Unit-4

LASERS:
Introductory Concepts
Objective
The objective of this unit is to give the student introductory but fundamental concept
regarding lasers. These concepts include the fundamental difference between spontaneous
and stimulated emission, their origins, and basic requirements of laser emission, e.g., active
medium, population inversion, and optical feedback. A brief history is also given for general
interest.
4.1 Introduction and rie! "istory
Laser is a device that amplifies light and produces a highly directional, high intensity beam
that typically has an almost pure frequency or wavelength. It comes in sies ranging from
appro!imately one"tenth the diameter of a human hair to the sie of a very large building, in
powers ranging from #$
"%
to #$
&$
watts, and in wavelengths ranging from the microwave to
the soft !"ray spectral regions with corresponding frequencies from #$
##
to #$
#'
(ert. Lasers
have pulse energies as high as #$
)
joules and pulse duration as short as #$
"#*
seconds.
Lasers are key components of some of our most modern communication systems and are the
+phonographic needle, of compact disc players. They are used for heat treatment of high"
strength materials, such as the pistons of automobile engines, and provide a special surgical
knife for many types of medical procedures. They act as target designators for military
-nit")
weapons and are used in the checkout scanners. They can easily drill holes in the most
durable of materials and can weld detached retinas within the human eye.
The word laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by .timulated /mission of 0adiation.
1ne of the major processes in lasers is stimulated emission. Albert /instein gave the idea of
stimulated emission of radiation in #%#'. -ntil that time, physicists had believed that a
photon could interact with an atom in only two ways2 it could absorbed and raise the atom to
higher energy level or be emitted as the atom is dropped to a lower energy level. /instein
proposed a third possibility that a photon with energy corresponding to that of an energy
level transition could stimulate the atom in the upper level to drop to the lower level by
emission of another photon with the same energy and phase as the first one.
The stimulated emission is least known because at thermodynamic equilibrium more atoms
are in lower energy levels than in higher ones. Thus a photon is much more likely to
encounter an atom in a lower level and be absorbed than to encounter one in a higher level
and stimulate emission.
The first efforts to use the idea of stimulated emission were a few decades latter in the
microwave region and led to the invention of maser +microwave amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation,. The maser concept evolved nearly simultaneously in the -nited
.tates and .oviet -nion. A physicist 3harles (. Townes of the 3olombia -niversity is
known as the inventor of maser.
Townes thought that molecules in the e!cited state could be stimulated to emit microwaves
when placed in a special resonant cavity designed to enhance the emission. (e outlined the
idea to post"doctoral fellow (erbert 4eiger and graduate student 5ames 6. 7ordon in #%*#,
and by #%*8 they had a working maser. 9eanwhile, Ale!ander 9. 6rokhorov and :ikolai
;asov <#%*)= of Lebedev 6hysics Institute in 9oscow calculated the details of maser action
and published shortly after Townes>s results. The contributions of all these three men were
recognised and they were awarded :obel 6rie in physics in #%?).
After maser, Townes and other physicists began looking beyond the microwave region to
shorter wavelengths. They realised that at those wavelengths the physical conditions required
to produce stimulated emission would be very different. Townes and Arthur L. .chawlow <of
;ell Labs.= worked out many key parameters. Their results were published in a major paper
).&.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
in #%*@ and they also filed a patent application before the paper was published.
9eanwhile, a graduate student at 3olumbia, 7ordon 7ould, was working out his own
analysis of the conditions required for stimulated emission at visible wavelengths. 7ould
wrote his proposals in a set of notebooks in #%*' but did not try to publish his results
promptly. (e wanted to patent his work but due to some bad legal advice, he did not file a
patent application until #%*%, about nine months after the .chawlow"Townes patents
application was submitted. The .chawlow"Townes patent was granted promptly, but 7ould>s
application ran into a lengthy process. Ainally, 7ould got four patents in #%'', #%'%, #%@'
and #%@@, based on divisions of his original application.
.chawlow and Townes have received many scientific honours for their work, but 7ould
received little recognition until his patents were issued. Although 7ould loses the prestige
race, yet he benefited financially. (owever, it was he, who first coined the word LA./0 in
his notebooks. .chawlow and Townes described their idea as an +optical maser,.
6ublication of .chawlow"Townes paper stimulated many scientists to build lasers, and
interest spread beyond the narrow scientific community. .chawlow, 7ould and most
researchers thought that gases were the best materials for lasers. (owever, Theodore (.
9aiman, a young scientist at (ughes 0esearch Laboratories in 9alibu, 3alifornia, quietly
disagreed. (e preferred synthetic ruby crystals to gases, although some theorists insisted that
ruby would not work. 9aiman, who had studied energy levels in ruby e!tensively, proved
that the theorists were wrong. In mid"#%?$ he proudly demonstrated the world>s first laser,
the ruby laser. The laser era was born.
9aiman had to face a lot of difficultiesB (ughes management told him to stop work on the
ruby laser, the prestigious journal, 6hysical 0eview Letters, rejected his report of ruby laser
but it was published in :ature. Today, however, 9aiman is universally recognised as the
person who built first laser and has received a number of honours.
9aiman>s demonstration of the ruby laser opened the floodgates and was followed by the
demonstration of helium neon laser by Ali 5avan, C.0. ;ennett 5r., and Donald 0. (arriot at
;ell Telephone Laboratories in 9urray (ill, :ew 5ersey. Their first helium"neon laser
operated at #.#* micrometers <m= in the near infrared. Latter, other researchers found the
?8&.@ nanometer <nm= red line which made the helium"neon laser most popular.
).8
-nit")
The laser boom really got going. In #%?#, L. A. 5ohnson and E. :assau demonstrated the first
solid"state neodymium laser in which the :d ions were dopant in calcium tungstate, but the
today>s best choice of neodymium host for best commercial applications" yttrium aluminium
garnet <FA7=, was demonstrated as a laser material in #%?). Three separate groups
demonstrated semiconductor diode lasers nearly simultaneously in fall #%?&. All the teams
demonstrated the same gallium arsenide diodes cooled to the '' E temperature of liquid
nitrogen and pulsed with high"current pulses lasting a few microseconds. The ne!t few years
saw the birth of several more important lasers. C. ;. ;ridges <#%?)= observed #$ laser
transitions in the blue and green parts of the spectrum from singly ionised argon. 3. Eumar
and :. 6atel <#%?)= obtained a #$.? m laser emission from carbon dio!ide. .orokin and 5.
0. Lankard <#%??= demonstrated the first organic dye laserB hydrogen chloride emitting at 8.'
m was demonstrated in #%?* by 5. G. G. Easpar and 7. 3. 6imentel.
4.# asic $rincip%e o! Lasers
In order for most lasers to operate, three basic conditions must be satisfied. Airst, there must
be an active medium, that is, a collection of atoms, molecules, or ions that emit radiation in
the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum. .econd, a condition known as population
inversion, i.e., more number of atoms available at the higher energy level as compare to
lower energy level, must e!ist. This condition is highly abnormal in nature. It is created in a
laser by an e!citation process known as pumping. Ainally, for true laser oscillation to take
place there must be some form of optical feedback present in the laser system. If this was not
present, the laser might serve as an amplifier of narrow"band light, but it could never produce
the highly collimated, monochromatic beam that makes the laser so useful.
4.#.1 Active &ediu'
The heart of a laser system is a material capable of emitting radiation of the required energy.
This material, known as active medium, may have any form e.g. solid, liquid, or gas but must
contain a set of energy levels in which it can absorb or emit energy in the form of optical
radiation.
).).
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
4.#.1.1 Ener(y %eve%s
In the macroscopic world, energy might seem to vary continuously, like the level of sand in a
pail. If we look closely at the sand, we can see that it is made up of many separate grains, and
that we can add or subtract only one grain at a time. Likewise, atoms and molecules can only
have certain amounts of energy. Ce call these energy states or levels.
Aor e!ample, let>s look at the simplest atom <hydrogen= in which a single electron circles a
