APPLIED PHYSICS

SEM I
MODULE - 1

LASER
LASER
Prerequisites: LASER
1) Absorption, recombination
Syllabus
1) Spontaneous emission and stimulated emission;
2) Population inversion, pumping, active medium & active
center;
3) Resonant cavity, coherence length and coherence time,
Characteristics of lasers;
4) GAP : Three & Four level laser system;
6) He-Ne laser: construction and working;
7) Fiber laser : Construction and working;
8) Application : (i) Elementary knowledge of LiDAR (ii)
Barcode reader (iii) Application of laser in metal work
LASER
A laser is a device that emits light
(electromagnetic radiation) through a
process of optical amplification based on
the stimulated emission of photons.
A laser consists of a gain medium, a
mechanism to supply energy to it,
and something to provide optical
feedback.
Components of a typical laser

Components of a typical laser:

1. Gain medium
2. Laser pumping energy
3. High reflector
4. Output coupler
5. Laser beam
 Laser System
 Active (gain) medium that can amplify light that passes through it
 Energy pump source to create a population inversion in the gain
medium
 Two mirrors that form a resonator cavity
 QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
EM Spectrum With Optical Region
Ordinary Light
Ordinary Light
Laser Light
s=N

Laser Radiations
Incandescent vs. Laser Light

1. Many wavelengths 1. Monochromatic

2. Multidirectional 2. Directional
3. Incoherent 3. Coherent
15
RADIATION ON MATTER
Yes, Stimulated Absorption
 Before After

Spontaneous Emission
Spontaneous
emission
Before After
Stimulated Emission
Absorption and Emission
Properties of SE
 Amplification

 Coherency
Population Inversion
Threshold Population Inversion & Steady –
state Operation of LASER
The various loss mechanisms are –
 Absorption and scattering in the active medium and in the
material of reflective coating
 Openness of the cavity
 Diffraction spillover at the edges of reflectors.
 Specific mode/modes selection.
 Other processes.
For steady state operation, gain produced by the laser
system compensates for the losses in the system.
Threshold population inversion is that amount of inversion
required to maintain steady state operation.
 Stimulated emission
Mirror Mirror
Ef

Ei
 Feed-back by the cavity
Mirror Mirror
Ef

Ei
 Stimulated emission
Mirror Mirror
Ef

Ei
 Feed-back by the cavity
Mirror Mirror
Ef

Ei
 After several round trips…

Mirror Mirror
Ef

Ei

Laser beam
Photons with:
- same energy : Monochromatic
- same direction of propagation : Spatial coherence
- all in synchrony: Temporal coherence
Out-put from LASER
 Stimulated emission can lead to a chain
reaction and laser emission.
If a medium has many excited molecules, one photon can become
many.

This is the essence of the laser. The factor by which an input beam
is amplified by a medium is called the gain and is represented by G.
Properties of Lasers
 Coherency- Phase does not change with
time
Time Coherency
Space Coherency
 Amplification – Very Intense Radiations
 Less Beam Diversion- Highly Directional
 Very High Energy Density & High
Focussability
Light from a laser is highly organized, and
easily produces interference
Ordinary light is disorganised, not capable of
producing interference
light waves always come in wave trains. The
wave trains are of finite length, and each train
containing only a limited number of waves.
The length of a wave train is called the
coherence length.
NOTE:
 Coherence length can be expressed as the product
of the number of waves, N, contained in the train
and their wave length, .
The formula for coherence length is then given by
Δs = N λ
Since the velocity is the distance travelled per unit
of time, it takes a wave train of length s a certain
length of time, Δt, to pass a given point and we get
therefore,

where c is the velocity of light, and the length of

time Δt is called the coherence time.
Einstein’s Equation:
The lower atomic energy levels are always more
populated.

Einstein in 1917 first introduced the concept of

stimulated or induced emission of radiation by atomic
systems. He showed that in order to describe
completely the interaction of matter and radiation, it
is necessary to include that process in which an excited
atom may be induced by the presence of radiation emit
a photon and decay to lower energy state.
 An atom in level 2 can decay to level1 by emission of
photon. Let us call21 the transition probability per unit time
for spontaneous emission from level 2 to level 1. Then the
number of spontaneous decays per second is 221, i.e. the
number of spontaneous decays per second=221.

In addition to these spontaneous transitions, there will

induced or stimulated transitions. The total rate to these
induced transitions between level 2 and level 1 is
proportional to the density (U) of radiation of frequency ,
where

 = ( 2-1 )/h , h Planck's const.

