LASER

I
NTRODUCTI
ON
LASER st ands forLi
ghtampl i
fi
cati
on by sti
mulat
ed emissi
on ofr adiat
ion.Laser
technologystar
tedwithAlber
tEinst
einin1917,hehasgi v
entheoret
icalbasisforthe
developmentofLaser.Thetechnol
ogyfurt
herevol
vedin1960whent hev eryfi
rstl
aser
call
edRubyLaserwasbui l
tatHughesResearchLabor
ator
iesbyT.H.Mainmann.
Laserisadevi
cewhichemi t
sapowerful,monochr
omat
iccol
l
imat
edbeam ofl
i
ght
.The
emitt
edli
ghtwavesarecoherenti
nnat
ure.
CHARACTERI
STI
CSOFLASERLI
GHT
Li
keor di
naryli
ghtlaserlightisel
ect
romagneti
cinnat
ure.However
,ther
earef ew
char
acter
ist
icsnotprocessedbythenormall
ight
.Someofthemainchar
act
eri
sti
csof
l
aserbeam arementi
onedbel ow:
Hi
ghMonochr
omat
ici
ty,

Ext
remel
yDi
rect
ional
,

Ext
remel
yCoher
ence,

Hi
ghI
ntensi
tyandbr
ight
ness.

Monochr
omat
ici
ty:
Thel
i
ghtemi
tt
edf
rom

al
aseri
shi ymonoc
ghl hr
omat
ic,
thati
s,i
tis

oneuniquewav el
ength(col
or)
.Thelightfrom a
l
asertypi
cal
l
ycomesf r
om oneatomictransi
ti
onwit
hasinglepr
eci
sewavelengt
h.So
the l
aser l
ight has smallbroadening width(∆λ) and i
s al
most the purest
monochromaticli
ght
.

ForOr
dinar
ywhi
tel
i
ght
,∆λ=300nm,
Formonochr
omat
icl
i
ght
,∆λ=5-
10nm
ForLaserl
i
ght
,∆λ=0.
2nm
Di
recti
onali
ty:We know t hatwhen li
ghttrav
elsthen i
ttends t
o spread out,t
his
spreadingofl i
ghtiscall
eddiv
ergenceandt heangl
eatwhi cht
helightspreadsis
call
edangl eofdi v
ergence(ϕ).General
l
y
divergencei smoreinor di
nar
ylightand
lesserinlaserl
i
ght.

Usual
lya l
asergenerates l
ess t
han
onemill
eradi
an(0.001)div
ergentbeam.

1
 Thi
smeanst hatabeam fr
om thelaserwil
lspreadt
olessthan1cm di
ameterata
di
stanceof10m from thelaser
.Thel aserbeam di
ver
genceisil
lust
rat
edinthe
adj
acentf
igur
e.
Coherence:Theli
ghtcomi ngfrom theLaserissai
dtobecoher ent
,whi
chmeansthe
groupofphotons(Laserbeam)ar einphaseinspace(Spat
ial
)andti
me(Tempor
al)
.
Laserl
ighti
smuchmor ecoherentthanor
dinar
yli
ght.

I
ntensit
y and Brightness:I nt ensi
ty ofa wav eis
defi
nesasener gyperuni ttimef l
owingthrougha
uni
t nor mal area. I n Laser l ight
, energy i
s
concentrat
edinsmal lregionofspacewi t
hsmal l
wavelengthswithgr eateri ntensi
ty.A l
aserbeam
hasbr
ight
nessmanyt i
mesinmagni t
udegr
eat
ert
hant
hatofconv
ent
ionalsour
cesduet
o
hi
ghdi
rect
ional
proper
tyofl
aserbeam.

I
NTERACTI
ONOFLI
GHTWI
THTHEMATTER:
ABSORPTI
ON,
SPONTANEOUSANDSTI
MULATEDEMI
SSI
ON:
TodescribethephenomenonofAbsor
pti
on,
spontaneousorsti
mul
atedemissi
on,
l
etusconsidertwoenergylev
els,1and2,
ofsomeatom ormolecul
eofagivenmater
ial
,
t
heirener
giesbeingE1andE2(E1<E2)
.

