Introduction

An atomic system is characterized by discrete energy states, and usually the atoms exist in the lowest energy
state, which is normally referred to as the ground state. An atom in a lower energy state may be excited to a
higher energy state through a variety of processes. One of the important processes of excitation is through
collisions with other particles.

In the following paper we discuss interaction of radiation and atoms and obtain the relationship between
absorption and emission processes. We show that for light amplification a state of population inversion should
be created in the atomic system. We also obtain an expression for the gain coefficient of the system.
Einstein Coefficients

Such a system can interact with electromagnetic radiation in 3

ways:

• Absorption
Τ12 = B12u(ω)N1

• Stimulated Emission
Τ21 = B21u(ω)N2

• Spontaneous Emission
U21 = A21N2
At thermal equilibrium the number of absorptions equal the number of emissions. Therefore,

N1B12u(ω) = N2A21 + N2B21u(ω)

OR

Now using Boltzmann’s law and Plank’s law, Boltzmann’s law,

Comparing the above two equations,

B12 = B21 = B

and

The coefficients A and B are referred to as the Einstein A and B coefficients .

Lifetime of spontaneous emissions

Rate of change of population of level 2 by spontaneous emission is

Therefore,

The population of level 2 reduces by 1/e in a time tsp = 1/A21 which is called the spontaneous lifetime
associated with the transition 2→1.
Lineshape Function
The function for the frequency dependence is called the lineshape function and is represented by g(ω).

We may say that out of the total N2 and N1 atoms per unit volume, only N2g(ω)dω and N1g(ω)dω atoms per unit
volume will be capable of interacting with radiation of frequency lying between ω and ω + dω .
There could be two specific cases for the lineshape function:

u(ω)/ω3 is constant where g(ω) is g(ω)/ω3 is constant where u(ω) is appreciable and
appreciable and thus may be taken out thus may be taken out of the integral
of the integral
Absorption and Emission Cross Sections
Energy density and Intensity are related as

The photon flux is related to Intensity as

The number of stimulated absorptions per unit volume per unit time will then be

where, σa represents the absorption cross section and

As T12 = T21, the absorption cross section is equal to the emission cross section.
 Light Amplification
Two planes P1 and P2
of area S
at z and z + dz

I(z) and I(z+dz) are the intensity of the radiation at z and z + dz

Then the net amount of energy entering the volume Sdz between P1 and
P2 will be

Which is also equal to the net energy absorbed by the atoms in volume Sdz.
Now, the energy absorbed for 1  2 will be Τ12Sdzħω’ and released for 2  1 will be Τ21Sdzħω’.
Here, we neglect the energy arising from spontaneous emissions.
Therefore, the net energy absorbed through the volume per unit time will be

Comparing the above equations,

where

If N1 > N2 , α is positive (and γ is negative) and the intensity decreases with z leading to attenuation of the beam.
If N2 > N1 then α is negative (and γ is positive) the beam is amplified with z.

The condition N2 > N1 is called population inversion and it is under this condition that one can obtain optical
amplification.
If (N1 – N2 ) is independent of I,

I(z) = I(0)e−αz

i.e., an exponential attenuation when N1 > N2 and an exponential amplification when N2 > N1.
Threshold Condition
• An amplifying medium is placed in an optical resonator which
consists of a pair of mirrors facing each other.

• Radiation bounces back and forth is amplified and also suffers

losses due to the finite reflectivity of the mirrors and other
scattering and diffraction losses.

• For oscillations to be sustained, the losses must be exactly

compensated by the gain. Thus, a minimum population inversion
density is required to overcome the losses and this is called the
threshold population inversion.
• Radiation with intensity I0 leaving mirror M1. As it propagates through the medium and reaches the
second mirror, it is amplified by eγd and also suffers a loss of e−αld.

• The intensity of the reflected beam at the second mirror will be I0R2e(γ−αl)d . A second passage through
the resonator and a reflection at the first mirror leads to an intensity for the radiation after one
complete round trip of I0R1R2e2(γ−αl)d.

Hence for laser oscillation to begin

the equality sign giving the threshold value for population inversion.

tc is the time in which energy in the cavity reduces by a factor 1/e

Finally,

Corresponding to the equality sign, we have the threshold population inversion density required for the
oscillation of the laser.

In order to have a low threshold value of the population inversion, the following conditions must hold:
• The value of tc should be large, i.e., the cavity losses must be small.

• Since g(ω) is normalized, the peak value of g(ω) will be inversely proportional to the width Δω of the
g(ω) function. Thus, smaller widths give larger values of g(ω) which implies lower threshold values of
(N2 − N1 ).

• Smaller values of tsp (i.e., strongly allowed transitions) also lead to smaller values of threshold inversion.

• The threshold population inversion increases approximately in proportion to ω3. Thus, it is much easier
to obtain laser action at infrared wavelengths than in the ultraviolet region.
 Line Broadening Mechanisms
1) Line broadening in spectroscopy is the spreading across a greater wavelength, or frequency range, of
absorption lines (dark) or emission lines (bright) in the radiation received from some object.

2) The broadening is partly an extremely small intrinsic effect produced within the absorbing or radiating Arom
(natural broadening) that is related to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle

3) It can include effects due to external conditions also, such as collisions with other atoms, motion of the
radiating or absorbing body toward or away from the observer, turbulence in the radiating or absorbing medium,
rotation, or electrical or magnetic fields acting on the atom. Natural broadening is always present, is the same at
all wavelengths, and is very small.

