Laser

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Laser (disambiguation).
Experiment with a laser (U! "ir Force#
" laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation# through a process called
stimulated emission $he term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation
%&'%('
)aser light is usually spatially coherent, which means that the
light either is emitted in a narrow, low*divergence +eam, or can +e converted into one
with the help of optical components such as lenses $ypically, lasers are thought of as
emitting light with a narrow wavelength spectrum (,monochromatic, light# $his is not
true of all lasers, however: some emit light with a +road spectrum, while others emit light
at multiple distinct wavelengths simultaneously $he coherence of typical laser emission
is distinctive -ost other light sources emit incoherent light, which has a phase that
varies randomly with time and position
Contents
%hide'
& $erminology
( .esign
/ )aser physics
o /& -odes of operation
/&& 0ontinuous wave operation
/&( 1ulsed operation
/&(& 2*switching
/&(( -odelocking
/&(/ 1ulsed pumping
3 4istory
o 3& Foundations
o 3( -aser
o 3/ )aser
o 33 5ecent innovations
6 $ypes and operating principles
o 6& 7as lasers
6&& 0hemical lasers
6&( Excimer lasers
o 6( !olid*state lasers
6(& Fi+er*hosted lasers
6(( 1hotonic crystal lasers
6(/ !emiconductor lasers
o 6/ .ye lasers
o 63 Free electron lasers
o 66 Exotic laser media
8 Uses
o 8& Examples +y power
o 8( 4o++y uses
9 )aser safety
: )asers as weapons
; "pplications
&< Fictional predictions
&& !ee also
&( =otes and references
&/ Further reading
&3 External links
Terminology
From left to right: gamma rays, >*rays, ultraviolet rays, visi+le spectrum, infrared,
microwaves, radio waves
$he word laser originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission
of radiation $he word light in this phrase is used in the +roader sense, referring to
electromagnetic radiation of any fre?uency, not @ust that in the visi+le spectrum 4ence
there are infrared lasers, ultraviolet lasers, X-ray lasers, etc Aecause the microwave
e?uivalent of the laser, the maser, was developed first, devices that emit microwave and
radio fre?uencies are usually called masers Bn early literature, particularly from
researchers at Aell $elephone )a+oratories, the laser was often called the optical maser
$his usage has since +ecome uncommon, and as of &;;: even Aell )a+s uses the term
laser
%/'
$he +ack*formed ver+ to lase means ,to produce laser light, or ,to apply laser light to,
%3'

$he word ,laser, is sometimes used to descri+e other non*light technologies For
example, a source of atoms in a coherent state is called an ,atom laser,
Design
1rincipal components:
& 7ain medium
( )aser pumping energy
/ 4igh reflector
3 Cutput coupler
6 )aser +eam
Main article: Laser construction
" laser consists of a gain medium inside a highly reflective optical cavity, as well as a
means to supply energy to the gain medium $he gain medium is a material with
properties that allow it to amplify light +y stimulated emission Bn its simplest form, a
cavity consists of two mirrors arranged such that light +ounces +ack and forth, each time
passing through the gain medium $ypically one of the two mirrors, the output coupler, is
partially transparent $he output laser +eam is emitted through this mirror
)ight of a specific wavelength that passes through the gain medium is amplified
(increases in power#D the surrounding mirrors ensure that most of the light makes many
passes through the gain medium, +eing amplified repeatedly 1art of the light that is
+etween the mirrors (that is, within the cavity# passes through the partially transparent
mirror and escapes as a +eam of light
$he process of supplying the energy re?uired for the amplification is called pumping $he
energy is typically supplied as an electrical current or as light at a different wavelength
!uch light may +e provided +y a flash lamp or perhaps another laser -ost practical
lasers contain additional elements that affect properties such as the wavelength of the
emitted light and the shape of the +eam
Laser physics
" helium*neon laser demonstration at the Eastler*Arossel )a+oratory at Univ 1aris 8
$he glowing ray in the middle is an electric discharge producing light in much the same
way as a neon light Bt is the gain medium through which the laser passes, not the laser
+eam itself, which is visi+le there $he laser +eam crosses the air and marks a red point
on the screen to the right
!pectrum of a helium neon laser showing the very high spectral purity intrinsic to nearly
all lasers 0ompare with the relatively +road spectral emittance of a light emitting diode
ee also: Laser science
$he gain medium of a laser is a material of controlled purity, siFe, concentration, and
shape, which amplifies the +eam +y the process of stimulated emission Bt can +e of any
state: gas, li?uid, solid or plasma $he gain medium a+sor+s pump energy, which raises
some electrons into higher*energy (,excited,# ?uantum states 1articles can interact with
light +oth +y a+sor+ing photons or +y emitting photons Emission can +e spontaneous or
stimulated Bn the latter case, the photon is emitted in the same direction as the light that
is passing +y When the num+er of particles in one excited state exceeds the num+er of
particles in some lower*energy state, population inversion is achieved and the amount of
stimulated emission due to light that passes through is larger than the amount of
a+sorption 4ence, the light is amplified Ay itself, this makes an optical amplifier When
an optical amplifier is placed inside a resonant optical cavity, one o+tains a laser
$he light generated +y stimulated emission is very similar to the input signal in terms of
wavelength, phase, and polariFation $his gives laser light its characteristic coherence,
and allows it to maintain the uniform polariFation and often monochromaticity
esta+lished +y the optical cavity design
$he optical cavity, a type of cavity resonator, contains a coherent +eam of light +etween
reflective surfaces so that the light passes through the gain medium more than once
+efore it is emitted from the output aperture or lost to diffraction or a+sorption "s light
circulates through the cavity, passing through the gain medium, if the gain (amplification#
in the medium is stronger than the resonator losses, the power of the circulating light can
rise exponentially Aut each stimulated emission event returns a particle from its excited
state to the ground state, reducing the capacity of the gain medium for further
amplification When this effect +ecomes strong, the gain is said to +e saturated $he
+alance of pump power against gain saturation and cavity losses produces an e?uili+rium
value of the laser power inside the cavityD this e?uili+rium determines the operating point
