PHYSICS – PHIR11

Dr. S. Manivannan
Department of Physics
National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli -620 015, India

http://www.nitt.edu/
e-mail: ksmani@nitt.edu
 Lasers

Introduction to Laser-characteristics of Lasers-

spontaneous and stimulated emissions – Einstein’s
coefficients – population inversion and lasing
action – laser systems: He-Ne Laser,
semiconductor laser-applications.

B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA

B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
 Interaction of light with mater
Attenuation of Light in an optical medium

Attenuation – Absorption + Scattering

Light into energy of obstacle <

atoms in the medium motion

Input wave output wave

Medium I = Ioe-αt

Io- intensity at t=0

α - attenuation coefficient

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 Thermal Equilibrium

Material –Medium- composed of atoms –specific energy level in a

medium

Population of an energy level – no. of atoms/unit volume

N2 E2
- medium with two levels E1 & E2
energy
N1 E1

-At thermal equilibrium, the population at the energy levels can be

found with the help of Boltzmann law

(i.e) N = Noe-hν/kT

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 At E1,
N1 = e-E1 /kT, N2 = e-E2 /kT
The relative population N2/N1 is given by e-(E2 –E1)/kT

(i.e) N2/N1 is dependent on (E2-E1) and T.

(i.e) the fraction of excited atoms would be large if the temp. is very high or if the
energy levels are close.

Under normal conditions higher the energy of the energy level, lesser is its
population.
Hence N1 >>N2 – normal distribution.
If we assume the limiting case of T ∞ , Then, N2/N1 = e0 = 1,
 N2=N1
On the other hand , If (E2-E1) 0 again N2=N1
Both the limiting cases indicate that as long as the medium is in thermal
equilibrium the population of higher energy level cannot exceed the population
of the lower energy level.

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 Interaction of light with mater

-Transfer of energy from atom to light is not possible from classical

point of view.

- quantum process – photon carries energy E = h

- If we assume that two energy levels of the atoms in the material

have an energy difference (E1 - E2) = h

-When photons travel through the medium, three different

processes are likely to occur.

-They are 1) absorption 2) spontaneous emission 3) stimulated

emission

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 Interaction of light with mater

1) Induced absorption process

E2 after
before E2
N2
(E1 - E2) = h
incident photon energy
N1 E E1 Material absorbs photons
1

A + h = A* - is an excited atom
The no. of atoms per unit volume that undergo absorption
transitions per second is called the rate of absorption transition.
(i.e.) Rabs = -dN1/dt, where, (-dN1/dt ) represents the rate of decrease of
population at lower level E1.

The rate of absorption can also be represented by the rate of increase of

population at the upper level E2, as Rabs = dN2/dt
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 But, Rabs  N1 ρ ()

ρ () - energy density of the incident beam

(i.e) more photons – more excited atoms,

Rabs = B12 N1 ρ ()

B12 – Einstein coefficient for induced

absorption.

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 Spontaneous Emission
Life time of an atom at excited level of about 10-8 sec.

Emission h = (E1 - E2) , spontaneous emission without any external impetus

A* = A + h

the rate of spontaneous transition is given by Rsp = A21N2

A21-proportionality constant called Einstein’s coefficient for spontaneous emission.

This process is independent of incident light

before E N E2
2 2
(E1 - E2) = h
energy emitted photon

E1 N1 E1 Material emits photons

Spontaneous transition is not possible from lower level E1 to higher level E2.
 The probability of spontaneous transition from E1 to E2 is zero. A12 = 0.

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 Characteristics of spontaneous emission

- not controllable from outside

- the instant of transition, direction of propagation,

the initial phase, plane of polarization are all
random.

- light is not monochromatic

- no directionality

- incoherent/random phase.

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 Einstein’s Prediction
- Rsp is determined by N2 population

- Rab is determined by population N1 and  () in the incident light.

- if the absorption and spontaneous emission were the only processes

operative, then obviously the no. of atoms absorbing radiation per second
would be more than the no. of atoms emitting light per second.

