This topic is mapped with CO3 and CO4 of the course
RUBY LASER
Important Points to remember
To produce laser from solid, Ruby crystal is used.
Ruby is an aluminum oxide crystal (Al2O3) in which some of the aluminum atoms have been
replaced with Cr3+ chromium atoms (0.05% by weight).
It was the first type of laser invented, and was first operated by Maiman in Research
Laboratories on 1960.
Chromium gives ruby its characteristic pink or red color by absorbing green and blue light.
For a ruby laser, a crystal of ruby is formed into a cylinder. The ruby laser is used as a pulsed
laser, producing red light at 6943 Å.
Fig. 1. Components of Ruby laser[1]
Principle Features:
• Type : Doped Insulator Laser
• Active Medium : Ruby crystal (Al2O3) doped with Cr3+ ions
• Active Center : Chromium ions
• Pumping Method Optical Pumping
• Pumping Source : Xenon Flash Pump
• Optical Resonator Ends of rods silver coated partially and totally reflecting
• Nature of Output: Pulsed
• Wavelength Emitted: 6943 A0
Construction:
Fig. 2. Experimental set up of Ruby laser[1]
• In ruby laser 4 cm length and 5 mm diameter rod is generally used.
• Both the ends of the rods are highly polished and made strictly parallel. The ends are silvered in
such a way, one becomes partially reflected and the other end fully reflected.
• The ruby rod is surrounded by xenon flash tube, which provides the pumping light to excite the
chromium ions in to upper energy levels.
• Xenon flash tube emits thousands joules of energy in few milli seconds, but only a part of that
energy is utilized by the chromium ions while the rest energy heats up the apparatus.
• A cooling arrangement is provided to keep the experimental set up at normal temperatures
Working:
Fig. 3. Energy level diagram of Ruby laser[3]
Ruby crystal is surrounded by xenon tube. Ruby crystal is fully silvered at one side and
partially silvered at the other end.
A strong beam of blue green light is made to fall up on crystal from xenon tube and this light
is absorbed by the crystal.
Because of this, many electrons from ground state or normal state are raised to the excited
state or higher state and electron falls to meta-stable state.
During this transition photon is not emitted but excess energy of the electrons absorbed in
crystal lattice.
As electron drops to meta-stable state they remain there for certain time ~ 10-6 sec.
Thus the incident blue green light from tube increases the number of electron in meta-stable
state and then the population inversion can be achieved.
If a light of different frequency is allowed to fall on this material, the electrons move back and
forth between silvered ends of the crystal.
While moving through they get stimulated and excited electrons radiate energy.
Thus released photon has the same frequency as that of incident photon and is also in exactly
same phase.
When the intensity of light beam is increased the same process is repeated.
Finally extremely intensified beam of light energies from the semi silvered side of the crystal.
This way it is possible to get extremely intensified and coherent beam of light from the crystal.
This beam is nothing but higher energetic beam – ie. LASER beam.
LASER OUTPUT & APPLICATIONS:
1. Three level laser
2. Solid laser
3. Output wavelength- 694.3 nm
Applications:-
Ruby lasers have declined in use with the discovery of better lasing media. However, they are
still used in a number of applications where short pulses of red light are required. Holography
around the world produce holographic portraits with ruby lasers, in sizes up to a meter
squared.
Many non-destructive testing labs use ruby lasers to create holograms of large objects such
as aircraft to look for weaknesses in the lining.
Ruby lasers are used extensively in tattoo and hair removal.
Ruby lasers can be used for measurement of plasma properties such as electron density and
temperature.
Ruby lasers are used to remove the melanin of the skin.
Drawbacks of Ruby Laser…
• The laser requires high pumping power because the laser transition terminates at the ground
state and more than half of ground state atoms must be pumped to higher state to achieve
population inversion.
• The efficiency of ruby laser is very low because only green component of the pumping light is
used while the rest of components are left unused.
• The laser output is not continues but occurs in the form of pulses of microseconds duration.
• The defects due to crystalline imperfections are also present in this laser.
Summary
1.Principle features of Ruby Laser
2.Construction, working applications of Ruby laser
3.Drawbacks of Ruby laser
Relevant Books for this topic
1. LaudB.B., Laser and Non -Linear Optics, Edition 1st, (1991), Wiley Eastern Ltd.
https://www.amazon.in/Lasers-Non-Linear-Optics-B-B- Laud/dp/8122430562/ref=sr_1_2?
dchild=1&keywords=laser+and+nonlinear+optics&qid=1592948185&s=books&sr=1-2
2.GhatakA. (2012) Optics, McGraw Hill Education. ISBN: 978-1259004346.
https://www.amazon.in/Optics-Old-Ajoy-Ghatak/dp/1259004341
Relevant Web links for this topic
1. http://www.laserfest.org/lasers/how/ruby.cfm
2. https://sites.google.com/site/puenggphysics/home/unit-i/ruby-laser
3. https://perg.phys.ksu.edu/vqm/laserweb/Ch-6/F6s2t1p2.htm
4. http://www.nitttrchd.ac.in/sitenew1/app_sc/ppts/laser/Solid%20State%20Lasers%20and%20Ap
plns_RK.pdf
Relevant Videos for this topic
1. https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-6-005-understanding-lasers-and-fiberoptics-spring-
2008/laser-fundamentals-ii/