of the laser Bf the chosen pump power is too small, the gain is not sufficient to overcome
the resonator losses, and the laser will emit only very small light powers $he minimum
pump power needed to +egin laser action is called the lasing threshold $he gain medium
will amplify any photons passing through it, regardless of directionD +ut only the photons
aligned with the cavity manage to pass more than once through the medium and so have
significant amplification
$he +eam in the cavity and the output +eam of the laser, if they occur in free space rather
than waveguides (as in an optical fi+er laser#, are, at +est, low order 7aussian +eams
4owever this is rarely the case with powerful lasers Bf the +eam is not a low*order
7aussian shape, the transverse modes of the +eam can +e descri+ed as a superposition of
4ermite*7aussian or )aguerre*7aussian +eams (for sta+le*cavity lasers# Unsta+le laser
resonators on the other hand, have +een shown to produce fractal shaped +eams
%6'
$he
+eam may +e highly collimated, that is +eing parallel without diverging 4owever, a
perfectly collimated +eam cannot +e created, due to diffraction $he +eam remains
collimated over a distance which varies with the s?uare of the +eam diameter, and
eventually diverges at an angle which varies inversely with the +eam diameter $hus, a
+eam generated +y a small la+oratory laser such as a helium*neon laser spreads to a+out
&8 kilometers (& mile# diameter if shone from the Earth to the -oon Ay comparison, the
output of a typical semiconductor laser, due to its small diameter, diverges almost as soon
as it leaves the aperture, at an angle of anything up to 6<G 4owever, such a divergent
+eam can +e transformed into a collimated +eam +y means of a lens Bn contrast, the light
from non*laser light sources cannot +e collimated +y optics as well
"lthough the laser phenomenon was discovered with the help of ?uantum physics, it is
not essentially more ?uantum mechanical than other light sources $he operation of a free
electron laser can +e explained without reference to ?uantum mechanics
Modes of operation
$he output of a laser may +e a continuous constant*amplitude output (known as !" or
continuous #ave#D or pulsed, +y using the techni?ues of 2*switching, modelocking, or
gain*switching Bn pulsed operation, much higher peak powers can +e achieved
!ome types of lasers, such as dye lasers and vibronic solid-state lasers can produce light
over a +road range of wavelengthsD this property makes them suita+le for generating
extremely short pulses of light, on the order of a few femtoseconds (&<
*&6
s#
Continuous wave operation
Bn the continuous wave (0W# mode of operation, the output of a laser is relatively
constant with respect to time $he population inversion re?uired for lasing is continually
maintained +y a steady pump source
Pulsed operation
Bn the pulsed mode of operation, the output of a laser varies with respect to time, typically
taking the form of alternating HonH and HoffH periods Bn many applications one aims to
deposit as much energy as possi+le at a given place in as short time as possi+le Bn laser
a+lation for example, a small volume of material at the surface of a work piece might
evaporate if it gets the energy re?uired to heat it up far enough in very short time Bf,
however, the same energy is spread over a longer time, the heat may have time to
disperse into the +ulk of the piece, and less material evaporates $here are a num+er of
methods to achieve this
Q-switching
Main article: $-s#itching
Bn a 2*switched laser, the population inversion (usually produced in the same way as 0W
operation# is allowed to +uild up +y making the cavity conditions (the H2H# unfavora+le
for lasing $hen, when the pump energy stored in the laser medium is at the desired level,
the H2H is ad@usted (electro* or acousto*optically# to favoura+le conditions, releasing the
pulse $his results in high peak powers as the average power of the laser (were it running
in 0W mode# is packed into a shorter time frame
Modelocking
Main article: Modeloc%ing
" modelocked laser emits extremely short pulses on the order of tens of picoseconds
down to less than &< femtoseconds $hese pulses are typically separated +y the time that
a pulse takes to complete one round trip in the resonator cavity .ue to the Fourier limit
(also known as energy*time uncertainty#, a pulse of such short temporal length has a
spectrum which contains a wide range of wavelengths Aecause of this, the laser medium
must have a +road enough gain profile to amplify them all "n example of a suita+le
material is titanium*doped, artificially grown sapphire ($i:sapphire#
$he modelocked laser is a most versatile tool for researching processes happening at
extremely fast time scales also known as femtosecond physics, femtosecond chemistry
and ultrafast science, for maximiFing the effect of nonlinearity in optical materials (eg in
second*harmonic generation, parametric down*conversion, optical parametric oscillators
and the like#, and in a+lation applications "gain, +ecause of the short timescales
involved, these lasers can achieve extremely high powers
Pulsed pumping
"nother method of achieving pulsed laser operation is to pump the laser material with a
source that is itself pulsed, either through electronic charging in the case of flashlamps, or
another laser which is already pulsed 1ulsed pumping was historically used with dye
lasers where the inverted population lifetime of a dye molecule was so short that a high
energy, fast pump was needed $he way to overcome this pro+lem was to charge up large
capacitors which are then switched to discharge through flashlamps, producing a +road
spectrum pump flash 1ulsed pumping is also re?uired for lasers which disrupt the gain
medium so much during the laser process that lasing has to cease for a short period
$hese lasers, such as the excimer laser and the copper vapour laser, can never +e operated
in 0W mode
History
oundations
Bn &;&9 "l+ert Einstein, in his paper &ur $uantentheorie der trahlung ('n the $uantum
(heory of )adiation), laid the foundation for the invention of the laser and its
predecessor, the maser, in a ground*+reaking rederivation of -ax 1lanckHs law of
radiation +ased on the concepts of pro+a+ility coefficients (later to +e termed HEinstein
coefficientsH# for the a+sorption, spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission of
electromagnetic radiation
Bn &;(:, 5udolph W )anden+urg confirmed the existence of stimulated emission and
negative a+sorption
%8'
Bn &;/;, Ialentin " Fa+rikant predicted the use of stimulated
emission to amplify ,short, waves
%9'
Bn &;39, Willis E )am+ and 5 0 5etherford found apparent stimulated emission in
hydrogen spectra and made the first demonstration of stimulated emission
%:'
Bn &;6<, "lfred Eastler (=o+el 1riFe for 1hysics &;88# proposed the method of optical