 Let 21 and 12 denote the proportionality
constants for stimulated emission and absorption.
Then number of stimulated downward transition in
stimulated emission per second = 2 21 U

similarly , the number of stimulated upward

transitions per second = 1 12 U

The proportionality constants  and  are known

as the Einstein  and  coefficients. Under
equilibrium conditions we have
 SP ST

N2 A21 + N2 B21 U =N1 B12 U

Ab

by solving for U (density of the radiation) we obtain

U [1 12- 2 21 ] = 21 2

N 2 A 21
∴ U ( ν )=
N 1 B 12− N 2 B 21
 A 21
∴ U ( ν )=
B 21
[ B12 N 1
B 21 N 2
−1
]
N2 − ( E 2 − E 1 )/ KT
∵ =e = e− hν /KT
N1

A 21
∴ U ( ν )=

[ ]
B12 hν / KT )1)
B 21 e −1
B 21

According to Planck’s formula of radiation

8 πhν 3 1
U ( ν )=
c 3 [e hν / KT − 1 ] )2)
from equations 1 and 2 we have
B12=B21 (3)

3
8 πhν
A 21= 3 B 21 (4)
c
Equation 3 and 4 are Einstein’s relations. Thus for atoms in
equilibrium with thermal radiation.

stimulate emission N 2 B21 U ( ν ) B 21 U ( ν )

= =
spon tan eous emission N 2 A 21 A 21

from equation 2 and 4

 stim . emission c3
= 3
U (ν )
spon . emission 8 πhν
c3 8 πhν 3 1
=
8 πhν 3 c 3 [e hν / KT − 1 ]

stim . emission 1
= hν / KT (5)
spon . emission [e − 1]

Accordingly, the rate of induced emission is extremely small

in the visible region of the spectrum with ordinary optical
sources ( 10 3 K ).
 Types of Laser
According to the active material:
solid-state, liquid, gas, excimer or
semiconductor lasers.

According to the wavelength:

infra-red, visible, ultra-violet (UV)
or x-ray lasers.
 LASER TYPE WAVELENGTH (Nanometers)
Argon Fluoride 193
Xenon Chloride 308 and 459
Xenon Fluoride 353 and 459
Helium Cadmium 325 - 442
Rhodamine 6G 450 - 650
Copper Vapor 511 and 578

Argon 457 - 528 (514.5 and 488 most used)

Frequency doubled Nd:YAG 532

Helium Neon 543, 594, 612, and 632.8

Krypton 337.5 - 799.3 (647.1 - 676.4 most used)

Ruby 694.3
Laser Diodes 630 - 950
Ti:Sapphire 690 - 960
Alexandrite 720 - 780
Nd:YAG 1064
Hydgrogen Fluoride 2600 - 3000
Erbium:Glass 1540
Carbon Monoxide 5000 - 6000
Carbon Dioxide 10600
Construction of He-Ne Laser
Construction of He-Ne Laser
Working – He-Ne Laser
Fiber LASER
Fibre lasers are a type of solid-state lasers that use optical fibres
as their active gain medium. In these lasers, a fibre made of
silicate or phosphate glass absorbs raw light from the pump
laser diodes and transforms it into a laser beam with a specific
wavelength.
To achieve this, the optical fibre is doped. Doping refers to the
practice of mixing a rare-earth element into the fibre. By using
different doping elements, laser beams can be created with a
wide range of wavelengths.
Some common doping elements in their increasing order of
emitted wavelengths are neodymium (780-1100nm), ytterbium
(1000-1100nm), praseodymium (1300nm), erbium (1460-
1640nm), thulium (1900-250nm), holmium (2025-2200nm), and
dysprosium (2600-3400nm).
 Because of such a wide range of produced wavelengths, fibre
lasers are perfect for a variety of applications such as laser
cutting, texturing, cleaning, engraving, drilling, marking and
welding.

 This also enables fibre lasers to find use in many different

sectors such as medicine, defence, telecommunications,
automotive, spectroscopy, electrical, manufacturing and
transportation.
Fiber Laser
Construction of a Fiber Laser
 Doped Fiber: The core of fiber is doped with a rare-earth
element. This doped fiber serves as the gain medium where light
amplification occurs
 Pump Source: High Power diode lasers are used as pump
source. The Pump laser is coupled into the fiber to excite the
doped ions, which in turn generate Laser light.
 Optical Fiber: This is the medium that guides the light. It
consists of core cladding and protective coating. Core has a
higher refractive index thant the cladding ensuring light
confined and guided.
 Reflectors (Bragg Grating): Fiber Bragg gratings or other types
of mirrors are used to form the resonant cavity. These reflectors
are inscribed into the fiber and reflect specific wavelengths of
light back and forth through doped fiber, providing feedback.
 A fibre laser is named after its active gain medium which
is an optical fibre. Any fibre laser machine that produces a
well-collimated high-power laser does it in five main
stages. These are as follows:

