Unit 5: Lasers

LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission

of Radiation

The word "LASER" is an acronym for Light Amplification

by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

The term LASER is an acronym that stands for Light

Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Laser action is based on the principles of quantum theory

given by Albert Einstein.

The basic concepts of laser were first given by an

American scientist, Charles H. Townes and two Soviet
scientists, Alexander M. Prokhorov and Nikolai G.Basov
who shared the coveted Nobel Prize of physics in 1964.

However, T.H. Maiman of the Hughes Research

Laboratory, California, was the first scientist who
experimentally demonstrated laser by flashing light
through a ruby crystal, in 1960.

Lasers are finding ever increasing military applications as

well as in range finders, target designators, and direct-
fire simulators.

Lasers are also being used in communications, laser

radars (LIDAR), landing systems, Laser pointers,
guidance systems, scanners, metal working,
photography, holography, and medical.

Characteristics of LASER:

Highly monochromatic: As shown in figure an ordinary

white light is polychromatic means combination of many
different wavelengths (energy).

In contrast, Laser light is a monochromatic light having

only one colour that can be shown by a spectral line of
wavelength λ0.

The light waves from laser contain only one wavelength or

color so it is known as monochromatic light.

Highly directional:
Normal light, such as coming from the sun, a light bulb,
or a candle, is emitted in all directions away from the
source while Laser light is emitted as a relatively narrow
beam in a specific direction. So it can travel longer
distance without significant spreading
Highly coherent:
Light is an electromagnetic wave so it can be described in
wave theory as the superposition of sine waves as a function
of time. Coherent waves are travelling with same phase and
all the waves have same energy.
High Intensity:
Due to coherent nature of laser, it can focus over a very small
area 10-6 cm2 so extremely high concentration of its energy
over a small area.

Einstein’s Theory:
Or
Relation between Einstein’s Coefficients
or
Principle of Spontaneous and Stimulated emission
Or
Einstein’s Quantum theory of radiation

In 1916, Einstein showed the process of interaction of light

(Radiation) with matter. In that, idea of stimulated emission
of radiation introduced by Einstein and after 40 years
resulting in to LASER.

Light is made up of particles called "photons". Each photon

has energy (E) expressed as follows.
E = h* , where h is planck's constant and  is frequency of
light. { λ *  = c (E = h*c/λ) }
We know that, when light is absorbed by the atoms or
molecules, then it goes from the lower energy level (E1) to the
higher energy level (E2) and during the transition from higher
energy level (E2) to lower energy level (E1) the light is emitted
from the atoms or molecules.
Let us consider an atom exposed to light photons of
energy E2 -E1= hv , three distinct processes take place.

1. Absorption

2. Spontaneous emission

3. Stimulated Emission
Absorption:

An atom in the lower energy level or ground state energy level

E1 absorbs the incident photon radiation of energy hv and goes
to the higher energy level or excited level E2 as shown in figure.
 This process is called absorption

If there are many numbers of atoms in the ground state then

each atom will absorb the energy from the incident photon and
goes to the excited state. then,
The rate of absorption (R12) is proportional to the following
factors.

R12 ∞ N1ρ
R12=B12 N1 ρ (1)

N1= Population of lower energy level (Number of number of

atoms in energy states E1)
ρ = Density of incident radiation
B12 = probability of absorption of radiation per unit time

Spontaneous emission:

Normally, the atoms in the excited state will not stay there for a
long period of time , rather it comes to ground state by emitting
a photon of energy E=hν Such an emission takes place by one of
the following two methods.

The atom in the excited state returns to the ground state by

emitting a photon of energy
E=(E2-E1)=hν
Spontaneously without any external triggering as shown in the
figure.
This process is known as spontaneous emission. Such an
emission is random and is independent of incident radiation. If
N1 and N2are the numbers of atoms in the ground state (E1)
and excited state (E2) respectively, then Rate of Spontaneous
emission R21 (sp)

R21(sp) ∞ N2
R21(sp)=A21 N2 (2)

N2= Population of higher energy level (number of excited atoms)

A21 = Probability of spontaneous emission

Where A21 is a constant which gives the probability of

spontaneous emission transitions per unit time.