nucleus that contains a single proton. At first glance, the hydrogen atom looks like a very
simple solar system, with a single planet <the electron= orbiting a star <the proton=. The force
that makes the atom stable is the attraction between the positive charge of the proton and the
negative charge of the electron.
The electron can occupy only certain orbits, as shown in Aigure ).#. Ce show the orbits as
circles for simplicity, but we can>t really measure e!actly what the orbit looks like. If we add
energy to our simple planetary system, the planet would move farther from the star. The
same happens in the hydrogen atom. As we add more energy to the atom, the electron moves
to more and more distant orbits. (owever, there is crucial difference between the behaviour
of a hydrogen atom and our imaginary planetary system. The planet can be at any distance
from the sun, or could even fall into it. (owever, the electron can only occupy certain orbits
also called energy levels. These energy levels are plotted in Aigure ).#. Atom is, in general,
lies in the lowest possible energy level, the ground state.
The energy levels in the hydrogen atom get closer together as they get higher above the
ground state. /ventually the differences become vanishingly small. If the electron gets too
much energy, it escapes from the atom altogether, a process called ioniation. If we define
the energy of the ionied hydrogen atom to be ero, we can write the energy of the atom / as
a negative number using the simple formula2
/ H "0In
&
<).#=
where, 0 is a constant <&.#'@!#$
"#@
5oules=, n is the quantum number of the orbit <counting
outwards, with one the innermost level=.
).*
-nit")
Aigure ).# The hydrogen atom and the corresponding energy levels.
4.#.1.# )ransitions
The process of making changes or +transitions, between energy levels is very important to
laser physics. To look at the process, let>s start again with the hydrogen atom. The electron
needs to gain energy to move from ground state to higher energy level. 3onversely, it must
release energy when it drops from a higher level to lower one. 1ne of the most convenient
ways <although by no means the only way= for an electron to absorb or release energy is as a
photon, a quantum of electromagnetic energy. The photon energy equals the difference in
energy between the two energy levels.
.uppose we start with the electron in the ground state and want to raise it up one step to the
first e!cited level. To do so, we must give the electron e!actly as much e!tra energy as the
difference in energy between the ground state and the first e!cited level. 3onversely, for the
electron to drop from the first e!cited level to the ground state, it must emit a photon with as
much energy as the difference in energy between the two levels. In short, the photon energy
equals the transition energy. The energy of a photon can be represented by hB in the
frequency term, where h <H ?.?&? x #$
"8)
5.s= is the 6lank>s constant and is the frequency of
).?.
N=2
N=3
N=4
N=5
N=6
E
n
e
r
g
y
Ground
State
N=1
N=2
N=3
N=4
N=5
N=6
N=1
Nucleus
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
the transition, or in the wavelength form hcI, where c is the velocity of light in vacuum and
is the wavelength of the photon. An electron in a hydrogen atom can emit or absorb light at
only certain wavelengths.
This neat ordering of energy levels is evident only in hydrogen atom, where there is just a
single electron. Add more electrons, and the energy level picture quickly becomes more
complicated. /lectrons interact with each other, and with the nucleus, shifting energy levels
slightly. /lectrons can occupy subshells within each shell. The more comple! the energy
level structure, the more transitions between energy levels is possible. The more transitions,
the larger number of possible spectral lines. .uperimpose them all on a single spectrum and
look almost like a set of random lines.
Another complication is that all transitions are not equally likely. 1ne reason is that more
atoms are in some states than in others. Aor e!ample, under normal circumstances, more
atoms are in ground state than in e!cited levels. Another is that quantum mechanical rules
make some transitions much more likely than others. That means that an atomic or molecular
species will absorb or emit some wavelengths much more strongly than others. This effect
shows up both in absorption spectra <which shows that wavelengths the material absorbs
when light from another source passes through it= and emission spectra <the wavelengths the
material emits when it is itself de"e!cited=.
4.#.1.* )ypes o! )ransitions
.o far we have concentrated on electronic transitions, partly because we picked the hydrogen
atom as our introductory e!ample. /lectronic transitions can cover a wide range of
wavelengths. These occur at ultraviolet, visible, or infrared wavelengths from #$$ nm in the
ultraviolet through to near infrared wavelengths.
The shortest wavelengths come from inner"shell electronic transitions in heavy elements,
which involve much more energy than outer"shell transitions. These short wavelengths are
considered to be J"rays. 1n the other hand, transitions between high lying electronic energy
levels <say, level #@ and #% of hydrogen= involve very little energy, putting them deep in the
infrared, microwave, or even radio"frequency range. ;ecause these are qualitatively different
than higher"energy transitions of outer electrons, they are put into special class called
).'
-nit")
0ydberg transitions.
:either 0ydberg transitions nor J"ray emission falls into the optical region, which is a very
small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, therefore, these are not likely events under
normal laser conditions. Transitions between nuclear energy levels can produce even higher
energy photon, called gamma rays.
1n the other end of the wavelength spectrum are transitions between vibrational and
rotational energy levels of molecules. Gibrational transition energies typically correspond to
wavelengths of a few to tens of micrometersB rotational transitions have less energy, typically
corresponding to wavelengths of at least #$$ micrometers.
Transitions in two or more types of energy levels can occur simultaneously. Aor e!ample, a
molecule can undergo a vibrational and rotational transition simultaneously, with the
resulting wavelength close to that of more energetic vibrational transition. 9any infrared
lasers emit families of closely spaced wavelengths on such vibrational"rotational transitions.
0emember in considering transitions that longer wavelengths correspond to lower energy,
and shorter wavelengths correspond to higher energy </ H hcI=. Thus, the energy of a
vibrational transition is much larger than that of a rotational transition, even though the
rotational wavelength is much larger. A combination of a rotational and vibrational transition
thus has only slightly different energy than the original vibrational transition. Transition
energies or frequencies add together in a straightforward manner2
/
#K&
H /
#
K /
&
<).&=
where, /
#K&
is the combined transition energy, /
#
and /
&
are the energies of the separate
transitions. The same rule holds for frequencies, with substituted for the energy. (owever,
wavelength <= of combined transitions add by an inverse rule2
#I
1+2
= #I
1
+ #I
2
<).8a=
or
#K&
H #I<#I
1
+ #I
2
) <).8b=
4.#.1.4 Spontaneous E'ission
Ce know that atoms have well defined energy levels and they can be pushed to the higher
).@.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
energy states <e!cited states= by absorption of a photon or by some other means e.g. electric
discharge. Atoms spent some time in the e!cited state and then decay to the lower energy
state. The average time required to de"e!ite the #Ie number of atoms from the upper level to
the lower level is called lifetime of the state. This lifetime can be very small e.g. in nano"
seconds and up to a few seconds. Typically, for electronic transitions it is in the order of ten
nano"seconds. After spending this period in the e!cited state, atoms come down to the lower
energy state by emitting a photon. This emission of photon from an e!cited atom is called
spontaneous emission. This phenomenon one sees in daily life. .un, bulb, tubelight and all
the fluorescent devices emit photons spontaneously in the visible region. These photons are
emitted in all the direction and illuminate the whole area, probably, this is the blessing of
spontaneous emission.
Example 4.1: Describe spontaneous emission from excited helium
When we see helium discharge lamp directly, it appears to emit pinkish white light as
shown in Figure 4.2. n fact in the discharge, helium atoms are being excited in the
upper energy le!els. "hey soon gi!e up their energies by dropping down to lower
energy le!el with emission of photons. "his spontaneous emission in!ol!es #uite a
number of different energy le!els and thus produces the photons of different colours.
When !iewed the same discharge through a diffraction grating $an optical element to
Aigure ).& (elium discharge spectrum observed through a transmission grating.
).%
/ye Transparent
grating
C
a
v
e
l
e
n
g
t
h

