LASERS

LASER
Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation
⚫A laser is a device that can produce a very narrow
intense beam of monochromatic coherent light.
⚫The emitted beam is nearly perfect plane wave.
 Incandescent vs. Laser Light

1. Many wavelengths 1. Monochromatic

2. Multidirectional 2. Directional
3. Incoherent 3. Coherent
4. Intensity is less 4. Highly intense

3
 Properties of Laser Light

■ Monochromaticity
✓ Laser light is concentrated in a narrow range of wavelengths
✓ Light coming out of any source consists of band of frequencies closely spaced
around a central frequency ‘ν0.
✓ The band of frequencies, ∆ν, is called the linewidth or bandwidth.
✓ The light from conventional sources has large linewidths of the order of 1010Hz
or more.
✓ Light from lasers is more monochromatic having linewidths to 100 Hz.
Directionality

■ Laser beam is highly collimated and can travel long distances

without significant spread in the beam cross section.
■ As the collimated beam propagates, the beam spreads out.
■ The angular spread is given by
∆θ=λ/d.
■ λ–Wavelength of light; d - diameter of the aperture through
which the light is passing
■ Radius of the spread (r) for a beam travelling a distance D from
source is given by r =D* ∆θ = D λ/d
High Intensity
■ The power output of a laser may vary from a few milliwatts to a few
kilowatts.
■ But this energy is concentrated in a beam of very small cross section.
■ The intensity of a laser beam is approximately given by

I= (10/λ)2*P

■ P is the Power radiated by the laser

Coherence

■ Laser beam is highly coherent, i.e, different parts of the beam

maintain a phase relationship for a long time. this results in
interference effect.
■ When a laser beam reflects off a surface, the reflected light
can be seen to have bright regions separated by dark regions.
Temporal Coherence (Longitudinal
Coherence)
■ One can define a coherence time (∆t) after which the phase
correlation between two waves which were initially in phase
(or between two points in the same wave which had a known
phase difference) drops significantly.
■ The reason for loss of coherence is than an optical source
does not emit a continuous wave for all time to come.

𝜆2 λ = Average wavelength
𝑙𝑐 = ∆λ = Difference in wavelength
Δ𝜆
Spatial Coherence (Transverse
Coherence)
 Uses of Laser
⚫ In medicine
⚫ to break up gallstones and kidney stones,
⚫ to weld broken tissue (e.g. detached retina)
⚫ to destroy cancerous and precancerous cells; at the same time, the
heat seal off capillaries,
⚫ to remove plaque clogging human arteries.
 Uses of Laser
⚫ In Industry
⚫ to drill tiny holes in hard
materials,
⚫ For welding and
machining,
⚫ For lining up equipment
precisely, especially in
inaccessible places.
L A S E R S & IN D U S TRY
T H E C UTTIN G E d g E

■ The advantages of this system over mechanical processes are

substantial:
– The cuts are more precise and reduce raw material losses
– Laser welding can be automated for high-precision tasks
– The process is cleaner

■ The superior cutting accuracy and precision which have

contributed to it’s success as a medical tool are also highly
desirable for this industry.
 Uses of Laser
⚫ In everyday life
⚫ to be used as bar-code readers,
⚫ to be used in compact disc players,
⚫ to produce short pulses of light used in
digital communications,
⚫ to produce holograms.
 Uses of Laser
Holography
⚫ Holography is the production of
holograms by the use of laser.
⚫ A hologram is a 3D image recorded
in a special photographic plate.
⚫ The image appears to float in space
and to move when the viewer moves.
 L A S E R S & M ILITA R Y
O MIN O US LIG H T S

High-intensity lasers can be used in omni-directional

bombs or flares which can flash-blind personnel as well
as degrade sensors and night vision devices.

Low energy lasers can be directed or aimed at specific

targets to blind personnel or sensors either temporarily or
permanently. The most advanced blinding lasers oscillate
between numerous colors to make goggles and other
countermeasure ineffective.

Lasers can also be used to make a gun or other

weapon too hot to hold.
 L A S E R S & E N TE R TAINMENT
T HE L IGHT A N D THE DA R K SID E
One of the most popular applications of laser technology, the
Compact Disc
Player, marked a revolution in digital video and sound technology.
LASERS Whenever matter interacts with radiation there
is always a process of absorption and emission.

As a result, electrons in the lower level are

pushed to upper level or vice – versa.

