Engineering physics

UNIT 2 :Laser & Optic Fibre

LASER
LASER is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emmision of Radiation:
Basic Definitions:
 Absorption:- Absorption is a process in which a photon, of energy hv, gets absorbed by an atom and
it goes from a lower energy state E1 to a higher energy state E2

Before absorbing - atom is in ground state

After absorbing - atom is in excited state
Emission:
1) Spontaneous Emission: An electron which is raised to an excited state E2 (due to absorption),
spontaneously decays back to a lower energy level E1 and radiates an energy equal to E2- E1. Such an
emission is called as spontaneous emission.

Before emission - atom is in excited state

After emission - atom is in ground state

2) Stimulated Emission: A photon of energy hv = E2 – E1 triggers an excited atom to drop to the lower
energy state giving up a photon. This phenomenon of forced emission of photons is called as
stimulated emission.

Before emission - atom is in excited state

After emission - atom is in ground state
Population Inversion: The process of getting a large percentage of atoms into an excited state is
called as population inversion.

Active System: A system in which population inversion is achieved is called an active system. It
may be Solid, liquid, gas.
The atoms which particulate in stimulated emission is called Active centre
Metastable States: Ordinary energy levels have a life time of 10-8 to 10-9 secs. Energy levels having a
life time greater than ordinary energy levels (~10-6 to 10-3 secs) are called as metastable states

Pumping: A process of raising atoms from lower energy levels to higher energy levels is called as
pumping.

Types of pumping:

1) Optical pumping:

2) Inelastic atom –atom collision (Electrical Discharge)

 3) Forward baising of a p-n junction diode:

Resonant Cavity -
A cavity can be constructed using mirrors such that the light rays return to their original position after
travelling through the cavity for a certain number of times. Such cavities are known as resonant
cavities

Various Levels of laser system

1) Two level

2)Three level:
 3) Four level

Characteristics of Laser :
1)Monochromaticity :- Laser light consist of all waves of same wavelength(frequency). Laser light is more
monochromatic than any other conventional monochromatic source.
2) Coherence :- Laser light consist of all waves which are in same phase. The emitted photon after triggered
is exactly in phase with incident photon.
There are two types of coherence:
i) Temporal coherence: Phase difference between two points along the direction parallel to the propagation
of wave at any instant is constant.
The distance along the propagation of wave over which the phase difference is constant is called coherence
length & the corresponding time is called coherence time.
ii) Spatial coherence: Phase difference of the waves at two different points in a plane perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of wave at any instant is constant.
3) Unidirectionality: - Laser emits light only in one direction. It has sharp focus. Travels long distance
without spreading.
4) High intensity: -Laser emits light more brighter than ordinary light , because emitted and incident photons
are in phase.
Types of Laser
1) Hetrojunction Semiconductor Laser:

 A heterojunction semiconductor laser consists of a P-N junction with the different materials on two
sides of the junction.
 For example, gallium arsenide-aluminium and gallium arsenide heterojunction.
Construction-
 In this laser, a layer of low band gap material like GaAs is sandwiched between two higher
bandgap layers like p- GaAlAs and n-GaAs. These layers also have different refractive indices.
 The middle layer has the maximum refractive index and the outer two layers have smaller
refractive index. The middle P type layer of p-GaAs acts as the active region.
 Resonant cavity is formed by coating the two opposite side surfaces with thin metal films.
 Electrical contacts are provided to the upper and lower layers.
Working:

 The injected charge carriers in the middle p- GaAs layer cause population inversion.
 A photon produced by spontaneous emission triggers emission of photons by stimulated emission.
 The intensity of laser builds up along the axis of the resonant cavity and the laser bursts out through the
partially silvered end.
 As the middle layer has larger refractive index than the outer layers, light is confined to the middle
layer by total internal reflection.
 This reduces loss of light energy through the side surfaces. Also, the middle layer can be made thicker
which reduces divergence of the laser beam due to diffraction.
 The current densities required for these lasers is reduced to about 1000 A/cm2 due to which these lasers
can be operated in continuous mode.
 2) CO2 gas laser:
Construction:

3) A mixture of CO2, N2 and He in a ratio of 1:2:3 is cirçulated in a glass tube which has two electrodes
connected to a power supply .
4) One end of the tube has a partially silvered mirror and the other end has a Brewster's window.
5) A completely silvered mirror is kept beyond the Brewster's window.

