Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

Volume 1 2nd Edition Chunlei Guo Editor Subhash

Chandra Singh Editor pdf download
https://textbookfull.com/product/handbook-of-laser-technology-and-applications-volume-1-2nd-edition-
chunlei-guo-editor-subhash-chandra-singh-editor/

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0 (45 reviews) ✓ 132 downloads ■ TOP RATED

"Fantastic PDF quality, very satisfied with download!" - Emma W.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK
 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications Volume 1 2nd
Edition Chunlei Guo Editor Subhash Chandra Singh Editor pdf
download

TEXTBOOK EBOOK TEXTBOOK FULL

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide TextBook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY

Collection Highlights

Molecular and Laser Spectroscopy: Advances and

Applications: Volume 2 1st Edition V.P. Gupta (Editor)

Handbook of Research on Food Science and Technology:

Volume 1: Food Technology and Chemistry 1st Edition Monica
Chavez-Gonzalez (Editor)

The Physics of Laser Plasmas and Applications Volume 1

Physics of Laser Matter Interaction Hideaki Takabe

Handbook of Approximation Algorithms and Metaheuristics

Second Edition Methologies and Traditional Applications
Volume 1 Teofilo F Gonzalez(Editor)
Advances in Mathematical Chemistry and Applications Volume
1 1st Edition Subhash C. Basak

Handbook of Chitin and Chitosan: Volume 1: Preparation and

Properties 1st Edition Sabu Thomas (Editor)

Pharmaceutical Applications of Dendrimers 1st Edition

Abhay Singh Chauhan (Editor)

Handbook of Radioactivity Analysis: Volume 2:

Radioanalytical Applications 4th Edition Michael F.
L'Annunziata (Editor)

The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work & Organizational

Psychology, Volume 1: Personnel Psychology and Employee
Performance 2nd Edition Deniz S. Ones (Editor)
Handbook of Laser Technology and
Applications
Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

Lasers: Principles and Operations (Volume One)

Second Edition
Lasers Design and Laser Systems (Volume Two)
Second Edition
Lasers Application: Material Processing and Spectroscopy (Volume Three)
Second Edition
Laser Applications: Medical, Metrology and Communication (Volume Four)
Second Edition
Handbook of Laser Technology and
Applications
Lasers: Principles and Operations (Volume One)
Second Edition

Edited by
Chunlei Guo
Subhash Chandra Singh
Second edition published 2021
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

and by CRC Press

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

First edition published by IOP Publishing 2004

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Te right of Chunlei Guo and Subhash Chandra Singh to be identifed as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Reasonable eforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the
validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. Te authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material
reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright
material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.

Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microflming, and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.

For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance
Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. For works that are not available on CCC please contact
[email protected]

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identifcation and explanation
without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Guo, Chunlei, editor. | Singh, Subhash Chandra, editor.
Title: Handbook of laser technology and applications : four volume set /
[edited by] Chunlei Guo and Subhash Chandra Singh.
Description: 2nd edition. | Boca Raton : CRC Press, 2021- |
Series: Handbook of laser technology and applications | Includes bibliographical
references and index. | Contents: v. 1. Lasers: principles and operations —
v. 2. Laser design and laser systems — v. 3. Lasers applications: materials processing —
v. 4. Laser applications: medical, metrology a [?].
Identifers: LCCN 2020037189 (print) | LCCN 2020037190 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138032613 (v. 1 ; hardback) | ISBN 9781138032620 (v. 2 ; hardback) |
ISBN 9781138033320 (v. 3 ; hardback) | ISBN 9780367649173 (v. 4 ; hardback) |
ISBN 9781138196575 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315389561 (v. 1 ; ebook) |
ISBN 9781003127130 (v. 2 ; ebook) | ISBN 9781315310855 (v. 3 ; ebook) |
ISBN 9781003130123 (v. 4 ; ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Lasers.
Classifcation: LCC TK7871.3 .H25 2021 (print) | LCC TK7871.3 (ebook) |
DDC 621.36/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037189
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037190