i
n

A
n
g
s
t
r
u
m
7065
6678
5876
5015
4922
4713
4471
Helu!
dsc"arge
la!#
He s#ectru!
-nit")
separate different wa!elengths of light% multiple images of different colours of the
lamp appear at different angles. & strong yellow line at '(( nm is prominent but
!iolet, green, blue, red and deep red lines can also be seen.
To understand the spontaneous emission a little more, let us consider two energy levels, #
and &, of some given material, their energies being /
#
and /
&
</
#
L/
&
= and population
densities :
#
and :
&
as shown in Aigure ).8. It is convenient, however, to take level # to be
the ground level. Let us now assume that an atom <or molecule= of the material is initially in
level &. .ince /
&
M/
#
, the atom will tend to decay to level #. The atom must therefore release
the energy, corresponding energy difference </
&
"/
#
=. This energy is delivered in the form of a
photon of frequency given by
=
< = / /
h
& #
<).)=
Aigure ).8 Two level energy system.
.pontaneous emission is therefore characteried by the emission of a photon of energy h H
/
&
"/
#
, when the atom decays from level & to level # <Aigure. )a=. :ote that radiative emission
is just one of the two possible ways for the atom to decay. The decay can also occur in a non"
radiative way. In this case the energy difference /
&
"/
#
is delivered in some form other than a
photon <e.g., it may go into kinetic energy of the surrounding molecules=.
The probability of spontaneous emission can be characterised in the following way2 Let us
suppose that, at time t, there are :
&
atoms <per unit volume= in level &. The rate of decay of
these atoms due to spontaneous emission, i.e., <d:
&
Idt=
sp
, will obviously be proportional to
:
&
. Ce can therefore write
).#$.
/
#
/
&
:
&
:
#
/
n
e
r
g
y
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
& &#
&
) &
dt
d)
sp
=