Working-
 The high voltage across the electrodes excites the gas molecules.
 The nitrogen molecules in the gas are excited to higher levels and transfer energy to CO2 molecules by
collisions.
 The COs molecules are excited to the metastable state E5 where population inversion takes place with
respect to the two lower lasing levels E3 and E4 .
 Transition from E5 to E4 gives rise to 10.6 µm wavelength laser and the transition from E5 to E3 gives
rise to 9.6µm wavelength which are both in the far infrared region.
 Helium depopulates the lower energy levels in CO2.
 The carbon dioxide laser is a high power laser producing power as high as 10 kW. It also has very high
efficiency of the order of about 40 %.

Holography -
 This is a technique of producing an interference pattern between a direct laser beam and a laser beam
reflected from an object on a photographic plate. This pattern on the developed when the developed
photographic plate, when illuminated with laser in a proper manner, produces a three-dimensional image
of the object is called a ‘hologram’.

The basic technique in holography is as follows:

(i) Hologram Recording-

 The recording of hologram is achieved by superposition of 'the object wave' with another wave
called 'the reference wave’.
 The reference wave is usually a plane wave.
 The resulting interference pattern is recorded on a photographic plate. As the shape of the object is
very irregular, it results in complicated fringe pattern. Thus a hologram is a record of complicated
interference fringe pattern.
(ii) Hologram Reconstruction-

 To see the reconstructed image, the hologram is illuminated by the reference beam alone,
maintaining the original alignment and orientation. This process is called as 'reconstruction’.

 The developed photographic film (hologram) will have alternate transparent and opaque part of very
irregular shape. Thus, it will serve as a diffraction grating when illuminated by the light source.

Information Technology
 1) Barcode Scanners –
Laser scanners are used for decoding the barcode information on the products by moving pinpoint of laser to
illuminate the barcode, and a single photocell receives the reflected light.

2) Fiber-Optic Communication Systems –

 Optical fibers are widely used in communications for transmission over longer distances and at higher
band widths communication are: High data carrying capacity, High quality signal transmission, No
pick up of stray signal i.e. noise, Cost effective, Small size, Light weight and flexible, Less power
consumption, High Tolerance and corrosion resistant, Idle for carrying digital signal.

3) Lasers in Printer / Photocopy Machines-

 A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and
graphics plain paper. In a laser printer, a laser beam scan back and forth across a drum inside the
printer, building up a pattern of static electricity.
 The static electricity attracts onto the page a kind of powdered ink called toner. Finally, as in a
photocopier, a fuser unit bonds the toner to the paper.
Industrial-
 Laser can be focused to a very high energy density into a small image (≈1 micron in diameter) with the
help of suitable lenses. Due to the small size of the image and the control over the energy, lasers are
used extensively for cutting, welding and drilling circuits.

1. Drilling:
A laser beam is also used to drill holes of micron dimensions on printed circuit boards (PCBs). It is
also used in resistance trimming in electric components industries. One can drill holes of the diameter
of 10 µm through very hard substances like diamond. YAG laser is found to be very useful in such
applications.
 2. Welding:
Lasers are used as a heat source in the joints of the metals. This type of precise welding is welding
extremely important in micro-electronics in which thin films are used Thermocouple wires can easily
be welded with the help of high power laser beam.
3. Micromachining:
Lasers are used for machining a surface in a slow and accurate manner to achieve an extraordinarily

smooth finish
4. Cutting:
Another important industrial application is metal or fabric cutting. A finely focussed laser beam can
cut thick and hard metal sheets with high precision and accuracy. It is also used in tailoring industries
to cut thousands of layers of cloth at one instant