The population in the two levels, can be found

by the relation given by Maxwell- Boltzmann
distribution

Population of electrons (atoms) in upper level

with energy Eu be given as
−𝐸𝑢
𝑁𝑢 = ⅇ
𝑘𝑇
Similarly population at lower level be
−𝐸𝐿
𝑁𝐿 = ⅇ
𝑘𝑇
Where K is the Boltzmann constant and T is the
temperature in Kelvin.
Ratio of population in two energy levels

𝑁𝑢 𝐸𝑢 −𝐸𝐿
𝑁𝐿
= ⅇ− 𝐾𝑇
= 𝑒 − (ℎ𝛾)/𝑘𝑇
 Stimulated Absorption

Consider a two-level system

An electron in a lower level absorbs a photon
of frequency hν and moves to an upper level.
EU, NU
hϒ =Eu-EL

Rate of population of upper energy level as a

absorption result of absorption

𝑑𝑁𝑢
α 𝑁𝐿 𝜌(𝛾)
𝑑𝑡
EL, NL
𝑑𝑁𝑢
= 𝐵𝐿𝑈 𝑁𝐿 𝜌(𝛾)
𝑑𝑡

Eu and EL -upper and 𝐵𝐿𝑈 - Einstein Stimulated absorption coefficient

lower energy levels
Nu and NL - population density of electrons in the upper and lower level
𝜌 𝛾 − 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛
Spontaneous Emission
• An atom/electron in an upper level can
EU, NU decay spontaneously to the lower level
and emit a photon of frequency hν if the
transition between EU and EL is
radiative.
emission
• This photon has a random direction and
phase.
EL, NL • Rate of population of upper energy level
as a result of stimulated emission
Light from bulbs are due to 𝑑𝑁𝑢
α −𝑁𝑈
spontaneous emission 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑁𝑢
= −𝐴 𝑁
𝑈𝐿 𝑢
𝑑𝑡
• 𝐴𝑈𝐿 - Einstein spontaneous emission
coefficient
• It is inversely proportional to the life time
of the electrons in excited state.
 Stimulated Emission

⚫It is pointed out by Einstein that:

Atoms in an excited state can be stimulated to
jump to a lower energy level when they are struck
by a photon of incident light whose energy is the
same as the energy-level difference involved in the
jump. The electron thus emits a photon of the
same wavelength as the incident photon. The
incident and emitted photons travel away from the
atom in phase.
⚫This process is called stimulated emission.
 Stimulated Emission

Emitted
photon

Incident
photon Excited Incident
electron photon

Unexcited
electron

Before emission After emission

 Stimulated Emission
❖ An incident photon causes an
EU, NU upper level atom to decay,
emitting a “stimulated”
photon whose properties are
identical to those of the
stimulated emission
incident photon.
EL, NL

Laser light results from stimulated emission ❖ The term “stimulated”

underlines the fact that this
Rate of population of upper energy level kind of radiation only occurs
as a result of stimulated emission if an incident photon is
present.
𝑑𝑁𝑢
α −𝑁𝑈 𝜌(𝛾)
𝑑𝑡 ❖ The amplification arises due
𝑑𝑁𝑢 to the similarities between
𝑑𝑡
= −𝐵𝑈𝐿𝑁𝑈 𝜌(𝛾) the incident and emitted
𝐵𝑈𝐿 Einstein Stimulated emission coefficient photons.
 Stimulated vs Spontaneous Emission
❖ Stimulated emission requires the presence of a photon. An “incoming” photon
stimulates a molecule in an excited state to decay to the ground state by emitting a
photon. The stimulated photons travel in the same direction as the incoming
photon. They also are in phase with each other. Because energy and momentum
has to be conserved.

❖ Spontaneous emission does not require the presence of a photon.

Instead a molecule in the excited state can relax to the ground state by
spontaneously emitting a photon. Spontaneously emitted photons are emitted in all
directions.
Einstein A and B Co-efficients
■ Rate of population in an excited state is given by

𝑑𝑁
= −𝐵𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝑈 𝜌 𝛾 −𝐴𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝑢 + 𝐵𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝑈 𝜌(𝛾)
𝑑𝑡

■ At thermal equilibrium condition 𝒅𝑵𝒖 =0 ; the number of transitions

𝒅𝒕
from Eu𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝑳𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑬𝑳 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒖.

■ That is
■ −𝐵𝑈𝐿𝑁𝑈 𝜌 𝛾 −𝐴𝑈𝐿𝑁𝑢 + 𝐵𝑈𝐿𝑁𝐿 𝜌(𝛾) =0

■ 𝐵𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝑈 𝜌 𝛾 +𝐴𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝑢 = 𝐵𝑈𝐿 𝑁𝐿 𝜌(𝛾) ---------(1)

 ■ ρ 𝛾 B LU N L − B UL N U = A 𝑈𝐿 N U

A UL 𝑁 𝑢
■ ρ 𝛾 =
B LU N L −B U L N U

A UL 1
■ ρ𝛾 = −(2)
B UL N L B LU −1
NUBUL

■ The equilibrium distribution of atoms among different energy states is given

by Boltzmann’s law according to which
− 𝑬𝐔/𝒌𝑻
𝑵𝐔
■ = 𝒆 −𝑬𝐋 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝑵𝐔
= 𝒆− 𝑬𝐔−𝑬𝐋 Τ𝒌𝑻
𝑵𝐋 /𝒌𝑻 𝑵𝐋
𝒆
𝑵𝑼 Τ𝒌𝑻
■ = 𝒆− 𝒉 𝛾 ------(3
𝑵𝑳