 Creation of pump light

 Collection and travel into the optical fibre

 Pump light passes through the optical fibre

 Stimulated emission in the laser cavity

 Amplification of raw laser light into a laser beam

 Creation of pump light
 This is where the energy for the laser beam enters the system. In
fibre lasers, we use electricity as the energy source. Diodes
known as pump laser diodes convert electrical energy into light
energy. In high-quality diodes, the conversion is reliable and
efficient and produces light energy only with specific
wavelengths.
 Incidentally, low-quality laser diodes were one of the major
obstacles that impeded the progress of laser technology for
about 3 decades.
 In most cases, this pump light or pump beam is produced in
parts by multiple laser diodes and is then coupled in the fibre
optic cable. For instance, there are 20w laser machines that
combine pump light from 11 laser diodes in the fibre optic
cable.
Collection and travel into the optical fibre
 A coupler combines the light from multiple laser diodes
into one. This coupler is a part of the optical fibre.

 It has multiple entry points on one side, each of which

connects to a fibre from an individual laser diode.

 On the other side, there’s a single exit point that connects to

the main fibre.

 Once all the light is collected, it travels to the laser medium

or the gain medium.
Pump light passes through the optical fibre
 In the next stage, the laser diode’s light flows through the
optical fibre to the laser medium. The fibre consists of two
main components: the core and the cladding. The core is
made of silica glass and provides the pathway for light. This
core is covered by cladding. When the light reaches the
cladding, all of it is reflected back into the core.
 Fibre lasers invariably lose some power through heat, but the
excellent surface area to volume ratio facilitates effective
heat dissipation leading to very little heat-related wear and
tear.
 On further travel through the optical fibre, the light
eventually reaches the doped part of the fibre. This part is
known as the laser cavity.
Stimulated emission in the laser cavity
 When the laser diode light reaches the doped fibre, it strikes the rare earth
element’s atoms and excites its electrons to a higher energy level. In time, this
leads to a population inversion which is necessary for the production of a
standard laser.
 Population inversion in laser refers to the state of a gain medium in which a
greater number of electrons are in an excited state compared to those that are
not. It is called population inversion because this is the opposite of the normal
state where only a few atoms have excited electrons.
 When some of these electrons naturally fall to lower energy levels, they emit
photons of only a specific wavelength. These photons interact with other
excited electrons, stimulating them to emit similar photons and retreat to their
initial lower energy levels. This is the physical process of “stimulated
emission”.
 The electrons that return to their original relaxed state are re-excited by the
incoming light from pump diodes. Eventually, the process reaches an
equilibrium between the excited and relaxed electrons, giving us a steady flow
of raw laser light. This light needs to be refined for it to be used in different
applications.
Amplification of raw laser light into a laser beam
 Before using the raw laser light from the doped fibre in
applications, it has to be strengthened first. In fibre lasers,
this is done by using Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBGs). These
gratings replace conventional dielectric mirrors by acting as
mirrors of varying reflectivity.
 The light jumps back and forth between the Bragg Grating.
 A portion of the laser light passes through in one direction
while the remaining light is reflected into the laser cavity.
 The part that passes through the grating becomes the laser
beam. This beam is then sent through an oscillator (and
sometimes a combiner) to improve coherence and then
delivered as output.
Nd (Neodymium) – YAG (Yttrium Aluminium Garnet)
Principle : LASER
Doped Insulator laser refers to yttrium aluminium garnet
doped with neodymium. The Nd ion has many energy levels
and due to optical pumping these ions are raised to excited
levels. During the transition from the metastable state to E1,
the laser beam of wavelength 1.064μm is emitted.
Type  : Doped Insulator Laser
Active Medium  : Yttrium Aluminium Garnet

Active Centre  : Neodymium

Pumping Method  : Optical Pumping (Xenon Flash Pump)
Characteristics :
Optical Resonator  : Ends of rods silver coated
Two mirrors partially and totally
reflecting
Power Output  : 20 Kilowatts
Nature of Output  : Pulsed
Wavelength Emitted  : 1.064 μm
62
 Nd : YAG LASER Diagram

03-10-2024 63
 E6

E5 Non radioactive decay

E4
E3 Metastable state

Laser
1.064μm
E2

Non radioactive decay

Nd3+ E1

E1, E2, E3 – Energy levels of Nd

E3 – Meta Stable State
E1 – ground State Energy Level
Energy Level Diagram of Nd : YAG laser
03-10-2024 64
 Application of Nd : YAG Laser
 These lasers are used in many scientific applications which
involve generation of other wavelengths of light.
 The important industrial uses of YAG and glass lasers have
been in materials processing such as welding, cutting, drilling.
 Since 1.06 m wavelength radiation passes through optical
fibre without absorption, fibre optic endoscopes with YAG
lasers are used to treat gastrointestinal bleeding.
 YAG beams penetrate the lens of the eye to perform
intracular procedures.
 YAG lasers are used in military as range finders and target
designators.