Medicine-
 Bloodless cancer surgeries can be performed as the beam can be focussed on a small area, so that only
the harmful tissue can be destroyed without damaging the surrounding region.
 Laser has been successfully used in ophthalmology, in the treatment of detached retinas, in welding
cornea, etc. At the command of the physician, laser produces a beam of light which is directed onto the
eye under treatment, to produce a minute coagulation. A series of these lesions weld the detached
retina.
 Laser is used as a tool in the study of genetics. Lasers have been built into or are devised to be
 attached to microscopes. As a high density energy is achieved, it can be used in micro-surgery. micro-
burning, etc. Such a microscopic laser can concentrate millions of watts of power per square millimeter
into a selected area. For example, a focussed microscope laser can be used to make tiny openings (of
25 µ in diameter) in the cell walls, of say the nervous system, heart, retina, etc. without causing
irreversible damage.
Laser microprobes can be used as dental drills giving an advantage of no heating, no anesthetic and no pain to
the patient. They have also been successfully used for localized treatment of skin growths and blemishes in
human beings. A large amount of energy can be transmitted through the skin to interact with deeper different
biological materials or structures which are damaged
 Optical Fibre

Principal of Optic Fibre:

Total Internal Reflection:
This phenomenon in which light is confined only to the denser medium while travelling from denser
medium to rarer when the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle is known as total internal
reflection.
Critical Angle:
When light travel from denser medium to rarer medium thr angle of incidence for which the angle of
refraction is 900

Angle of Acceptance (θ0)

The angle of incidence θ0 of light on the core for which the angle of incidence on the core- cladding
interface equals the critical angle is known angle of acceptance
Acceptance angle is the maximum angle of incidence on the core for which total internal reflection takes place
inside the core.

Numerical Aperture:
sin θ0 is known as known as the numerical aperture. It is measure of the light gathering power of the
optical fibre.

Using Snell’s law at A,

μ0 sin θ0=μ1 µ sin θ1

μ1
sin θ0 = sin θ1 ..... (1)
μ0

At B, the angle of refraction is 90 0.

μ1 sin(90−θ¿¿ 1)=¿ ¿ ¿ μ2 sin 900

μ2
cos θ1 =
μ1

As sin θ1= √ 1−cos 2 θ1

√ ( )
2
μ2
sin θ1= 1−
μ2

1
sin θ1 = √ μ 1 −μ 2
2 2
n1

Substituting in equation (1),

μ1 1
× μ √ μ1 −μ 2
2 2
sin θ0 =¿ ¿
μ0 1
 sin θ =¿ ¿ √
2
μ −μ2
0
1
………….(2)
μ0

As numerical aperture is sin θ0 ,

N.A. = sin θ =¿
√μ 1
2
−μ22
¿ …………..(3)
0
μ0

If the fibre is in air, μ= 1.

Then, N.A. = sin θ0 =¿ √ μ12−μ22 ¿ ……………(4)

Light is transmitted through the fibre when

θ i < θ0

i.e. sin θi <¿ sin θ0 ¿

sin θi <¿ √ μ2−μ22 ¿

i.e. sin θi <¿ N . A . ¿

Light will be transmitted through the fibre with multiple total internal reflection when the above
condition is satisfied.

Acceptance cone:
The light entering the core in a cone of semivertical angle θ0 is transmitted in the core through total
internal reflections. This cone is known as the acceptance cone.

Fractional index change (∆):

The fractional index change ‘∆’ is defined as the ratio of the difference in refractive indices of core
and cladding to the reference index of the core.
μ 1−μ2
∆=
μ1
Relation between numerical aperture and fractional index change:
The numerical aperture in air is,