Stimulated Emission:
The atom in the excited state can also return to the ground state
by external triggering or inducement of photon thereby emitting
a photon of energy equal to the energy of the incident photon,
known as stimulated emission. Thus results in two photons of
same energy, phase difference and of same directionality as
shown.

Therefore, the rate of stimulated emission R21 (st) is given

by
R21(st) ∞ N2 ρ
R21(st)=B21 N2 ρ (3)

N2= Population of higher energy level (number of excited

atoms)
B21 = Probability of stimulated emission per unit time

R12=B12 N1 ρ
R21(sp)=A21 N2
R21(st)=B21 N2 ρ
Rate of absorption= Rate of emission

+
B N ƿ=A N B N ƿ
12 1 21 2 21 2

(B N -B N )ƿ = A N
12 1 21 2 21 2

A21 * N 2

B12 N 1  B 21 N 2
 A21

B12 N1
 B 21
N2

By applying Boltzmann distribution law

 E1

N1  N 0 * e K BT

E2

N2  N0 * e K BT

Where KB is the Boltzmann Constant, T is the absolute

temperature and N0 is the number of atoms at absolute zero.
At equilibrium, we can write the ratio of population levels as
follows.
But From Planks Black Body Radiation
 8hv3 1
 hv
c3
[e K BT
 1]
A21 1
 hv
B 21
[(
B12
)e K BT
 1]
B 21

B12=B21 =B and A21 = A are called Einstein’s coefficients

Ratio of magnitudes of Stimulated to Spontaneous emission
rates
From equations (2) and (3) we have
 Generally Spontaneous emission is more predominant in
the optical region (Ordinary light). To increase the number of
coherent photons stimulated emission should dominate over
spontaneous emission. To achieve this, an artificial condition
called Population Inversion is necessary.

Therefore, if an electromagnetic radiation is incident on the

substance at thermal equilibrium condition, then there is net
absorption of the radiation. And the population decreases
with the increase of energy of the state.

Difference between Spontaneous and Stimulated Emission

Sr.
Spontaneous Stimulated Emission
no.
Emission
1.

2. It does not take help

It takes help of an
of an external
external agency
agency
(photon)
3. It is a random process It is not a random process
4. It is
uncontrollable It is a controllable process
process
5. Photons emitted in the
Photon are emitted
process travel only in one
in all directions.
 direction and
hence are highly directional.
6. Photons generated do
Photons generated have
not have same
same frequency and hence
frequency and hence
the light is monochromatic
the light is
not monochromatic
7. The photons The photons generated are
generated are in the same phase so
not in same phase so they are
they are incoherent. coherent.
8. In this process
multiplication of In this process
photons does not multiplication of photons
take place so there is takes place so there is
no amplification amplification of light.
of light.
9. Light from the source Light from the source is
is polarized.
unpolarized.
 Population Inversion:

Population Inversion creates a situation in which the

number of atoms in higher energy state is more than that in the
lower energy state.

Usually at thermal equilibrium, the number of atoms

N2 i.e., the population of atoms at higher energy state is much
lesser than the population of the atoms at lower energy state
N1 that is N1 > N2 .

The Phenomenon of making N2 > N1 is known as Population

Inversion.
Conditions of Population inversion.

1. There must be at least two energy levels E2 > E1.

2. There must be a source to supply the energy to the

medium.