ISBN: 9781138032613 (hbk)

ISBN: 9780367649692 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781315389561 (ebk)

Typeset in Times
by codeMantra
Contents

Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................................ ix
Editors ............................................................................................................................................................................................ xi
Contributors ..................................................................................................................................................................................xiii

1. Laser Principle: Section Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 1

Richard Shoemaker

2. Basic Laser Principles............................................................................................................................................................ 3

Christopher C. Davis

3. Interference and Polarization ............................................................................................................................................. 51

Alan Rogers

4. Introduction to Numerical Analysis for Laser Systems ................................................................................................... 77

George Lawrence

5. Optical Cavities: Free-Space Laser Resonators................................................................................................................ 97

Robert C. Eckardt

6. Optical Cavities: Waveguide Laser Resonators .............................................................................................................. 121

Chris Hill

7. Nonlinear Optics ................................................................................................................................................................ 135

Orad Reshef and Robert W. Boyd

8. Laser Beam Control........................................................................................................................................................... 153

Jacky Byatt

9. Optical Detection and Noise...............................................................................................................................................171

Gerald Buller and Jason Smith

10. Laser Safety ........................................................................................................................................................................ 189

J. Michael Green and Karl Schulmeister

11. Optical Components: Section Introduction..................................................................................................................... 205

Julian Jones

12. Optical Components........................................................................................................................................................... 207

Leo H. J. F. Beckmann

13. Optical Control Elements ...................................................................................................................................................219

Alan Greenaway

14. Adaptive Optics and Phase Conjugate Refectors........................................................................................................... 227

Michael J. Damzen and Carl Paterson

15. Opto-mechanical Parts...................................................................................................................................................... 233

Frank Luecke

v
vi Contents

16. Optical Pulse Generation: Section Introduction............................................................................................................. 239

Clive Ireland

17. Quasi-cw and Modulated Beams...................................................................................................................................... 241

K. Washio

18. Short Pulses ........................................................................................................................................................................ 247

Andreas Ostendorf

19. Ultrashort Pulses................................................................................................................................................................ 259

Derryck T. Reid

20. Mode-locking Techniques and Principles........................................................................................................................ 289

Rüdiger Paschotta

21. Attosecond Metrology........................................................................................................................................................ 307

Pierre Agostini, Andrew J. Piper, and Louis F. DiMauro

22. Chirped Pulse Amplifcation............................................................................................................................................. 321

Donna Strickland

23. Optical Parametric Devices................................................................................................................................................331

M. Ebrahimzadeh

24. Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplifcation (OPCPA) ......................................................................................... 363

László Veisz

25. Laser Beam Delivery: Section Introduction .................................................................................................................... 383

Julian Jones

26. Basic Principles .................................................................................................................................................................. 385

D. P. Hand

27. Free-space Optics ............................................................................................................................................................... 391

Leo H. J. F. Beckmann

28. Optical Waveguide Theory.................................................................................................................................................417

George Stewart

29. Fibre Optic Beam Delivery................................................................................................................................................ 435

D. P. Hand

30. Positioning and Scanning Systems ................................................................................................................................... 445

Jürgen Koch

31. Laser Beam Measurement: Section Introduction........................................................................................................... 459

Julian Jones

32. Beam Propagation.............................................................................................................................................................. 461

B. A. Ward

33. Laser Beam Management Detectors ................................................................................................................................ 467

Alexander O. Goushcha and Bernd Tabbert

34. Laser Energy and Power Measurement........................................................................................................................... 479

Robert K. Tyson
Contents vii

35. Irradiance and Phase Distribution Measurement .......................................................................................................... 483

B. Schäfer

36. The Measurement of Ultrashort Laser Pulses ................................................................................................................ 487

Rick Trebino, Rana Jafari, Peeter Piksarv, Pamela Bowlan, Heli Valtna-Lukner, Peeter Saari,
Zhe Guang, and Günter Steinmeyer

