UNIT-V

LASERS
Q) What are the characteristics of laser beam. How is laser different from ordinary light?
The word LASER means “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”.
The important characteristics of laser radiation are
1. High Directionality
2. High intensity
3. Highly monochromatic
4. High Coherence
1.Directionality:

Laser emits radiation only in one direction. The directionality of laser beam is expressed in terms of angle
of divergence (ᶲ)
Divergence or Angular Spread is given by
ᶲ = r2-r1/d2-d1
Where d1, d2 are any two distances from the laser source emitted and r1, r2 are the radii of beam spots at
a distance d1 and d2 respectively as shown in above figure. Laser light having less divergence, it means
that laser light having more directionality.
2. High Intensity: Generally, light from conventional source spread uniformly in all directions. For
example, take 100 watt bulb and look at a distance of 30 cm, the power enter into the eye is less than
thousand of a watt. This is due to uniform distribution of light in all directions.
But in case of lasers, light is a narrow beam and its energy is concentrated within the small region. The
concentration of energy accounts for greater intensity of lasers.
3. Monochromaticity: The light emitted by laser is highly monochromatic than any of the other
conventional monochromatic light. A comparison b/w normal light and laser beam, ordinary sodium (Na)
light emits radiation at wave length of 5893A0 with the line width of 1A0. But He-Ne laser of wave length
6328A0 with a narrow width of only 10-7 A0 i.e., Monochromaticity of laser is 10 million times better than
normal light.
The degree of Monochromaticity of the light is estimated by line of width (spreading frequency of line).

4. Coherence: If any wave appears as pure sine wave for longtime and infinite space, then it is said to be
perfectly coherent.
Practically, no wave is perfectly coherent including lasers. But compared to other light sources, lasers
have high degree of coherence because all the energy is concentrated within the small region. There are
two independent concepts of coherence.
i) Temporal coherence (criteria of time)
ii) Spatial coherence (criteria of space)

Q) Describe the processes Absorption, Spontaneous emission, Stimulated

Emission.

The matter interacts with energy in three ways they are

1. Absorption 2. Spontaneous Emission of Radiation 3. Stimulated (Induced) Emission .
1. Absorption: If the radiation interacts with the atoms in the lower energy state E 1, the atom absorbs
the energy and gets excited to the higher energy state E2. This process is called stimulated absorption.

2. Spontaneous Emission of Radiation :

An atom in excited state remains only for about 10-8sec. It is then de-excited to lower energy state
by emitting energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation with energy equal to the difference of two
energy levels i.e., E2 – E1 = h.
This process is known as spontaneous emission of radiation.
3. Stimulated (Induced) Emission:

Average life time of an atom in excited state is nearly 10 -8 sec. During this short interval, let a photon of
energy h is incident on the atom as shown in fig. Now Atom jumps to lower energy state emitting an
additional photon of same frequency which is in phase with the incident photon. This process is called
stimulated emission.

Q) Write the differences between spontaneous and stimulated emission:

Spontaneous emission Stimulated emission

1. Emission of light photon takes 1. Emission of light photon takes
place immediately during the place by inducement of a photon
transition of atom from higher having energy equal to emitted
energy level to lower energy photon’s energy.
level. 2. Two photons are emitted.
2. One photon is emitted 3.This theory was postulated by
3. This theory was postulated by Einstein
Bohr 4. Coherent radiation.
4. Incoherent radiation 5. High intense and highly
5. Low intense and less directional directional. Examples: Ruby
e.g : Light from sodium or laser, He-Ne Laser
mercury vapour lamp

