Laser properties

MonochromaticConcentrate in a narrow range

of wavelengths(one specific colour).
Coherent All the emitted photons bear a
constant phaserelationship with each other in
both time andphase
Directional A very tight beam which is very
strong andconcentrated

LASER = "light amplification by stimulated emission
of radiation"
This is a bit of a misnomer. A laser is actually an
oscillator rather than a simple amplifier. The
difference is that an oscillator has positive feedback
in addition to the amplifier. "Light" is understood
in a general sense of electromagnetic radiation with
wavelength around 1 micron. Thus one can have
infrared, visible or ultraviolet lasers.

Milestones in the history of lasers:
1917: Einstein's treatment of stimulated emission.
1951:Development of the maser by C.H. Townes.The maser is basically the
same idea as the laser, only it works at microwave frequencies.
1958 :Proposal by C.H. Townes and A.L. Schawlow that the maser concept
could be extended to optical frequencies.
1960 :T.H. Maiman at Hughes Laboratories reports the first laser: the pulsed
ruby laser.
1961: The first continuous wave laser is reported (the helium neon laser).
1964: Nicolay Basov, Charlie Townes and Aleksandr Prokhorov get the Nobel
prize forfundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which
has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the
maser-laser principle.
1981 :Art Schalow and Nicolaas Bloembergen get the Nobel Prize for their
contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy.
1997: Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips get the
Nobel Prize for thedevelopment of methods to cool and trap atoms
with laser light.
2005 :John Hall and Theodor Hnsch receive the Nobel Prize for their
contributions to the development of laser-based precision
spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique.

Types of Lasers
Gas (HeNe, CO
2
, Argon, Krypton)
Powered by electricity
Solid state (Ruby, Nd:YAG, Ti:Sapphire, Diode)
Powered by electricity or light
Liquid (Dye, Jello)
Powered by light
Chemical
Nuclear
Laser applications
1. Scientific
a. Spectroscopyb. Lunar laser ranging
c. Laser cooling
d. Nuclear fusion

2. Industry&Commercial
a. cutting, welding,marking
b. CD player, DVDplayer
c. Laser printers,laser pointers,
d. Medical,
e. Defence

Military

a. Death ray
b. Defensive applications
c. Strategic defense initiative(S.D.I)
d. Laser sight
e. Illuminator
f. Rangefinder
g. Target designator
Medical
a. eye surgery
b. cosmetic surgery
c. brain tumor
d. cancer
Laser Hazards
1.Effect on Eye
:Acute exposure of the eye to lasers of certain wavelengths and power can cause corneal or
retinal burns (or both)Chronic exposure to excessive levels may cause corneal or lenticular
opacities (cataracts) or retinal injury
2.Skin
:Acute exposure to high levels of optical radiation may cause skin burns; while carcinogenesis
may occur for ultraviolet wavelengths (290-320 nm)
3.Chemical
:Some lasers require hazardous or toxic substances to operate (ie chemical dye, Excimer
lasers)
4.Electrical
:Most lasers utilize high voltages that can be lethal
5.Fire
:The solvents used in dye lasers are flammable
.High voltage pulse or flash lamps may cause ignition
.Flammable materials may be ignited by direct beams or specular reflections from high power
continuous wave(CW) infrared lasers

Common laser components
1.Active Medium:The active medium may be solid crystals
such as ruby or Nd:YAG, liquiddyes, gases like CO2 or
Helium/Neon, or semiconductors such as GaAs. Active
mediums contain atoms whose electrons may be excited
to ametastable energy level by an energy source.
2. Excitation Mechanism:Excitation mechanisms pump
energy into the active medium by one or more of three
basic methods; optical, electrical or chemical.
3. High Reflecting Mirror : A mirror which reflects
essentially 100% of the laser light.
4. Partially TransmissiveMirror : A mirror which reflects
less than 100% of the laser light and transmits
theremainder.