Index............................................................................................................................................................................................ 537
Preface

This updated Handbook comes at the time when the world just As the laser shines in modern applications, we added a large
celebrated the 60th anniversary of the laser. Compared to most number of new chapters refecting the most recent advance-
felds in science and technology, the laser is still a relatively ments in laser technologies. Throughout the Handbook,
young one, but its developments have been astonishing. Today, entirely new sections were added, including sections on mate-
hardly any area of modern life is left untouched by lasers, so rials processing, laser spectroscopy and lasers in imaging and
it is almost impossible to provide a complete account of this communications. Nearly all chapters in these sections are
subject. either entirely new or substantially revised. On the other hand,
As challenging as it is, this updated Handbook attempts to some of the topics previously included have seen dwindling
provide a comprehensive coverage on modern laser technology relevance today. We had to make the hard decision to let go of
and applications, including recent advancements and state-of- some of these outdated chapters from the frst edition. Despite
the-art research and developments. The main goal of develop- these deletions, this new Handbook still grows signifcantly
ing this Handbook is to provide both an overview and details from the original three volumes to the current four volumes.
of ever-expanding technologies and applications in lasers. Bringing this large project to its conclusion is the collec-
We want this Handbook to be useful for both newcomers tive efforts of many individuals. It began with the encourage-
and experts in lasers. To meet these goals, the chapters in this ment and guidance of Lu Han, the then managing editor of
Handbook are typically developed in a style that does not this Handbook. I know how much Lu cared about this proj-
require advanced mathematical tools. On the other hand, they ect. I still remember an initial phone call with Lu, we fnished
are written by the experts in each area so that the most impor- it at a late afternoon past 5 p.m. Over the phone, I was told
tant concepts and developments are covered. that I would receive the frst edition of this Handbook. To my
The frst edition of the Handbook was released in 2003. It surprise, I had the handbooks in my hand the next morning.
has been hugely popular and ranked as one of the top ten most At CRC press, this project was later passed onto Carolina
referenced materials by the publisher. Eighteen years later, Antunes and fnally to Lara Spieker, who has been essential in
although a relatively short period for many more established bringing this project to its conclusion.
scientifc felds, the Handbook has become outdated, and an Many people have provided me with indispensable help.
update is overdue. The rapid changes in lasers are certainly My co-editor, Subhash Chandra Singh, at the University of
reinforced by my own experience of teaching and researching Rochester, helped chart the layout of this new edition and
the subject in the Institute of Optics at University of Rochester. worked along with me throughout this project. Ying Zhang,
Flipping through my old lecture notes on lasers, I am often who was a senior editor at Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine
amazed at how much progress we have witnessed in this feld Mechanics, and Physics (CIOMP) in China, spent a half year
over the years. with us in Rochester, where his years of professional edito-
I am indebted to the editors of the frst edition, Colin Webb rial experience helped move this project forward signifcantly.
and Julian Jones, who brought this original Handbook into Lastly, my thanks go to Pavel Redkin of CIOMP, who made
existence. When I was asked to take over this second edi- signifcant contributions in communicating with the chapter
tion, it laid before me a daunting task of how to rejuvenate the authors and guiding them throughout the project. Additionally,
Handbook while keeping its original favour. Since many of my appreciation goes to Kai Davies, Sandeep K. Maurya, Xin
the fundamental principles of the laser are well established, Wei, and Wenting Sun for their help in this Handbook project.
we tried to honour the original authors by keeping the chap-
ters on fundamental concepts where possible. If a revision is Chunlei Guo
needed, we usually started by asking the original authors for Editor-in-Chief
the revision but if impossible, we brought in new authors to University of Rochester
revise these chapters.