Q) Obtain the relation between Einstein’s coefficients. (or) Derive the relation between the
probabilities of spontaneous and stimulated emissions in terms of Einstein’s coefficients
The probability of spontaneous emission of radiation and stimulated emission of radiation under thermal
equilibrium condition are obtained from Einstein’s quantum theory of radiation. Consider two energy levels
E1 and E2 such that E2 > E1.
Let N1 and N2 be the number of atoms per unit volume present in the states E1 and E2
respectively.
Let U(ν) be the energy density supplied to the atoms in the lower energy state.
1)Absorption : The probable rate of absorption of atoms from lower energy state to higher energy level is
proportional to the number of atoms present in the lower energy state and the energy density U(ν).
 i.e., probable rate of absorption of atoms, P12 is α N1
α U(ν)
Hence the total probable rate of absorption from E1 to E2 is given by
N1P12 = N1B12U(ν) ------(1)
where B12 is the Einstein’s coefficient of absorption.
2) Spontaneous emission: The probable rate of spontaneous emission from E2 to E1 is proportional the
number of atoms present in the state E2.
i.e., probable rate of spontaneous emission from E2 to E1, P21 is α N2
Hence the total probable rate of spontaneous emission from E2 to E1 is given by,
N2P21 = N2A21------(2)
where A21 is the Einstein’s coefficient of spontaneous emission.
3) Stimulated emission: The probable rate of stimulated emission from E2 to E1 is proportional the number
of atoms present in the state E2 and the energy density U(ν).
i.e., probable rate of stimulated emission P21 is α N2
α U(ν)
Hence the total probable rate of stimulated emission from E2 to E1 is given by,
N2P21 = N2 B21U(ν)-------(3)
where B21 is the Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated emission.

Relation between different Einstein’s coefficients:

Under the condition of equilibrium, number of atoms absorbing radiation per unit time is equal to number
of atoms emitting radiation per unit time.
i.e., Total Absorption = Total Emission

Hence, N1 B12U(ν) = N2 A21 + N2 B21U(ν)

N1 B12 U(ν) ̶ N2 B21 U(ν) = N2 A21

N 2 A21
U(ν) = N1 B12  N 2 B21
N 2 A21
U(ν) = N1 B12  N 2 B21
𝑁2 𝐴21
U(ν) = ( since B12 = B21 )
𝑁1 𝐵12 −𝑁2 𝐵21

A21 1
B21  N1 
 1
U(ν) =  N2 
According to Boltzmann distribution law, the ratio of N 1 and N2 is
 N1  E  E1   exp  h 
 exp  2  K T
N2  KT   B  where kB is Boltzmann’s constant.

A21 1
U ( ) 
B21  h 
exp    1
According to  K BT 
Planck’s radiation
law,
8h 3 1
U ( )  
c3  h 
exp   1
 KT 
A 21 8h3

B21 c3
Where ‘c’ is velocity of light.

Therefore the ratio of Einstein’s coefficient of spontaneous emission to Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated
emission is directly proportional to cube of frequency. Which means that this ratio increases with increase
in the frequency or in other words with increase in the energy difference (E2 ̶ E1) = h ν.

Q) Define the following 1) Active medium 2) Life Time 3) Metastable state

4) Pumping 5) Optical resonator .

1) Active medium: A medium consisting of atoms, molecules or ions which is having Metastable state and
capable of amplifying light waves is called Active medium.
2) Life Time: The time for which an atom stays in an excited state is called life time
which is of the order of 10-8 sec.
3) Metastable State: An excited state in which atom remains for a longer time of the order of 10 -3 sec is
called a metastable state.
4) Pumping : The process of supplying energy to the atoms of the active medium to achieve population
inversion is called pumping.
5) Optical Resonator: Optical Resonator consists of two reflecting mirrors in
which one is completely reflecting and the other is partially reflecting. Due to
multiple reflections between these two reflectors back and forth , the intensity of
laser increases in the optical cavity.
6) Population inversion: Making the number of atoms in any excited state greater than the number of
atoms in a lower energy state (N2 > N1) is called population inversion.

Define Population inversion in lasers what does the word ‘population’ mean?

Making the number of atoms in any excited state greater than the number of atoms in a lower energy state
(N2 > N1) is called population inversion.
Process of population Inversion :

Fig. shows the process of population inversion in which N2>N1. Consider a three level quantum system
which has 3 energy levels E1, E2 and E3 where E3>E2>E1 and E2 is a Metastable state. Suppose an
appropriate energy from an external source is applied to a system. As a result, some atoms from lower
energy state E1 are excited to higher energy state E3.
Most of the excited atoms undergo spontaneous down ward transitions from E 3 to E1 and some have
transitions from E3 to E2. The probability of transition from state E2 to state E1 is very low. Therefore atoms
which go to state E2 stay there for a long duration of order 10-3 sec. Hence population of E2 state increases
than population of E1 state. Thus a state is reached where N2>N1 i.e., population inversion is achieved.

