent vibration oscillations.
Transition to the symmetric stretching mode and bending modes correspond to
wavelength of 1.6 µm and 9.6 µm respectively.
 Construction:

Exhaust

LASER
CO2 N2 He
Fully reflecting Partially reflecting
surface surface
Anode Cathode

The output power of CO2 laser depends on its diameter.

Gas is filled inside the tube with pressure with ratio of CO2 : N2 : He = 10 : 10 : 80
Fully reflecting and partially reflecting mirrors are fitted on the either side of the
tube for recirculation of laser light inside the tube.
Pumping is done by electric discharge. The energy of accelerating electrons is
transferred to Nitrogen and they accumulate to metastable state.
Nitrogen molecule collide elastically with CO2 molecules and moved to excited
state E5.
 Energy Level Diagram:
Active medium is CO2
Energy transfer through collision

Nitrogen Carbon dioxide Oscillations take place in

between two vibrational levels
0.3 E5 of CO2

10.6 µm E5 to E4 produces IR Radiations

9.6 µm of wavelength 10.6 µm.
Energy (eV)

0.2
E4 E5 to E3 produces IR Radiations
Pumping by of wavelength 9.6 µm.
electric
E3
0.1 CO2 molecules in E 4 to E3 levels
discharge
E2 falls to lower level E2 which is
De-excitation close to ground level where He
by collision atoms collide with CO2
0 E1 moleculesto reduce their
population.

The de-excited CO2 molecules are again excited due to collision of N2 and are again
taken to upper excited state E5. This helps in maintaining continuous Laser output.
.
Semiconductor Laser:
Semiconductor laser differs from the solid state and gas lasers in many aspects.

It has,
1. Remarkably small size.
2. Having high efficiency.
3. Can be operated at low temperature.
4. Simple in operation.
5.It a P-N junction. By controlling doping level, laser of any wavelength and
power can be generated.

Diode of P N Energy generated

Si & Ge in the form of
heat

Diode of Energy generated

GaAs in the form of
Light

Other Materials are Indium Phosphide, Gallium Antimonide, and Gallium Nitride
Hetro-junction Laser:
An important factor in constructing semiconductor lasers is confining the light into the
active region. The confinement is accomplished by placing different materials close to
the active layer.

Basically Semiconductor Laser (Diode Laser) is classified into two categories.

Homo-junction diode Laser: A simple semiconductor laser which make use of the
same semiconductor material on both side of junction.
The emitted photons are not confined
p-GaAs in the directions perpendicular to the
Active Region p-GaAs laser axis. Thus, the laser is not
n-GaAs efficient.

Hetro-junction diode Laser: A semiconductor laser which make use of different

semiconductor materials on both side of junction.

Hetro-junction diode Laser is again classified as Single hetro-junction and Double

hetro-junction.
Single hetro-junction Laser: Construction:
+ Electrode
Partially reflecting
Fully reflecting surface
surface
P-(GaAl)As
p-GaAs
Active
Region
n-GaAs
p-GaAs
Depletion
Region
_ Electrode
On one side of the active layer is a material with a different energy gap.
P-GaAlAs has higher band gap and having lower refractive index than p-GaAs, so we can build
waveguide structures that confine the photons to a specific area by total internal reflection.
Active Layer: Lasing action occurs in p-GaAs layer at the Centre.
Both P and N regions are heavily doped as compared to LED.

The length of the junction must be precisely related to the wavelength of light to be emitted.

The forward bias plays the role of pumping.

The population inversion (i.e. large number of electrons and holes injecting into the depletion
region) is achieved by increasing the forward current beyond a certain threshold..
Energy Level Diagram:

Ec
EV
EF EF
Ec
Ev

N-type Junction P-type

Active region
EF Electrons
Ec
Ec
EV
Holes
EV EF
Applications of Laser: 1. In Information Technology:

Holography: Holography is three-dimensional (3D) laser photography.

Holography not only records the amplitude but also the phase of the light
wave with the help of interferometric techniques.
The technique of holography was invented by Gabor in 1947.

Hologram Recording:
Beam Splitter
Object
LASER Beam

Photographic Plate
Hologram Reconstruction:

Virtual Real
Image Image

Hologram
Eyes

Reflector Laser
Beam
Applications of Holography:
1. Used in three dimensional display of an object.
2. Used to store large amount of data. Holographic storage mainly used in
ROM devices.
3. Study of air pollution, measurement of size, density distribution, and
velocity of particle can be possible with holography.
4. Used to determine Young’s modulus of metallic rods.
Optical Discs (CD/DVD):
On CD-RW, binary information is stored as areas of metal alloy that are either crystalline
or amorphous.