<).*=
The coefficient A
&#
is called the spontaneous emission probability or the /instein coefficient.
The quantity
sp
H#IA
&#
is called the spontaneous emission lifetime. The numerical value of
A
&#
<and
sp
= depends on the particular transition involved.
Aigure ).) /nergy level diagram illustrating <a= spontaneous emission, <b= stimulated
emission and <c= stimulated absorption.
In spontaneous emission each individual atom acts like a small randomly oscillating antenna
emitting at the transition frequency. Therefore, the total emission from a collection of
spontaneously emitting atoms e!hibit noise"like character <Aigure ).*=.
).##
Initia% state +ina% state
<a=
.pontaneous
emission
<b=
.timulated
emission
<c=
.timulated
absorbtion
-nit")
Aigure ).* .pontaneous emission is incoherent or noise"like character, emerging randomly in
all directions.
4.#.1., Sti'u%ated E'ission
In stimulated emission, the atom is triggered to undergo the transition in the presence of
photons of energy </
&
"/
#
=. In these transitions each individual atom acts like a passive
resonant antenna that is set oscillating by the applied signal. Therefore, the internal motion or
oscillation in the atom is not random, but is driven by an applied signal. Let us again assume
that the atom is found initially in level & and a photon of frequency as of equation <#= is
incident on the material. .ince this wave has the same frequency as the atomic frequency,
there is a finite probability that this wave will force the atom to undergo the transition &

#.
In this case the energy difference /
&
"/
#
is delivered in the form of a photon that adds to the
incident one as shown in Aigure )b. There is, however, a fundamental distinction between the
spontaneous and stimulated processes. In the case of spontaneous emission, the atom emits a
photon that has no definite phase relation with that emitted by another atom. Aurthermore, the
photon can be emitted in any direction. In the case of stimulated emission, since the process
is forced by the incident photon, the emission of any photon adds in phase to that of the
incoming wave. This wave also determines the direction of the emitted wave. In this case,
too, we can characterise the process by means of the equation
& &#
&
) *
dt
d)
st

<).?=
).#&.
nco"erent radatons
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
where <d:
&
Idt=
st
is the rate at which transitions &

# occur as a result of stimulated emission,

H :h,
where : is the number of photons per unit volume having frequency .
4.#.1.- Absorption
All the atoms and molecules have discrete energy levels. An atom can absorb a photon and
become e!cited. Let us now assume that the atom is initially in level #. If this is the ground
level, the atom will remain in this level unless some e!ternal stimulus is applied to it. Ce
shall assume that a photon of frequency given by equation <#= is incident on the material. In
this case there is a finite probability that the atom will be raised to level & <Aigure ).)c=. The
energy difference /
&
"/
#
required by the atom to undergo the transition be obtained from the
energy of the incident photon. This is the absorption process.
In a similar fashion to equations & N 8, we can write an equation for absorption rate,
# #&
#
) *
dt
d)

=
<).'=
where :
#
is the number of atoms per unit volume that at the given time are lying in level #
and ;
#&
is called the /instein coefficient for stimulated absorption.
In the absorption process, the incident photon is simply absorbed to produce the #

&
transition. In the beginning of the century, /instein also showed that the coefficients of
stimulated emission and absorption are equal, i.e. ;
&#
H;
#&
<assuming that degeneracy in both
the upper and lower level is same=
4.#.1.. )/e Einstein Re%ations
/instein showed that the parameters describing the above three processes are related through
the requirement that for a system in thermal equilibrium, the rate of upward transitions </
&
to
/
#
= must be equal to the rate of downward transition processes.
Ce can write the upward transition rate as :
#

;
#&
. The total downward transition rate is the
sum of the induced and spontaneous contributions i.e. :
&

;
&#
K:
&
A
&#
. In the preceding
discussions A
&#
, ;
&#
and ;
#&
are called the /instein coefficients. The relationship between
).#8
-nit")
them can be established as follows.
Aor a system in equilibrium, the upward and downward transition rates must be equal and
hence we have
:
#

;
#&
H :
&

;
&#
K:
&
A
&#
<).@=
Thus

: A
: ; : ;
& &#
# #& & &#
<).%a=
or

A ;
: :
&# &#
# &
#
<).%b=
The populations of various energy levels of a system in thermal equilibrium are given by
;oltmann statistics to be2
:
: / kT
/ kT
j
j
i
i
=

$
e!p< =
e!p< =
<).#$=
where :
j
is the number of atoms in the jth level with energy /
j
, :
$
is the total number of
atoms, k is ;oltmann constant, and T is temperature in Eelvin.
(ence
:
:
/ / kT
h kT
#
&
& #
=
=
e!p<< = =
e!p< =
<).##=
Arom equations ).%b and ).## we get ratio of spontaneous emission to stimulated emission in
thermodynamic equilibrium as
A
;
h kT
&#
&#
#

= e!p< I =
<).#&=
/quation <).%= shows that whenever there is emission of photons, each in thermal
equilibrium, stimulated emission is always present. B(owever, the ratio of stimulated
emission to spontaneous emission depends on the temperature <in thermal equilibrium=
frequency of the photons and the number of photons available for stimulation.
).#).
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
Example 4.2: +alculate the ratio of spontaneous emission to stimulated emission for
tungsten filament lamp operating at a temperature of ,'-- . $assume the a!erage fre#uency
to be '!,-
,4
/0%.
Solution: "he ratio 1 of spontaneous emission to stimulated emission $
0
A
;
=
&#
&#