pumping, which was experimentally confirmed +y Arossel, Eastler and Winter two years
later
%;'
$he first working laser was demonstrated on &8 -ay &;8< +y $heodore -aiman at
4ughes 5esearch )a+oratories
%&<'
!ince then, lasers have +ecome a multi*+illion dollar
industry Ay far the largest single application of lasers is in optical storage devices such
as compact disc and .I. players,
%citation needed'
in which a semiconductor laser less than a
millimeter wide scans the surface of the disc $he second*largest application is fi+er*optic
communication Cther common applications of lasers are +ar code readers, laser printers
and laser pointers
Maser
Bn &;6/, 0harles 4 $ownes and graduate students James 1 7ordon and 4er+ert J Jeiger
produced the first microwave amplifier, a device operating on similar principles to the
laser, +ut amplifying microwave rather than infrared or visi+le radiation $ownesHs maser
was incapa+le of continuous output =ikolay Aasov and "leksandr 1rokhorov of the
!oviet Union worked independently on the ?uantum oscillator and solved the pro+lem of
continuous output systems +y using more than two energy levels and produced the first
maser $hese systems could release stimulated emission without falling to the ground
state, thus maintaining a population inversion Bn &;66 1rokhorov and Aasov suggested
an optical pumping of multilevel system as a method for o+taining the population
inversion, which later +ecame one of the main methods of laser pumping
$ownes reports that he encountered opposition from a num+er of eminent colleagues who
thought the maser was theoretically impossi+le ** including =iels Aohr, John von
=eumann, Bsidor 5a+i, 1olykarp Eusch, and )lewellyn 4 $homas%&'
$ownes, Aasov, and 1rokhorov shared the =o+el 1riFe in 1hysics in &;83 ,For
fundamental work in the field of ?uantum electronics, which has led to the construction
of oscillators and amplifiers +ased on the maser*laser principle,
Laser
Bn &;69, 0harles 4ard $ownes and "rthur )eonard !chawlow, then at Aell )a+s, +egan a
serious study of the infrared laser "s ideas were developed, infrared fre?uencies were
a+andoned with focus on visi+le light instead $he concept was originally known as an
,optical maser, Aell )a+s filed a patent application for their proposed optical maser a
year later !chawlow and $ownes sent a manuscript of their theoretical calculations to
1hysical 5eview, which pu+lished their paper that year (Iolume &&(, Bssue 8#
$he first page of 7ordon 7ouldHs laser note+ook in which he coined the acronym )"!E5
and descri+ed the essential elements for constructing one
"t the same time 7ordon 7ould, a graduate student at 0olum+ia University, was working
on a doctoral thesis on the energy levels of excited thallium 7ould and $ownes met and
had conversations on the general su+@ect of radiation emission "fterwards 7ould made
notes a+out his ideas for a ,laser, in =ovem+er &;69, including suggesting using an open
resonator, which +ecame an important ingredient of future lasers
Bn &;6:, 1rokhorov independently proposed using an open resonator, the first pu+lished
appearance of this idea !chawlow and $ownes also settled on an open resonator design,
apparently unaware of +oth the pu+lished work of 1rokhorov and the unpu+lished work
of 7ould
$he term ,laser, was first introduced to the pu+lic in 7ouldHs &;6; conference paper ,$he
)"!E5, )ight "mplification +y !timulated Emission of 5adiation,
%&'%&&'
7ould intended
,*aser, to +e a suffix, to +e used with an appropriate prefix for the spectrum of light
emitted +y the device (x*rays: *aser, ultraviolet: uvaser, etc# =one of the other terms
+ecame popular, although ,raser, was used for a short time to descri+e radio*fre?uency
emitting devices
7ouldHs notes included possi+le applications for a laser, such as spectrometry,
interferometry, radar, and nuclear fusion 4e continued working on his idea and filed a
patent application in "pril &;6; $he U! 1atent Cffice denied his application and
awarded a patent to Aell )a+s in &;8< $his sparked a legal +attle that ran (: years, with
scientific prestige and much money at stake 7ould won his first minor patent in &;99,
+ut it was not until &;:9 that he could claim his first significant patent victory when a
Federal @udge ordered the government to issue patents to him for the optically pumped
laser and the gas discharge laser
$he first working laser was made +y $heodore 4 -aiman in &;8<
%&('
at 4ughes 5esearch
)a+oratories in -ali+u, 0alifornia, +eating several research teams including those of
$ownes at 0olum+ia University, "rthur !chawlow at Aell )a+s,
%&/'
and 7ould at a
company called $57 ($echnical 5esearch 7roup# -aiman used a solid*state flashlamp*
pumped synthetic ru+y crystal to produce red laser light at 8;3 nanometres wavelength
-aimanHs laser, however, was only capa+le of pulsed operation due to its three*level
pumping scheme
)ater in &;8< the Branian physicist "li Javan, working with William 5 Aennett and
.onald 4erriot, made the first gas laser using helium and neon Javan later received the
"l+ert Einstein "ward in &;;/
$he concept of the semiconductor laser diode was proposed +y Aasov and Javan $he
first laser diode was demonstrated +y 5o+ert = 4all in &;8( 4allHs device was made of
gallium arsenide and emitted at :6< nm in the near*infrared region of the spectrum $he
first semiconductor laser with visi+le emission was demonstrated later the same year +y
=ick 4olonyak, Jr "s with the first gas lasers, these early semiconductor lasers could +e
used only in pulsed operation, and indeed only when cooled to li?uid nitrogen
temperatures (99 E#
Bn &;9<, Jhores "lferov in the !oviet Union and BFuo 4ayashi and -orton 1anish of Aell
$elephone )a+oratories independently developed laser diodes continuously operating at
room temperature, using the hetero@unction structure
!ecent innovations
7raph showing the history of maximum laser pulse intensity throughout the past 3<
years
!ince the early period of laser history, laser research has produced a variety of improved
and specialiFed laser types, optimiFed for different performance goals, including:
new wavelength +ands
maximum average output power
maximum peak output power
minimum output pulse duration
maximum power efficiency
maximum charging
maximum firing
minimum cost
and this research continues to this day
)asing without maintaining the medium excited into a population inversion, was
discovered in &;;( in sodium gas and again in &;;6 in ru+idium gas +y various
international teams $his was accomplished +y using an external maser to induce ,optical
transparency, in the medium +y introducing and destructively interfering the ground
electron transitions +etween two paths, so that the likelihood for the ground electrons to
a+sor+ any energy has +een cancelled
Types and operating principles
For a more complete list of laser types see this list of laser types.