3. The atoms must be continuously raised to the excited

state.
 Laser Construction
A laser or laser system consists of three important components:
a pump source, laser medium and optical resonator.
 Life time
The limited time for which a particle or an atom remains in the
excited state is known as life time.
It is about nanosecond (10-8 to 10-9 Second)

Meta stable States

An atom can be excited to a higher level by supplying energy to

it. Normally, excited atoms have short life times and release
their energy in a matter of nano seconds (10-9) through
spontaneous emission. It means atoms do not stay long to be
stimulated. As a result, they undergo spontaneous emission and
rapidly return to the ground level; thereby population inversion
could not be established. In order to do so, the excited atoms
are required to ‘wait’ at the upper energy level till a large
number of atoms accumulate at that level. In other words, it is
necessary that excited state have a longer lifetime. A Meta stable
state is such a state. Metastable can be readily obtained in a
crystal system containing impurity atoms. These levels lie in the
forbidden gap of the host crystal. There could be no population
inversion and hence no laser action, if metastable states don’t
exist.
Atoms in the metastable state remain excited for a considerable time in
the order of 10-6 to 10-3 seconds
 ACTIVE MEDIUM:

A medium in which population inversion can be achieved is

known as active medium.

Active Center:

The material in which the atoms are raised to the excited

state to achieve Population Inversion is called Active Center.
 Laser Medium
The laser medium is a medium where spontaneous and
stimulated emission of radiation takes place. Generally, the
population of lower energy state is greater than the higher
energy state. However, after achieving population inversion, the
population of higher energy state becomes greater than the
lower energy state.

The laser medium will determine the characteristics of the laser

light emitted. The laser medium can be solid, liquid, or gaseous.

Types of LASER:

Solid State Lasers : A solid-state laser is a laser that uses

solid as a laser active medium. In these lasers, glass or
crystalline materials are used.
Example: Ruby and Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminum Garnet
(Nd- YAG) lasers. The Nd-YAG laser emits infrared light at
1.064 micrometers.

Gas lasers :
Gas laser is a laser that uses gas as a laser active medium.
Example:
1) Helium-Neon (HeNe) have a primary output of a visible red
light. (2) CO2 lasers emit energy in the far-infrared, 10.6
micrometers, and are used for cutting hard materials.
Liquid laser and Dye lasers

A liquid laser is a laser that uses the liquid as laser medium. In

liquid lasers, light supplies energy to the laser medium.

A dye laser is an example of the liquid laser. A dye laser is a

laser that uses an organic dye (liquid solution) as the laser
medium.

A dye laser is made up of an organic dye mixed with a solvent.

These lasers generate laser light from the excited energy states
of organic dyes dissolved in liquid solvents. It produces laser
light beam in the near ultraviolet (UV) to the near infrared (IR)
region of the spectrum.

Semiconductor laser

Semiconductor lasers play an important role in our everyday

life. These lasers are very cheap, compact size and consume low
power. Semiconductor lasers are also known as laser diodes.

Semiconductor lasers are different from solid-state lasers. In

solid-state lasers, light energy is used as the pump source
whereas, in semiconductor lasers, electrical energy is used as
the pump source.

In semiconductor lasers, a p-n junction of a semiconductor

diode forms the active medium or laser medium. The optical
gain is produced within the semiconductor material.
 PUMPING ACTION:
The process to achieve the population inversion in the medium
is called Pumping action. It is essential requirement for
producing a laser beam.

Pump Source
The pump source or energy source is the part of a laser system
that provides energy to the laser medium. To get laser emission,
first we need to produce population inversion. Population
inversion is the process of achieving greater number of electrons
in higher energy state as compared to the lower energy state.

The source of energy supplies sufficient amount of energy to the

laser medium by which the electrons in the lower energy state
are excited to the higher energy state. As a result, we get
population inversion in the active medium or laser medium.

Methods of pumping action:

The methods commonly used for pumping action are:

1. Optical pumping (Excitation by Photons)

2. Electrical discharge method(Excitation by electrons)

3. Direct conversion

4. In elastic atom – atom collision between atoms

a. Optical pumping:
When the atoms are exposed to light radiations energy hv ,
atoms in the lower energy state absorb these radiations and
they go to the excited state. This method is called Optical
pumping. It is used in solid state lasers like ruby laser and Nd-
YAG laser. In ruby laser, xenon flash lamp is used as pumping
source.

b. Electrical discharge method (Excitation by electrons)

In this method, the electrons are produced in an

electrical discharge tube. These electrons are accelerated to high
velocities by a strong electrical field. These accelerated electrons
collide with the gas atoms.