𝑨 𝟏
■ Substituting eqn (3) in eqn (2) 𝛒 𝛾 = 𝐔𝐋 ---(4)
𝑩𝐔𝐋 𝒆 𝒉 𝛾 Τ𝒌𝑻𝑩𝐋𝐔−𝟏
𝑩𝐔𝐋

■ This is the formula for the energy density of photon of frequency

( 𝛾 )in equilibrium with atoms in energy states L and U, at
temperature T.
■ Comparing eqn (4) with Planck’s radiation
formula
8πh 𝛾 3 1
■ ρ 𝛾 = c3 e h 𝛾 ΤkT −1
----------(5)

■ BUL=BLU

AUL 8πh 𝛾 3
■ =
c3
BUL

■ This gives the relationship between Einstein’s

A and B coefficients.
 Significance of Einstein A and B
Coefficients
1. Einstein coefficients AUL, BLU and BUL are all interrelated.
2. The stimulated emission coefficient BuL and the absorption coefficient BLU,
are equal, at least for the case of non degenerate energy states.

The rates Rst=BULρ 𝛾 NU and Rabs=BLUρ 𝛾 NL

differ depending upon the population densities NU and NL.
If NU is greater than NL and a radiation field interacts with the atoms,
stimulated emission exceeds absorption and photos will be added to the field.
If NL is greater than Nu, absorption exceeds stimulated emission and
photons will be removed from the field.

NU>NL leads to increase in ρ(𝛾) and hence, amplification.

NL>NU leads to decrease in ρ(𝛾) and hence, attenuation.
For laser to operate, it is necessary that NU>NL.
 B UL 1
ρ ϑ =
A UL e hϑ ΤkT − 1

■ 3.

5. Since BUL /AUL is proportional to the reciprocal of the cube of the frequency ϑ,
the higher the frequency (shorter the wavelength) the smaller BUL becomes in
comparison with AUL. Since BUL is related to stimulated emission and AUL is
related to spontaneous emission it would seem that lasers of short wavelength
radiation would be more difficult to build and operate.
5. Although the relations AUL, BUL and BLU were derived based on
the condition of thermal equilibrium, they are valid and hold
under any condition. The laser while operating is hardly an
enclosure in thermodynamic equilibrium.

Yet A and B coefficient relationships hold good because they are

characteristic of the atom, are equally valid whether the atom is
on the intense radiation field of a laser cavity or in a hot furnace
that can be treated as a blackbody in thermodynamic equilibrium.

So, two important ideas emerge from a review of Einstein’s study

of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter
which is useful for the successful operation of laser.
i) Stimulated emission that leads to light amplification.
ii) Nu > NL .
➢ For lasing action, stimulated emission must dominate.

➢ As determined by the Boltzmann factor, the population of the ground state >
population of excited state.

➢ Hence, typically absorption dominates.

➢ For stimualted emission to be the dominant process, the excited state
population must be larger than the lower state population.

➢ In other words, for a medium to produce laser light, there must be a “population
inversion” where Nupper > Nlower

Unexcited system Excited system

E3 E3
E2 E2

E1 E1
➢ How can a population inversion be created when the
population in the ground state is always greater that the
population in the excited state?

➢ What kinds of materials will “allow” for an inversion of

population in its electronic states?
 How can a population inversion be created?
➢ By excitation of the lasing atoms or molecules - this is
called PUMPING.

➢ If the pump source is very intense, the number of atoms or

molecules excited can be large.

➢ However, once excited, the atoms and molecules must say

in the excited state long enough to create an excited
population > ground state population
 DIFFERENT PUMPING MECHANISMS :
i. Optical pumping : Exposure to electromagnetic radiation of
frequency  = (E2-E1)/h obtained from discharge flash tube
results in pumping Suitable for solid state lasers.

ii. Electrical discharge : By inelastic atom-atom collisions,

population inversion is established. Suitable for Gas lasers

A+e∗→A∗+e
∗ ∗
A +B→A+B
UNIT III Lecture 3 32
 By suitable chemical reaction in the
iii. Chemical pumping :
active medium, population of excited state is made
higher compared to that of ground state Suitable for
liquid lasers.

iv. Injection current:

In the case of semiconductor lasers it is not the atoms that are
excited. It is the current carriers namely electrons and holes are
excited and a population inversion is achieved in the junction
region. The electrons recombine with holes in the junction
regions producing laser light. Thus in semiconductor lasers, a
direct conversion of electrical energy into light energy takes
place.
Numericals
■ Find the relative population of the two states in a ruby laser
that produces a light beam of wavelength 694.3nm at 300K
and 400K
■ A laser medium at thermal equilibrium temperature 300K has
two energy levels with a wavelength separation of 1μm. Find
the ratio of population densities of upper level to lower level.
■ A typical He-Ne laser emits a wavelength of 632.8nm. How
many photons per second be emitted by a 1milliwatt He-Ne
laser.
■ Calculate the energy difference in eV between upper and
lower levels involved in emission of laser wavelength
3.3913μm.