Q) Define Pumping. Describe the various methods of pumping lasers with

suitable examples.
The process of raising the number of atoms to a higher energy state from a lower
energy state by supplying energy is called pumping.
Types of Pumping:
1) Optical Pumping : In this method a light source is used to supply the energy in the form of short
flash of light to pump the atoms of the ground state to excited energy state. The light sources used for
optical pumping are Helical Xenon flash lamp, tungsten iodine krypton lamp . This method is used in
solid state lasers like Ruby laser.
2) Electric discharge : When electric field is applied across the electrodes of the
discharge tube, the electrons moving from cathode to anode collide with the gasesous atoms in the
discharge tube and atoms move to the excited state.
3) Chemical reaction method : In this method the energy comes from a chemical
reaction without any need of energy source. This method is used in chemical
lasers.
4) Direct conversion method: In this method electrical energy is directly converted
into optical energy by using light emitting diodes. This method is used in
semiconductor laser.

Q) Define Active Medium. What is the purpose of an active medium in laser?

Any system which has a metastable state in one of its excited states and achieves
population inversion is called an active medium.
 Q) What are the necessary conditions for lasing action?
The necessary conditions for lasing action are:
i) Population Inversion
ii) Stimulated Emission.

Q) What is the necessity of achieving population inversion in lasers?

Laser is produced by stimulated emission of radiation. For stimulated emission
to occur, there must be more number of atoms in the excited state than in the
ground state which is the condition for population inversion.

Q) What are the essential components of a laser?

1) Active Medium : The medium in which lasing action is achieved is known as active medium.
2) Energy source: The energy source supplies the energy to pump the atoms from a lower energy state
to a higher energy state.
3) Optical Resonator: It consists of a fully reflecting mirror at one end and a partially reflecting mirror
at the other end. Laser light is emitted from the partially reflecting end.

Q) Explain three level and four level pumping schemes.

Three Level Pumping:

Consider an atomic system having three energy states as shown in the fig (i) in which E 1 is the ground state
and E2 and E3 are the excited states. Initially most of the atoms are in the ground state. Pumping raises the
atoms to the E3 state and are later transferred by non-radiative transitions to E2 state which is a metastable
state. Then through emission of photon they return to the ground state which is a laser transition.
Thus in a three level system, the atoms are effectively pumped from ground state to metastable state with a
momentary pause in E3 state. The three level system has got a low efficiency.

Fig(i)

Four Level Pumping:

The four level system consists of four levels as shown in fig(ii) in which E 1 is the ground state and E2, E3
and E4 are excited states, E3 being a metastable state. Atoms are pumped from E1 to E4, then they decay
rapidly to E3 by a non-radiative process. The lasing transition proceeds the metastable state to another
excited state E2. Therefore the population inversion is achieved between the states E2 & E3 and lasing action
takes place between these states. Atoms is E2 decay rapidly to the ground state E1 by non-radiative
transitions. In this system, a small pump power is enough for lasing action.

Fig(ii)

Q) Describe the construction and working of a ruby laser with neat energy level
diagram.

Ruby laser is a three level solid state laser invented by T.Maiman in 1960.
Construction: It consists of 3 main parts
1. Active medium:-A rod of ruby crystal.
2. Resonant cavity: made of fully reflecting plate to the left of ruby crystal and partially reflecting plate
to the right of ruby crystal. Both the plates are optically plane and exactly parallel to each other.
3. Pumping mechanism: A helical xenon flash lamp with power supply source.
● Ruby (Al2O3+ Cr2O3) is a crystal of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in which some aluminum atoms are
replaced by chromium atoms, the active material in ruby are chromium ions.
● When ruby crystal contains about 0.05% of chromium, its colour is pink.
● In ruby laser, a ruby rod of 4cm length and 0.5cm in diameter is used.
● The end faces of the rod are made parallel and highly polished such that one is fully reflecting
and another partially reflecting.
● The ruby rod is surrounded by a helical xenon flash tube which provides the pumping light with
wavelength 5600 A0.