By the process, energy from the electrons is transferred to gas

atoms. Some atoms gain energy and they go to the excited state.
This results in population inversion. This method is called
Electrical discharge method.
It is represented by the equation

A + e* = A* + e
Where A – gas atom in the ground state

A* = same gas atom in the excited state e* = Electrons with

higher Kinetic energy e – Same electron with lesser energy.

This method of pumping is used in gas lasers like argon and

CO2 Laser.

C. Direct Conversion
In this method, due to electrical energy applied in
direct band gap semiconductor like Ga As, recombination of
electrons and holes takes place. During the recombination
process, the electrical energy is directly is converted into light
energy.
d. In elastic atom – atom collision

In this method, a combination of two gases (Say A and B are

used). The excited states of A and B nearly coincides in energy.
In the first step during the electrical discharge atoms
of gas A are excited to their higher energy state A* (metastable
state) due to collision with the electrons .

A + e* = A* + e

Now A* atoms at higher energy state collide with b atoms

in the lower state. Due to inelastic atom - atom collision B
atoms gain energy and they are excited to a higher state B* .
Hence, A atoms lose energy and return to lower state.

A* + B = A + B*

Optical Resonator
The laser medium is surrounded by two parallel mirrors which
provides feedback of the light. One mirror is fully reflective (100
% reflective) whereas another one is partially reflective (<100 %
reflective). These two mirrors as a whole is called optical
resonator. Optical resonator is also known as optical
cavity or resonating cavity.
An optical resonator consists of a pair of reflecting surfaces in
which one is fully reflecting (R1) and the other is partially
reflecting (R2). The active material is placed in between these
two reflecting surfaces.
The photons generated due to transitions between the energy
states of active material are bounced back and forth between
two reflecting surfaces.

This will induce more and more stimulated transition leading

to laser action.
Lasing Action:

Principle: Due to stimulated emission the photons multiply in

each step-giving rise to an intense beam of photons that are
coherent and moving in the same direction. Hence the light is
amplified by Stimulated Emission of the Radiation. Termed
LASER.

When energy is supplied to the laser medium, the lower energy

state electrons in the laser medium will moves to excited state.
After a short period, the electrons in the excited state will fall
back to the ground state by releasing energy in the form of
photons or light. This process of emission of photons is called
spontaneous emission. Thus, light is produced in an active
medium by a process called spontaneous emission.

The light generated within the laser medium will bounce back
and forth between the two mirrors. This stimulates other
electrons to release light while falling to the ground state.
Likewise, a large number of electrons are stimulated to emit
light. Thus, optical gain is achieved.

This amplified light escapes through the partially reflecting

mirror. The process of stimulating electrons of other atoms to
produce light in the laser medium is called stimulated emission.

The light in the laser medium is reflected many hundreds of

times between the mirrors before it escape through the partially
reflecting mirror. The light escaped from the partially reflecting
mirror is produced by the stimulated emission process. Hence,
this light will travel to large distances without spreading in the
space.
 Ruby Laser

A ruby laser is a solid-state laser that uses the synthetic ruby

crystal as its laser medium. Ruby laser is the first successful
laser developed by Maiman in 1960.

Ruby laser is one of the few solid-state lasers that produce

visible light. It emits deep red light of wavelength 694.3 nm.
Construction of ruby laser

A ruby laser consists of three important elements: laser

medium, the pump source, and the optical resonator.
Laser medium or gain medium in ruby laser

Type:

• Ruby laser is a three level solid state laser. It made of single-

crystal of the ruby rod.

• The dimensions are 10cm in length and 4.4 cm in Radius (8.8

cm diameter) Ruby is nothing but a crystal of Aluminium
oxide Al2O3.