Lasing action theorotical Consideration
1. Energy is applied for raising electrons to an unstable energy level.
2.These atoms spontaneously decay to a relatively long-lived,
lower energy, metas table state.
3. A population inversion is achieved when the majority of atoms have
reached this metastable state.
4.Lasing action occurs when an electron spontaneously returns to its
ground state and produces a photon.
5.If the energy from this photon is of the precise wavelength, it will
stimulate the production of another photon of the same wavelength
and resulting in a cascading effect.
6.The highly reflective mirror and partially reflective mirror continue the
reaction by directing photons back through the medium along the
long axis of the laser.
7.The partially reflective mirror allows the transmission of a small
amount of coherent radiation that we observe as the beam.
8.Laser radiation will continue as long as energy is applied to the lasing
medium

Energy level diagram
The possible energies which electrons in the
atom can have is depicted in an energy level
diagram.
1
E
2
E
3
E
4
E
E
1

E
2

n
1
- the number of electrons of energy
E
1
n
2
- the number of electrons of energy
E
2
2 2 1
1
( )
exp
n E E
n kT

| |
=
|
\ .
Boltzmanns equation
example: T=3000 K E
2
-E
1
=2.0
eV
4
2
1
4.4 10
n
n

=
2 1 2 1
1 1 2
2 2 1
/
=
1
A B
n B
n B
v

( )

B
1-2
/B
2-1
= 1

According to Boltzman statistics:






(v) = =



1
2 1
2
exp( ) / exp( / )
n
E E kT h kT
n
v = =
1 ) exp(
/
1 2
2 1
1 2 1 2

kT
h
B
B
B A
v
1 ) / exp(
/ 8
3 3
kT h
c h
v
v t
3
3
1 2
1 2
8
c
h
B
A v t
=

Plancks law
Condition for the laser operation
If n
1
> n
2

radiation is mostly absorbed absorbowane
spontaneous radiation dominates.
most atoms occupy level E2, weak absorption

stimulated emission prevails

light is amplified
if n
2
>> n
1
- population inversion
Necessary condition:
population inversion
E
1

E
2

Measurement disturbes the system
The Uncertainty Principle
The Uncertainty Principle
Classical physics
Measurement uncertainty is due to limitations of the
measurement apparatus
There is no limit in principle to how accurate a
measurement can be made
Quantum Mechanics
There is a fundamental limit to the accuracy of a
measurement determined by the Heisenberg
uncertainty principle
If a measurement of position is made with precision Ax
and a simultaneous measurement of linear momentum
is made with precision Ap, then the product of the two
uncertainties can never be less than h/2t
x
x p A A >
The Uncertainty Principle
Virtual particles: created due to the UP
E t A A >
Laser oscillation
Laser is oscillator
Like servo with positive feedback
Greater than unity gain
Ruby laser example
Laser turn-on and gain saturation
Laser gain and losses
Gain decreases as output
power increases
Saturation

Resonator options
Best known -- planar, concentric, confocal
Confocal unique
mirror alignment not critical
position is critical
transverse mode frequencies identical
Types of resonators
Special cases
Gaussian beams
Zero order mode is Gaussian
Intensity profile:
beam waist: w
0




confocal parameter: z


far from waist

divergence angle
2 2
/ 2
0
w r
e I I

=
2
2
0
0
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
w
z
w w
t

t
2
0
w
z
R
=
0
w
z
w
t

0 0
637 . 0
2
w w

t

= = O
Gaussian propagation
Power distribution in Gaussian
Intensity distribution:
Experimentally to measure full width at half maximum (FWHM) diameter
Relation is d
FWHM
= w \2 ln2 ~ 1.4 w
Define average intensity :I
avg
= 4 P / (t d
2
FWHM
)
Overestimates peak: I
0
= I
avg
/1.4

2 2
/ 2
0
w r
e I I

=
High reflectivity Fabry-Perot cavity
Boundary conditions
field is zero on mirrors
Multiple wavelengths possible
agrees with resonance conditions
Laser longitudinal modes
Classical mechanics analog
Multi-mode laser
Fabry-Perot boundary conditions
Multiple resonant frequencies
Ruby laser
First laser: Ted Maiman
Hughes Research Labs
1960
ruby laser


discovered in 60-ies of the XX century.
ruby (Al
2
O
3
) monocrystal, Cr

doped.
Akcja laserowa z jonw Cr
3+
, zawartych w rubinie .
Laser trzypoziomowy.
E
n
e
r
g
y

