Atoms in Radiation

Part II
Prepared by Catherine Paschal
Mwenge Catholic University

Catherine Paschal @MWECAU 1

Radiative and Non-radiative Transitions
• Transitions between energy levels that occur with the
absorption or emission of radiation are called radiative
transitions.
• Transitions that occur without the absorption or
emission of radiation are called non-radiative
transitions.
• Non-radiative transition occurs mainly because of
exchange of energy between the system and its
surroundings.
• They are very common in laser materials.
Principle of Laser
• The photon emitted by a stimulated emission process
and the photon that triggered the emission will be in
phase, and will travel in the same direction.
• In a system having a large number of atoms, this
process can occur many times, giving rise to a
substantial amplification of the incident radiation.
• Lasers are devices that work on this principle of
amplification by stimulated emission.
• If we have a collection of atoms in the excited state, the
build up of an intense beam is illustrated in Fig. below.
• At each stage, a photon interacts with an excited atom
and produces two photons.
Laser ≡ light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
Principle of Laser

Build up of an intense beam in a laser. Each photon interacts with

an excited atom, giving rise to two photons.