Lasing medium:

• A rod of synthetic ruby a crystal of aluminum oxide (Al2O3),

in which a small part of atom of aluminum (about 0.05%) is
replaced with ions Cr+3. (In this system, Al3+ ions are
 replaced by Cr3+ ions. Where Al is aluminium, and Cr is
Chromium.)

Pumping:

• Optical pumping by xenon discharge lamp, The ruby is

surrounded by a tube of Xenon Flash, to provide Photo energy
to excite chromium ions to the upper energy level.

Construction:
The ruby is illuminated by an intense impulse of light, which
is generated by a helical xenon discharge lamp as shown in
Figure. The ends of the ruby rod are highly polished and
silvered to serve as laser mirrors.

Working:

The impulse of light creates the required population inversion

of electron in ruby rod and due to the presence of mirrors,
the laser generation is excited. The duration of laser impulse
is little bit shorter than the pump impulse of flash lamp.
When the flash tube is switched on, there is an intense burst
of light lasting for a few milliseconds. Absorption of this light
energy excites many of the chromium ions.
Figure: Schematic representation of Ruby Laser

Energy level Diagram:

The energy level diagram of ruby laser is as shown in figure .
Consider a ruby laser medium consisting of three energy
levels E1, E2 , E3 with N number of electrons. Let us assume
that the energy levels will be E1 < E2 < E3. The energy level
E1 is known as ground state or lower energy state, the energy
level E2 is known as metastable state, and the energy level
E3 is known as pump state. Let us assume that initially most
of the electrons are in the lower energy state (E1) and very
few electrons are in the excited states (E2 and E3). During
the relaxation of chromium ion, they give up the energy to
crystal in non-radiative transition as they drop down to a
metastable states labeled E2.

These metastable states are about 1.79 eV above the ground

state. The intense flash provides more numbers of photons of
sufficient energy and thereby more atoms make transition to
states E2 .The metastable state becomes inverted and the
lasing takes place if a cavity is provided. The cavity is formed
by the silvered ends of ruby crystals. One of the mirrors
reflects almost all photons of light having a wavelength of
694.3 nm and the other end is only partially reflecting (99%)
in order to leak the laser emission.

Figure: Energy Level of Ruby Laser

Application of ruby laser
Drilling holes in hard materials
Tatoo removal and Cosmetics Surgery

Drawbacks of the ruby laser

Difficult to maintain the population inversion.
Requires high power source.
Produces low output, as a result it has less applications.
 Helium-Neon Laser

Helium-Neon laser definition

Helium-Neon laser is a type of gas laser in which a mixture of
helium and neon gas is used as a gain medium. Helium-Neon
laser is also known as He-Ne laser.

What is helium-neon laser?

At room temperature, a ruby laser will only emit short bursts
of laser light, each laser pulse occurring after a flash of the
pumping light. It would be better to have a laser that emits
light continuously. Such a laser is called a continuous wave
(CW) laser.
The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave (CW)
laser ever constructed. It was built in 1961 by Ali Javan,
Bennett, and Herriott at Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Helium-neon lasers are the most widely used gas lasers.
These lasers have many industrial and scientific uses and are
often used in laboratory demonstrations of optics.
In He-Ne lasers, the optical pumping method is not used
instead an electrical pumping method is used. The excitation
of electrons in the He-Ne gas active medium is achieved by
passing an electric current through the gas.
The helium-neon laser operates at a wavelength of 632.8
nanometers (nm), in the red portion of the visible spectrum.
Figure: Schematic representation of Helium-Neon gas Laser
Helium-neon laser construction

The helium-neon laser consists of three essential components:

• Pump source (high voltage power supply)

• Gain medium (laser glass tube or discharge glass tube)

• Resonating cavity

High voltage power supply or pump source

In order to produce the laser beam, it is essential to achieve population

inversion. Population inversion is the process of achieving more

electrons in the higher energy state as compared to the lower energy

state.