4
A
2

4
T
2

4
T
1

2
T
2

2
E
LASING
optical pumping: 510-600nm and
360-450nm.
fast transition on
2
E.
lasing:
2
E on
4
A
2,


694nm

rapid decay
Ruby laser
Al
2
O
3

Cr
+


Excimer
e
-
+ A A*
A* + B AB* AB + h

Immediately
AB A + B

Two important facts:
1. The lower state does not exist!
2. No rotational/vibrational bands
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications

Excimer LASER
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications
Energy states of an excimer
Excimer
Excited Dimers
F
2
, Xe
2
ect.
Excited Complexes (Exciplex)
Combination of rare gas atoms and
halogen atoms
Ar, Kr, Xe
F, Cl, Br

Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications


Excimer LASER
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications


Excimer Wavelength
Ar
2
126 nm
Kr
2
146 nm
F
2
157 nm
Xe
2
172 and 175
ArF 193 nm
CaF
2
193 nm
KrCl 222 nm
KrF 248 nm
Cl
2
259 nm
XeBr 282 nm
XeCl 309 nm
N
2
337 nm
XeF 351 nm
Many wavelength possibilities
Depends upon the excited
dimer
Repetition rate from 0.05 Hz
to 20 kHz
High power:
several 10-200 W
What is DYE
Polyatomic organic molecules
containing conjugated double bonds

Organic polyatomic molecules with conjugated -chains
Rhodamine, tetracene, coumarine, stilbene and more.
Solvent
Methanol, ethanol, water or ethylene glycol
Additional chemicals added to prevent intersystem crossing and prohibit
degration of the dye
Dye LASER
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications


Dye LASER
S
0
S
1
allowed
Vibrational and rotational levels
unresolved in liquid

Fluorescence emission
S
1
S
0

Losses:
Intersystem crossing
S
1
T
1
Phosphoresence
T
1
S
0
Absorption
S
1
S
2
T
1
T
2
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications

Dye LASER
Problems
Short lifetime of the S1 state
Intersystem crossing and long lifetime of T1
Thermal gradients produce refractive gradient

Operation
Pulsed laser action
Circulation of dye solution
Pumping another laser such as
Nitrogen laser (UV-visible)
Excimer laser (UV-visible)
Nd:YAG laser (visible)
Excimer
Function
Chemicals
Characteristic
applications

Organic Dye
Chemicals
Function
Characteristic
applications

HELIUM-NEON GAS LASER
Laser-Professionals.com
Courtesy of Metrologic, Inc.
The carbon dioxide laser (CO2 laser) was one of the earliest gas
lasers to be developed (invented by Kumar Patel of Bell Labs in
1964[1]), and is still one of the most useful. Carbon dioxide lasers
are the highest-power continuous wave lasers that are currently
available. They are also quite efficient: the ratio of output power to
pump power can be as large as 30%. The CO2 laser produces a
beam of infrared light with the principal wavelength bands
centering around 9.4 and 10.6 micrometers.
A test target is vaporized
and bursts into flame upon
irradiation by a high power
continuous wave carbon
dioxide laser emitting tens
of kilowatts of infrared light
The active laser medium (laser gain/amplification medium) is a gas
discharge which is air cooled (water cooled in higher power
applications). The filling gas within the discharge tube consists
primarily of:
A total pressure of 6-15 torr is made of 10-15% CO2 and 10-20%
N2.
- Carbon dioxide (CO
2
) (around 1015 %)
- Nitrogen (N
2
) (around 1020%)
- Hydrogen (H
2
) and/or xenon (Xe) (a few percent; usually only
used in a sealed tube. Water to remove carbon monoxide)
- Helium (He) (The remainder of the gas mixture to remove heat)
The specific proportions vary according to the particular laser.
Whereas the He-Ne demonstrates an efficiency of ~ 0.01 - 0.1 %, the CO2 Laser
operates with an efficiency of up to 30 %. Continuous power levels of a few
kilowatts are possible yields from a moderately-sized laser. Thus this laser has
applications in industry for cutting metals and welding.
the CO2 laser uses the vibrational modes of the CO2 molecule . The possible
types of oscillation th at the CO2 molecule can undergo are shown in figure
Typically an electric discharge is used to excite the CO2
molecules, An 18,000 V potential difference across the
plasma causes electron collisions with N2 which
excites these molecules to their lowest state. The
excited state of the nitrogen is long lived, which means that a
large portion of the nitrogen molecules will stay in this
excited state for a long time . These excited nitrogen
molecules will then start to collide with the carbon dioxide
molecules, which are sharing the same space. The collisions
will then provide the CO2 molecules with enough energy to
vibrate at one of their vibrational modes and therefore
become excited .