Absor
pti
on: Letusnow assumet
hatt
heat
om i
sini
ti
all
y
l
y inginlevel1(Adj.Fig.
).I fthi
sisthegr oundl evel,
theatom
wi llremaini nthisl evelunl ess some ext ernalstimulus
(phot ons)i
sappliedt oit.Weshal lassumet hat,aphotonof
frequencyνi sincidentont hemat erial
.Inthiscaset her
ei s
af ini
teprobabil
it
yt hattheat om willberaisedt olevel
2.The
ener gydiff
erenceE2–E1r equir
edbyt heatom t oundergot he
transiti
onisobtainedf r
om t heener gyoft heincidentphoton.
Thi sistheabsorptionprocess.
2
Spont aneousemission:Letusnowassumet hatt
heat
om isini
ti
all
yinlevel2.Since
E2 >E1,theat
om willt
endtodecaytolev
el1.Thecor
respondi
ngenergydiffer
ence,
E2–E1,mustther
efor
eber el
easedbytheatom.Whenthi
senergyisdeliv
eredint he
for
m of an elect
romagnetic wave cal
l
ed phot
on,t
he pr
ocess wi
l
lbe cal
l
ed
spont
aneous(
orradiat
ive)emi
ssion.

St
imul
atedemi
ssi
on:
Letusnowsupposet
hatt
heat
om i
sfoundi
nit
ial
l
yinl
evel2and
thataphotonoff requencyν oi sincidentonthemat er
ial(
Adj
acentFi
g.)
.Si
ncet
his
photonhast hesamef r
equencyast heatomicfrequency,
ther
eisaf init
eprobabilitythatt hisphotonwi l
lforcethe
atom to undergo thet ransit
ion 2→1.I nt hi
scaset he
energydiff
erence E2–E1 i s delivered i
nt he form ofa
photon t
hat adds t ot he i ncident one.Thi si st he
phenomenonofst i
mul atedemi ssion.
Thereisafundament aldiff
erencebetweenthespontaneous
andstimulatedemi ssionprocesses.Inthecaseofspont aneousemi ssi
on,theatom
emitsaphot onthathasnodef ini
tephaserelat
ionwiththatemit
tedbyanot herat
om.
Furt
hermore,thephot oncanbeemi tt
edinanydi recti
on.Inthecaseofst i
mulated
emissi
on,sincethepr ocessisforcedbytheinci
dentphoton,theemissionofanyatom
addsinphasetot hatoftheincomingphotonandalongthesamedi rect
ion.

EI
NSTEI
N’SCOEFFI
CIENTS:
In1916, Alber
tEinsteinproposedt hatther
earethreeprocessesoccur
ri
ngi
nthe
formation ofan at omic spectr alline.The t hree pr
ocesses arer ef
err
ed t
o as
spontaneousemi ssi
on,stimulatedemi ssion,and
absorption.Wi t
heachi sassoci atedanEi nstei
n
coeffi
cientwhichi sameasur eoft hepr obabil
it
yof
that par ti
cular pr ocess occur ri
ng. Ei nstei
n
considered the case ofi sotr
opi cr adiati
on of
frequencyν,andener gydensityρ(ν).
Let us consider N1 and N2 be t he
populati
onsintheenergylev
elsofener
giesE1and
E2 r
especti
velyinasystem ofatomsatat her
mal
equil
ibri
um oftemper
atureT.

Upwar
dtr
ansi
ti
on:
Absorpt
ioni
stheprocessbywhichaphotonisabsor
bedbytheat om,causi
ngan
el
ectr
ont oj
umpfrom al owerener
gyl
evelE1 t
oahigherone E2.Theprocessi
s
3
descr
ibedbyt
heEi
nst
eincoef
fi
cientB12,
Theabsor
pti
onr
atei
sdi
rect
lypr
opor
ti
onal
toN1andρ(
ν)
Ther
efor
e,
-
--
--
--
--
--
--(
1)

eB12i
Her sEi
nst
ein’
scoef
fi
cientofabsor
pti
on.
Downwar
dtr
ansi
ti
on:
Spont
aneousemi ssionistheprocessbywhichanelectr
on"spont
aneousl
y"(
i.e.
wi
thoutanyoutsideinf
luence)decaysfrom E2 t
oE1.Theprocessisdescr
ibedbythe
Ei
nstei
ncoef
fi entA21.
ci
Spont
aneousemi
ssi
onr
atei
sdi
rect
lypr
opor
ti
onal
toN2onl
y.
Ther
efor
e,
-
--
--
--
--
--
--(
2)