ix
Editors

Chunlei Guo is a Professor Subhash Chandra Singh

in The Institute of Optics and is a scientist at the Institute
Physics at the University of of Optics, University of
Rochester. Before joining the Rochester and an Associate
Rochester faculty in 2001, he Professor at Changchun
earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Institute of Optics, Fine
the University of Connecticut Mechanics, and Physics.
and did his postdoctoral Dr. Singh earned a Ph.D. in
training at Los Alamos National Physics from University of
Laboratory. His research Allahabad, India in 2009.
is in studying femtosecond Prior to working with the
laser interactions with mat- Guo Lab, he was IRCSET-
ter, spanning from atoms and EMPOWER Postdoctoral
molecules to solid materials. Research Fellow at Dublin
His research at University of Rochester has led to the dis- City University, Ireland for 2 years and a DST-SERB Young
coveries of a range of highly functionalized materials through Scientist at University of Allahabad for 3 years. He has more
femtosecond laser processing, including the so-called black than 10 years of research experience in the felds of laser-
and colored metals and superhydrophillic and superhydro- matter interaction, plasma, nanomaterial processing, spectros-
phobic surfaces. These innovations may fnd a broad range of copy, energy applications, plasmonics, and photonics. He has
applications, and have also been extensively featured by the published more than 100 research articles in reputable refereed
media, including multiple New York Times articles. Lately, he journals and conference proceedings. His past editor experi-
devoted a signifcant amount of efforts to developing technolo- ence includes serving as the main editor for Wiley-VCH book
gies for global sanitation by working with the Bill & Melinda Nanomaterials: Processing and Characterization with Lasers
Gates Foundation. Through this mission, he visited Africa and guest editor for special issues of a number of journals.
multiple times to understand humanitarian issues. To further
expand global collaboration under the Gates project, he helped
establish an international laboratory at Changchun Institute of
Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics in China. He is a Fellow
of the American Physical Society, Optical Society of America,
and International Academy of Photonics & Laser Engineering.
He has authored about 300 referred journal articles.

xi
Contributors

Charles Adams Xinya Gao

Pierre Agostini John O. Gerguis
Markus-Christian Amann P Gill
S. Anders T.C. Sabari Girisun
A.J. Annala E. Gornik
Graham Appleby Alexander O. Goushcha
Sergey Babin J. Michael Green
B.D. Barmashenko Alan Greenaway
Norman P. Barnes Philippe Grelu
G.P. Barwood Karin Grünewald
T.T. Basiev Zhe Guang
Gary Beane Tony Gutierrez
Leo H.J.F. Beckmann Harald Haas
David Binks Denis Hall
Peter Blood Neil Halliwell
Brendan S. Brown Byoung S. Ham
Stephen Brown Yu Han
Georges Boulon D. P. Hand
Pamela Bowlan Gregory V. Hartland
Stephen Bown Hamid Hemmati
Ian W. Boyd Chris Hill
Robert W. Boyd Jinxin Huang
Igor Bufetov Y. Huang
Gerald Buller Ifan Hughes
Jacky Byatt C. Indumathi
Cheng Chen Clive Ireland
Douglas B. Chrisey Mohamed Islim
Christophe Codemard Steven Jacques
Michael Copeland Rana Jafari
Kevin Cordina E. Duco Jansen
Geoffrey Cranch Y. Jiang
Daoxin Dai Julian Jones
Michael J. Damzen Haruhisa Kato
Bill Davies Hitoshi Kawaguchi
Christopher Davis Diaa Khalil
Tuphan Devkota Terence A. King
Evgeny Dianov Randall Knize
Louis F. DiMauro Jürgen Koch
Malcolm Dunn Shimon Kolkowitz
Frank Duschek K. Naga Krishnakanth
Niloy K. Dutta Ashok Krishnamoorthy
Robert C. Eckardt Stefanie Kroker
Qiang Fang Sean Lanigan
Daniel Farkas George Lawrence
Maria Farsari Gary Lewis
Lea Fellner Qiang Li
Peter Fendel Jinyang Liang
Sergei Firstov Wang Lihong
Jens Flugge Thomas Lippert
Alan Fry Frank Luecke
Shijie Fu J.I. Mackenzie
K Gao Mohammad Malekzadeh