Construction
Because CO
2
lasers operate in the infrared, special materials
are necessary for their construction. Typically, the mirrors
are made of coated silicon, molybdenum, or gold, while
windows and lenses are made of either germanium or zinc
selenide. For high power applications, gold mirrors and zinc
selenide windows and lenses are preferred. Historically,
lenses and windows were made out of salt (either sodium
chloride or potassium chloride). While the material was
inexpensive, the lenses and windows degraded slowly with
exposure to atmospheric moisture.
The most basic form of a CO
2
laser consists of a gas
discharge (with a mix close to that specified above) with a
total reflector at one end, and an output coupler (usually a
semi-reflective coated zinc selenide mirror) at the output
end. The reflectivity of the output coupler is typically around
5-15%..

An energy level diagram showing the involved
energy levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen is shown
in figure . The CO2 energy level 001 is state where the
CO2 molecules will collect, which is desirable because it
is a long-lived, ~0.4 ms, state and it helps to increase
the efficiency of the laser .
If there is still any excitation left in the CO2 molecules
after they decay and produce light in level 010, they will
collide with the helium, which will help to remove any of
the excess energy by taking the energy from the CO2
and moving to the gain tube wall and releasing the
energy there through more collisions.
There are various CO2 laser configurations that will allow
various output powers to be available for different uses. Some
of these configurations are capable of achieving output powers
that are ~60kW in continuous wave mode while other config
urations using a pulsed mode are capable of obtaining
upwards of ~100kW of output power . These lasers are also
capable of having an efficiency of ~30% but it is more common
to see efficiencies of ~10-15% being produced . The typical
wavelength of operation of CO2 lasers is 10.6m. However, it is
possible for the CO2 laser to emit a wavelength of 9.6m as
well as other wavelengths in the 9 11m range with the
addition of certain isotopes in the gas mixture . Also, the light
that is emitted by the CO2 laser has a divergence angle
between ~1-10 mrad
A few types of configurations for CO2 lasers are a) axial flow lasers b) sealed-off
lasers c) diffusion cooled lasers and d) transversely excited atmospheric pressure
(TEA) lasers, as well as others
Axial flow lasers are lasers in which the gas mixture flows through the gain tube.
The gas can flow at either a low for very fast rate through the gain tube. In
these configurations, the heat and any contaminants generated are simply taken away
from the laser as the gas moves out of the tube and is cooled outside of the
laser before being returned for use in the laser . Lasers of this type are capable of
50-100W for slow
flowing gas while several kilowatts of power are produced with a fast flow . A
diagram of an axial flow laser is shown in figure
A sealed off laser is a laser in which the ends of the gain tube are closed off and
he gas is not allowed to flow into or out of the tube. In this case, heat is
removed by helium removing the excess energy and moving to the walls of the
gain tube where it gives up its energy to the wall through collisions . Another issue
that arises in this ase is that carbon monoxide is formed, which will cause laser
action to stop. To fix this, water gas is also included into the gas mixture. The
water will react with the carbon monoxide and generate CO2, which will keep laser
action possible . These types of asers are capable of hundreds of watts of output
power .
Diffusion cooled lasers are similar to axial flow lasers in that the gas is allowed to
flow. However, the walls of the gain tube are water-cooled and the heated
molecules diffuse to the wall and give up their energy .
TEA lasers are CO2 lasers with a very high gas pressure. These types of lasers are
perated in pulsed mode and are capable of an output power >1kW .