The reflective layer is, however, a silver-indium-antimony-tellurium (AgInSbTe) alloy with

a polycrystalline structure and reflective properties in its original state.

When writing the laser beam uses its maximum power (8 - 14 mW) to heat the material
to 500–700 °C causing material liquefaction. In this state, the alloy loses its
polycrystalline structure and reflectivity and assumes an amorphous state.

The lost reflectivity serves the same function as bumps on manufactured CDs and the
opaque spots on a CD-R are read as a "0".

The polycrystalline state of the disc forms the channels, which are read as "1".

The scanning signal when reading is done by strong or weak reflection of the laser
beam.

To erase the disc, the write beam heats the amorphous regions with low power to about
200 °C. The alloy is not melted, but returns to the polycrystalline state and is again
reflective.
Laser Printer: Beyond Syllabus
Paper Exit
Photo-recepter
Drum Assembly

Corona
Wire
Laser Source
Discharge
Lamp
Toner Hopper

Developer Roller

Fuser

Paper Tray
3. Industrial and Engineering Applications of Laser:
Welding: Laser
The two metal plates are held in contact at their
Lens
edges and a high power laser is focused on the line
of contact.
Advantages: Heat affected area is small as laser is Line of
focused beam, No possibility of introducing Contact Metal Plates
impurities.
Laser welding is commonly used in automobile, ship
building and aircraft manufacturing. CO2 and NdYAG
high power lasers are used.

Cutting: Laser
Laser is focused on the metal sheet and a jet of
Lens
oxygen is blown on the spot of cutting. Oxygen
Advantages: High speed & fine cutting (higher
quality), heat affected area is small as laser is Line of
focused beam, Oxygen also blows away the Cutting Metal Plate
vaporized metal and also cools the adjacent edges.
Used in heavy industries to cut multiple sheets. CO2
and NdYAG high power lasers are used.
Drilling:
Holes can be drilled into materials using high power
pulsed laser of 10-2 to 10-3 s duration. Laser pulse
evaporates the material which leaves the hole in its
place.
Advantages: High degree of precision, holes can be
drilled in any direction and very small holes can be
drilled of the order of few microns.
Nd-YAG high power lasers are generally used.

Micromachining:
Lasers are used for machining a surface in a slow and accurate manner to achieve an
extraordinary smooth finish.

Barcode Scanners:
Barcode is a machine readable code in the form of numbers and a pattern of parallel
lines of varying width, printed on an object for quick identification.
Laser scanners are used for decoding the barcode information on the products. Lasers
are incident on it and reflected laser is detected by photocell. Further analyzed.
4. Medical Applications:
Bloodless Surgeries:
Bloodless cancer surgeries can be performed as the beam can be focused on a small
area, so that only the harmful tissues can be destroyed without damaging the
surrounding area.
Ophthalmology:
Lasers has been successfully used in the treatment of detached retinas, in welding
cornea.
At the command of physician, laser produces a fine beam of light which is directed onto
eye, to produce a minute coagulation. A series of these lesions weld the detached
retina.
Study of Genetics:
Lasers have been built into microscopes and can be used for micro-surgery, micro-
burning.
A focused microscope laser can be used to make tiny openings of 25 µm in diameter in
the cell walls of nervous system, heart, retina etc. without causing damage.
Dental Treatments:
Lasers microprobes can be used as a dental drills giving an advantage of no heating, no
anesthetic and no pain to the patient.
They have also been successfully used for localized treatment of skin growths and
blemishes in human beings.
Fiber Optic Communication:

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to

another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber. The light forms an
electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is preferred
over electric cabling when high bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to
electromagnetic interference are required.
Optical fiber is used by many telecommunications companies to transmit telephone
signals, Internet communication, and cable television signals. Researchers at Bell Labs
have reached internet speeds of over 100 petabit×kilometer per second using fiber-
optic communication.

The process of communicating using fiber-optics involves the following basicsteps:

1. Creating the optical signal involving the use of a transmitter, usually from
an electrical signal.
2. Relaying the signal along the fiber, ensuring that the signal does not become too
distorted or weak.
3. Receiving the optical signal.
4. Converting it into an electrical signal.