Her
e,A21i
stheEi
nst
ein’
scoef
fi
cientofspont
aneousemi
ssi
on.
Sti
mulatedemissi
onisthepr ocessbywhi chanatomicel
ectronintheexciedE2
t
i
si nteracti
ngwi t
haphot onofcer t
ainfrequencymaydr optoal owerenergylevelE1,
tr
ansf err
ingitsenergytothatphoton.Anew phot oncr
eat
edint hismannerhast he
samephase,f requencyanddi r
ecti
onoft r
avelassameast heincidentphoton.The
processi sdescri
bedbytheEinstei
ncoef f
i entB21.
ci
St
imul
atedemi
ssi
onr
atei
sdi
rect
lypr
opor
ti
onal
toN2andρ(
ν).
Ther
efor
e,
-
--
--
--
--
-(3)

Her
e,B21i
stheEi
nst
ein’
scoef
fi
cientofst
imul
atedemi
ssi
on.
Consi
deran i
dealmat
eri
alwi
th onl
ytwo non-
degener
ateener
gyl
evel
s,att
her
mal
equi
li
bri
um,
Absor
pti
on=spont
aneousemi
ssi
on+St
imul
atedemi
ssi
on-
--
--
-(4)
i
.e.B12N1ρ(
ν)=A21N2+B12N2ρ(
ν) -
--
--
--(
5)
B12N1ρ(
ν)-B12N2ρ(
ν)=A21N2
B12N1–B21N2]ρ(
[ ν)=A21N2

ρ(
ν)= orρ(
ν)=

4
 or ρ(
ν)= -
--
--
--
-

-
--
--
--
-(6)
But
,int
her
mal
equi
l
ibr
ium,
theBol
tzmann’
sdi
str
ibut
ionl
awappl
i
es,
so,

wher
e,Noi
spopul
ati
oni
ngr
oundst
ateandkBi
stheBol
tzmann’
sconst
ant
.

Ther
efor
e, (
Si E2-
nce, E1=
hν
) -
--
--
--
--(
7)
Subst
it
uti
ngeq.(
7)i
neq.(
6),
weget

ρ(
ν)=

-
--
--
--
--
--
--(8)
Accor
dingtoPl
ank’slaw ofbl
ackbodyr
adi
ati
onatt
emper
atur
eTwehav
etheener
gy
densi
tyρ(
ν)atf
requencyνis

-
--
--
--
--
--
--
-(9)
Compar
ingeq.(
8)andeq.(
9),
weget

Equati
ons(
10)and(
11)showt
her
elat
ionsbet
weenEi
nst
ein’
scoef
fi
ci sB12,B21 and
ent
A21.
From theaboverel
ati
oneq.( 10)showst hattherat
ionofrat
eofspont aneous(A21)to
rateofsti
mulat
edemission(B21)i
spr opor
ti
onaltocubeofthefrequencyofthei
ncident
radiat
ion.Theeq.(11)showst hatthe r
ateofabsor pt
ion i
sequalt ot herateof
sti
mul at
edemissi
on,whenthesy stem i
nequil
i
brium.

POPULATIONI NVERSI
ON:
Atthermalequi
l
ibr
ium,t
henoofatomsi nlev
el2islessthanthenoofatomsin
l
evel1(N2<N1)
.Theprocessofmaki
ngofhigherpopul
ati
onlevel2thanthepopul
ati
on
5
i
nl ev
el1i sknownaspopul at
ioninver
sion(N2>N1)Thisishighlynonequi l
ibrium
sit
uat
ion.Whenthepopul
ati
oninver
sionexist
s,r
ateofstimul
atedemi ssi
onisgr eater
thanr
ateabsor
pti
onoccur
sandtheli
ghtpassingt
hroughthemateri
alisampli
fi
ed.

LASERPUMPI NG:
Thepr ocessofachievi
ngt hepopulat
ioni
nversi
onbysendi ngtheatomsf r
om
l
owerl evelt
ohi gherlevel
sthroughsuppl
yofenergytothelowerlevelatomsiscall
ed
l
aserpumpi ng.Thesuppl yofenergyi
susuall
yprovi
dedinthefor
m ofl i
ght(Opt
ical
)or
elect
riccurrent( El
ectr
ical
).But,moreexoticsour
cessuchaschemi calornucl
ear
react
ionscanal sobeused.
Opti
calPumping:Opti
calpumpingisaprocessinwhichli
ghtisusedtorai
seorpump
el
ectr
ons f
rom lowerenergylevelin an atom ormoleculeto hi
gherone.Iti
s
commonlyusedinsoli
dstat
elasers(
Ex.
: RubyLaser
,et
c.)
.