There are numerous applications for CO2 lasers. The biggest use of these lasers is
for material processing. CO2 lasers are used for cutting materials such as plastic ,
metal, welding, etching or engraving materials. They have been used as a tool
to measure distance . Recently, they have been receiving a lot of attention for use
in medical procedures. CO2 lasers have been used in surgery to cut skin, stop
minor bleeding during surgery, remove or vaporize abnormalities and to perform
skin resurfacing etc. Since the CO2 laser has a low cost per watt produced
(~$100), is relatively efficient, large range of power output it has become a very large
part (~37%) of he materials processing industry
Because the atmosphere is quite transparent to infrared
light, CO2 lasers are also used for military rangefinding
using LIDAR

The CO2 lasers that are available today are available in a variety
of different sizes. CO2 lasers are available in sizes such as 343 mm, 420
mm, 810 mm etc . These are small compared to the size of the CO2 laser
developed by Patel, which was 5 m long

Rear Mirror
Adjustment Knobs
Safety Shutter Polarizer Assembly (optional)
Coolant
Beam
Tube
Adjustment
Knob
Output
Mirror
Beam
Beam Tube
Harmonic
Generator (optional)
Laser Cavity
Pump
Cavity
Flashlamps
Nd:YAG
Laser Rod
Q-switch
(optional)
Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory
NEODYMIUM YAG LASER
Laser-Professionals.com

LASER SPECTRUM
10
-13
10
-12
10
-11
10
-10
10
-9


10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
10
-3
10
-2
10
-1
1

10

10
2

LASERS
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 10600

Ultraviolet Visible Near Infrared Far Infrared
Gamma Rays X-Rays Ultra- Visible Infrared Micro- Radar TV Radio
violet waves waves waves waves
Wavelength (m)
Wavelength (nm)
Nd:YAG
1064
GaAs
905
HeNe
633
Ar
488/515
CO
2

10600
XeCl
308
KrF
248
2e
Nd:YAG
532
Retinal Hazard Region
ArF
193
Communication
Diode
1550
Ruby
694
Laser-Professionals.com
Alexandrite
755
Class 1 Incapable of causing injury during normal operation

Class 1M Incapable of causing injury during normal operation
unless collecting optics are used

Class 2 Visible lasers incapable of causing injury in 0.25 s.

Class 2M Visible lasers incapable of causing injury in 0.25 s
unless collecting optics are used

Class 3R Marginally unsafe for intrabeam viewing; up to 5 times the
class 2 limit for visible lasers or 5 times the class 1 limit
for invisible lasers

Class 3B Eye hazard for intrabeam viewing, usually not an eye
hazard for diffuse viewing

Class 4 Eye and skin hazard for both direct and scattered exposure
LASER CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY
Laser-Professionals.com
CDRH CLASS WARNING LABELS
CLASS II LASER PRODUCT
Laser Radiation
Do Not Stare Into Beam
Helium Neon Laser
1 milliwatt max/cw
CLASS IV Laser Product
VISIBLE LASER RADIATION-
AVOID EYE OR SKIN EXPOSURE TO
DIRECT OR SCATTERED RADIATION
Argon Ion
Wavelength: 488/514 nm
Output Power 5 W
Laser-Professionals.com
INTERNATIONAL LASER
WARNING LABELS
Symbol and Border: Black
Background: Yellow
Legend and Border: Black
Background: Yellow
Laser-Professionals.com
INVISIBLE LASER RADIATION
AVOID EYE OR SKIN EXPOSURE
TO DIRECT OR SCATTERED RADIATION
CLASS 4 LASER PRODUCT
WAVELENGTH 10,600 nm
MAX LASER POWER 200 W
EN60825-1 1998
LASER SAFETY EYEWEAR
Laser-Professionals.com
Fiber Amplifiers
WDM WDM
980 nm 980 nm
Er
3+