4) The other effects are of varying importance, for they depend on the conditions under which the line is formed.
 Types Of Line Broadening
The radiations from a collection of atoms that are making transitions between two energy levels is never perfectly
monochromatic. And due to this broadening is classified

Broadening
Mechanisms

homogeneous INhomogeneous

Natural Broadening Collision Broadening Doppler Broadening

Homogeneous
Homogeneous broadening (like natural or collision broadening) is the mechanism that broadens the response of
each atom in an identical fashion.
Here the probability of absorption or emission of radiation of a certain frequency is the same for all atoms in the
collection

Inhomogeneous
Inhomogeneous broadening has different groups of atoms that are distinguished by different frequency
responses.
 Natural Broadening
1) Natural (intrinsic) Broadening is one cause of the width Δν in a line profile function φ(ν). This type of spectral
line broadening arises from the spontaneous decay rate A10. If you have a bunch of atoms, their lifetimes are
affected by the uncertainty in their energy states from quantum mechanics
2) An excited atom can emit its energy in the form of spontaneous emission.The rate of decrease of the number of
atoms in level 2 due to transitions from level 2 to level 1 is given by the equation
electric field associated with natural broadening spontaneous emission decreases exponentially And The Fourier
transform helping us calculate the spectrum associated with the wave is

The power spectrum associated with the radiation will be proportional to |E0(ω)|^2
 Collision Broadening
1) Collisions of the emitting or absorbing particle with other particles cause collisional broadening as well as
collisional shift of the spectral line

2) In a gas, random collisions occur between the atoms. In such a collision process, the energy levels of the atoms
change when the atoms are very close due to their mutual interaction.

3) Take an atom which is emitting radiation and which collides with another atom. When the colliding atoms are
far apart, their energy levels are unperturbed and the radiation emitted is purely sinusoidal

4) As the atoms come close together their energy levels are perturbed and thus the frequency of emission
changes during the collision time. After the collision the emission frequency returns to its original value.

5) In case of collision Broadening Tc is in order of 10^-6 sec.Thus the collision time is very small compared to the
time between collisions and hence the collision may be taken to be almost instantaneous
In order to obtain the lineshape function for collision broadening,we use electric feild fn

where the phase φ remains constant for t0 ≤ t ≤ t0+ c and at each collision the phase φ changes randomly.
Since the wave is sinusoidal between two collisions, the spectrum of such a wave will be given by
where T0 represents the mean time between two collisions the lineshape function for collision broadening will be

The mean time between collisions depends on the mean free path and the average speed of the atoms in the gas
which in turn would depend on the pressure and temperature of the gas as well as the mass of the atom. An
approximate expression for the average collision time is
 Doppler Broadening
In a gas, atoms move randomly and when a moving atom interacts with electromagnetic radiation, the apparent
frequency of the wave is different from that seen from a stationary atom; this is called the Doppler effect and the
broadening caused by this is termed Doppler broadening.
In order to obtain g(ω) for Doppler broadening, radiation of frequency ω is passed through a collection of atoms
which have a resonant frequency ω0 and which move randomly

It is necessary that the apparent frequency seen by the atom in its frame of reference be ω 0. If the radiation is
assumed to propagate along the z-direction, then the apparent frequency seen by the atom having a z-component
of velocity vz will be

Hence for a strong interaction, the frequency of the incident radiation must be such that ω˜ = ω 0
where we have assumed vz << c. Thus the effect of the motion is to change the resonant frequency of the atom
In order to obtain the g(ω) due to Doppler broadening, we note that the probability that an atom has a z
component of velocity lying between vz and vz + dvz is given by the Maxwell distribution

where M is the mass of the atom and T the absolute temperature of the gas. Hence the probability g(ω)dω that
the transition frequency lies between ω and ω + dω is equal to the probability that the z component of the
velocity of the atom lies between vz and vz + dvz where
The lineshape function is peaked at ω0 Is given By
Saturation behaviour of Homogeneously
Broadened Transitions
The gain could exceed the threshold value on a transient basis but not
under steady state operation.
Saturation behaviour of
Inhomogeneously
Broadened Transitions
In an inhomogeneously broadened line one can
have multimode oscillation.
Each oscillating mode “burns holes in the
frequency space” of the gain profile
Evaluation of the Transition Rates and
Einstein Coefficients
As we know that for an oscillating field, E(t)=eˆE0 cosωt, We will be solving the time dependent Schrödinger
equation in the presence of electric field i.e. where H’ is −eE0(eˆ.r) cos(ωt).

Now , solution to Schrödinger equation is linear combination of eigenfunctions which can be further be
solved(integrated) by the following boundary conditions

Solving this, one obtains

For large values of t, the function becomes

Interaction with Radiation Having a
Broad Spectrum
Now if we calculate probability, we already know Cm(t)

Now, E02 = 2 ε0 u(ω)dω. Integrate it all over frequencies to get this expression

Probability per unit time is

Einstein coefficient
Interaction of a Near-Monochromatic Wave with
an Atom Having a Broad Frequency Response
For a nearly monochromatic field interacting with atoms characterized by the lineshape function
g(ω).
Now the probability is given by

(Since )

And hence,
Conclusion
• The Einstein coefficients and the absorption and emission phenomena provide a
quantitative approach towards light amplification and its uses in lasers.
• The threshold condition tells us the limit of population inversion and its saturation point
• Came to know about different broadening mechanisms and their characteristic equations
• Saturation behaviour is seen for homogenous and inhomogeneous broadened and
different parameters are calculated like the Einstein coefficients and transition rates by
quantum theory
• Interaction of radiation having broad spectrum and Interaction of a Near-Monochromatic
Wave with an Atom Having a Broad Frequency Response are studied