03-10-2024 65
Ruby Laser- Construction
Working of Ruby Laser
Semiconductor Laser
Working of Semiconductor Laser
Applications of laser
 1. Scientific
a. Spectroscopy
b. Lunar laser ranging
c. Photochemistry
d. Laser cooling
e. Nuclear fusion
 Applications of laser
 2 Military
a. Death ray
b. Defensive applications
c. Strategic defense initiative
d. Laser sight
e. Illuminator
f. Rangefinder
g. Target designator
 Applications of laser
 3. Medical

a. eye surgery
b. cosmetic
surgery
Applications of laser
4. Industry & Commercial
a. cutting, welding, marking
b. CD player, DVD player
c. Laser printers, laser pointers
d. Photolithography
e. Laser light display
 Typical Application of Laser
The detection of the binary data stored in the form of pits on the compact disc is
done with the use of a semiconductor laser. The laser is focused to a
diameter of about 0.8 mm at the bottom of the disc, but is further focused to
about 1.7 micrometers as it passes through the clear plastic substrate to strike
the reflective layer. The reflected laser will be detected by a photodiode. Moral
of the story: without optoelectronics there will no CD player!
Schematic of Hologram Recording
Recording of Hologram
Reconstruction Schematic
Reconstruction of Hologram
 Types of Laser Hazards
1. Eye : Acute exposure of the eye to lasers of certain
wavelengths and power can cause corneal or retinal burns
(or both). Chronic exposure to excessive levels may cause
corneal or lenticular opacities (cataracts) or retinal injury.
2. Skin : Acute exposure to high levels of optical radiation may
cause skin burns; while carcinogenesis may occur for
ultraviolet wavelengths (290-320 nm).
3. Chemical : Some lasers require hazardous or toxic
substances to operate (i.e., chemical dye, Excimer lasers).
4. Electrical : Most lasers utilize high voltages that can be
lethal.
5. Fire : The solvents used in dye lasers are flammable. High
voltage pulse or flash lamps may cause ignition. Flammable
materials may be ignited by direct beams or specular
reflections from high power continuous wave (CW) infrared
lasers.
 Other Hazards Associated with Lasers

Chemical Hazards
Some materials used in lasers (i.e., excimer, dye and chemical lasers) may
be hazardous and/or contain toxic substances. In addition, laser induced
reactions can release hazardous particulate and gaseous products.
(Fluorine gas tanks)
Electrical Hazards
Lethal electrical hazards may be
present in all lasers, particularly
in high-power laser systems.
Secondary Hazards including:
•cryogenic coolant hazards
•excessive noise from very high energy lasers
•X radiation from faulty high-voltage (>15kV) power supplies
•explosions from faulty optical pumps and lamps
•fire hazards
SAFETY MEASURES
Application: 1)Elementary knowledge of LiDAR
LiDAR is acronym of Light Detection and Ranging.
It is a ranging technology in which the distance of an object is
measured by firing beams of light at the object and using the time as
well as the wavelength of the reflected beam of light to estimate the
distance. These light pulses – when combined with other data help
in generating high-resolution, accurate 3D information of the object.