!pectral output of several types of lasers
"as lasers
7as lasers using many gases have +een +uilt and used for many purposes
$he helium*neon laser (4e=e# emits at a variety of wavelengths and units operating at
8// nm are very common in education +ecause of its low cost
0ar+on dioxide lasers can emit hundreds of kilowatts
%&3'
at ;8 Km and &<8 Km, and are
often used in industry for cutting and welding $he efficiency of a 0C
(
laser is over &<L
"rgon*ion lasers emit light in the range /6&*6(:9 nm .epending on the optics and the
laser tu+e a different num+er of lines is usa+le +ut the most commonly used lines are 36:
nm, 3:: nm and 6&36 nm
" nitrogen transverse electrical discharge in gas at atmospheric pressure ($E"# laser is
an inexpensive gas laser producing UI )ight at //9& nm
%&6'
-etal ion lasers are gas lasers that generate deep ultraviolet wavelengths 4elium*silver
(4e"g# ((3 nm and neon*copper (=e0u# (3: nm are two examples $hese lasers have
particularly narrow oscillation linewidths of less than / 74F (<6 picometers#,
%&8'
making
them candidates for use in fluorescence suppressed 5aman spectroscopy
Chemical lasers
0hemical lasers are powered +y a chemical reaction, and can achieve high powers in
continuous operation For example, in the 4ydrogen fluoride laser ((9<<*(;<< nm# and
the .euterium fluoride laser (/:<< nm# the reaction is the com+ination of hydrogen or
deuterium gas with com+ustion products of ethylene in nitrogen trifluoride $hey were
invented +y 7eorge 0 1imentel
#$cimer lasers
Excimer lasers are powered +y a chemical reaction involving an e*cited dimer, or
e*cimer, which is a short*lived dimeric or heterodimeric molecule formed from two
species (atoms#, at least one of which is in an excited electronic state $hey typically
produce ultraviolet light, and are used in semiconductor photolithography and in )"!BE
eye surgery 0ommonly used excimer molecules include F
(
(fluorine, emitting at &69
nm#, and no+le gas compounds ("rF %&;/ nm', Er0l %((( nm', ErF %(3: nm', >e0l %/<:
nm', and >eF %/6& nm'#
%&9'
%olid-state lasers
" 6< W F"!C5, +ased on a =d:M"7 laser, used at the !tarfire Cptical 5ange
!olid*state laser materials are commonly made +y ,doping, a crystalline solid host with
ions that provide the re?uired energy states For example, the first working laser was a
ru+y laser, made from ru+y (chromium*doped corundum# $he population inversion is
actually maintained in the ,dopant,, such as chromium or neodymium Formally, the
class of solid*state lasers includes also fi+er laser, as the active medium (fi+er# is in the
solid state 1ractically, in the scientific literature, solid*state laser usually means a laser
with +ulk active medium, while wave*guide lasers are caller fi+er lasers
,!emiconductor lasers, are also solid*state lasers, +ut in the customary laser terminology,
,solid*state laser, excludes semiconductor lasers, which have their own name
=eodymium is a common ,dopant, in various solid*state laser crystals, including yttrium
orthovanadate (=d:MIC
3
#, yttrium lithium fluoride (=d:M)F# and yttrium aluminium
garnet (=d:M"7# "ll these lasers can produce high powers in the infrared spectrum at
&<83 nm $hey are used for cutting, welding and marking of metals and other materials,
and also in spectroscopy and for pumping dye lasers $hese lasers are also commonly
fre?uency dou+led, tripled or ?uadrupled to produce 6/( nm (green, visi+le#, /66 nm
(UI# and (88 nm (UI# light when those wavelengths are needed
Mtter+ium, holmium, thulium, and er+ium are other common ,dopants, in solid*state
lasers Mtter+ium is used in crystals such as M+:M"7, M+:E7W, M+:EMW, M+:!M!,
M+:ACM!, M+:0aF(, typically operating around &<(<*&<6< nm $hey are potentially
very efficient and high powered due to a small ?uantum defect Extremely high powers in
ultrashort pulses can +e achieved with M+:M"7 4olmium*doped M"7 crystals emit at
(<;9 nm and form an efficient laser operating at infrared wavelengths strongly a+sor+ed
+y water*+earing tissues $he 4o*M"7 is usually operated in a pulsed mode, and passed
through optical fi+er surgical devices to resurface @oints, remove rot from teeth, vaporiFe
cancers, and pulveriFe kidney and gall stones
$itanium*doped sapphire ($i:sapphire# produces a highly tuna+le infrared laser,
commonly used for spectroscopy as well as the most common ultrashort pulse laser
$hermal limitations in solid*state lasers arise from unconverted pump power that
manifests itself as heat and phonon energy $his heat, when coupled with a high thermo*
optic coefficient (dnNd(# can give rise to thermal lensing as well as reduced ?uantum
efficiency $hese types of issues can +e overcome +y another novel diode*pumped solid*
state laser, the diode*pumped thin disk laser $he thermal limitations in this laser type are
mitigated +y utiliFing a laser medium geometry in which the thickness is much smaller
than the diameter of the pump +eam $his allows for a more even thermal gradient in the
material $hin disk lasers have +een shown to produce up to kilowatt levels of power
%&:'
i&er-hosted lasers
!olid*state lasers where the light is guided due to the total internal reflection in an optical
fi+er are called fi+er lasers 7uiding of light allows extremely long gain regions
providing good cooling conditionsD fi+ers have high surface area to volume ratio which
allows efficient cooling Bn addition, the fi+erHs waveguiding properties tend to reduce
thermal distortion of the +eam Er+ium and ytter+ium ions are common active species in
such lasers
2uite often, the fi+er laser is designed as a dou+le*clad fi+er $his type of fi+er consists
of a fi+er core, an inner cladding and an outer cladding $he index of the three concentric
layers is chosen so that the fi+er core acts as a single*mode fi+er for the laser emission
while the outer cladding acts as a highly multimode core for the pump laser $his lets the