El
ectri
calPumping:El
ectr
icdischar
gei scommoni ngasl
asers.Gasl asershavevery
narr
ow absor
pti
onband,pumpi ngtheninanyfl
ashlampisnotpossi bl
e.Inmostof
thecasespopul
ati
oninver
sioniscreatedbymeansofel
ectr
icdischarge.(Ex.
:He-
Ne
Laseretc.
)

META- STABLESTATE:
Met astablestatei sanexcitedstateofanat om orot hersy st
em wi t
hal onger
l
ifet
imet hant heot herexcitedstat
es.Howev er
,ithasashor terli
fet
imet hanthest abl
e
groundst ate.At omsint hemet astabl
estateremainexcitedforaconsi derableti
mei n
-
6 -3
theorderof10 t o10 s.Dur ingmet ast
abl
est at
e,allthepar ametersassociatedwi t
h
stat
ehol dst ati
onar yvalues.Alargenumberofexci tedat omsar eaccumul at
edi nthe
metastablest ate.
Thepopul ati
onofmet astablest
atecanexceedt
hepopulati
onatalowerlevel
ther
ebyestabli
shingpopul
ati
oni nv
ersi
oninalasi
ngmedi
um.Populat
ioni
nver
sioncoul
d
notbecreatedwithoutametastabl
estate.

6
THREELEVELSCHEMES:
Wehav eseent hatthekeyt ol aseract ioni st o
obtain a popul ation inv er
sion between t wo lev els of
energyE1 andE2 wi thE2>E1,sot hatmor eat omsar ein
thel evel2t hani nt hel evel1.I nthet hree-l
evell asers
fi
gure,wel ookf ort hreel evelsinanat om sucht hat
E3>E2>E1, withaf astdecaybet weenl evels3and2anda
slow decay bet ween 2 and 1.I ncidentr adi
ation of
angul arfrequency i
s
usedt oraiseasmanyat omsaspossi bl efrom thel ev el
1t ol evel3.Not et hatapopul ati
oninv ersioncannotbe
obtained bet ween l evels3 and 1,becausewhen t he
numberofat omsN3 i nl evel3equal st henumberN1 i nlevel1,absorpt
ionwil
lbe
balanced byst imul ated emi ssi
on and t hemat erialwi l
lbecomet r
anspar
entatthe
frequencyν 31.I
flev el3decay srapidlytol evel2, apopul ati
oninver
sioncanbeobtai
ned
betweenl evels2and1.Anexampl eist her ubylaser .

FOURLEVELSCHEMES:
Excepti nspeci al cases, suchast her uby ,
iti
sdi ffi
cultto
produceapopul ationinv ersi
onbet weenagr oundst at eandan
excit edst at
e,becausei niti
all
yal lt
heat omsar el i
kel ytobei n
thegr oundst ate,andwehav et ogetmor et hanhal ft heat oms
i
nt ol ev el2bef oreapopul at
ioni nversioncanbeachi eved.An
easi erappr oachi stouseaf our-l
evelsy stem int headj acent
fi
gur eandat temptt ocr eateapopul ationi nversi
onbet ween
twoexci tedlev els.West artwi thalltheat omsi nt hegr ound
state1,andnonei ntheexci tedst ates2,3and4( E2<E3<E4).
Lev el4i schosensot hati thasaf astdecayt olev el3,and
pumpi ng bet ween l evels 1 and 4 i mmedi atel
ypr oduces a
popul ationinv ersionbet weenl evel
s3and2.Asl ev el2begi ns
tof i
llupbyst imul atedemi ssionatt hef requency( E3-E2)/h,thepopulat
ioni
nversi
onwil
l
decr ease.Tomi nimizet his,lev el2ischosensot hati thasaf astdecaytotheground
state.
REQUI REMENTSFORTHELASERSYSTEM:
Thebasi crequi r
ement soft heLasersy st em areshowni nbelow f
igure.I
tconsi
stsof
threebasi cpar t
sasgi v enbel ow:
Pumpi ngSy stem

Act
ivemedi
um
7
 Opt
ical
Resonat
or

PumpingSy st
em:Pumpingsour ceist
hebasicenergysourceforalaser.I
tgivesenergy
tov ar
iousatomsoflasermedi um &exci
testhem,sot hatpopulat
ioninversioncan
takeplaceandi ti
smaintai
nedwi t
htime.Theexcitat
ionofatom occur sdirectl
yor
throughatom orat
om col
li
sion.

