2019

Unit IV : LASERS

Unit IV LASERS

Contents :

1. Introduction – interaction of radiation with matter – Einstein’s Coefficient

2. Conditions for laser action
a. Two level system
b. Three level system
c. Four level system
3. Basic requirement of a laser system
4. Round trip gain in a laser medium
5. Properties of LASERs.
6. Atomic LASER - He Ne LASER system
7. Molecular LASER – CO2 LASER system
8. Semiconductor LASER – CO2 LASER system

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Introduction
LASER is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Einstein analyzed the
interaction of radiation with matter and formalized the rate equations for induced absorption and
spontaneous emission. He also conceptualized stimulated emission as a probable emission mechanism
emission from excited atoms. From the discussions that follow it will be evident that the process of
stimulated emission is the key to a LASER system.
1. Interaction of radiation with matter – Einstein’s coefficients
The interaction of radiation with matter can be explained by the three processes namely
 Induced absorption (stimulated absorption )
In the induced absorption process an atom in the ground state /
lower energy state (E1) absorbs radiation and is excited to the
higher state (E2). The rate of absorption is dependent on the
population of the ground state N1 / lower energy state and the
energy density of radiation (ρ(hν)) of the appropriate frequency
such that hν= E2-E1.
The rate of induced absorption 𝑹𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒔 = 𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏 ∗ 𝝆(𝝂)
where B12 is the Einstein’s coefficient for induced absorption.
 spontaneous emission
An atom in the higher energy / excited state cannot normally remain
in the excited state for a long time and generally de excites to the
lower energy state spontaneously. The lifetimes of the excited states
are generally of the order of nanoseconds. The rate of spontaneous
emission is dependent on the population of atoms in the excited
state N2 only and
𝑹𝒔𝒑 𝒆𝒎 = 𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 where A21 is the Einstein’s coefficient for
spontaneous emission.
𝒅𝑵𝟐
If the process of spontaneous emission is predominant we can infer that 𝑹𝒔𝒑 𝒆𝒎 = − 𝒅𝒕
= 𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 .

From this we can infer that 𝑵 𝟐 = 𝑵𝟐 (𝟎)𝒆−𝑨𝟐𝟏𝒕 and the Einstein’s co-efficient for spontaneous
𝟏
emission can be understood to be 𝑨𝟐𝟏 = 𝝉 where 𝝉 is the average life time of electrons in the upper
energy state for spontaneous emission.
 Stimulated emission.
An atom in the excited state can have a life time in the excited
state for longer periods of time of the order of milliseconds to few
seconds. These states are referred to as Meta stable states. Such
excited atoms have to be stimulated to return to the lower energy
state with an external intervention in the form of a photon whose
energy is equal to E2-E1. In this process the energy of the excited
atom is released as a photon whose characteristics remain the
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same as that of the stimulating photon. This process sets in a chain of photon emission where all the
photons are in the same state. The rate of stimulated emission is then dependent on the population of
atoms in the excited state and the energy density of radiation is given by
𝑹𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒎 = 𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 ∗ 𝝆(𝝂) B21 is the Einstein’s coefficient for stimulated emission.
When the material is in thermal equilibrium with the radiation, the rate of absorption should be equal to the
rates of emission due to different processes ie., 𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏 ∗ 𝝆(𝝂) = 𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 + 𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 ∗ 𝝆(𝝂)
This gives 𝝆 𝝂 (𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏 − 𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 ) = 𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐
𝑨𝟐𝟏
𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 𝑩𝟐𝟏
𝝆 𝝂 = =
(𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏 − 𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 ) 𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏
−𝟏
𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐
The distribution of electrons in the energy states are described by the Maxwell Boltzmann distribution laws
(𝑬𝟐 −𝑬𝟏 ) 𝒉𝝂
𝑵𝟏
and are given by = 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝒌𝑻 = 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒌𝑻 . Substitution of this in the equation for energy density gives the
𝑵𝟐
expression for the energy density of radiation as
𝑨𝟐𝟏
𝑨𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 𝑩𝟐𝟏
𝝆 𝝂 = = 𝒉𝝂
(1)
(𝑩𝟏𝟐 ∗ 𝑵𝟏 − 𝑩𝟐𝟏 ∗ 𝑵𝟐 ) 𝑩𝟏𝟐
𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒌𝑻 − 𝟏
𝑩𝟐𝟏
Comparing this with the Planck’s expression for energy density of radiation at any frequency and
temperature
𝟖𝛑𝐡𝛎𝟑 𝟏
𝛒 𝛎 = (2)
𝐜𝟑 𝐡𝛎
𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐤𝐓 −𝟏