Ref: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fiber-optic_communication
Principle:
The principle of light transmission through fiber optic is ‘total internal reflection’.
Buffer Coating: (For Mechanical
Strength) Fibers are
Parts of Fiber Optic cable: encapsulated in an elastic
µ1 µ2 abrasion resistant plastic
µ1 > µ2 material. Suitable for roughness
of surface, sharp bends.

At the core-cladding Cladding

interface, the angle of φ1
incidence is greater
µ2
than critical angle φc
µ1
𝜇2
Where: ϕ𝑐 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1
𝜇1
Core φ1 < φc φ1 = φc φ1 > φc

Cladding: A solid dielectric (cone polymer) Core: A single solid dielectric cylinder

Carrier Laser

Image Ref: https://www.tutorialspoint.com

 Acceptance angle and Numerical Aperture (N.A.):

C Cladding µ2
φ > φc
φ
Fiber axis r
i B E
Core µ 1 D
Cladding
A

C Cladding µ2
φ > φc
φ
Fiber axis r D
i B E
Core µ1

Cladding
A

C Cladding µ2
µ0 = refractive index of medium r D φ = φc
φ= φc
Fiber axis r
imax B E
Core µ1

Cladding
A

Imax = Acceptance Angle

 C Cladding µ2
µ0 = refractive index of medium r D φ = φc
φ= φc
Fiber axis r
imax B E
Core µ1

Cladding
A
Imax = Acceptance Angle
Applying Snell’s law at point C
Applying Snell’s law at point B
𝑠𝑖𝑛ϕ𝑐 𝑠𝑖𝑛ϕ𝑐 𝜇2
= = since at point C, r = 900
sin 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝜇1 sin 𝑟 sin 90 𝜇1
=
sin 𝑟 𝜇0 𝜇2
∴ sin ϕ 𝑐 = −−−− − 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒, sin 900 = 1
From figure, 𝑟 = sin(90 − ϕ𝑐) 𝜇1
From equations (1) and (2), we get,
sin 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝜇1
∴ =
sin 90 − ϕ𝑐 𝜇0
𝜇1 𝜇2 2 𝜇1 𝜇12 −𝜇 2
2
∴ sin 𝐼𝑚 𝑎 = 1− 2 =
sin 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝜇1 𝜇0 𝜇1 𝜇0 𝜇12
∴ =
cos ϕ𝑐 𝜇0
𝜇12 −𝜇 2
2
𝜇1 ∴ sin 𝐼𝑚 𝑎 = For air, µ 0 = 1
∴ sin 𝐼𝑚 𝑎 = cos ϕ 𝑐 𝜇0
𝜇0
𝜇1 ∴ 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 𝜇12 − 𝜇 22
∴ sin 𝐼𝑚 𝑎 = 1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛2ϕ 𝑐 −− −(1)
𝜇0 & 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑁𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑁. 𝐴. = 𝜇12 − 𝜇 2 2
A measure of light gathering power
Acceptance cone:
The acceptance cone of an optical fiber decides its light gathering power and depends
on acceptance angle. Larger the acceptance angle larger is the light gathering power.
The acceptance cone is derived by rotating the acceptance angle about the fiber axis
as shown in figure. Acceptance Cone
Carrier Laser

Cladding

Core
Imax

Problems:
1. Refractive index of core is 1.48 and that of cladding is 1.45 in an optical fiber.
Calculate the numerical aperture and maximum entrance angle if the fiber optic is
kept in air.
(Ans: N.A. = 0.2964 And Imax = 17.240 )
2. Numerical aperture of an optical fiber is 0.5. Find the refractive index of the
cladding if the refractive index of core is 1.53.
(Ans: µ2 = 1.446).
Types of fiber Optic:
Based on Refractive Index: 1. Step Index. 2. Graded Index.

1. Step Index Fiber Optic:

The core has an uniform refractive index µ1 and the cladding has an uniform refractive
index µ2. (µ1> µ2). Let a = radius of core and b = radius of cladding
Refractive index
Cladding Core
µ1
µ2

a
b

Cladding
Core
In the step index fibers, rays entering at different angles of incidence with the axis
travel different path lengths and emerge out at different times. This results in pulse
dispersion.
The core diameter (2a) in fibers may range between 4 µm to 100 µm.
The core + cladding diameter (2b) usually ranges between 100 µm to 200 µm.
Used for long distance communication. Lower bandwidth. Used for transmission of
single and multimode signals.
2. Graded Index Fiber Optic:
The refractive index of core varies continuously from µ1 at the center to µ2 at the core
cladding interface. The cladding has constant refractive index µ2 (µ1> µ2). Let a = radius
of core and b = radius of cladding
Refractive index
Cladding Core
µ1
µ2

a
b

Cladding
Core
In graded index fibers, a ray continuously bends and travels a periodic path along the
axis. Rays entering at different angles follow different paths with the same period, both
in space and time. Therefore the pulse dispersion is less as compared to step index
fibers.