In general, the lower energy state has more electrons than the higher

energy state. However, after achieving population inversion, more

electrons will remain in the higher energy state than the lower energy

state.

In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to

the gain medium or active medium.

Different types of energy sources are used to supply energy to the gain

medium.

In helium-neon lasers, a high voltage DC power supply is used as the

pump source. A high voltage DC supplies electric current through the

gas mixture of helium and neon.

Gain medium (discharge glass tube or glass envelope)

The gain medium of a helium-neon laser is made up of the mixture of

helium and neon gas contained in a glass tube at low pressure. The

partial pressure of helium is 1 mbar whereas that of neon is 0.1 mbar.

The gas mixture is mostly comprised of helium gas. Therefore, in order

to achieve population inversion, we need to excite primarily the lower

energy state electrons of the helium atoms.

In He-Ne laser, neon atoms are the active centers and have energy

levels suitable for laser transitions while helium atoms help in exciting

neon atoms. Electrodes (anode and cathode) are provided in the glass

tube to send the electric current through the gas mixture. These

electrodes are connected to a DC power supply.

Resonating cavity

The glass tube (containing a mixture of helium and neon gas) is placed

between two parallel mirrors. These two mirrors are silvered or optically

coated.

Each mirror is silvered differently. The left side mirror is partially

silvered and is known as output coupler whereas the right side mirror is

fully silvered and is known as the high reflector or fully reflecting mirror.

The fully silvered mirror will completely reflect the light whereas the

partially silvered mirror will reflect most part of the light but allows some

part of the light to produce the laser beam.

Working of helium-neon laser

In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to

the gain medium. In helium-neon lasers, we use high voltage DC as the

pump source.

A high voltage DC produces energetic electrons that travel through the

gas mixture.

The gas mixture in helium-neon laser is mostly comprised of helium

atoms. Therefore, helium atoms absorb most of the energy supplied by

the high voltage DC.

When the power is switched on, a high voltage of about 10 kV is

applied across the gas mixture. This power is enough to excite the

electrons in the gas mixture. The electrons produced in the process of

discharge are accelerated between the electrodes (cathode and anode)

through the gas mixture.

In the process of flowing through the gas, the energetic electrons

transfer some of their energy to the helium atoms in the gas. As a

result, the lower energy state electrons of the helium atoms gain
enough energy and jumps into the excited states or metastable states.

Let us assume that these metastable states are F3 and F5.

The metastable state electrons of the helium atoms cannot return to

ground state by spontaneous emission. However, they can return to

ground state by transferring their energy to the lower energy state

electrons of the neon atoms.

The energy levels of some of the excited states of the neon atoms are

identical to the energy levels of metastable states of the helium atoms.

Let us assume that these identical energy states are F3 = E3 and F5 =

E5. E3 and E5 are excited states or metastable states of neon atoms.

Unlike the solid, a gas can move or flow between the electrodes.

Hence, when the excited electrons of the helium atoms collide with the
lower energy state electrons of the neon atoms, they transfer their

energy to the neon atoms. As a result, the lower energy state electrons

of the neon atoms gain enough energy from the helium atoms and

jumps into the higher energy states or metastable states (E3 and E5)

whereas the excited electrons of the helium atoms will fall into the

ground state. Thus, helium atoms help neon atoms in achieving

population inversion.
Likewise, millions of ground state electrons of neon atoms are excited

to the metastable states. The metastable states have the longer

lifetime. Therefore, a large number of electrons will remain in the

metastable states and hence population inversion is achieved.

After some period, the metastable states electrons (E3 and E5) of the

neon atoms will spontaneously fall into the next lower energy states

(E2 and E4) by releasing photons or red light. This is called

spontaneous emission.

The neon excited electrons continue on to the ground state through

radiative and nonradiative transitions. It is important for the continuous

wave (CW) operation.