𝐀𝟐𝟏 𝟖𝛑𝐡𝛎𝟑 𝐁
Comparing term by term we observe that 𝐁𝟐𝟏 and 𝐁𝟏𝟐 = 𝟏. This implies that B12 = B21 =
= 𝐜𝟑
𝟐𝟏
B i.e., the induced absorption coefficient is equal to the stimulated emission coefficient and the ratio of the
coefficient of spontaneous emission to the coefficient of stimulated emission is proportional to ν3 .
For a system to have a predominant stimulated photon emission, then the ratio of the rate of stimulated
emission to the rate of spontaneous emission should be greater than 1.
𝐡𝛎 hν
𝑩∗𝑵𝟐 ∗𝝆(𝝂) 𝝆(𝝂) 𝟏 𝑵𝟐
Thus = 𝑨 = 𝐡𝛎 ≈ 𝐞𝐱𝐩−𝐤𝐓 = . (Since hv>>kT, expkT ≫ 1 for visible radiations at
𝑨𝑵𝟐 𝑵𝟏
𝑩 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐤𝐓 −𝟏

normal temperatures).
This implies that the rate of stimulated emission will be predominant over rate of spontaneous emission if
and only if 𝑁2 > 𝑁1 or the population of the higher energy state is higher than the lower energy state. This
condition is referred to as the population inversion.
2. Conditions for the lasing action

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Two level systems

The basic requirement for light amplification to occur is that
the stimulated emission is the predominant emission
mechanism over the spontaneous emission mechanism
(which is the natural response of a system).
From the discussion it is evident that stimulated emission is
possible when the upper energy state has a higher population
of occupation than the lower energy state. For a two level
laser system this requires N2>N1 or population inversion has
to be established between the higher and lower energy
states. But from the MB distribution function we find that
𝒉𝝂
𝑵𝟏
𝑵𝟐
= 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒌𝑻 >>1.

For a two level system in equilibrium this implies that T has to

be negative if N2 has to be greater than N1. Hence it is not Einstein’s
original paper on radiations 1917.
possible to obtain population inversion between E2 and E1 in a
two level system and it may not be possible to get a LASER
beam from absorption and emission between two energy levels. The understanding is that it is not possible
to get a LASER if the same levels are involved in both the emission and absorption process.
b. Three level systems:
The introduction of an intermediate level between the ground state and the
upper excited state can result in decoupling the emission process and
absorption process levels. The absorption process is between the ground
state E1 and the upper excited state E3. The electrons from the upper energy
state decays non-radiatively to the intermediate meta stable state E2. If this
state is a meta stable state (life time of the electrons  10-3 seconds),
electrons can accumulate in this state and the population of electrons in the
meta stable state could be higher than the population of the ground state in
a very short time resulting in a favorable condition for stimulated emission from E2 to E1. However, the
drawback is that the ground state is quickly depleted resulting in a discontinuous phenomenon of stimulated
emission. Generally three level systems give a pulsed LASER. This is because the ground state is still a
common factor in the absorption and emission process.
c. Four level systems:
A four level system can effectively decouple the absorption levels and the
emission levels. In a four level system the absorption is between the lower
(ground) state E1 and the higher excited state E4. The electrons in the
excited state decays non radiatively to the intermediate meta stable state E3.
The electrons are stimulated to transit to a lower energy state E2 (above E1).