% is as
follows
0 h kT = e!p< I = #
"aking k2,.3(x,-
423
5.
4,
, h26.6x,-
434
5.s, 2'!,-
,4
/0.
? #?
&8
#) 8)
#$ ! ) . @ e
#
#*$$ . #$ ! 8@ . #
#$ ! * . #$ ! ? . ?
e!p 0

"his confirms that under conditions of thermal e#uilibrium stimulated emission is not !ery
significant. For sources operating at lower temperatures and higher fre#uencies stimulated
emission is e!en less likely.
Example 4.3: &t what temperature are the rates of spontaneous and stimulated emission
e#ual for 2''- nm radiation7 &t what wa!elength are they e#ual at room temperature
$"23-- .%7
Solution: For spontaneous and stimulated emission rates to be e#ual at wa!elength of ''-
nm, we ha!e
= 0 # ln<
#
k
c . h
T
# #
kT
c . h
e!p 0
+
=
=

=
.ubstituting values of hH?.?!#$
"8)
5.s, kH#.8@!#$
"&8
5E
"#
, cH8!#$
@
mIs, H**$ nm, and 0H#,
we get TH8'?8* E. (ence to achieve the equal spontaneous and stimulated emission
temperature of more that thirty seven thousand Eelvin is required.
.imilarly for equal spontaneous and stimulated emission rates at room temperature we can
).#*
-nit")
find the required wavelength, , as
= 0 # ln<
#
T . k
c . h
+
=
Again substituting values of all the constants and temperature TH8$$ E, we found O?% m
which lies in the microwave region. Thus radiation of ?% m wavelength have equal
spontaneous and stimulated emission rates at room temperature.
The above discussion indicates that the process of stimulated emission competes with the
processes of spontaneous emission and absorption. 3learly if we wish to amplify a beam of
light by stimulated emission then we must increase the rate of this process in relation to the
other two processes. To achieve this for a given pair of energy levels we must increase i=
radiation density and ii= the population density :
&
of the upper level in relation to the
population density :
#
of the lower level. Ce shall show that to produce laser action we must
create a condition in which :
&
M:
#
, even though /
&
M/
#
that is we must create a so"called
population inversion.
4.#.# Laser $u'pin(
The population inversion required for light amplification constitutes an abnormal distribution
of atoms among the various available energy levels. To understand how light amplification
can be achieved in a medium, it is necessary to consider the ;oltmann distribution and then
pumping mechanism to achieve the population inversion.
4.#.#.1 $opu%ation Inversion
The population inversion condition required for light amplification is a non"equilibrium
distribution of atoms among the various energy levels of the atomic system. The ;oltmann
distribution, which applies to a system in thermal equilibrium, is given by equation ', it is
obvious that as /
j
increases :
j
decreases for a constant temperature. Ce note that if the
energy difference between /
#
and /
&
is nearly equal to kT <O$.$&* eG at room temperature=
then the population of the upper level would be #Ie or $.8' times of the lower level. Aor an
).#?.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
energy difference large enough to give visible radiation <O&.$ eG=, however, the population
of the upper level is almost negligible.

Example 4: &n atom has two energy le!els with a transition wa!elength of 684.3 nm.
&ssuming that all of the atoms in an assembly are in one or other of these le!els, calculate
the percentage of the atoms in the upper le!el at room temperature $"23-- .% and at "2 '--
..
Solution: "he energy of the radiation of wa!elength 684.3 nm,
i.e. 92hc:26.6!,-
434
.3!,-
(
:684.3!,-
48
22.('x,-
4,8
5oules
We ha!e

T . #$ ! 8@ . #
#$ ! @* . &
e!p
kT
/
e!p
:
:
&8
#%
#
&
&t room temperature i.e. "23-- ., )
2
:)
,
2,.2!,-
43-
, i.e. population of the upper le!el is
,.2!,-
42(
; of the lower le!el in thermal e#uilibrium.
&t '-- ., )
2
:)
,
2,.,2!,-
4,<
, i.e., population of the upper le!el is ,.,2!,-
4,'
; of the lower
le!el in thermal e#uilibrium.
"his shows that population of the upper le!el increases about ,-
,3
times by increasing the
temperature up to '-- . from room temperature, but in both cases )
2
==)
,
.
Example 4.5: "he relati!e number of atoms )
,
and )
2
in two energy le!els 9
,
and 9
2
separated by an energy gap 9
2
49
,
are gi!en at thermal e#uilibrium by *olt0mann ratio.
9!aluate the ratio )
2
:)
,
for the following cases:
an optical transition, 2''- nm, at room temperature, 3-- .>
a microwa!e transition, 2 3 ?/0, at room temperature>
& ,- ?/0 transition at li#uid4helium temperature, 4.2 ..
For an optical transition at 2''- nm to ha!e )
2
:)
,
2 -.,, what temperature would be
).#'
-nit")
re#uired7
Solution:
"he energy difference for 2 ''- nm is 9
2
49
,
2 hc:''-!,-
48
2 3.6!,-
4,8
5
8' @'
&8
#%
#
&
#$ e
8$$ #$ ! 8@ . #
#$ ! ? . 8
e!p
:
:

=
The number of atoms present in the upper energy level for a visible transition at room
temperature is negligibly small.
"he energy difference for 2 3 ?/0, h 2 6.6!,-
434
.3!,-
8
2 ,.8(!,-
424
5
%%%*& . $
8$$ #$ ! 8@ . #
#$ ! %@ . #
e!p
:
:
&8
&)
#
&

In the microwave region, number of atoms present in the upper energy level is a little less
than the lower energy level at room temperature. Therefore to create a population inversion
in microwave region is easier than in optical region.
"he energy difference for 2 ,- ?/0, h 2 6.6!,-
424
5
@%&8' . $
& . ) #$ ! 8@ . #
#$ ! ? . ?
e!p
:
:
&8
&)
#
&