Ther
earevar
ioust
ypesofpumpi
ngsy
stemsdependi
ngont
henat
ureoft
heact
ive
medium.

Act
iveMedium:Acti
ve medi um isthehear
tofthelasersystem andisresponcibl
efor
produci
ngpopul
ationinv
ersion(gai
n)andsubsequentgenerat
ionoflaser
.Itcanbea
soli
d,li
qui
d,semiconductororgasmedi um andcanbepumpedt ohi gherenergy
stat
e.

Opt
icalresonator
:Itplay
sav eryi
mportantr
olei
ntheproduct
ionoflaserbeam f
rom the
l
asersy stem.Iti saset upusedt oobtainampl
if
icati
onofslimulatedphotons,by
oscil
lati
ngthem backandf ort
hbetweentwoextr
emel i
mits.I
tconsistsoft
wopl ane
orconcav emi rrorsplacedco- axi
all
y.Onemirr
ori sful
lyrefl
ecti
ngandot heris
parti
all
yrefl
ecti
ng.

RUBYLASER:
Thefi
rstworkinglaserwasbuil
tin1960byT. H.MaimanusingaRubycr y
staland
socalledtheRubyLaser .Thisisal
socall
edsol idstatel
aserort
hreelevell
aser.Ruby
belongstothefami l
yofgemsconsi sti
ngofAl 2O3 wit
hvari
ousty
pesofi mpuri
ti
es.For
exampl ei
nRubyl aserusedt hepi
nkrubycontains0.05%Cratoms( AlO
2 3+0.
05% Cr
2O3)
.
Theschemat i
cdiagram oftheRubylaseri
sasf oll
ows:

8
Const r
ucti
on:TheRubyl aserconsistsofarubyr odwhosel engthisfewcent imeterand
3+
diameteris0.5cm.Thi si smadeupofwi thchromi um (Cr )dopedAl 2O3ma ter
ial
.Both
theendsoft her ubyrodar esilver
edsucht hatoneendi sf ull
yrefl
ect i
ngandt heother
endi sparti
all
yreflect
ing.Ther ubyr odissur
roundedbyhel i
calxenonf lashlampt ube
+3
whichpr ovi
destheopt icalpumpi ngt orai
seCr i onst oupperener gyl evel
.Thel i
ght
from thex enonf l
asht ubewasf ocusedbyt hecy li
ndricalcav i
tyont ot herubyr od,
ther
ebyex cit
ingthechr omi um atomswhi chwerer esponsibleforthelaseraction.
Wor ki
ng:

Ther ubyl aseri s at hree-Levelsy stem

(Adjacent Fi g.) since onl y t hree
energyl evelsar einvolvedi nthepr ocessofst imulat
edemission.Thedepopul ati
onof
thegr oundst atef orpopul at
ioninver si
oni sachievedbyexcit
ingt heat omsoft her uby
crystalwi t
hi ntensel ightfrom ax enonf lashlamp.Thust heatomsar eexcitedfrom t he
groundst ate( level1)t oanupperst ate(level3)bymeansofabsor pti
on.Fr om t he
energyl evel3,t heat omsar etransf err
edt oener gylev
el2wi thoutemi t
ti
ngr adiation
(non-radiati
vet ransfer).Theener gyl evel2i scalledmetstablel evelsincet heat oms
stayatt hi
sl ev elforal ongerintervaloft i
me.Fi nall
y,t
heatomsr eturnt othegr ound
statef r
om t hemet astablelevelthrought hepr ocessofsti
mulatedemi ssi
ongi vi
ngr i
se
toani ntensel aserlightat6943Ao.Thel aserbeam comesouti nt hef orm ofapul seof

9
v
eryshor
tdur
ati
on(
aboutami
l
li
second)
.
Appli
cati
ons:Theyar
est
il
lusedi
nanumberofappl
i
cat
ionswher
eshor
tpul
sesofr
ed
l
ightarer
equir
ed.
Hologr
aphy
'saroundt
hewor
ldpr
oducehol
ogr
aphi
cpor
trai
tswi
thr
ubyl
aser
s,i
nsi
zes
uptoametersquar
ed.