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Finally the electrons from the level E2 fall back to the ground state maintaining the population of the lower
E1 so that the process of excitation can continue. The absorption is between E1 and E4 whereas the
stimulated emission is between E3 and E2. Thus the energy states in the two processes are completely
decoupled. In this way the system can behave in a continuous mode and can produce a continuous LASER.
3. Basic requirements of a laser system

I. Active medium – The active medium consists of the medium which possess the appropriate energy
levels which are meta stable states. The presence of the meta stable states increases the probability
of population inversion which is a prime condition for laser action. The active medium could be
solids, liquids or gases depending on the type of lasers.
II. Energy pump – The constituents of the active medium have to suitably excited to the lasing high
energy state from an external energy source. The external energy sources could be optical, thermal,
electrical or chemical depending on the type of lasers. In the case of gas lasers, generally an
electrical discharge is a sufficient source for exciting the medium.
III. Resonating Cavity – Once the lasing action is initiated it is essential that the stimulated emission in
the desired wavelength is amplified to get a sustainable laser action of sufficient intensity. The
design of the optical cavity is an important
aspect of the laser system. In general the
optical cavity has to be a narrow region
whose length in the direction of propagation
is a multiple of the desired wavelength. This
also helps in eliminating undesired
wavelengths which may be present in the
lasing process and increase the
monochromaticity of the system.

4. Round trip gain in a laser medium

The stimulated emission in the medium provides for gain with a optical feedback mechanism of reflecting
mirrors on both ends of the cavity. This arrangement results in multiple travel of the trapped optical beam
in the medium and ideally the beam should have a high intensity after few reflections. The gain of photons
as the beam progresses is given by the intensity increasing as 𝑰 = 𝑰𝒐 𝒆𝒈𝒙 where g is the gain coefficient.
However, there could be also losses in the medium due to absorption, scattering and the partial
transmission from one of the mirrors. The reduction in the intensity due to scattering and absorption is
described by 𝑰 = 𝑰𝒐 𝒆−𝜶𝒙 where 𝜶 is the loss coefficient.
In order to reach a steady-state with non zero intensity (oscillation) the gain due to stimulated emission
must be sufficient to overcome these losses.
If 𝐼0 is the starting intensity of photons from the mirror on one end, then the intensity after one round trip
gain ( a distance of 2L with the starting point as reference) is given by 𝑰 = 𝑰𝟎 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝒆𝟐 𝒈𝒐 – 𝜶 𝑳

The amplification factor is then the ratio of the output intensity to the input intensity and should be equal to
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑒 2 𝑔𝑜 – 𝛼 𝐿
.

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If 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝒆𝟐 𝒈𝒐 – 𝜶 𝑳
> 1, oscillations can build up and the laser is said to be above the threshold. The
threshold of laser oscillations is then defined by 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝒆𝟐 𝒈𝒐 – 𝜶 𝑳 = 𝟏
𝟏
𝒈𝒕𝒉 = (𝟐𝜶𝑳 − 𝐥𝐧 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 )
𝟐𝑳
This implies that the gain of the system can be tuned with the length of the cavity and the reflection
coefficients of the two mirrors.
5. Properties of LASERs.

The most important properties of a LASER are attributed to the stimulated emission of photons (BOSONs
which display identical properties)

 Monochromaticity (spectral line broadening): Light from a laser typically comes from an atomic
transition with a single precise wavelength. So the laser light has a single spectral color and is
almost the purest monochromatic light available. However, the laser light is not truly
monochromatic. The spectral emission line from which it originates does have a finite width, if
only from the Doppler Effect of the moving atoms or molecules from which it comes. Since the
wavelength of the light is extremely small compared to the size of the laser cavities used, then
within that tiny spectral bandwidth of the emission lines are many resonant modes of the laser
cavity. The emission line widths are also limited by the uncertainty principle which limits the
accuracy of the energy (ΔE) of the photons emitted by electrons which spend times with a
spread in time (Δt). Generally LASER line widths are very small of the order of 10-6 Å as
compared to 1 Å for ordinary monochromatic sources.
 Coherence - Coherence is a unique property of laser light. In the stimulated emission process
triggered by a common, the emitted photons are "in phase" or have a definite phase relation to
each other. This coherence is essential to produce high quality interference, which is used to
produce holograms.