At low temperature the number of atoms present in the upper energy level decreases.
"o ha!e )
2
:)
,
2 -., at 2 ''- nm, the temperature re#uired is ,,328 ..
"his shows that to increase the number of atoms in the upper energy le!el at thermal
e#uilibrium re#uires !ery high temperatures.
Arom the above e!ample it is obvious that population can not be achieved by increasing the
temperature of the medium. To create a population inversion in the optical region, we must
).#@.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
supply energy selectively to the lower energy level, to e!cite atoms into the upper energy
level. This e!citation process is called pumping. 6umping produces a non"thermal
equilibrium situation.
1ne of the methods used for pumping is stimulated absorption, that is the energy levels
which one hopes to use for laser action are pumped by intense irradiation of the system. :ow
as ;
#&
and ;
&#
are equal once atoms are e!cited into upper level the probabilities of further
stimulated absorption or emission are equal so that even with very intense pumping we can
not get more atoms in the e!cited state. The best we can achieved is the equal population in
both the levels, therefore, to make a laser amplifier with just two energy levels is not
possible, i.e. a population inversion in a two level system can never be achieved by optical
pumping.
Therefore, we must look for materials with either three or four energy levels system. This is
not a problem as atomic systems generally have a large number of energy levels. A three
level system is illustrated in Aigure ).?. Initially the distribution obeys the ;oltmann law. If
the collection of atoms is intensely illuminated by photons, they can be e!cited into the level
/
8
from the ground level /
#
. Arom the level /
8
, the atoms decay by non"radiative process to
the level /
&
and a population inversion may be created between /
&
and /
#
. Ideally the
transition from level /
8
to /
&
should be very rapid to keep /
8
level almost empty. The
transition from /
&
to /
#
should be slow, that is /
&
should have relatively longer lifetime. This
allows a large build"up in the number of atoms in level /
&
. (ence :
&
may become greater
than :
#
and then population inversion will be achieved.
The level /
8
should preferably consist of a large number of closely spaced levels so that
pumping uses a wide range of the radiation. This increases the pumping efficiency. Three
level lasers, for e!ample ruby, require very high pumping powers because the terminal level
of the laser transition is the ground state. This means that more than half of the ground state
atoms has to be pumped to the upper state to achieve population inversion.

).#%
-nit")
Aigure ).? 6opulation of energy levels by pumping in a three level system2 <a= ;oltmann
distribution before pumping and <b= distribution after pumping and the transitions involved.
The four"level system shown in Aigure ).' has much lower pumping requirements. The
populations of the levels /
)
, /
8
, and /
&
are all very close in conditions of thermal
equilibrium. Thus, if atoms are pumped from the ground state to the level /
)
from which they
decay very rapidly to the level /
8
. The population inversion is quickly created between levels
/
8
and /
&
. The energy level schemes of the media used in lasers are often comple! but they
can usually be appro!imated by either three or four level schemes.
4.#.* Optica% Resonator
The population inversion is not all it takes to make a laser. A material with an inverted
population can emit light in every direction. The light may be due to stimulated emission,
and it may be at a single wavelength, but is not converted into a laser beam. To e!tract
energy efficiently from a medium with a population inversion and make a laser beam, we
).&$.
E
1
E
3
E
2
N
$a%
E
&u!#ng
'a#d decay
(aser
transton
E
1
E
3
E
2
N
$)%
E
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
need a resonant cavity that helps building <or amplifying= stimulated emission by feedback,
i.e., reflecting some of the light back into the laser medium.
;efore discussing the feedback, let us start by looking at the process of amplification.
Aigure ).' 6opulation of the energy levels in a four level system2 <a= before pumping and <b=
after pumping.
4.#.*.1 A'p%i!ication o! Li(/t
In lasers, light is amplified. To understand it let us consider a collimated beam of perfectly
monochromatic radiation passing through an absorbing medium <Aigure ).@=. Ce assume for
simplicity that there is only one relevant electron transition, which occurs between the energy
levels /
#
and /
&
. Aor homogeneous medium, the change in irradiance of the beam dI is
proportional to the distance travelled d! and to the incident intensity I, i.e. dIH "I.d!. (ere
the constant of proportionality, , is the absorption coefficient. The negative sign indicates
the reduction in beam irradiance due to absorption. Criting this equation in differential form
we have
).&#
&u!#ng
'a#d decay
(aser
transton
N
$)%
'a#d decay
E
1
E
4
E
2
E
E
3
N
$a%
E
1
E
4
E
2
E
E
3
-nit")
dI
d!
I = <).#8=
;y integrating /q. ).#$ we have
I H I
o
e
"!
<).#)=
where I
o
is the incident intensity.
Aigure ).@ 3ollimated beam of light traversing an absorbing medium. The change in the
irradiance across a small slab of the medium is proportional to the irradiance at the slab and
to the thickness of the slab d!.
Example 4.6: f ,; of the light incident into a medium is absorbed per millimetre, what
fraction is transmitted if the medium is -., m long7
Solution: "ransmission of light passing through an absorbing medium of length x is gi!en by
2
-
e
4x
For =-.-, mm
4,
, x2-., m2,-- mm, we ha!e
2
-
e
4-.-,x,--
2
-
.e
4,
2-.36(!
-
Therefore, 8?.@P of the incident light will transmit through the medium and rest will be
absorbed.
Let us consider the absorption coefficient in more detail. 3learly the degree of absorption of
the beam will depend upon :
#
, number of atoms with electrons in the lower energy level /
#
,
).&&.
!
!K
d
!
$
I<!=
I<!K d!=
Light
I
$
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
and :
&
, number of atoms with electrons in upper energy level /
&
. If :
&
is ero then the
absorption would be ma!imum, while if all of the atoms are in the upper level the absorption
would be ero and the probability of stimulated emission would be large.
Chen a beam having : number of photons per unit volume pass through a medium then net
rate of loss of photons can be determined from the stimulated transitions, i.e. absorption and
emission.
=
d:
dt
: ; : ;
& &# # #&