(i.e) equilibrium is maintained.

 in order to account for the state of equilibrium between light and matter,
Einstein pointed out that if a photon can stimulate an atom to move from a
lower energy level E1 to a higher energy level E2, by means of absorption
transition, then a photon should also be able to stimulate an atom from the
same upper level E2 to the lower level E1. This is known as Stimulated Emission.

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 Stimulated Emission
Forced photon emission by an excited atom due to the action of an external agency is
called stimulated or induced emission

A* + h = A + 2h

Rst = B21 N2 ρ ()

Characteristics of stimulated emission

-Controllable from outside

-Directionality
-Identical feature – same frequency, phase,
plane of polarisation as that of stimulated photon.
-Multiplication of photon
-Amplification of light

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 Einstein’s Relations
Under thermal equilibrium, mean population N1 & N2 must remain
constant.
The no. of transitions from E1 to E2= no. of transition from E2 to E1
Rabs = Rsp + Rst

Rabs = B12 N1 ρ (), Rsp = A21N2 , Rst = B21 N2 ρ ()

B12 N1 ρ () = A21N2 + B21 N2 ρ ()

ρ () (B12 N1 -B21 N2 ) = A21N2

ρ () = A21N2 / (B12 N1 -B21 N2 )

divide the RHS by N2B12

ρ () = (A21 / B12 ) / [ (N1/N2) – (B21/B12)]

But, N2/N1 is given by e-(E2 –E1)/kT , E2-E1 = h or N1/N2 = e h/KT

 ρ () = (A21 / B12 ) { 1/[(e h/KT ) – (B21 / B12 )]} ------(A)

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 To maintain thermal equilibrium the system must release energy in the form of
em radiation.

It is required that the radiation be identical with black body radiation and be
consistent with Planck’s radiation law for any value of T

(i.e) ρ () = (8h33/c3) [ 1/ (e h/KT -1)] -----(b)

- refractive index
c - velocity of light in free space

Energy density ρ () given by (A) will be consistent with Planck’s law only if

A21 / B12 = (8h33/c3) & (B21 / B12 ) = 1 or B21 = B12

The above equations are known as Einstein relations. B21, B12 and A21 are
known as Einstein coefficients.

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 The relation is B21 = B12 = (c3/8h33)A21 ------(C)

The relation (C) shows that the ratio of coefficients of spontaneous versus
stimulated emission is proportional to the third power of frequency (3 )of the
radiation. This is why it is difficult to achieve laser action in higher frequency
ranges such as X-rays.
Condition for stimulated emission to dominate spontaneous emission

R1 = Stimulated transitions/Spontaneous transition = B21 N2 ρ () / A21N2 = (B21

/ A21)ρ()

If the radiation density ρ() is very large and the value of the ratio (B21 / A21) is
also large then the stimulated transitions will dominate.

So, R1 = (B21 / A21) {(8h33/c3) [ 1/ (e h/KT -1)] }

But, B21 / A21 = (c3/8h33)

Therefore, R1 = (c3/8h33) {(8h33/c3) [ 1/ (e h/KT -1)] }

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 R1= [ 1/ (e h/KT -1)] for  = 5x 1014 Hz and T = 300 K, the value of R= 10-58.
(k = Boltzmann constant = 1.38066 x 10-23 J/K, h=6.626 x 10-34 Js )
(i.e) in the optical region stimulated emission is negligible compared to
spontaneous emission.
Condition for stimulated emission to dominate absorption transitions

R2 = Stimulated emission / Absorption transition

= B21 N2 ρ () / B12 N1 ρ () = N2/N1 since B21 = B12

Three conditions are to be satisfied to make stimulated transitions overwhelm the

other transitions

(i) The population at excited level should be greater than that at the lower energy
level

(ii) The ratio (B21 / A21) should be large

(iii) a very high radiation density should be present in the medium

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 To achieve high percentage of stimulated emission,

(i) an artificial situation known as population inversion is to be created in the

medium

(ii) A large value of (B21 / A21) is achieved by choosing a metastable energy

level as the higher level spontaneous emission is forbidden from meta state &
(B21 / A21) is high.

(iii) ρ () is made large by enclosing the emitted radiation in an optical

resonant cavity formed by two parallel mirrors. The radiation is reflected many
times till the photon density reaches a very high value & a favourable condition
is created for large stimulated emissions.