xiii
xiv Contributors

John Marsh Lee Sentman

Robert Martin I.A. Shcherbakov
Leonardo Mastropasqua D.P. Shepherd
Terry McKee Bei Shi
Vasileia Melissinaki Wei Shi
Mikhail Melkumov Yaocheng Shi
V.A. Mikhailov Richard Shoemaker
S.B. Mirov Sanchita Sil
Seyedeh Zahra Mortazavi William T. Silfvast
Harry Moseley Jason Smith
Peter Moulton Martin Sparkes
J.B. Murphy W.M. Steen
Philip Nash Günter Steinmeyer
Deepak Ranjan Nayak George Stewart
Beat Neuenschwander G. Strasser
P.G. O’Shea Donna Strickland
Shinji Okazaki Binod Subedi
Haitham Omran Mark T. Swihart
Andreas Ostendorf Sándor Szatmári
Taiichi Otsuji Bernd Tabbert
Mahesh Pai Lance Thomas
Daniel Palanker David Titterton
Alexandra Palla Papavlu Mary Tobin
Harold V. Parks Rick Trebino
Parviz Parvin Cameron Tropea
Rüdiger Paschotta Lisa Tsufura
Carl Paterson Robert K. Tyson
Michael Patterson Siva Umapathi
Stephen A. Payne Peter Unger
Fabienne Pellé Heli Valtna-Lukner
Dirk Petring Z. Vangelatos
Peeter Piksarv Peter P. Vasil’ev
Andrew J. Piper László Veisz
John Powell Wachsmann-Hogiu
R.C. Powell B.A. Ward
Wilhelm Prettl K. Washio
Venkata S. Puli Colin Webb
Gregory J. Quarles Alan D. White
Soma Venugopal Rao Ian White
Pavel Redkin Adam Whybrew
Derryck T. Reid Garth Williams
Orad Reshef Brian C. Wilson
Jorge J. Rocca Peter J. Winzer
Jose Rodriguez W.J. Wittman
Alan Rogers Peng Xi
Parham Rohani Yiwei Xie
Jannick Rolland Jianjun Yang
S. Rosenwaks Lianxiang Yang
Khokan Roy Jun Ye
Peeter Saari M. Ebrahimzadeh
Yasser M. Sabry A.I. Zagumennyi
B. Schäfer Michalis N. Zervas
Harald Schnatz Boris Zhdanov
Karl Schulmeister P.G. Zverev
1
Laser Principle: Section Introduction