Ordinary light is incoherent because it comes from independent atoms, which emit on time
scales of about 10-8 seconds. There is a degree of coherence in sources like the mercury green
line and some other useful spectral sources, but their coherence does not approach that of a
laser.

Coherence can be of two types’ temporal coherence and spatial coherence.

o Temporal coherence refers to the correlation between the field at a point and the field at
the same point after an elapse of time. If the phase difference between the two fields is
constant during the period (of the order of micro seconds), the wave is said to have said to
have temporal coherence. If the phase difference changes many times and in an irregular
way during the period of observation, the wave is said to be non-coherent.

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Temporal coherence is characteristic of a single beam of light. The temporal coherence is

𝟏
evaluated as 𝝉𝒄 = ∆𝝂 where ∆𝜈 is the spread in the frequency of the Laser. The coherence
length defines the largest distance for which interference can be well defined and is given by
𝒍𝒄 = 𝝉𝒄 . 𝒄 where c is the velocity of light.

The length in which the coherence exists may be of the order of kilometers for LASERs
compared to few centimeters for ordinary light.

o Spatial coherence - Two fields at two different points of a wave front is said to be spatially
coherent if they preserve a constant phase difference over any time t. Two beams of light
originating from different parts of a source will have been emitted by different groups of
atoms. Each beam will be time incoherent and will have random phase changes. Two such
beams are said to be spatially incoherent and the interference pattern produced by these
will have a poor visibility. When visibility of the interference pattern as a function of the size
of the source then we have spatial coherence and is described by the coherence width
𝝀
𝒍𝒘 ≈ 𝜽
.
 Divergence (directionality) – LASER is characterized by a very low divergence which ensures that the
𝝀𝒐
beam profile is small over long distances. The divergence of a LASER beam is given by 𝜽 =
𝝅𝝎𝒐
where 𝜆𝑜 is the wavelength, and 𝜔𝑜 is the spot size. Typically the divergence is of the order of mill
radians (0.001o.) A common lab laser beam of a wavelength of 532nm and a radius of 1mm on the
surface of the earth would have a diameter of 6.50 km on the surface of the moon. (θ = (2/π) * (532
e-9 / 2* 10-3) = 1.7 *10-4 this is then multiplied by the distance to the moon (3.844 *108 m), which
gives the spot size to be 65192 m.)
 Intensity – The high intensity of a Laser arises out of the properties of monochromaticity, coherence
and low divergence. Typically very low power LASERs of about 1 to 2mW output with a beam
diameter of 1 mm can result in an intensity of about 10 kW/m 2 as against a intensity of 10W/m2
produced by a 20W bulb.

6. Atomic LASER - He Ne LASER system

Active medium: The HeNe LASER is a atomic species laser where the active medium is the HeNe gas mixture
contained in a quartz tube of narrow diameter and maintained at a low pressure which forms the active
medium.
Energy pump: The energy pump is enabled by maintaining an
electrical discharge across the length of the Quartz tube by
either a high voltage DC source or a RF source.
Resonant cavity: The cavity is the Quartz tube of appropriate
lengths with reflecting mirrors on both ends of the axis of the
tube. Additional polarisers may be placed in the path of the
beam to ensure a polarized beam of LASER.