pump propagate a large amount of power into and through the active inner core region,
while still having a high numerical aperture (="# to have easy launching conditions
1ump light can +e used more efficiently +y creating a fi+er disk laser, or a stack of such
lasers
Fi+er lasers have a fundamental limit in that the intensity of the light in the fi+er cannot
+e so high that optical nonlinearities induced +y the local electric field strength can
+ecome dominant and prevent laser operation andNor lead to the material destruction of
the fi+er $his effect is called photodarkening Bn +ulk laser materials, the cooling is not
so efficient, and it is difficult to separate the effects of photodarkening from the thermal
effects, +ut the experiments in fi+ers show that the photodarkening can +e attri+uted to
the formation of long*living color centers
%citation needed'
Photonic crystal lasers
1hotonic crystal lasers are lasers +ased on nano*structures that provide the mode
confinement and the density of optical states (.C!# structure re?uired for the feed+ack to
take place
%clarification needed'
$hey are typical micrometre*siFed and tuna+le on the +ands of
the photonic crystals %('
%clarification needed'
%emiconductor lasers
!emiconductor lasers are also solid*state lasers +ut have a different mode of laser
operation
0ommercial laser diodes emit at wavelengths from /96 nm to &:<< nm, and wavelengths
of over / Km have +een demonstrated )ow power laser diodes are used in laser printers
and 0.N.I. players -ore powerful laser diodes are fre?uently used to optically pump
other lasers with high efficiency $he highest power industrial laser diodes, with power
up to &< kW (9<dAm#, are used in industry for cutting and welding External*cavity
semiconductor lasers have a semiconductor active medium in a larger cavity $hese
devices can generate high power outputs with good +eam ?uality, wavelength*tuna+le
narrow*linewidth radiation, or ultrashort laser pulses
" 68 mm Hclosed canH commercial laser diode, pro+a+ly from a 0. or .I. player
Iertical cavity surface*emitting lasers (I0!E)s# are semiconductor lasers whose
emission direction is perpendicular to the surface of the wafer I0!E) devices typically
have a more circular output +eam than conventional laser diodes, and potentially could +e
much cheaper to manufacture "s of (<<6, only :6< nm I0!E)s are widely availa+le,
with &/<< nm I0!E)s +eginning to +e commercialiFed,
%&;'
and &66< nm devices an area
of research IE0!E)s are external*cavity I0!E)s 2uantum cascade lasers are
semiconductor lasers that have an active transition +etween energy sub-bands of an
electron in a structure containing several ?uantum wells
$he development of a silicon laser is important in the field of optical computing, since it
means that if silicon, the chief ingredient of computer chips, were a+le to produce lasers,
it would allow the light to +e manipulated like electrons are in normal integrated circuits
$hus, photons would replace electrons in the circuits, which dramatically increases the
speed of the computer Unfortunately, silicon is a difficult lasing material to deal with,
since it has certain properties which +lock lasing 4owever, recently teams have
produced silicon lasers through methods such as fa+ricating the lasing material from
silicon and other semiconductor materials, such as indium(BBB# phosphide or gallium(BBB#
arsenide, materials which allow coherent light to +e produced from silicon $hese are
called hy+rid silicon laser "nother type is a 5aman laser, which takes advantage of
5aman scattering to produce a laser from materials such as silicon
Dye lasers
.ye lasers use an organic dye as the gain medium $he wide gain spectrum of availa+le
dyes allows these lasers to +e highly tuna+le, or to produce very short*duration pulses (on
the order of a few femtoseconds#
ree electron lasers
Free electron lasers, or FE)s, generate coherent, high power radiation, that is widely
tuna+le, currently ranging in wavelength from microwaves, through terahertF radiation
and infrared, to the visi+le spectrum, to soft >*rays $hey have the widest fre?uency
range of any laser type While FE) +eams share the same optical traits as other lasers,
such as coherent radiation, FE) operation is ?uite different Unlike gas, li?uid, or solid*
state lasers, which rely on +ound atomic or molecular states, FE)s use a relativistic
electron +eam as the lasing medium, hence the term free electron
#$otic laser media
Bn !eptem+er (<<9, the AA0 =ews reported that there was speculation a+out the
possi+ility of using positronium annihilation to drive a very powerful gamma ray laser
%(<'
.r .avid 0assidy of the University of 0alifornia, 5iverside proposed that a single such
laser could +e used to ignite a nuclear fusion reaction, replacing the hundreds of lasers
used in typical inertial confinement fusion experiments
%(<'
!pace*+ased >*ray lasers pumped +y a nuclear explosion have also +een proposed as
antimissile weapons
%(&'%(('
!uch devices would +e one*shot weapons
'ses
)asers range in siFe from microscopic diode lasers (top# with numerous applications, to
foot+all field siFed neodymium glass lasers (+ottom# used for inertial confinement fusion,
nuclear weapons research and other high energy density physics experiments
Main article: Laser applications
When lasers were invented in &;8<, they were called ,a solution looking for a pro+lem,
%(/'
!ince then, they have +ecome u+i?uitous, finding utility in thousands of highly varied
applications in every section of modern society, including consumer electronics,
information technology, science, medicine, industry, law enforcement, entertainment, and
the military
$he first application of lasers visi+le in the daily lives of the general population was the
supermarket +arcode scanner, introduced in &;93 $he laserdisc player, introduced in
