LASER

Light

Amplification by

Stimulated

Emission of

Radiation.
The laser light is differed from ordinary light according to

1. Intensity

2. Monochromatic

3. Coherent

4. Collimated

5. Directional
LASER PROCESS:
There are three process of interaction between
the radiation (photons) and the particle
(electrons, atoms, molecules etc.) to produce
the laser beam.

 Absorption.
 Spontaneous emission.
 Stimulated emission.
If N1 – no. of atoms in the ground state.
Q – Incident energy density.
The probability of absorption is directly proportional to N1 and Q.
Pab α N1 Q
Pab = B12 N1 Q
Proportionality constant B12 is known as Einstein’s coefficient of absorption.
 The emitted light is highly incoherent.

If N2 – no. of atoms in the excited state.

The probability of spontaneous emission is directly proportional to N2.
Psp α N2
Psp = A21 N2
Proportionality constant A21 is known as Einstein’s coefficient of spontaneous
emission.
 Emitted light is highly coherent.
If N2 – no. of atoms in the excited state.
Q – Incident energy density.
The probability of stimulated emission is directly proportional to N 2 and Q.
Pst α N2 Q
Pst = B21 N2 Q
Proportionality constant B 21 is known as Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated
emission.
According to law of conservation of energy
Pab = Psp+ Pst
B12 N1Q = A21 N2 + B21 N2 Q
This is known as Einstein equation and B 12, B21, B21 are known as Einstein
coefficient.
Difference between spontaneous & stimulated emission of
radiation

Spontaneous emission Stimulated emission

1. It is natural process. It is forced emission.

2. It is takes place within 10-8 sec. It is takes place within 10-3 sec.

3. Emitted light is incoherent. Emitted light is highly coherent.

4. It is not controllable It can be controlled externally.

5. Used in ordinary source of light Used in laser light source.

6. Population inversion of atoms Population inversion of atoms is

is not required. required.
POPULATION INVERSION AND PUMPING:

 Amplification of light requires that number of atoms in excited state

must be greater than number of atoms in the ground state. The situation
in which the higher energy state of the material is more populated than
the lower energy state is called population inversion.
 The material used for laser source may be solid, liquid or gas. The
region in which the state of population inversion is achieved is called
active medium. The actual laser light is emitted from this region.
 The atoms, ions or molecules of the material that takes part to produce
the laser light are called active centers.
 For population inversion, atoms must have stay in the excited state for longer
time. But excited atoms have natural tendency to rapidly de-excite to their
ground state within 10-8 second.
 Therefore, population inversion is not possible in the material having only two
energy state i.e ground state and excited state.
 The population inversion is achieved in the material in which higher energy
state just below the excited state known as metastable state exist.
 The life time of the excited atoms to stay in the metastable state is of the order
of 10-3 second. Thus, inversion of population of atoms is possible in metastable
state.
PUMPING:
The energy has to be supplied to the material from the outside, so that the atoms can absorb this energy
and continuously raised to the excited state to achieve the population inversion. The process of
supplying energy to the material or system to achieve the state of population inversion is called
pumping. There are two types of pumping process.

 Continuous pumping process: - The pumping energy is continuously supplied to the material till
the laser source is ON. The continuous laser beam is produced. The cooling arrangement is
required to remove the excess heat generated in the system.
 Pulsed pumping process: - The pumping energy is supplied at regular interval of time to the
material. The pulsed laser beam is produced.
PUMPING METHODS:

 Optical pumping: - A source of light (photons) is used to supply excitation energy. E.g. Xenon flash
lamp, discharge tube etc.
 Electrical pumping: - The electric field is used to supply excitation energy. The collisions of
electrons with atoms excite the atoms in to the higher energy state.
 Heat pumping: - The excitation energy is provided in the form of heat. The material is heated to
sufficient temp. to achieve the population inversion.
 Chemical pumping: - The exothermic chemical energy is used to provide the excitation energy.
PUMPING SCHEME: -

 Two level pumping schemes: -

 The two level pumping scheme is exist only in direct band gap semiconductor
materials like Ga, As etc.. The lower energy state is valence band and higher energy
state is conduction band. The electrons are transferred from valence band to
conduction and they come back to valence band giving laser transition.
 Three level pumping schemes: -

The material or system in which three energy level are involved is called three level pumping schemes.
The atoms absorb the excitation energy and raised to excited state E2. The non-radiative transition of
atoms takes place from excited state E2 to metastable state E3 and population inversion takes place in
metastable sate. The laser transition takes place from metastable state E3 to ground state E1. The
energy levels in which laser transition takes place are called upper lasing level and lower lasing level.
 Four level pumping schemes: -

Four energy levels are involved in this pumping scheme. The atoms absorb the excitation energy and
jumped from ground state E1 to excited state E2. The non-radiative transition of atoms takes place from
excited state E2 to metastable state E3 and population inversion takes place in metastable sate. The
laser transition takes place from metastable state E3 to lower energy state E4. The balance of excitation
energy is lost due to collision and atoms are de-excited to ground state E1.