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He and Ne mixed in the ratio of 10:1 is the active medium where the absorption levels are in the He atoms
and the lasing levels are in the Ne atomic transitions. The He atoms are excited with an electrical discharge
and the two excited states of helium atom, the 2 3S and 2 1S which are Meta stable. These excited He atoms
transfer their energy to Ne atoms by collisions and the excites the Neon atoms to the 2s2 and 3s2 levels as
the energy levels of these states are close to the He excited states. (This process is referred to resonant
energy transfer.)
A large number of Ne atoms due to collision with He atoms get to the excited state create a population
inversion with the ground state. The excited states of Ne are not meta stable and hence de-excites to the
ground states through the intermediate states of 3p and 2p. The transition between the 3s to the 2p
intermediate states gives the characteristic red laser of Ne with a wavelength of 632.8 nm. The transitions
from the 3s to 3p and 2s to 2p lines give rise to radiations with wavelengths in the Infra red of 3.39
micrometers and 1.152 micrometers.
The transitions from the 3p and 2p levels to the 1s intermediate level (close to the ground state) is non
radiative. However the 1s state is a meta stable state and has to be quickly depopulated. This is achieved
by making the tube narrow increasing the collision probability of the atoms with the sides of the walls of
the tube.
Once in the ground state the Ne atoms are pumped back and the system gives a continuous output.
The cavity consists of reflecting mirrors and the path length
adjusted for the visible radiation at 632.8 nm, which also suppress
the IR radiations. Additionally some gases which have absorption
in the Infra red are added in small quantities to suppress the IR
radiations.
Light from the system can be partially polarized (the polarization
state of the stimulating photon). The addition of Brewster’s
windows at the ends of the discharge tube before the reflecting mirrors would ensure that the emitted
beam would be fully polarized in the plane of incidence. However the addition of the Brewster’s window
would eventually lead to a reduction in the output by a factor of 40% to 50%.
7. Molecular laser
Molecular vibrations in the infra red are very interesting in that the molecular excited states generally have
lifetimes of the order of 1s to a few milli seconds. It would be therefore possible to excite the molecules to
the higher energy state and make them relax to the ground state to get stimulated emission quite naturally
if the population of the higher energy state can be managed to be greater than the lower energy states. The
CO2 laser is an example of a molecular laser where the Laser emission is in the infrared. Interestingly these
are high power continuous wave lasers with the efficiencies reaching up to 40%.
Carbon dioxide laser
In the CO2 molecule, the Oxygen atoms are bound to the Carbon atom
by the bonding force which acts like a harmonic oscillator. Molecules
can be excited to vibrate about their mean positions. Additionally the

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molecules may rotate and spin because they are in a gaseous state. The rotational and vibrational states are
quantized.
Transitions between vibrational energy states/levels results in photon emission in the infrared, while
transitions between rotational states emit photons in the microwave region.
If the CO2 molecules are excited and made to relax they emit in the infra red producing heat. This mode of
emission could be mimicked to a stimulated emission if the population of molecules in the excited states is
greater than the population in the ground state, thus creating a LASER with infra read wavelengths.
Carbon dioxide molecule has three possible vibrational states – an excited asymmetric stretch (001 state), a
lower symmetric stretch (100 state) and bending states (020 and
010 states). The asymmetric stretch states have a higher life time
(molecular excited states have higher life times of the order of 1ms
to a fraction of a second) and higher energy than the symmetric and
bending modes. An excited carbon dioxide molecule in the higher
anti symmetric stretch state can relax into the symmetric stretch
state giving a radiation at 10.6 μm (0.117eV) and into the bending
mode with emission of IR at 9.6 μm (0.129 eV).
The carbon dioxide laser is a high power gas laser with immense
industrial applications.
Construction and Principle of Operation
All lasers consist of three components: a gain (or laser) medium, an energy source (also known as a pump)
and an optical resonating cavity. The three components of a Carbon dioxide laser system comprise of :
 THE ACTIVE MEDIUM - A mixture of carbon dioxide,
nitrogen, and helium gases serve as the gain
medium. Typical gas mixtures have an CO2: N2: He
ratio of 1:2:8. The N2 molecules are excited with
energy close to the excited states of CO2 which
results in the excitation of CO2 to the asymmetric
stretch mode.
 THE ENERGY PUMP - Electrical discharge current —
serving as the laser pump — which excites the gas
medium to higher energy states through the
electrical discharge of the He gas, which collides
with the N2 gas to excite them into the higher energy states.
 OPTICAL CAVITY - A specialized optical resonator. Because CO2 lasers operate solely within the
infrared spectrum and can attain high power outputs, their optical components are typically made of
specialized (and often expensive) materials such as Germanium, Zinc Selenide, Silver, Gold, and
Diamond. Since the CO2 lasers work in the Infra red region all parts connected with the laser cavity
have to have suitable infra red absorption coatings and an effective cooling system is required for the
system as a whole. The hot helium atoms must then be cooled to maintain a population inversion (a

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sufficient difference between excited and lower energy atoms to produce optical gain) with the excited
carbon dioxide molecule.

