LASERS

Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission Radiation
BEC- I Year
SVNIT, Surat
 Why the Interest in Lasers?
• Lasers have unique properties
• Created many new devices
• Improved existing devices
 Example Of LASER APPLICATIONS
• Barcode readers
• Compact disks
• Computer printers
• Color copies
• Laser shows
• Holography 3D
• Position and motion control
• Fiber communication
• Sensor
• Non destructive testing
• Military systems
 Unique Properties of LASER
• High monochromaticity, narrow spectral width, high
temporal coherence
– Laser light is concentrated in narrow range of wavelengths
– Coherence means all the emitted photons have constant
phase relationship in both time and phase difference
• Highly collimated beam
– (Directionality-low divergence)
• High power
• Wider tuning range
• Very short pulse width
• High Irradiance
– Power of Electromagnetic Radiation per unit area
 What is LASER?
• Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation
• A semiconductor laser used for signal
transmission in fiber optics.
• The laser is a source of highly directional
monochromatic coherent light
• The diodes emits high powered light through a
glass lens to minimize signal loss.
LASER Diode Construction

Homojunction Laser
• The above figure shows a simplified construction
of a laser diode, which is similar to a light
emitting diode (LED). It uses gallium arsenide
doped with elements such as selenium,
aluminium, or silicon to produce P type and N
type semiconductor materials.
• While a laser diode has an additional active layer
of undoped (intrinsic) gallium arsenide have the
thickness only a few nanometers, sandwiched
between the P and N layers, effectively creating
a PIN diode (P type-Intrinsic-N type). It is in this
layer that the laser light is produced.
Mechanism of Light Emission In LASER

• Absorption
• Spontaneous Emission
• Stimulated Emission
 Absorption

When an energy source given to the atoms in the ground state

can be excited to go to one of the higher levels. This process is
called absorption.
 Spontaneous Emission

After staying at that level for a very short duration, the atom
returns to its initial ground state, emitting a photon in the process,
This process is called spontaneous emission.
 Stimulated Emission

In case the atom, still in an excited state, is struck by an outside photon having
precisely the energy necessary for spontaneous emission, the outside photon
is increased by the one given up by the excited atom, Moreover, both the
photons are released from the same excited state in the same phase, This
process, called stimulated emission, is fundamental for laser action (shown in
above figure). In this process, the key is the photon having exactly the same
wavelength as that of the light to be emitted
Lasing Mechanism
 LASING Requirements
• In thermal equilibrium, and since Ec>Ev, electron
concentration in Ec will be less than electron
concentration in Ec
• Thus absorption is more likely to occur than stimulated
emission
• To obtain more stimulated emission than absorption, the
electron concentration in Ec should be larger than it in Ev
• This term is called population inversion. It is the first
requirement for lasing action to occur
• Another requirement is to enhance stimulated emission
over spontaneous emission
The amount of time spent by an atom or molecule in an excited state is critical in determining
whether it will be stimulated to emission and participate in a cascade of photons, or lose its
energy through spontaneous emission. Excited states commonly have lifetimes of only
nanoseconds before they release their energy by spontaneous emission, a period that is not
lengthy enough to likely undergo stimulation by another photon. A critical requirement for laser
action, therefore, is a longer-lived state that is suitable for the upper energy level. Such states do
exist for certain materials, and are referred to as metastable states (see Figure). The average
lifetime before spontaneous emission occurs for a metastable state is on the order of a
microsecond to a millisecond, quite a lengthy period of time on the atomic timescale. With
lifetimes this long, excited atoms and molecules can produce significant amounts of stimulated
emission. Laser action is only possible if the population builds up faster than it decays in the
upper energy level, maintaining a population larger than that of the lower level. The longer the
spontaneous emission lifetime, the more suitable a molecule or atom is for laser applications.
 Amplification and Population Inversion
• When favourable conditions are created for the stimulated
emission, more and more atoms are forced to emit photons
thereby initiating a chain reaction and releasing an enormous
amount of energy. This results in a rapid build up of energy of
emitting one particular wavelength (monochromatic light),
travelling coherently in a particular, fixed direction. This process is
called amplification by stimulated emission.
• The number of atoms in any level at a given time is called the
population of that level. Normally, when the material is not excited
externally, the population of the lower level or ground state is
greater than that of the upper level. When the population of the
upper level exceeds that of the lower level, which is a reversal of
the normal occupancy, the process is called population inversion.
This situation is essential for a laser action for any stimulated
emission.
• It is necessary that the upper energy level or met stable
state should have a long lifetime, i.e., the atoms should
pause at the metastable state for more time than at the
lower level. Thus, for laser action, pumping mechanism
(exciting with external source) should be from a such, as
to maintain a higher population of atoms in the upper
energy level relative to that in the lower level.
• It is necessary that the upper energy level or metastable
state should have a long lifetime, i.e., the atoms should
pause at the met stable state for more time than at the
lower level. Thus, for laser action, pumping mechanism
(exciting with external source) should be from a such, as
to maintain a higher population of atoms in the upper
energy level relative to that in the lower level.
 Optical Resonator Cavity

• How to provide Light Amplification?

• To do so, we need very large photon field density.
This is encouraged in laser devices by providing
an optical resonant cavity in which photon density
can build up to a large value through a multiple
internal reflection at certain frequencies
• In nut-shell LASER requires,
– Direct Band-Gap
– Population Inversion
– Optical Cavity Resonator
 Controlling the LASER
• The laser diode is operated at a much higher current, typically about 10
times greater than a normal LED. The below figure compares a graph of
the light output of a normal LED and that of a laser diode. In a LED the
light output increases steadily as the diode current is increased.
• In a laser diode, however laser light is not produced until the current
level reaches the threshold level when stimulated emission starts to
occur. The threshold current is normally more than 80% of the maximum
current the device will pass before being destroyed! For this reason, the
current through the laser diode must be carefully regulated.
• Another problem is that the emission of photons is very dependent on
temperature, the diode is already being operated close to its limit and so
gets hot, therefore changing the amount of light emitted (photons) and
the diode current. By the time the laser diode is working efficiently it is
operating on the brink of disaster! If the current reduces and falls below
the threshold current, stimulated emission ceases; just a little too much
current and the diode is destroyed.
 Advantages of DH- LASER
• Carrier Confinement
• Optical Confinement
• Design flexibility
• Lower Losses
• DH laser requires less current to obtain the
population inversion and to start lasing in the
active region
 Advantages of Laser Diodes
• Simple construction
• Lightweight
• Very cheap
• Small size
• Highly reliable compared to other types of lasers.
• Longer operating life
• High efficiency
• Mirrors are not required in the semiconductor lasers.
• Low power consumption
 Disadvantages of LASER Diodes
• Not suitable for the applications where high
powers are required.
• Semiconductor lasers are highly dependent on
temperature.
 Applications of LASER Diodes
• Laser diodes are used in laser pointers.
• Laser diodes are used in fiber optic
communications.
• Laser diodes are used in barcode readers.
• Laser diodes are used in laser printing.
• Laser diodes are used in laser scanning.
• Laser diodes are used in range finders.
• Laser diodes are used in laser absorption
spectrometry.