Laser light is sent from a source (transmitter) and reflected from

object in the scene. The reflected light is detected by the system
receiver and the time of flight (TOF) is used to develop a distance
map of the objects in the scene.
How does a LiDAR system work?
 LiDAR follows a simple principle. A laser light is thrown at an
object on the Earth’s surface and the time it takes for the light to
return to the LiDAR source is calculated.
 Mostly, a LiDAR instrument comprises a laser, a scanner, and a
specialized GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.
 Other elements which play an important role in the data collection
and analysis are the photodetector and optics.
 Helicopters and airplanes are generally used to acquire LiDAR data
over broad areas.
 Considering the speed of light, the process of determining the
precise distance using LiDAR is incredibly fast.
LiDAR Technology has immense applications in wide-ranging areas.
 LiDAR uses light across different wavelengths including ultraviolet,
visible, or near-infrared light to image objects and it’s, as such, able
to detect all kinds of material compositions, including non-metals,
rocks, rain, chemical compounds, aerosols, clouds and even single
molecules.
 Airborne LiDAR is installed on a helicopter or drone for data
collection.
 Terrestrial LiDAR systems are installed on moving vehicles or
tripods on the earth surface for collecting accurate data points. These
can be further classified into static LiDAR and mobile LiDAR.
 The technology is mostly used for ground-based surveys and the
production of high-resolution maps
 LiDAR technology is used in some applications (Laser Imaging) to
create a 3D representation of the object.
 The aerial LiDAR survey technique, for the first time for any railway
project in India, was adopted for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High
Speed Rail Corridor owing to its high accuracy.
 The technology is used when the definite depth of the ocean’s
surface needs to be determined to locate the object in the event of a
maritime accident or for other research purposes.
 It is used for calculating phytoplankton fluorescence and biomass in
the surface of the ocean.
 Geoscientists use this technology for unearthing secrets related to
geomorphology.
 The LiDAR technology is also used in carrying out security
operations.
Limitations of LiDAR
 LiDAR systems perform poorly in heavy rain, fog or
snow conditions.

 Pulses fired in certain kinds of LiDARs become

ineffective at certain altitudes. It has a low operating
altitude of between 500 meters and 2000 meters.

 It is not suitable to be used in dense forests and thick

vegetations.
 Application : (ii) Barcode reader

 A barcode reader is an optical hardware input device that is used to

read the information from the barcode pasted on the product and
decode the information in a human-readable format.
 It is also used to upload the details of the product in the database.
 A barcode reader is connected to the computer with the help of
wire Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection.
 It consists of a Scanner and an internal or external decoder.
 Decoders are used to decode the barcode to the human-readable
form. Barcode readers are also called Point of Sales (POS).
 When you visit a supermarket, you might see the cashier
scanning a code on the product at the billing counter.
 Within fractions of minutes, they calculate the total price and
create the bill.
 The cashier can do the billing process faster with the help of a
scanner.
 The scanner that is used to scan the barcode on the product is
known as a barcode reader.
 A Barcode reader makes our work easier. In this article, we are
going learn about the barcode reader, the workings of a barcode
reader, applications, advantages, and disadvantages.
Application of Barcode Reader
 It is used in retail for billing purpose and managing the
inventory.
 It is used in shipping and logistic sector to track the
package and sorting the items for shipping.
 It is used in healthcare to track the patient health and
their medication.
 It is used in library management to track the no. of
books, no. of issued books, non-issued books , late
submission and fine collection.
 It is used in Online payment using mobile phones. When we
scan the QR code for payment. So, here our mobile works as
barcode reader.

 It is also used for access control where entry can be done by

scanning the QR code.

 It is also used by Highway authorities where scanner installed

at toll plaza scan the FASTag pasted on the vehicle wind shield
and deduct the amount from account linked with FASTag.
Advantage of Barcode Reader
 It is universally accepted technique, now a days most of the
company uses barcode to track the product in every part of the
globe .
 It saves time of customer and shopkeeper. Customer need not
to wait for longer time in the queue for billing. Earlier, cashier
used to create bill manually and it took lots of time.
 It increase efficiency as well accuracy. Earlier, Shopkeeper
used to create bill manually so there were high chances of
calculation mistakes.
 It reduces the errors in billing.
 It reduces human work in inventory management. Before
barcode system inventory manager required lots of human
resource to manually mange the inventory.
Disadvantage of Barcode Reader
 It is costly. It is a complex device.

 It can be used only for limited no. of information.

 It is less secure. It can be hacked easily.

 Physical damage of barcode gives incorrect

information.

 It does not read the barcode properly if there is ink

leakage on the barcode or if dust is present on the
barcode.
Application of laser in metal work
 Laser cutting in metal fabrication involves directing a
high-powered laser beam onto a metal surface to create
precise cuts or perforations.

 Applications: Used extensively in automotive, aerospace,

electronics, and other industries for creating complex
shapes and intricate designs in metal components.
 Numerical
1) If wavelength of the laser beam is 6550 Ao, calculate the
energy and momentum of photon.

2) The ground state and excited state of the laser is separated

by 1.8 eV. Calculate the ratio of number of atoms in the
excited state to the ground state and wavelength of
radiation emitted at 27oC.

3) Find the ratio of population of higher energy state to lower

energy state when the optical pumping is used at 27°C and
photons of wavelength 6982 × 10-8m are emitted.