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 Population Inversion
-population inversion in which there are more particles in the higher-energy
state than in the ground state.

-The condition of having enough excited or high-energy states distributed in a

material - that a chain-reaction of stimulated emission can occur.

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 Pumping
Pumping is a process to be used to achieve population inversion.

Methods of pumping

- optical pumping – Ruby laser

-electric discharge – Ar – ion laser – direct electron excitation

- inelastic atom – atom collision – He-Ne laser

- direct conversion – semiconducting laser

(electrical energy in to optical energy)

-chemical conversion - CO2 laser – H2 + F2 = 2HF

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 Main components of a LASER
-working substance – having metastable state

- resonant cavity

- pumping system

LASER action
-pumping

- population inversion

- spontaneous emission

- amplification

- oscillations /optical resonator equivalent to electronic oscillator

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 Laser?
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical
amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic
radiation.
LASER- Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission
of Radiation
Laser is a photonic device – Photonics
-different from normal light

-illumination purpose is not used

-used for optical communications, bloodless surgery,

weapon guidance in wars, entertainment electronics, etc.

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 Properties of Laser
- directionality
- negligible divergence
- high intensity
- high degree of coherence and
- high monochromaticity

Types of Lasers
based on materials

-Solid state laser

-Gas laser
-Semiconductor laser

and available in both continuous and pulsed mode

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B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
 Theodore Maiman
Physicist
Theodore Harold Maiman was an
American physicist who is credited
with being the inventor of the first
laser, the other physicist being
Gordon Gould.

Born: July 11, 1927, Los Angeles,

California, United States

Died: May 5, 2007, Vancouver, Canada

Education: Stanford University (1955),

Stanford University (1951), University
of Colorado at Boulder (1949),
Columbia University

Notable awards: Stuart Ballantine

Medal (1962), Wolf Prize in Physics
(1983), Japan Prize (1987)

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 Construction
Ruby Laser- Solid State Lasers/doped
insulator lasers – first laser – invented
in 1960 by Theodore Maiman.

Ruby crystal –Al2O3 crystal doped with

Cr ions - 0.05 wt. %

Cr3+ ions – active centers – have a set

of three energy levels – suitable for
realizing lasing action whereas
aluminum and oxygen atoms are inert.

Cylindrical rod – 4 cm long and 0.5 cm diameter.

Ends are grounded and polished, end faces are exactly parallel &
perpendicular to the axis of the rod.
One face is silvered to have 100% reflection and the other is
silvered to give 10% transmission and 90% reflection.
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 Working
-three level pumping scheme

-Xenon lamp is activated, burst of white

light lasting for a few milliseconds.

-Cr3+ ions are excited & life time ~10-9s.

-Cr3+ rapidly lose some of the energy to the

X’l lattice and undergo non-radiative
Energy levels and transitions in a ruby laser
transitions.

-Metastable state - life time ~10-6s - population inversion achieved.

-Red photons of  -6943 Å.

-Green and blue converted in to red color – not continuous – irregular pulses of
microsecond duration.

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 He-Ne Laser – 1961 by
Ali Javan, William R Bennett, Jr and Donald R. Herriott
-Gas lasers – ranging from low power (He-Ne) to very high power
(CO2) industrial applications

- gases- active media – excited by an electric discharge –energy

levels of atoms in gases involved in the lasing process are narrow
and as such require sources with sharp wavelength to excite atoms
– practically difficult, hence no optical pumping.

-Electric discharge – electrons in the discharge transfer energy to

atoms in the laser gas by collisions.

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 Construction

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 Construction

-long discharge tube filled with a mixture of He and Ne gases, 10:1 ratio

-Ne atoms are the active centers – have suitable energy levels

-High voltage electrodes ~10 kV

-The tube is hermetically sealed by inclined windows arranged at its two ends.

-Two mirrors are arranged externally & form the Fabry-Perot optical resonator.

-The distance between the mirrors is adjusted to be m/2 for resonator- supports
standing wave pattern.

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 Energy level diagram and Working

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 Energy level diagram and Working

-He-Ne laser employs a four-

level pumping scheme.