Used for short distance communication. Higher bandwidth. Used for transmission of
multimode signals.
Based on Number of Modes: 1. Single Mode (Mono-mode) . 2. Multimode.
Fibers with narrow cores (10 µm) allow only one light wave (mode) to pass are called
Single mode or Mono-mode fibers.
Cladding
Core

Fibers with cores 50 µm and above and allow different light waves (modes) to pass are
called Multimode fibers.
Multimode fibers are again divided into two category,

i) Step Index Multimode Fibers. ii) Graded Index Multimode Fibers.

Cladding Core Cladding Core

Index Difference:
In practical fibers the relation between refractive index of core µ1 and cladding
refractive index µ2 is given as,

𝜇2 = 𝜇1 1 − ∆
Where, ∆ is called core-cladding index difference or index difference.

Attenuation & Reasons for Losses in Optic Fiber:

The optical signal propagating through a fiber will get attenuated progressively.
It is the ratio of the optical output power from a fiber of length L to the input optical
power.
If, Pi = Input power
Po = Output power
10 𝑃𝑖
∴ 𝐴𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔10
𝐿 𝑃𝑜

The unit of measurement of attenuation is dB/km.

Reasons for Losses in Optic Fiber:
The factors that affect the transmission of light waves through optical fibers are,
1. Absorption.
2. Dispersion.
3. Bending.

Attenuation due to absorption:

i. Electron absorption: It takes place when the atoms in the core material absorb
energy from incident light, which generally take place at lower wavelengths.
ii. Rayleigh’s scattering: Scattering of light is due to small irregularities in the core
structure. If the irregularities are equal to wavelength of light then scattering is
more. Can be reduced for longer wavelengths.

Attenuation due to dispersion:

Dispersion is phenomenon related to variation in velocity of different wavelengths or
different modes, results in distortion of signal.
I. Intermodal dispersion: Rays travel zigzag paths in fibers. They travels with
different velocities and comes out at different times results in broadening of
pulse. Low N.A. fibers exhibit smaller dispersion.
ii. Waveguide dispersion: A type of dispersion caused by the different refractive
indexes of the core and cladding of an optical fiber. Regardless of the nature of the
light source and optical fiber, some light travels in the cladding, as well as the
core.
Waveguide dispersion depends not on the material of the fiber core but on its
diameter; it too causes different wavelengths to propagate at different velocities.
ii. Material dispersion: Material dispersion is a phenomenon in which different
optical wavelengths propagate at different velocities, depending on the refractive
index of the material used in the fiber core.

Attenuation due to bending:

I. Macro bending loss: The radiative losses which arise when a fiber
axis is bend during the cabling of the fiber. Because of bending light
rays propagates into cladding and lost. The presence of thermal
contraction between cladding and core materials, also lead to small
amount of loss.
II. Micro bending loss: A micro bend refers to the specified minimum
bending radius. Improper cabling, bending more than bending radius
cause damage to fiber cable. Can be minimized by careful handling.
Communication Kit:

Message Modulator Transmission

input (Transmitter) Medium Optical
Fiber

Optical Demodulator
Destination
Detector (Receiver)
Advantages of communication through fiber optic:
1. Due to large bandwidth can transmit large number of channels at a time.
2. Material used is dielectric in nature hence it does not generate or receive
any electromagnetic or R.F. interference. Therefore crosstalk between the
adjacent signals is avoided.
3. As glass fibers or plastic fibers are cheap, has low cost.
4. Low signal loss. Loss of signal communicated through optic fiber is 3 dB/km
only.
5. Being an insulator it can provide a good isolation between the input and
output ports.
6. Not affected by moisture and corrosion.
7. No permanent damage takes place due to nuclear radiation.
8. Does not pickup any conducted noise.
9. Can be operated over high temperature range.
10. Fibers are light and can occupy very less space.
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