Manynon-
destr
ucti
vetest
inglabsuserubylaser
stocreat
ehol
ogr
amsofl
argeobj
ect
s
suchasair
craftt
ir
estolookforweaknessesinthel
i
ning.

Rubyl
aser
swer
eusedext
ensi
vel
yint
att
ooandhai
rremov
al.

Dr
awbacks:
Thelaserr
equir
eshi
ghpumpingpowerbecausethel
asert
ransi
ti
ont
ermi
nat
esatthe
gr
oundstateandmorethanhalfofgr
oundst
ateat
omsmustbepumpedt ohi
gher
st
atetoachi
evepopul
ati
oninv
ersi
on.

Theeffi
ciencyofr
ubylaserisver
ylowbecauseonl
ygreencomponentoft
hepumpi
ng
l
ighti
susedwhiletherestofcomponent
sarelef
tunused

Thelaseroutputi
snotcont
inuesbutoccur
sint
hef
orm ofpul
sesofmi
croseconds
dur
ation.

HELIUM- NEON( He- Ne)LASER:

TheHe- Nelaseracti
vemedi um consi
stsoft
wogaseswhichdonoti
nter
actf
orm
amol ecule.ThereforeHe-nelaserisonet y
peofat omi
cgaslaserandal
socall
edas
Fourlevellaser.
Const
ruct
ion:

10
He-Negasl aserconsist
sofagasdi schar
get ubeoflengt
h30cm anddi amet erof
1.
5cm.Thet ubei smadeupofquar tzandi sfil
ledwithami xtureofNeonundera
pressureof0.1mm ofHg.TheHel i
um underthepressur
eof1mm ofHg, therati
oofHe-
Nemi xtureofabout10: 1,hencetheno.ofheli
um atomsar egreatert
hanneonat oms.
Themi xturesisenclosed betweenasetofpar al
l
elmirr
orsformingar esonat
ingcav i
ty,
oneoft hemi rrorsiscompletel
yrefl
ect
ingandt heotherpart
ial
lyrefl
ecti
nginor derto
ampl i
fytheout putl
aserbeam.

Wor king:
IntheHe- Nel asert hel i
ghtpr oducedbyat omi ctransit i
onswi thi
nt heNeonat om.
TheHel i
um doesnotdi rectlypr oducel aserl i
ghtbuti tact sasabuf f
ergas, thispurpose
ofwhi chi stoassi st/hel pt heat omsoft heothergast oproducel asi
ngact ion.
Theact iv
eener gyl ev el
sofHeandNeonat omsar eshow i nadjacentf igur
e.I n
helium t herear et hr eeact i
veener gy
l
ev elsnamedasF1,F2 andF3 wher e
asi nNeon, therear esi xact iveener gy
l
ev elsnamedasE1,E2,E3,E4,E5,and
E6.I nHel ium,t hemet astabl est ates
areF2 and F3,wher easi nNeon,E4
andE6.Whenadi schar gei spassed
through t he gaseous mi x
tur e
electronsar eaccel er atedi nthet ube
these accel erated el ectrons col li
de
witht he hel i
um at oms and ex ci
t e
them t ohi gherener gyl ev els( F2 and
F3)si nce t he lev els ar e met astabl e
ener gylev el
s,Heat omsspendsuf fici
ent l
ylongt i
me.I nelast i
ccol l
isi
onoft heexci ted
helium at oms( F2 andF3)wi tht hegr oundst ate(E1)Neonat omsr esul
tsi nt r
ansferof
ener gyt ot heneonat oms,exci ti
ngt hem i nt o E4 and E6 st ates.Thisi sduet ot he
coincidenceofener gyl ev elsbet weent hehelium andneonat oms.Si nceE4 andE6 ar e
met astablest ates,hencet hepopul ati
oni nver si
ont akespl acebet weent heE6 andE4
withr espectt oE5andE3.Thest imul atedemi ssiont akespl acebet weenE6→ E3gi vesa
o
l
aserl ightofwav el engt h6328A andt hestimulatedemi ssionbet weenE6→E5gi vesa
l
aserl ightwav elengt hof3. 39μm.Anot herstimul atedemi ssi onbet weenE4→E3gi vesa
l
aserl ightwav elengt hof1. 15μm.Theneonat omsunder gospont aneousemi ssi
onf rom

