Helium-neon Laser

By: Charchit kumar sethi (1

7bscn033)
Laser & its Types

• A laser is a device that emit light through

a process of optical amplification based on
the stimulated emission of electromagnetic
radiation.
Types

• Gas laser
• Chemical laser
• Excimer laser
• Semiconductor laser
• FET laser
Historical facts
• The Helium-Neon laser was the first continuous laser.
• It was invented by Javan et. al. in 1961. But how did Javan manage to
do this?
• This shows that it is no coincidence that Javan's first He-Ne laser oscilla
ted at a
• Wavelength of 1.5μm, since the amplification at this wavelength is cons
iderably
• Higher than the 632 nm line which is reached at what is now commonly
known as the red line, which was made to oscillate only one year later
by White and Ridgen.
• The similarity between the manufacturing techniques of He-Ne lasers a
nd electron valves helped in the mass production and distribution of He
-Ne lasers..
• It is now clear that He-Ne lasers will have to increasingly compete with
laser diodes in the future. But He-Ne lasers are still unequalled as far as
beam geometry and the purity of the modes are concerned. Laser diod
es will have to be improve to a great extent before they pose a serious
threat to helium-neon laser
Introduction
• A helium-neon laser, usually called a He-Ne laser, is a type of small gas
laser. HeNe lasers have many industrial and scientific uses, and are ofte
n used in laboratory demonstrations of optics.
• He-Ne laser is a four-level laser.
• Its usual operation wavelength is 632.8 nm, in the red portion of the vi
sible spectrum.
• It operates in Continuous Working (CW) mode.
Construction of He-Ne laser
• The setup consists of a discharge tube of length 80 cm and bore diamet
er of 1.5cm.
• The gain medium of the laser, as suggested by its name, is a mixture of
helium and neon gases, in a 5:1 to 20:1 ratio, contained at low pressur
e (an average 50 Pa per cm of cavity length ) in a glass envelope.
• The energy or pump source of the laser is provided by an electrical dis
charge of around 1000 volts through an anode and cathode at each en
d of the glass tube. A current of 5 to 100 mA is typical for CW operation
.
• The optical cavity of the laser typically consists of a plane, high-reflectin
g mirror at one end of the laser tube, and a concave output coupler mir
ror of approximately 1% transmission at the other end.
• HeNe lasers are normally small, with cavity lengths of around 15 cm up
to 0.5 m, and optical output powers ranging from 1 mW to 100 mW.
He-Ne Energy level diagram
• The left side of the representation shows the lower levels of the helium
atoms.The energy scale is interrupted and that there is a larger differen
ce in energy in the recombination process than is evident in the diagra
m.
• A characteristic of helium is that its first states to be excited, 21S1 and
21S0 are metastable, i.e. optical transitions to the ground state 11S0 ar
e not allowed, because this would violate the selection rules for optical
transitions. As a result of gas discharge, these states are populated by
electron collisions
• A collision is called a collision of the second type if one of the colliding b
odies transfers energy to the other so that a transition from the previou
s energy state to the next higher or lower takes place. Apart from the e
lectron collision of the second type there is also the atomic collision of t
he second type. In the latter, an excited helium atom reaches the initial
state because its energy has been used in the excitation of a Ne atom.
Both these processes form the basis for the production of a population i
nversion in the Ne system.
Working of He-Ne laser

• A description of the rather complex HeNe excitation process can be giv

en in terms of the following four steps.
• (a)When the power is switched on, An energetic electron collisionally ex
cites a He atom to the state labeled 21So . A He atom in this excited st
ate is often written He*(21So), where the asterisk means that the He at
om is in an excited state.
• (b) The excited He*(21So) atom collides with an unexcited Ne atom an
d the atoms exchange internal energy, with an unexcited He atom and
excited Ne atom, written Ne*(3s2), resulting. This energy exchange pro
cess occurs with high probability only because of the accidental near eq
uality of the two excitation energies of the two levels in these atoms. T
hus, the purpose of population inversion is fulfilled.
• When the excited Ne atom passes from metastable state(3s) to lower le
vel(2p), it emits photon of wavelength 632 nm.
• This photon travels through the gas mixture parallel to the axis of tube,
it is reflected back and forth by the mirror ends until it stimulates an ex
cited Ne atom and causes it to emit a photon of 632nm with the stimul
ating photon.
• The stimulated transition from (3s) level to (2p) level is laser transition.
• This process is continued and when a beam of coherent radiation beco
mes sufficiently strong, a portion of it escape through partially silvered
end.
• The Ne atom passes to lower level 1s emitting spontaneous emission. a
nd finally the Ne atom comes to ground state through collision with tub
e wall and undergoes radiationless transition.
Applications of He-Ne laser
• The Narrow red beam of He-Ne laser is used in s
upermarkets to read bar code.
• The He- Ne Laser is used in Holography in produ
cing the 3D images of objects.
• He-Ne lasers have many industrial and scientific
uses, and are often used in laboratory demonstr
ations of optics.
Advantage of He-Ne laser
• Helium-neon laser emit laser in visible portion o
f the spectrum.
• High stability
• Low cost
• Operates without damage at higher temp.
Disadvantage of He-Ne laser
• Low efficiency
• Low gain
• Helium-neon lasers are limited to low power task
s
 Thank you
for your attention