<).#*=
Aor the same degeneracy of both levels <i.e. ;
#&
H;
&#
=, we can write
=
d:
dt
: : ; < =
& # &#

<).#?=
In this discussion we have ignored photons generated by spontaneous emission as these are
emitted randomly in all direction and do not contribute to the initial collimated beam.
.imilarly we have ignored scattering losses.
Irradiance of a beam is the energy crossing a unit area in unit time. In mathematical form it
can be written as
IH:.h
21
.u <).#'=
where u is the velocity of light in the medium. If n is the refractive inde! of the medium then
uHcIn, where c is the velocity of light in free space. The rate of change of irradiance when
passing through a medium is given by
dI
d!
d:
d!
h u =
&#
. <).#@=
since

u
d! d! u dt
= =
# #
, we can write equation ).#@ as

dI
d!
d:
dt
h =
&#
<).#%=
3ombining equations ).#? and ).#% we get
).&8
-nit")
&# &# # &
h . ; . = : : <
d!
dI
=

<).&$=
:ow from equations ).#8, ).&$,

H :h, and equation <).#'=

<).&#=
0e"arranging for absorption coefficient , and substituting the value of u H cIn, we have

= < =
. .
: :
; h n
c
# &
&# &#
<).&&=
The absorption coefficient, , depends on the difference in the populations of the two energy
levels /
#
and /
&
. Aor a collection of atoms in thermal equilibrium, :
#
will always be greater
than :
&
. If, however, we can create a situation in which :
&
becomes greater than :
#
then is
negative and the quantity <"!= in the e!ponent of equation ## becomes positive. Thus the
irradiance of the beam grows as it propagates through the medium in accordance with the
equation2
I H I
o
e
k!
<).&8=
where k is referred to as the small signal gain coefficient and is given by
k : :
; h n
c
= < =
. .
& #
&# &#

<).&)=
In this situation the medium acts as an amplifier and may be called active medium.
Example 4.7: f the irradiance of light doubles after passing once through a laser amplifier
-.' m long, calculate the small signal gain coefficient assuming no losses in the medium. f
the increase in irradiance were only '; what would be k7
.olution2 In an optical amplifier, the light intensity increases as

= =
$
k!
$
I
I
ln
!
#
k e I I
$a% for :
-
22 and x2-.' meter> k2,.3(6 m
4,
).&).
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
The value of signal gain coefficient is 1.386m
$b% for :
-
2,.-' and x2-.' meter> k2-.-8( m
4,
"he !alue of signal gain coefficient is -.-8(:m.
4.#.*.# Optica% +eedbac0
The gain <amplification= per unit length of most active media is so small that very little
amplification of a beam of light results from a single pass. In the multiple passes through the
same active media may result a large amplification.
To make an oscillator from an amplifier, it is necessary to introduce a suitable positive
feedback. In the laser, the positive feedback may be obtained by placing the active material
between two highly reflecting mirrors <e.g., plain"parallel mirrors as shown in Aigure ).%=.
The initial stimulus is provided by any spontaneous transitions between appropriate energy
levels in which the emitted photon travels along the a!is of the system. The signal is
amplified as it passes through the medium and fedback by mirrors. .aturation is reached
when the gain provided by the medium e!actly matches the losses incurred during a complete
round trip.
Aigure ).%. .cheme of laser oscillations.
If one of the two mirrors is made partially transparent, a useful output beam can be e!tracted.
It is important to note that for laser, a certain threshold condition must be fulfilled. Aor laser,
the oscillation will start when the gain of the active medium compensates the losses. Thus,
).&*
Laser light
Active medium
Light reflector
0
#
H#$$P
6artially transmitting mirror
0
&
O%$P
9# 9&
L
-nit")
while a population inversion is a necessary condition for laser action it is not the sufficient
one because the minimum or threshold value of gain coefficient must be large enough to
overcome the losses and sustain oscillations. The threshold gain specifies the minimum
population inversion required.
The total loss of the system is due to a number of different processes, the most important
ones include2
transmission at the mirrors, in fact transmission from one of the mirrors usually provides the
useful output, the other mirror is made as reflective as possible to minimise lossesB
absorption and scattering at mirrorsB
absorption in the laser medium due to transmissions other than the desired transitionsB
scattering at optical inhomogeneities in the laser mediumB
diffraction losses at the mirrors.
To simplify, let us include all the losses e!cept those due to transmission at the mirrors in a
single effective loss coefficient , which reduces the effective gain coefficient to <k"=. Ce
can determine the threshold gain by considering the change in irradiance of a beam of light
undergoing a round trip within the laser cavity. Ce assume that the laser medium fills the
space between the two mirrors 9
#
and 9
&
which have reflectance 0
#
and 0
&
and a separation
L. In travelling from mirror 9
#
to 9
&
the beam irradiance increases from I
$
to I according to
equation ).&8 as,
L =. k <
$
e . I I

=
<).&*=
After reflection at 9
&
, the beam irradiance will be 0
&
.I
$
.e!pQ<k"=.LR and after a complete
round trip the final irradiance will be such that the round trip gain 7 is
L = k < &
& #
e . 0 . 0 7

= <).&?=
If 7 is greater than unity then there will be a net amplification and the oscillation will growB
if 7 is less than unity, the oscillation will die out. Therefore, we can write the threshold
condition as
).&?.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
# e . 0 . 0 7
L = k < &
& #
th
= =

<).&'=
where k
th
is the threshold gain. It is important to realise that the threshold gain is equal to the
steady"state gain in continuous output lasers. This equality is due to gain saturation, which
can be e!plained as follows. Initially, when laser action starts the gain may be well above the
threshold value. The effect of stimulated emission reduces the population of the upper level
of the laser transition so that the degree of population inversion and consequently the gain
will decrease. Thus the round trip gain may vary. It is only when 7 has been equal to unity
for a period of time that the laser output power settles down to a steady"state value, that is
when the gain just balances the losses in the medium. In terms of the population inversion
there will be a threshold value
:
th
H <:
&
":
#
=
th
<).&@=
In the steady state situation <:
&
":
#
= remains equal to :
th
regardless of the amount by which
the threshold"pumping rate is e!ceeded. The small signal gain required to support steady
state operation depends on the laser medium through k and , and on the laser construction
through 0
#
, 0
&
and L.