&;9:, was the first successful consumer product to include a laser, +ut the compact disc
player was the first laser*e?uipped device to +ecome truly common in consumersH homes,
+eginning in &;:(, followed shortly +y laser printers
!ome of the other applications include:
-edicine : Aloodless surgery, laser healing, surgical treatment, kidney stone
treatment, eye treatment, dentistry
Bndustry : 0utting, welding, material heat treatment, marking parts
.efense : -arking targets, guiding munitions, missile defence, electro*optical
countermeasures (EC0-#, alternative to radar
5esearch : !pectroscopy, laser a+lation, )aser annealing, laser scattering, laser
interferometry, )B."5, )aser capture microdissection
1roduct developmentNcommercial: laser printers, 0.s, +arcode scanners,
thermometers, laser pointers, holograms, +u++legrams
)aser lighting displays : )aser light shows
)aser skin procedures such as acne treatment, cellulite reduction, and hair
removal
Bn (<<3, excluding diode lasers, approximately &/&,<<< lasers were sold worldwide, with
a value of U!O(&; +illion
%(3'
Bn the same year, approximately 9// million diode lasers,
valued at O/(< +illion, were sold
%(6'
#$amples &y power
.ifferent uses need lasers with different output powers )asers that produce a continuous
+eam or a series of short pulses can +e compared on the +asis of their average power
)asers that produce pulses can also +e characteriFed +ased on the pea% power of each
pulse $he peak power of a pulsed laser is many orders of magnitude greater than its
average power $he average output power is always less than the power consumed
$he continuous or average power re?uired for some uses:
less than & mW * 0onsumer laser pointers
6 mW P 0.*5C- drive
6P&< mW P .I. player or .I.*5C- drive
&<< mW P 4igh*speed 0.*5W +urner
(6< mW P 0onsumer .I.*5 +urner
& W P green laser in current 4olographic Iersatile .isc prototype development
&P(< W P output of the ma@ority of commercially availa+le solid*state lasers used
for micro machining
/<P&<< W P typical sealed 0C
(
surgical lasers
%(8'

&<<P/<<< W (peak output &6 kW# P typical sealed 0C
(
lasers used in industrial
laser cutting
& kW P Cutput power expected to +e achieved +y a prototype & cm diode laser
+ar
%(9'

Examples of pulsed systems with high peak power:
9<< $W (9<<Q&<
&(
W# P $he =ational Bgnition Facility is working on a system
that, when complete, will contain a &;(*+eam, &:*mega@oule laser system
ad@oining a &<*meter*diameter target cham+er
%(:'
$he system is expected to +e
completed in "pril (<<;
&/ 1W (&/Q&<
&6
W# P worldHs most powerful laser as of &;;:, located at the
)awrence )ivermore )a+oratory
%(;'

Ho&&y uses
Bn recent years, some ho++yists have taken interests in lasers )asers used +y ho++yists
are generally of class BBBa or BBB+, although some have made their own class BI types
%/<'

4owever, compared to other ho++yists, laser ho++yists are far less common, due to the
cost and potential dangers involved .ue to the cost of lasers, some ho++yists use
inexpensive means to o+tain lasers, such as extracting diodes from .I. +urners
%/&'
4o++yists also have +een taking surplus pulsed lasers from retired military applications
and modifying them for pulsed holography 1ulsed 5u+y and 1ulsed M"7 lasers have
+een used
Laser safety
Warning sym+ol for lasers
Main article: Laser safety
Even the first laser was recogniFed as +eing potentially dangerous $heodore -aiman
characteriFed the first laser as having a power of one ,7illette, as it could +urn through
one 7illette raFor +lade $oday, it is accepted that even low*power lasers with only a few
milliwatts of output power can +e haFardous to human eyesight, when the +eam from
such a laser hits the eye directly or after reflection from a shiny surface "t wavelengths
which the cornea and the lens can focus well, the coherence and low divergence of laser
light means that it can +e focused +y the eye into an extremely small spot on the retina,
resulting in localiFed +urning and permanent damage in seconds or even less time
)asers are usually la+eled with a safety class num+er, which identifies how dangerous the
laser is:
0lass BN& is inherently safe, usually +ecause the light is contained in an enclosure,
for example in cd players
0lass BBN( is safe during normal useD the +link reflex of the eye will prevent
damage Usually up to & mW power, for example laser pointers
0lass BBBaN/5 lasers are usually up to 6 mW and involve a small risk of eye
damage within the time of the +link reflex !taring into such a +eam for several
seconds is likely to cause (minor# eye damage
0lass BBB+N/A can cause immediate severe eye damage upon exposure Usually
lasers up to 6<< mW, such as those in cd and dvd +urners
0lass BIN3 lasers can +urn skin, and in some cases, even scattered light can cause
eye andNor skin damage -any industrial and scientific lasers are in this class
$he indicated powers are for visi+le*light, continuous*wave lasers For pulsed lasers and
invisi+le wavelengths, other power limits apply 1eople working with class /A and class
3 lasers can protect their eyes with safety goggles which are designed to a+sor+ light of a
particular wavelength
0ertain infrared lasers with wavelengths +eyond a+out &3 micrometres are often referred
to as +eing ,eye*safe, $his is +ecause the intrinsic molecular vi+rations of water
molecules very strongly a+sor+ light in this part of the spectrum, and thus a laser +eam at
these wavelengths is attenuated so completely as it passes through the eyeHs cornea that
no light remains to +e focused +y the lens onto the retina $he la+el ,eye*safe, can +e
misleading, however, as it only applies to relatively low power continuous wave +eams
and any high power or 2*switched laser at these wavelengths can +urn the cornea,
causing severe eye damage
Lasers as weapons
)aser +eams are famously employed as weapon systems in science fiction, +ut actual