N. A. = √ μ1 −μ2
2 2

N. A. = √ ( μ 1+ μ 2) + ( μ1−μ 2)

For small difference between μ1∧μ2,

μ1 + μ2 ≈ 2 μ1

And we have
μ 1−μ2
∆=
μ1
μ1−μ2=μ 1 ∆

N. A. = √ ( 2 μ1 )( ∆ μ1 )

N. A. = μ1 √ 2 ∆
Types of Optical fibre:

1) Step Index Fibre

 Core diameter is 50 -200 μm and the diameter of cladding is 100- 250 μm.
 To obtain the total internal reflection, refractive indices of the core and cladding are
maintained with µ1> µ2
 At the core-cladding boundary there is an sudden change in refractive index. The optical ray
propagates in the straight line and gets totally internally reflected at the core-cladding boundary.
 As light travels with the constant velocity through the different length or path it produces the time
delay while reaching at the other side and hence intermodal dispersion generates.
 This happens when more than one i.e. multi-mode signals are considered as shown in fig.at the input
side of the fibre.This is called Multimode step index fibre

 Multimode step index fibre are not suitable for long distance communication due to intermodal
dispersion.
 Step index fibre which have core diameter 2 μm-10 μm are called Single step index fibre.

 The diameter of core is modified to avoid more than one signal at the input side. Hence as in this case
only one signal is allowed to pass through the core medium, hence it is totally free from the intermodal
dispersion.
 These fibres essentially transmit only the axial mode.

2) Graded Index Fibre

 To have large core and low dispersion, graded index fibre is designed. In this case the diameters of
core and cladding are 20-100 μm and 70-140 μm respectively.
 The refractive index of the core inside the core medium is not maintained constant while it is varying
and reduces from µ1 at the centre of core to µ2 at the core cladding boundary.
 Such in-homogeneous core produces bending of light towards the axis. Most of the rays have a total
internal reflection even before they reach to the core cladding boundary.
 Many number of signals can be considered at a time at the input of the fibre as the refractive index
profile is designed properly so that various rays can have equal path delay while reaching at the output
side.
 This gives significant reduction in the intermodal dispersion, though this intermodal dispersion is still
higher than that is in single or mono mode type of fibre.

Difference between step index (single mode) and graded index fibre (multimode)

Sr. Step index fibre Graded index fibre

No. (Single mode) (Multimode)
1. Refractive index changes from core Refractive index changes from core
cladding in one step. to cladding.
2. Suitable for single mode communication. Suitable for multi-mode
communication.
3. At a time less amount of data can be At a time large amount of data can
transferred from one station to another be transferred from one station to
station. another station.
4. Intermodal dispersion is less. Intermodal dispersion is relatively
high.
5. Doped borosilicate glass is used to Doped borosilicate glass is used to
construct the fibre . construct the fibre .

Attenuation:
The power loss of optical signals when they travel through optical fibres is known as attenuation.
The power loss P Lin decibel (dB) is given by,

P L=¿ -10 log 10

( pp )
out

¿
……….(1)

Where pout = output power and p¿ = input power.

The attenuation constant (∝ ) for optic fibres is defined as the power loss per unit length and is
expressed in dB/km. It is given by

∝ =¿
−10
L
log 10 ( )
pout
p¿
………...(2)

where L is the length of the cable in km.

Attenuation in optic fibres is due to absorption, scattering and radiation losses.
 1) Absorption
Light can be absorbed either by the pure fibre material which is known as intrinsic absorption or it can
be absorbed by impurities present in the core of the fibre which is known as extrinsic absorption.
2)Scattering
Light traveling through the core can get scattered by impurities or small regions with sudden change in
refractive index.
Rayleigh scattering varies as λ−4and leads to significant power loss at smaller wavelengths. Rayleigh
scattering is responsible for maximum losses in optic fibres.
3)Radiation loss:
 These losses are due to changes in angle of incidence on the core-cladding interface due to
bending of cable (macroscopic bends) or due to microscopic bends at the core-cladding interface.
 Light is partly lost by refraction due to microscopic bends as angle of incidence becomes smaller

than critical angle.