+ =
& #
th
0 . 0
#
ln
L &
#
k
<).&%=
The above equation shows that k can have a wide range of values, depending not only <:
&
"
:
#
= but also on the intrinsic properties and design parameters. If k is high then it is relatively
easy to achieve laser action. Cith low gain media, mirrors must have high reflectivities, be
very clean and carefully aligned.
Example 8: +alculate the mirror reflectance re#uired to sustain laser oscillations in a laser
which is -., m long gi!en that the small signal gain coefficient is , m
4,
$assume one mirror
has ,--; reflectance%.
Solution: ?ain of a laser amplifier is gi!en by ?21
,
1
2
e
2k@
and for threshold it should be
unity, therefore,
1
,
1
2
e
42kth@


2,
).&'
-nit")
or
1
,
1
2
2 e
42kth@

t is gi!en that k
th
2, m
4,
, 1
,
2,, and @2-., m. "he !alue of 1
2
is:
1
2
2e
4-.2
2-.(2
"he reflectance of the second mirror $i.e. output coupler% is (2 ;.
The efficiency of laser system is the ratio of the output light power to input pump power. It
therefore depends on how effectively the pump power is converted into producing a
population inversion.
$rob%e's
4.1 The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is of interest in the laser field starts from
the submillimeter wave region and goes down in wavelength to the !"ray region. This covers
the following regions in succession2 <#= far infraredB <&= near infraredB <8= visibleB <)=
ultraviolet <uv=B <*= vacuum ultraviolet <vuv=B <?= soft !"rayB <'= !"ray. Draw a chart <to the
scale= indicating all the regions in the units of <i= Angstroms, <ii= (ert, <iii= electron volts
<ev=, and <iv= meters.
4.# Chen in thermal equilibrium <at TH8$$ E=, the ratio of the level populations :
&
I:
#
for
some particular pair of levels is given by #Ie. 3alculate the frequency for this transition. In
what region of the e.m. spectrum does this frequency fallS
4.* The value of signal gain coefficient of a certain laser amplifier is $.&%Im. Chat>s physical
meanings of itS
4.4 3alculate the small signal gain co"efficient required to sustain laser oscillations in a
medium which is $.#* meter long, given that the effective loss coefficient is $.#* m
"#
, the
reflectivity of rear mirror is #$$P and that of output mirror is @$P.
4., Aor a two level system, suppose :
&
H #$:
#
, where :
#
and :
&
denote the number of atoms
).&@.
Lasers2 Introductory 3oncepts
<per unit volume= in level # and level & respectively. The transition between these two levels
corresponds to the frequency of *!#$
)
(. 3alculate the ratio of spontaneous emission and
stimulated emission. Also calculate the temperature required to produce this population
inversion.
4.- In a two levels system, the levels are separated by an energy /
&
" /
#
. Aind the ratio of
population inversions at room temperature if transition between levels occur at <i= H $.**
m <ii= H 8 m
4.. Chen two quantum energy levels, /
#
and /
&
of an atom are separated by an energy gap
/ H /
&
" /
#
, and a large number of such atoms are in thermal equilibrium at temperature T,
then the relative number of atoms :
#
and :
&
in the two energy levels are given by the
;oltmann ratio :
&
I:
#
H e
"/IkT
. /valuate this ratio for the following cases2
<a= transition occurs at the frequency of 8#$$ 9(, and the temperature is 8$$ E. Chat is
the fractional population difference <:
&
":
#
=I :
#
S
<b= 3onsider the same situation, e!cept that H %$$$ 9( and the temperature is ) E.
Chat is <:
&
":
#
=I :
#
S
<c= 3alculate the ;oltmann ratio :
&
I :
#
for H **$$ A
o
, and T H 8$$ E.
<d= Chat temperature required to make <:
&
equal to @ P of :
#
in part <c= S
4.1 The irradiance of light becomes half after passing through a laser media. 3alculate the
small gain coefficient, e!plain for obtaining negative answer in part.
4.2 If the irradiance of light becomes double after passing once through a laser amplifier $.*
m long., assuming no losses in the media2
<a= 3alculate the small signal gain co"efficient.
<b= 3alculate the small signal gain co"efficient, if the length of the media is doubled.
<c= ;y doubling the length of the media, is the small signal gain co"efficient doubled or notS
7ive comprehensive comments in either case.
).&%
-nit")
oo0s !or !urt/er readin(
5. Cilson and 5.A.;. (awkes, Aptoelectronics: &n ntroduction, <6rentice"(all International,
London, #%@8=
1. .velto, Brinciples of @asers, <6lenum 6ress, :ew Fork, #%@%=
6. C. 9ilonni and 5. (. /berly, @asers, <5ohn Ciley N .ons, :ew Fork, #%%#=.
A. /. .eigman, @asers and Casers, <#%'#=.
D. 3. 1>.hea, C. 0. 3allen, and C. T. 0hodes, ntroduction to @asers and "heir
&pplications, <Addison"wesley, London, #%'@=
).8$.