8. Semiconductor lasers - Homo junction

Light emitting diodes work on the principle of recombination of electron and holes in the depletion region of
a pn junction diode which result in the emission of a photon. The photon emission is possible only if the
semiconductor is of the direct band gap type such as GaAs, InP etc ( Si and Ge have an indirect band gap and
are not suitable for such applications). The photon emission is a case of spontaneous emission which is
highly non coherent and has no directionality.
To convert a LED into a laser it is essential conditions of population inversion in the depletion region,
stimulated emission and a resonating cavity are satisfied.
Semiconductor lasers use heavily doped direct band gap
semiconductors like GaAs which is the active medium. The heavy
doping results in an extremely thin depletion region and, moves
the Fermi level of the n type into the conduction band and the
Fermi level of the p type into the valence band.
Figure shows the depletion region of a heavily doped PN junction
in the unbiased condition where the in electrons and holes are
present in the “depletion region”, however they are not in a
favorable state for recombination.
The energy pump in these devices is the large forward bias current
when the PN junction is forward bias. The larger number of
electrons in the n side and holes in the p side are in a favorable state
for recombination in a narrow region referred to as the active region.
This recombination result in the generation of photons in the action
region. This emission is of the stimulated type. A suitably designed
laser cavity with appropriate dimensions (proportional to 𝜆/2) and
cleaving the surface carefully for maximum reflection at opposite
ends, results in the emission of laser from the active region.
The homo junction lasers are not very efficient and require a very high forward current density of the order
of 10000 A cm-2 at room temperature and hence are operated at very low temperatures or in the pulsed
condition.
This is attributed to the low charge concentrations in the active region and not all the photons produced by
the electron hole recombination are part of the laser output. This results in a device with extremely low
efficiencies.
Heterojunction lasers.
The problems in a homojuction laser can be overcome with the design of a hetero junction laser. Hetero-
structures makes it possible to solve the problems in a homo junction laser since in hetero junctions the fundamental

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parameter of semiconductor crystals and devices like band gaps, effective masses of the charge carriers and their
mobilities, refractive indices, etc could be effectively tailored.

The double heterojunction device ensures higher efficiency by

1. Carrier confinement: A double hetero structure diode has
two junctions which are between two different band gap
semiconductors (GaAs and AlGaAs). The GaAs active layer
has a lower band gap than the AlGaAs layers on either side.
This results in a population of electrons in the conduction
band of the GaAs layer from the n type AlGaAs layer and a
population of holes in the GaAs layer from the p type
AlGaAs. The population of the electrons and hole in the
GaAs layer can recombine in the forward bias
condition resulting in stimulated emission of
photons. This requires less current to establish the Nobel Lecture: The double heterostructure concept and
required concentration of electrons for population its applications in physics, electronics, and technology*
Zhores I. Alferov A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute,
inversion.
Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 194021,
2. Photon confinement: The other aspect of confining Russian Federation (Published 22 October 2001
all the emitted photons to a narrow region can be
achieved by constructing a dielectric waveguide
around the optical gain regionation and increase
the probability of stimulated emission. The n and p
type AlGaAs on either side have lower refractive
index than the GaAs region which result in an
increase in the number of photons traveling along
the cavity axis by total internal reflection.

Single hetero junction lasers require a current density

of about 1500 A cm-2 whereas double hetero junction
lasers operate at lower currents of 600 A cm-2.
Practical hetero junction lasers however consist of many layers to improve the efficiency of the carrier
and photon confinements and operate at much lower operating currents at room temperatures.

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Solved Numericals:
1. An emission system has two levels which gives rise to an emission wavelength of 546.1 nm. If the
population of the lower state is 4x1022 at 600 K, estimate the population of the higher energy
state.
Let N1 and N2 be the populations of energy states E1 and E2.
(𝑬𝟐 −𝑬𝟏 )
𝑵𝟏
According to the Maxwell Boltzmann distribution 𝑵𝟐
= 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝒌𝑻 .
−(𝑬𝟐 −𝑬𝟏 ) 𝒉𝒄
Hence 𝑵𝟐 = 𝑵𝟏 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝒌𝑻 = 𝑵𝟏 𝒆𝒙𝒑−𝝀𝒌𝑻 = 8.088 x 10-20
2. The ratio of population between the high energy states to the lower energy state is 5x 10 -19 at
400K. Find the emission wavelength between two states and the ratio A/B.