The light or photons emitted from the neon atoms will moves back and

forth between two mirrors until it stimulates other excited electrons of

the neon atoms and causes them to emit light. Thus, optical gain is

achieved. This process of photon emission is called stimulated

emission of radiation.

The light or photons emitted due to stimulated emission will escape

through the partially reflecting mirror or output coupler to produce laser

light.
Advantages of helium-neon laser

Helium-neon laser emits laser light in the visible portion of the

spectrum.

High stability

Low cost

Operates without damage at higher temperatures

Disadvantages of helium-neon laser

• Low efficiency

• Low gain

• Helium-neon lasers are limited to low power tasks

Applications of helium-neon lasers

• Helium-neon lasers are used in industries.

• Helium-neon lasers are used in scientific instruments.

• Helium-neon lasers are used in the college laboratories.

 LASER

Applications of Lasers

Laser is an optical device that generates intense beam of

coherent monochromatic light by stimulated emission of
radiation.

Laser light is different from an ordinary light. It has various

unique properties such as coherence, monochromatic,
directionality, and high intensity. Because of these unique
properties, lasers are used in various applications.

The most significant applications of lasers include:

• Lasers in medicine

• Lasers in communications

• Lasers in industries

• Lasers in science and technology

• Lasers in military

Lasers in Medicine

1. Lasers are used for bloodless surgery.

2. Lasers are used to destroy kidney stones.

3. Lasers are used in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

4. Lasers are used for eye lens curvature corrections.

5. Lasers are used in fiber-optic endoscope to detect ulcers in

the intestines.

6. The liver and lung diseases could be treated by using

lasers.

7. Lasers are used to study the internal structure of

microorganisms and cells.

8. Lasers are used to produce chemical reactions.

9. Lasers are used to create plasma.

10. Lasers are used to remove tumors successfully.

11. Lasers are used to remove the caries or decayed

portion of the teeth.

12. Lasers are used in cosmetic treatments such as acne

treatment, cellulite and hair removal.

Lasers in Communications

1. Laser light is used in optical fiber communications to send

information over large distances with low loss.

2. Laser light is used in underwater communication

networks.
3. Lasers are used in space communication, radars and

satellites.

Lasers in Industries

1. Lasers are used to cut glass and quartz.

2. Lasers are used in electronic industries for trimming the

components of Integrated Circuits (ICs).

3. Lasers are used for heat treatment in the automotive

industry.

4. Laser light is used to collect the information about the

prefixed prices of various products in shops and business

establishments from the bar code printed on the product.

5. Ultraviolet lasers are used in the semiconductor industries

for photolithography. Photolithography is the method used

for manufacturing printed circuit board (PCB) and

microprocessor by using ultraviolet light.

6. Lasers are used to drill aerosol nozzles and control orifices

within the required precision.

 Lasers in Science and Technology

1. A laser helps in studying the Brownian motion of particles.

2. With the help of a helium-neon laser, it was proved that

the velocity of light is same in all directions.

3. With the help of a laser, it is possible to count the number

of atoms in a substance.

4. Lasers are used in computers to retrieve stored information

from a Compact Disc (CD).

5. Lasers are used to store large amount of information or

data in CD-ROM.

6. Lasers are used to measure the pollutant gases and other

contaminants of the atmosphere.

7. Lasers helps in determining the rate of rotation of the earth

accurately.

8. Lasers are used in computer printers.

9. Lasers are used for producing three-dimensional pictures

in space without the use of lens.

10. Lasers are used for detecting earthquakes and

underwater nuclear blasts.

11. A gallium arsenide diode laser can be used to setup

an invisible fence to protect an area.

Lasers in Military

1. Laser range finders are used to determine the distance to

an object.

2. The ring laser gyroscope is used for sensing and measuring

very small angle of rotation of the moving objects.

3. Lasers can be used as a secretive illuminators for

reconnaissance during night with high precision.

4. Lasers are used to dispose the energy of a warhead by

damaging the missile.

5. Laser light is used in LIDAR’s to accurately measure the

distance to an object.