laser weapons are only +eginning to enter the market $he general idea of laser*+eam
weaponry is to hit a target with a train of +rief pulses of light $he rapid evaporation and
expansion of the surface causes shockwaves that damage the target
$he power needed to pro@ect a high*powered laser +eam of this kind is difficult for
current mo+ile power technology 1u+lic prototypes are chemically*powered gas dynamic
lasers
)asers of all +ut the lowest powers can potentially +e used as incapacitating weapons,
through their a+ility to produce temporary or permanent vision loss in varying degrees
when aimed at the eyes $he degree, character, and duration of vision impairment caused
+y eye exposure to laser light varies with the power of the laser, the wavelength(s#, the
collimation of the +eam, the exact orientation of the +eam, and the duration of exposure
)asers of even a fraction of a watt in power can produce immediate, permanent vision
loss under certain conditions, making such lasers potential non*lethal +ut incapacitating
weapons $he extreme handicap that laser*induced +lindness represents makes the use of
lasers even as non*lethal weapons morally controversial
Bn the field of aviation, the haFards of exposure to ground*+ased lasers deli+erately aimed
at pilots have grown to the extent that aviation authorities have special procedures to deal
with such haFards
%citation needed'
(pplications
Bn manufacturing, lasers are used for cutting, +ending, and welding metal and other
materials, and for ,marking,Rproducing visi+le patterns such as letters +y changing the
properties of a material or +y inscri+ing its surface Bn science, lasers are used for many
applications Cne of the more common is laser spectroscopy, which typically takes
advantage of the laserHs well*defined wavelength or the possi+ility of generating very
short pulses of light )asers are used +y the military for range*finding, target designation,
and illumination )asers have also +egun to +e tested for directed*energy weapons )asers
are used in medicine for surgery, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications
ictional predictions
For lasers in fiction, see also the ray gun.
Aefore stimulated emission was discovered, novelists used to descri+e machines that we
can identify as ,lasers,
" laser*like device was descri+ed in "lexey $olstoyHs sci*fi novel (he
+yperboloid of ,ngineer -arin in &;(9
-ikhail Aulgakov exaggerated the +iological effect (laser +io stimulation# of
intensive red light in his sci*fi novel Fatal ,ggs (&;(6#, without any reasona+le
description of the source of this red light (Bn that novel, the red light first appears
occasionally from the illuminating system of an advanced microscopeD then the
protagonist 1rof 1ersikov arranges the special set*up for generation of the red
light#
%ee also
)aser acronyms
)aser
applications
)aser +eam
profiler
)aser capture
microdissection
)aser
)aser
accelerometer
)aser science
)aser cooling
)aser welding
Aessel +eam
)aser lighting
display
Bnternational )aser
.isplay "ssociation
)ist of light sources
-aser
Cptical amplifier
5aygun
5eference +eam
!elective laser sintering
construction
)aser
converting
)aser cutting
)aser daFFler
)aser engraving
)aser +onding
)aser a+lation
)aser scalpel
)aser scanning
)aser pointer
)aser turnta+le
4olography
Bnduced gamma
emission
Bn@ection seeder
!peckle pattern
$ophat +eam
4omogeneous
+roadening
U! "ir ForceHs M")*&
"ir+orne )aser
)otes and references
& S
a

b
7ould, 5 7ordon (&;6;# ,$he )"!E5, )ight "mplification +y !timulated
Emission of 5adiation, in Franken, 1" and !ands, 54 (Eds# (he .nn .rbor
!onference on 'ptical /umping, the 0niversity of Michigan, 12 3une through 14
3une 1525 pp &(: C0)0 <(38<&66
( * ,laser, 5eferencecom 5etrieved on (<<:*<6*&6
/ * ,!chawlow and $ownes invent the laser, )ucent $echnologies (&;;:#
5etrieved on (<<8*&<*(3
3 * .ictionarycom * ,lase,
6 * 71 Earman, 7! -c.onald, 740 =ew, J1 Woerdman, ,)aser Cptics:
Fractal modes in unsta+le resonators,, =ature, Iol 3<(, &/:, && =ovem+er &;;;
8 * !teen, W - ,)aser -aterials 1rocessing,, (nd Ed &;;:
9 * +,talian- Bl rischio da laser: cosa T e come affrontarloD analisi di un pro+lema
non cosU lontano da noi (,$he risk from laser: what it is and what it is like facing
itD analysis of a pro+lem which is thus mot far away from us,#, 15C75"--"
0C5!C .B FC5-"JBC=E CAA)B7"$C5BC "==C (<<3, .imitri Aatani
(1owerpoint presentation V9-+# 5etrieved & January (<<9
: * !teen, W - ,)aser -aterials 1rocessing,, (nd Ed &;;:
; * $he =o+el 1riFe in 1hysics &;88 1resentation !peech +y 1rofessor Bvar Waller
5etrieved & January (<<9
&< * $ownes, 0harles 4ard ,$he first laser, University of 0hicago 5etrieved on
(<<:*<6*&6
&& * 0hu, !tevenD $ownes, 0harles ((<</# ,"rthur !chawlow, in Edward 1 )aFear
(ed#, 6iographical Memoirs vol :/ =ational "cademy of !ciences pp (<(
B!A= <*/<;*<:8;;*>
&( * -aiman, $4 (&;8<# ,!timulated optical radiation in ru+y, 7ature ./0
(39/8#: 3;/P3;3 doi:&<&</:N&:93;/a<
&/ * 4echt, Jeff ((<<6# 6eam: (he )ace to Ma%e the Laser Cxford University
1ress B!A= <*&;*6&3(&<*&
&3 * ,"ir Force 5esearch )a+Hs high power 0C( laser, 8efense (ech 6riefs
&6 * 0sele, -ark ((<<3# ,$he $E" =itrogen 7as )aser, +omebuilt Lasers /age
5etrieved on (<<9*<;*&6
&8 * ,.eep UI )asers, (1.F# 1hoton !ystems, 0ovina, 0alif 5etrieved on (<<9*
<6*(9
&9 * !chuocker, . (&;;:# +andboo% of the ,urolaser .cademy !pringer B!A=
<3&(:&;&<3
&: * 0 !tewen, - )arionov, and " 7iesen, WM+:M"7 thin disk laser with & kW
output power,X in C!" $rends in Cptics and 1hotonics, "dvanced !olid*!tate
)asers, 4 Bn@eyan, U Eeller, and 0 -arshall, ed (Cptical !ociety of "merica,
Washington, .0, (<<<# pp /6*3&
&; * ,1icolight ships first 3*7+itNs &/&<*nm I0!E) transceivers,, Laser Focus
"orld, .ec ;, (<<6, accessed (9 -ay (<<8
(< S
a

b
Fildes, Jonathan ((<<9*<;*&(# ,-irror particles form new matter, 66!