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 Semiconductor Laser/Diode Laser/P-N junction Laser
1962- first laser- R.N. Hall- GaAs- near IR region – 900 nm
Semiconductor diode laser- special p-n junction device – emits laser light in forward bias.

DL-Light emission from UV-IR – small in size – 0.1 mm long – portable

Semiconductor materials – energy gap – band gap.

A pure semiconductor crystal has – filled states in the lower band – valence band.

Higher band – conduction band – electron jumping from LB to HB if covalent bond is

broken – leaving a vacancy – hole.

The no. of holes in valence band and no. of electrons in conduction band is equal in a pure
semiconductor.

When a conduction electron falls into the valence band, it recombines with the hole there.
The electron rejoins the broken covalent bond and both the electron and hole disappear.

The recombination energy is released in the form of heat in Si/Ge X’l or in some X’l-light

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 Addition of impurities in pure SC – trivalent for p-type and pentavalent for n-type

Fermi level – reference level – top of valence band in p-type and bottom of
conduction band in n-type material.

When p and n type material joined at the atomic level to form a pn-junction
device – equilibrium is attained only when equalization of Fermi levels takes
place.

The energy levels in p-region move up and in n-region move down till the Fermi
level in both the regions come to the same level.

The mutual displacement of the energy levels on both the sides of the junction
causes a bending of the energy bands around the junction.

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 Energy band structure of a Semiconductor diode (a) heavily doped pn-
junction without bias and (b) forward biased above threshold value

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 PN-Junction LASER -Construction

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 Population Inversion in a semiconductor

A semiconductor cannot be regarded as two-level atomic system.

It consist of electrons and holes distributed in the respective energy bands-

laser action involves energy bands rather than discrete levels.

Valence band- lower energy level and conduction band- higher energy levels.

Hence, population inversion requires - a large concentration of electrons in CB

and large concentration of holes in VB.

To achieve population inversion - heavily doped p – and n- type

semiconductors are used in the form of p-n junction.

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 Working

At low forward current level, the electron – hole recombination causes

spontaneous emission of photons and the junction acts a an LED.

When the current reaches a threshold value, the carrier concentrations in the
junction region will rise to a very high value.

As a result, the junction region contains a large concentration of electrons within

the conduction band and simultaneously a large no. of holes within the valence
band. (Holes represent the absence of electrons)

Thus, the upper energy levels in the narrow region are having a high electron
population while the lower energy levels in the same region are vacant.
Therefore, the condition of population inversion is attained in the narrow
junction region – inversion region or active region.

Thus the stimulated electron- hole recombination produces coherent radiation.

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 Applications of LASERS
-Mechanical working

-Industrial -electronics industry- manufacturing – electronics

components and IC’s, welding, drilling, isolation of faulty components in
a large integrated circuit.

-Entertainment electronics, communication, information processing

-Wars to guide missiles to the target

-CD players, laser printers, laser copiers, optical floppy discs, optical
memory cards

-Trimming of thick and thin film resistors

-Holography

-Medical applications
B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
 Holography- construction and reconstruction

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B.Tech - PHIR11, Physics – I CNM Lab, NITT, INDIA
 CDs are made from an original "master" disc. The master is "burned" with a laser beam
that etches bumps (called pits) into its surface. A bump represents the number zero, so
every time the laser burns a bump into the disc, a zero is stored there. The lack of a bump
(which is a flat, unburned area on the disc, called a land) represents the number one. Thus,
the laser can store all the information sampled from the original track of music by burning
some areas (to represent zeros) and leaving other areas unburned (to represent ones).
Although you can't see it, the disc holds this information in a tight, continuous spiral of
about 3-5 billion pits. If you could unwrap the spiral and lay it in a straight line, it would
stretch for about 6 km (roughly 3.5 miles)! Each pit occupies an area about two millionths
of a millionth of a square meter. That's pretty tiny!

Once the master disc has been made, it is used to stamp out millions of plastic
duplicates—the CDs that you buy and put into your music player or computer. In a CD-
making factory, the master CD is recorded by a laser beam burning information into the
surface of a disc. In your home, you play CDs back in almost exactly the opposite way.

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