 These losses can be minimized by bending the cable in larger radius of curvature.
 Similarly, light is lost due to decrease in angle of incidence the core-cladding interface has
microscopic irregularities

Dispersion In Optic Fibres:

 Dispersion in optic fibres is the broadening of a pulse during transmission through the fibre. If optical
pulse is sent through an optical fibre, it broadens as shown


 The pulse height decreases due to attenuation and the broadening takes place due to dispersion.
 The types of dispersion:
1) Intermodal dispersion 2) Chromatic dispersion 3) Waveguide dispersion
1) Intermodal dispersion:
 In a step index fibre, the ray traveling parallel to the axis takes the least time to travel through the
fibre.
 The ray incident on core-cladding interface at the critical angle travels maximnum distance and
hence takes the maximum time to travel through the fibre. Hence the pulse broadens which is
known as intermodal dispersion.
 The time difference between these two modes to arrive at the end of an optical fibre is known as
intermodal dispersion time.
 The intermodal dispersion is more in multimode fibres. There is no intermodal dispersion in single
mode fibres
2) Chromatic dispersion:
 The refractive index of every material varies with the wavelength.
 In the optical region, the refractive index for violet is more than that for red.
 As a result, the different wavelengths in an optical signal transmitted through the fibre will travel
with different speeds. This results in broadening of the pulse.
 This broadening is known as chromatic dispersion or material dispersion.
 It depends on the material of the fibre.
 Chromatic dispersion depend on the range of the wavelength or frequencies (frequency bandwidth)
present the transmitted signal.
6) Waveguide dispersion:
Along the cross-section of the fibre, the distribution of light power is not uniform for all
frequencies.
 The optical power at larger frequencies (smaller wavelengths) is confined more towards the core and
the smaller frequency (longer wavelength) power is more towards the cladding.
 Due to difference in refractive index, the optical power in the core and the cladding travel with
different velocities leading to pulse broadening.
 This broadening is known as waveguide dispersion as it depends on the properties of the waveguide
(i.e. the optic fibre).
 The overall effect of dispersion is the broadening of the pulse which is an undesirable effect. It distorts
the signal and restricts data transfer rates.
 Consider,for example, a digital data 101 transmitted through the fibre as shown in Fig. 5.6.2
 In the output, due to dispersion, the zero level data may be lost as shown. If the data is not to be lost,
the data transmission rate will have to be reduced.

Optic Fibre Communication System:

Block diagram:
Transmitter:
Transducer: Generally message origin is from a transducer that converts a non-electrical message into an
electrical signal. Common examples include microphones 5 for converting sound waves into currents and
video (TV) cameras for converting images into current. For data transfer between computers, the message is
already in electrical form.
Amplifier: The electrical signal is amplified and fed to the modulator.
Modulator:  The modulator has two main functions. 1) It converts the electrical message into the proper
format. 2) It impresses this signal onto the wave generated by the carrier source. Two distinct categories of
modulation are used i.e. analog modulation and digital modulation.
Laser diode:It converts electrical signal into light signal.
Optical Fibre : Light signal is transmitted through the optical fibre.
Receiver:
Photodetector: It converts the incident light into again in electrical signal.
Amplifier: The electrical signal is amplified and fed to the demodulator.
Demodulator: It demodulates the amplified electrical signal and in telecommunication is fed to a speaker
which converts it into sound signal.

Advantages of Optical Fiber Cable

 Fiber optic cables have a much greater bandwidth than metal cables. The amount of information that
can be transmitted per unit time of fiber over other transmission media is its most significant
advantage.
 An optical fiber offers low power loss, which allows for longer transmission distances. In comparison
to copper, in a network, the longest recommended copper distance is 100m while with fiber, it is 2km.
 Fiber optic cables are immune to electromagnetic interference. It can also be run in electrically noisy
environments without concern as electrical noise will not affect fiber.

 In comparison to copper, a fiber optic cable has nearly 4.5 times as much capacity as the wire cable has
and a cross sectional area that is 30 times less.
 Fiber optic cables are much thinner and lighter than metal wires. They also occupy less space with
cables of the same information capacity. Lighter weight makes fibre easier to install.
 An optical fiber has greater tensile strength than copper or steel fibers of the same diameter. It is
flexible, bends easily and resists most corrosive elements that attack copper cable.
 The raw materials for glass are plentiful, unlike copper. This means glass can be made more cheaply
than copper.