7e#s 5etrieved on (<<:*<6*((
(& * 4echt, Jeff (-ay (<<:# ,$he history of the x*ray laser, 'ptics and /hotonics
7e#s (Cptical !ociety of "merica# .1 (6#: (8P//
(( * 5o+inson, 0larence " (&;:&# ,"dvance made on high*energy laser, .viation
"ee% 9 pace (echnology ((/ Fe+ruary &;:&#: (6P(9
(/ * 0harles 4 $ownes ((<</# ,$he first laser, in )aura 7arwin and $im )incoln
. !entury of 7ature: (#enty-'ne 8iscoveries that !hanged cience and the
"orld University of 0hicago 1ress pp &<9P&( B!A= <*((8*(:3&/*&
(3 * Eincade, Eathy and !tephen "nderson ((<<6# ,)aser -arketplace (<<6:
0onsumer applications +oost laser sales &<L,, Laser Focus "orld, vol 3&, no &
(online#
(6 * !teele, 5o+ert I ((<<6# ,.iode*laser market grows at a slower rate,, Laser
Focus "orld, vol 3&, no ( (online#
(8 * 7eorge - 1eavy, ,4ow to select a surgical veterinary laser,, veterinary-
laser.com U5) accessed &3 -arch (<<:
(9 * $yrell, James, ,.iode lasers get fundamental push to higher power,, 'ptics.org
U5) accessed (9 -ay (<<8
(: * 4eller, "rnie, ,Crchestrating the worldHs most powerful laser, cience and
(echnology )evie# )awrence )ivermore =ational )a+oratory, JulyN"ugust (<<6
U5) accessed (9 -ay (<<8
(; * !chewe, 1hillip FD !tein, Aen (; =ovem+er &;;:# ,1hysics =ews Update
3<&, "merican Bnstitute of 1hysics 5etrieved on (<<:*</*&6
/< * 1ower)a+s 0C( )"!E5Y !am Aarros (& June (<<8 5etrieved & January (<<9
/& * 4owto: -ake a .I. Aurner into a 4igh*1owered )aser
urther reading
Aooks
Aertolotti, -ario (&;;;, trans (<<3# (he +istory of the Laser, Bnstitute of
1hysics B!A= <*96<*/<;&&*/
0sele, -ark ((<<3# Fundamentals of Light ources and Lasers, Wiley B!A= <*
39&*3988<*;
Eoechner, Walter (&;;(# olid-tate Laser ,ngineering, /rd ed, !pringer*
Ierlag B!A= <*/:9*6/968*(
!iegman, "nthony E (&;:8# Lasers, University !cience Aooks B!A= <*;/69<(*
&&*/
!ilfvast, William $ (&;;8# Laser Fundamentals, 0am+ridge University 1ress
B!A= <*6(&*668&9*&
!velto, CraFio (&;;:# /rinciples of Lasers, 3th ed (trans .avid 4anna#,
!pringer B!A= <*/<8*3693:*(
$aylor, =ick ((<<<# L.,): (he inventor, the 7obel laureate, and the thirty-
year patent #ar =ew Mork: !imon Z !chuster B!A= <*8:3*:/6&6*<
Wilson, J Z 4awkes, JFA (&;:9# Lasers: /rinciples and .pplications, 1rentice
4all Bnternational !eries in Cptoelectronics, 1rentice 4all B!A= <*&/*6(/8;9*6
Mariv, "mnon (&;:;# $uantum ,lectronics, /rd ed, Wiley B!A= <*39&*8<;;9*:
1eriodicals
.pplied /hysics 6: Lasers and 'ptics (B!!= <;38*(&9&#
:,,, 3ournal of Light#ave (echnology (B!!= <9//*:9(3#
:,,, 3ournal of $uantum ,lectronics (B!!= <<&:*;&;9#
:,,, 3ournal of elected (opics in $uantum ,lectronics (B!!= &<99*(8<>#
:,,, /hotonics (echnology Letters
3ournal of the 'ptical ociety of .merica 6: 'ptical /hysics (B!!= <93<*/((3#
Laser Focus "orld (B!!= <93<*(6&&#
'ptics Letters (B!!= <&38*;6;(#
/hotonics pectra (B!!= <9/&*&(/<#
#$ternal links
Wikimedia 0ommons has media related to: Lasers
Encyclopedia of laser physics and technology +y .r 5[diger 1aschotta
" 1ractical 7uide to )asers for Experimenters and 4o++yists +y !amuel -
7oldwasser
4ome+uilt )asers 1age +y 1rofessor -ark 0sele
1owerful laser is H+rightest light in the universeH * $he worldHs most powerful laser
as of (<<: might create supernova*like shock waves and possi+ly even antimatter
(7e# cientist, ; "pril (<<:#
4ow )asers Work at 4ow!tuffWorks
4omemade laser pro@ect +y Eip Eedersha
,$he )aser: +asic principles, an online course +y 1rof F Aalem+ois and .r !
Forget :nstrumentation for 'ptics, (<<:
)aserati, a community we+site for laser people
=orthrop 7rummanHs 1ress 5elease on the Firestrike &6kw tactical laser product