Working:
 ● when the ruby rod is irradiated with a pulse of light emitted from xenon flash lamp of wavelength of
5600A0, the chromium atoms are excited to excited state E3 whose life time is 10-8 sec.
● These chromium atoms in the excited state make transitions to E2 and E1. The transition between E3
and E2 is a non-radiative transition.
● The chromium atoms in E2 stays for a longer time of order 10-3 sec. Therefore population inversion
is achieved between E2 and E1.
● The transition between E2 and E1 results in the emission of photon of wavelength 6943 A0.
● This photon moving parallel to the ruby rod is reflected back and forth due to reflecting mirrors and
stimulate the emission of other photons. The emitted photon is in phase with stimulating photon.
● The process is repeated again and again and an amplified strong laser beam is produced and When a
beam develops sufficient intensity, it emerges through the partially silvered end as a Laser of
wavelength 6943 A0.

Draw backs:
1. The laser requires high pumping power.
2. The efficiency of ruby laser is very small.
3. Laser output is not continuous.

Q) With the help of suitable diagram, explain the principle, construction and
working of He-Ne laser with a neat energy level diagram.

It is a first four level gas laser invented by Ali javan in 1961

Construction:
● The He-Ne laser consists of a fused quartz tube with length of about 80cm and
2 to 8 mm diameter.
● The tube is filled with a mixture of Helium and Neon in the ratio 10:1 with the partial pressures of
1mm of Hg and 0.1mm of Hg .
● At one end of the tube there is a perfect reflector while on the other end is partial reflector. The
active material is excited by means of high frequency generator.

Working:
 ● When a discharge passes through gas mixture, helium atoms are excited to higher energy level He 2
and He3 due to the collisions with accelerated electrons.
● The energy States He2 and He3 are metastable states and have longer life time.
● The excited helium atoms collide with neon atoms in ground sate and transfer energy to the neon
atoms jumps to energy states Ne4 and Ne6.
● The Ne4 and Ne6 states are metastable states and have longer life time.
● Here the probable transitions taking place between Ne 6 to Ne5, Ne6 to Ne3 and
Ne4 to Ne3 results in the emission of wavelengths of 3.39 µm, 6328 A0 and
1.15µm.
● The photon of wavelength 6328 A0 which is moving parallel to axis of the tube is reflected back and
forth by the reflecting ends, until it stimulates an excited Ne atom and causes a fresh photon which
is in phase with stimulating photon. This process continues until an intense beam of light is produced
which escapes through partially silvered end. The wavelength of laser beam is 6328 A0.

Advantages of He-Ne Laser:

1. It gives Continuous output power of order few mill Watts.
2. The efficiency of He-Ne laser is high.

Q) Mention the applications of lasers in various fields.

1. Laser in measurement of distance and motion.
a) Small distances are measured by using He-Ne laser in Michelson interferometer experiment due
to their property of coherence.
b) The distances of distant objects have been measured using lasers.
2. Laser in science:
a) Lasers are used to investigate the basic laws of interaction of atoms and molecules with
electromagnetic waves of high intensity
b) CO2 laser is used to generate fusion energy in laboratories.
3. Lasers in industry:
a) Lasers beam is high intense beam, it can be used in welding, cutting and drilling process
 b) Lasers are used to make small holes in crystals without any damage in crystal structure.
4. Lasers in medicine:
a) Laser beam has been used in eye surgery for the detachment of retinas.
b) They are used for treatment of dental decay.
c) They are used for treatment of skin diseases.
d) They are used in genetic research.
5. Lasers in communications:
a) They are used in micro wave communications
b) They play important role in fiber optic communication systems.
c) They are used to transmit large number of television programs.
d) Lasers are used in LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) used to study the atmospheric features
like Ozone concentration and water vapour concentration.
6. Laser in computers:
a) Storage capacity of computers is improved by the use of lasers due to its narrow band width.
b) Lasers are used in CD-ROMs during recording and reading the data.
7. Lasers in chemistry:
Lasers are used to investigate the structure of molecules.
8. Lasers in photography:
Lasers are used in holography and photographic process of moving objects.
9. Lasers in military: Lasers are used as war weapons.