The population inversion is achieved between two metastable states; therefore, emitted photon
has definite energy & wavelength, hence four level pumping scheme is more efficient than three
level pumping schemes.
OPTICAL RESONATOR OR RESONANCE CAVITY:

 The numbers of photons that are identical in all respect are produced due to stimulated emission in
the active medium. But these photons are scattered in all directions like light emitted by ordinary
source of light.
 The laser light requires light waves (photons) having same wavelength, same phase, same
polarization and emitted in same direction. This no. of identical light waves should increase
progressively.
 The resonance cavity is formed using two reflecting surface or mirror. The active medium in which
lasing action takes place is kept between two reflecting mirrors M1 and M2. The mirror M1 is fully
reflecting and other mirror M2 is partially reflecting.
 The light waves moving along the axis of laser source are retained due to reflection and other light
waves that are scattered in various directions are lost. The photons that are bouncing back and forth
between two reflecting mirrors stimulate the no. of other photons and no. of identical wave’s
increases.
 The to and fro distance covered by the light waves between mirrors M1 and M2 must be integral
multiple of wavelength of the photons to form the optical standing wave (stationary wave) due to
constructive interference. 2L = n λ, therefore resonating length L = n λ / 2. The laser beam comes
out from partially reflecting mirror M2.
 He – Ne laser:

 Types of laser: Gas laser  Pumping process: Continuous pumping.

 Active material: Mixture of He-Ne gas.  Laser output: Continuous laser beam of wavelength 6328 AU.
 Active centers: Ne ions.  Efficiency: Low.
 Pumping scheme: Four level pumping scheme.  Output power: 1 mW to 50 mW.

 Pumping method: Electrical pumping.  Laser output: Emitted laser beam is highly directional & coherent.

 Applications: In research field, Barcode scanners, Tool alignment, Non-contact measuring and
monitoring, Blood analysis, Particle counting and food sorting
 Coherence length and coherence time

In laser radiation, all the photon waves are in phase to each other, therefore laser
radiation is highly coherent.
Coherence Length:
Coherence length is the distance that light can travel while maintaining its phase
relationship. It is defined as the distance travelled by the laser light over which the
coherence of laser radiation significantly decays.
This phenomenon occurs when two or more photon waves are traveling in the
same direction, and their peaks and valleys align.
The coherence length (Lc) is related to the wavelength (λ) and the degree of spectral
bandwidth (Δλ) of the wave by the formula:
Coherence Time:

The time for which coherence length of laser radiation remains same is known as
coherence time. Coherence time is a measure of the time duration over which a
wave maintains its coherence or phase relationship.

The coherence length & coherence time are inversely proportional to spectral
band width.

A smaller spectral line width leads to a longer coherence time.

Fiber laser: Fiber lasers principles:
Fibre lasers are a type of solid-state lasers that use
optical fibres as their active gain medium. In these
lasers, a fibre made of silicate or phosphate glass
absorbs raw light from the pump laser diodes and
transforms it into a laser beam with a specific
wavelength. To achieve this, the optical fibre is doped
by different rare-earth doping elements and laser
beams can be created with a wide range of
wavelengths. Some common rare-earth doping

Schematic diagram of fiber laser elements and their emitted wavelengths are

Neodymium (780-1100nm), Ytterbium (1000-1100nm),

Praseodymium (1300nm), Erbium (1460-1640nm),
Thulium (1900-250nm), Holmium (2025-2200nm), and
Dysprosium (2600-3400nm).

The well collimated high power laser

light is produced by five stages

 Creation of pump light.

 Collection and travel into the optical fibre.
 Pump light passes through the optical fibre.
 Stimulated emission in the laser cavity.
 Amplification of raw laser light into a laser beam.
Applications:

Because of such a wide range of produced

wavelengths, fibre lasers are perfect for a
variety of applications such as laser cutting,
texturing, cleaning, engraving, drilling, marking
and welding. This also enables fiber lasers to
find use in many different sectors such as
medicine, defense, telecommunications,
automotive, spectroscopy, electrical,
manufacturing and transportation.
LIDAR: Light Detection and Ranging

The distance of the object=

Speed of Light x Time of
Flight/ 2
d=cxt/2
Types of LiDAR:

Three main types of LiDAR systems - Airborne, Terrestrial and Satellite

LiDAR.

Airborne LiDAR is utilized through helicopters or drones for data

collection.

Terrestrial LiDAR is installed on moving vehicles or on stationary

tripods. These types of LiDAR systems are perfect for modeling and
observing static topography.

Satellite or space-borne LIDAR platforms are mounted on satellites

that orbit the Earth and tend to cover large areas but with less detail.
Barcode
Scanners:

A barcode is pattern of black and white bars of varying widths used to represent a specific set
of numbers that identify products.
There are two types of barcodes:
Linear Barcode - can hold any type of text (written) information. The most common one that
we see is called the UPC or the Universal Product Code. It is made up of two parts: the barcode
and a 12 digit number.
2D type of barcode - It is less common and it can store more complex information, such as
price, quantity etc.
Each type of Barcode requires a specific barcode scanner

Barcode scanner is a handheld device that consists of many parts to read the information on a
barcode.
How does a Barcode Scanner Work?
1. The scanner emits an LED light or a laser onto the barcode.
2. A light is the reflected off an optical lens into a light-detecting
electronic component called a photoelectric cell.
3. The white areas reflect the least light while the black reflect the
most.
4. The difference in light reflected allows the barcode to identify the
unique set of numbers
5. As the scanner moves along the barcode, the cell generates a
pattern of on-off pulses that correspond to the black and white
lines.
6. A black line generates an “off” pulse and a white line generates an
“on” pulse.
7. An electric circuit within the scanner converts these pulses to binary
digits (zero or one)
8. These digits are the sent to the tracking computer which detects
Industrial application of Laser:

Laser systems are used in many manufacturing processes.

Industrial lasers are used to

1) To cut metals and fabrics.

2) Mark tracking code for industrial traceability.

3) Weld metals with high precision.

4) Clean metal surface.

5) Change the surface roughness.

6) Measure part dimensions.