11
E3→E2andE5→ E2.Fi nall
yt heneonat omsar er eturnedtothegroundstateE1from E2by
non-
radi
ativedi f
fusi
onandcol l
isi
onpr ocess.
Afterar ri
vi
ngt hegr oundstate,onceagai ntheneonat omsar eraisedtoE6&E4
byexci
tedhel ium at
omst huswecangetcont inuouswav eoutputfr
om He- Nel
aser.But
someopt icalelement spl
acedi nsidesthel asersy stem areusedtoabsor btheinf
rared
l
aserwav elengths3.39μm and1. 15μm.Hencet heout putofHe-Nelasercontai
nsonl ya
si
nglewav elengthof6328Aoandt heout putpoweri saboutfewmi l
l
iwatts.
Appl
icati
ons:
TheNar r
ow redbeam ofHe-Nel aseri
susedinsupermarket
storeadbarcodes(Bar-
codescanners)
.
TheHe-NeLaserisusedinHolographyi
nproduci
ngthe3Dimagesofobj
ects.
He-Nelaser
shav emanyindustr
ialandsci
enti
fi
cuses,andareof
tenusedinlabor
ator
y
demonstrat
ionsofopt
ics.

APPLICATIONSOFLASER:Ther earemanyscienti
fi
c,mi l
i
tary
,medical
,indust
ri
aland
commer ci
allaserappl
icati
onswhichhavebeendev elopedsincetheinvent
ionofthe
l
aser.
LaserDri
ll
ing:Laserdri
ll
i
ngi soneofthefew t
echniquesforproduci
ngholesinhard
materi
alswit
hdesireddiamet
er.Thedi
ameteroftheseholesassmallas5microns.

Laser
-dr
il
li
ngisusedinmanyapplicat
ions,i
ncl
udingtheoilgal
l
eryofsomeengi
ne
bl
ocks,aer
ospacetur
bine-
engi
necooli
ngholes,
laserf
usioncomponent
sandpr
int
ed
ci
rcui
tboardmicr
o-vi
as.
LaserWel di
ngandCut ti
ng: Thehi ghl
ycollimat
edbeam ofaLasercanbef ur
ther
focusedtoami cr
oscopicdotofext remelyhighenergydensit
yforweldi
ngand
cutti
ng.Theaut
omobileindust
rymakesext ensi
veuseofCO2laserwi
thpower
supt o
severalKW f
orcomputercontr
oll
edweldingonautoassemblyli
nes.
Laser
sinDataStor
age:Thereadingandwri
ti
ng(St
ore)oft
hedat
aonacompactdi
sc
(CDorDVD)i
sdonewithsemiconduct
orl
aser.
Laser
sinsci
ent
if
icr
esear
ch:
Laser
sar
eusedt
ocl
eandel
i
cat
epi
ecesofar
t,dev
elophi
ddenf
ingerpr
int
s
Laserar
eusedi
nthef
iel
dsof3Dphot
ogr
aphycal
l
edhol
ogr
aphy
Usinglaserst
hei
nter
nal
str
uct
ureofmi
croor
gani
smsandcel
l
sar
est
udi
edv
ery
accuratel
y
Laser
sar
eusedt
opr
oducecer
tai
nchemi
cal
react
ions.
Laseri
nMedi
cine:
Theheat
ingact
ionofal
aserbeenusedt
oremov
edi
seasedbodyt
issue

12
 Laser
sar eusedf
orel
i
minat
ionofmol
esandt
umour
s,whi
char
edev
elopi
ngi
nthe
ski
ntissue.
Laserbeam i
susedt
ocor
rectt
her
eti
nal
det
achmentbyey
especi
ali
st.
I
tisusedi
nbi
omedi
calsci
ence.
I
tisusedi
n3Dphot
ogr
aphy
.
I
tcanbeusedf
ormeasur
ingv
eloci
tyofl
ight
,tost
udyspect
rum ofmat
ter
s,t
ost
udy
RamanEf
fect
.
I
tisusedi
nhol
ogr
aphy
.
I
tisal
sousedi
nmi
li
tar
y,l
ikeLI
DAR.
I
tisusedt
oaccel
erat
esomechemi
calr
eact
ions.
I
tisal
sousedi
nnucl
earf
usi
onr
eact
ions.

13