Given N2/N1 = 5x 10-19 N1/N2=2x1018 = ehν/kT

hc
λ= N = 854.56nm
kT ∗ln ⁡ 1
N2

A 8πh
= =2.667x 10-14
B λ3

3. The ratio of population of the upper excited state to the lower energy state in a system at 300K is
found to be 1.2 x 10-19. Find the wavelength of the radiation emitted and the energy density of
radiation.
N1 (E 2 −E 1 ) hc
= exp kT = expλkT
N2
Wavelength λ =1.06x10-6m
8πhν3 1
ρ ν = c3 hν =1.987x10-33 Js/m3.
exp kT −1

4. A laser emission from a certain laser has an output power of 10 milli watts. If the wavelength of
the emission is 632.8nm, find the rate of emission of the stimulated photons.
c
Power of Laser P = n × hν = n × h × λ where n is the rate of stimulated emission.
P×λ
n= h×c
= 3.18 × 1016 per second

12 DEPT OF PHYSICS PES UNIVERSITY

 2019
Unit IV : LASERS

Problem set
1 The ratio of the population of two energy levels is 1.5 x 1030. The upper level corresponds to a meta
stable state. Find the wavelength of light emitted at 330K (Ans 628 nm)
2 An hypothetical atom has energy levels uniformly separated by 1.2 ev. Find the ratio of the no of
atoms in the 7th excited state to that in the 5th excited state. (Ans: 5.22 x 10-41)
3 A pulsed laser has a power of 1mW and lasts for 10 ns. If the no. of photons emitted per second is
3.491 x 107, calculate the wavelength of the photons. (Ans: 693 nm)
4 If R1 is the rate of stimulated emission and R2 is the rate of spontaneous emission between two
energy levels, show that λ= hc / *kT ln{(R2/R1)+1}].
5 Find the ratio of the rate of stimulated emission to the rate of spontaneous emission for a system
emitting a wavelength of 632.8 nm at 300K. (Ans: 1.11 x 10-33)
6 If B10 = 2.7 x 1019m3/W-s3 for a particular atom, find the life time of the 1 to 0 transition at (a) 550nm
and (b) 55nm (answer: (a)370ns (b) 0.37ns )
7 The energy levels in a two-level atom are separated by 2eV. There are 3 x 1018atoms in the upper
level and 1.7 x 1018 atoms in the ground level. The coefficient of stimulated emission is 3.2 x 105
m3/W-s3 and the spectral radiance is 4 W/m2-Hz. Calculate the stimulated emission rate?
8 For an ordinary source, the coherence time τc = 10–10 second. Obtain the degree of non-
monochromaticity for wavelength λ0 = 5400 Å.
9 Calculate the coherence length of a laser beam for which the band width Δv = 3000 Hz.
10 The lifetime of transitions in a Na atoms emitting wavelength of 589.6nm is estimated to be 16.4ns.
Calculate the Einstein’s coefficients A and B. Calculate spectral broadening and the coherence length
of radiations.
11 The spectral line width of a HeNe laser emitting 632.8 nm is 10-16 m. Calculate Einstein’s coefficients
A and B and the coherence length of radiations.
12 Calculate the threshold gain factor of a helium–neon laser, which has a loss factor of 0.05 m-1 if the
configuration of the system is as follows:
(a) A 50-cm tube with one mirror 99% reflecting and the output coupler 90% reflecting
(b) A 20-cm tube with one mirror 99% reflecting and the output coupler 95% reflecting
(c) A 20-cm tube with one mirror 99% reflecting and the output coupler 97% reflecting
Comment on the results obtained.

13 DEPT OF PHYSICS PES UNIVERSITY