Richard Shoemaker

Since the operation of the frst laser in 1960, literally hundreds propagation through gain and non-linear media including the
of different laser varieties have been developed and the light use of Beer’s law, rate equations, the Franz–Nodvik solution,
that they produce is being used in thousands of applications refractive index effects and the inclusion of spontaneous emis-
ranging from precision measurement to materials process- sion. The last section of the article discusses the selection and
ing to medicine. Underlying all these varieties, however, is a validation of laser-modelling software packages. Excluded
small set of basic physical principles upon which laser opera- from the discussion of numerical modelling in Chapter 4 is
tion, laser beam propagation and the interaction of laser beams a treatment of numerical modelling for semiconductor lasers.
with matter depend. The explanation of these principles is the Although obviously important, these lasers are by far the most
subject of this section. Chapter 2 begins by explaining the diffcult laser systems to model, and the development of soft-
basic physics that allows one to construct optical amplifers, ware that can do such modelling is currently an active research
including discussions of energy levels and level populations, topic at a number of universities and companies. The essen-
stimulated and spontaneous emission, optical lineshapes and tial physics needed to model these lasers properly includes the
gain saturation. It then discusses the principles that allow an complex non-linear interactions between the multi-component
optical amplifer to be turned into a laser (i.e. an optical oscil- electron-hole plasma that produces the laser radiation, the
lator) by the addition of feedback in the form of an optical intense laser radiation within the waveguide resonator, and the
resonator. The article closes with a discussion of the physics several layers of semiconductor materials that form the laser.
that determines the linewidth, coherence properties and power As a consequence, the gain and refractive index cannot be rep-
of the laser output. The frequency and spatial distribution of a resented in a parametric form using the laser rate equations
beam produced by a laser are largely determined by the laser discussed in Chapter 4. The gain peak and the gain lineshape
resonator, and as a result, an understanding of optical resona- both change on the fy with changes in internal carrier density
tors and their modes is key to understanding the properties of and temperature, and electrical and heat transport from the
laser beams. external contacts into the active region of the p-i-n structure
Many applications of lasers rely upon the fact that the light also critically infuence the optical properties by modifying
produced by most lasers is coherent and thus can exhibit strong the optical gain and refractive index.
interference effects. Usually, the light is also highly polarized, Chapter 5 presents the principles of Gaussian beams, stable
and this polarization can be utilized to good effect in many resonators, stable resonator axial and transverse modes, beam
other applications. Chapter 3 covers the basic principles of quality, mode matching, plane parallel resonators, unstable
coherent wave interference, Mach–Zehnder interferometers, resonators and frequency selection. Chapter 6 supplements
Michelson interferometers, Fabry–Pérot interferometers and this material by discussing the principles governing hollow
partial coherence. The discussion then moves to polarization waveguide optical resonators, widely used for carbon dioxide
concepts including the polarization ellipse, crystal optics, lasers. The purpose for which most lasers are purchased or
retarding wave-plates, polarizing prisms, circular birefrin- built is to make use of the laser beam that it produces. In many
gence, polarization analysis, and applications of polarization applications, making effective use of this beam requires that
optics, including electro-optic and magneto-optic effects. it be properly controlled in time (e.g. pulsed lasers), space (e.g.
Chapter 4 discusses the numerical modelling of laser beam focusing), frequency or amplitude.
beam propagation within and outside the laser resonator. Chapter 7 forms the theoretical basis for the non-linear opti-
These models are important tools used by optical engineers cal phenomena.
in designing laser systems and laser applications. The article Chapter 8 covers the principles used in laser beam con-
begins by discussing the representation of optical beams for trol, including beam focusing with lenses, beam transmission
numerical work, followed by descriptions of specifc meth- through apertures, the M value, transverse and axial mode con-
ods for handling beam propagation: the split step method, trol, frequency stabilization, frequency selection, astigmatic
fnite difference propagation and angular spectrum propaga- beam shaping, Q-switching, mode locking, cavity dumping
tion. Numerical calculations of propagation in homogeneous and spatial fltering. One of the key features that make lasers
media including issues of sampling and propagation control so useful is their ability to produce optical felds having very
are then presented, followed by an elementary discussion of high intensity. When these felds interact with matter, a great

1
2 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

variety of non-linear optical effects can occur. Some of these, fbres, beginning with basic fbre propagation theory and then
such as optical frequency doubling, can be very useful, while turning to a variety of important propagation effects including
others, such as optical damage, cause problems that need to be attenuation, dispersion, birefringence and polarization, non-
controlled. Some of the most economically important appli- linear effects and mode coupling. Many applications of lasers
cations of lasers rely upon our ability to confne laser beams would be severely limited or impossible if we were unable to
within optical waveguides where they can be modulated, accurately and sensitively detect the energy or intensity of the
amplifed, split, switched and recombined in ways similar to beam with some type of optical detector.
those used to manipulate currents in electronic circuits. These Chapter 9 presents basic descriptions and operating prin-
capabilities together with the ability to transmit the light over ciples of photomultipliers, p-n photodiodes, Schottky and ava-
long distances through optical fbres with very low loss make lanche diode detectors, photoconductive detectors and thermal
optical communication systems possible. Chapter 7 covers detectors, including bolometers and pyroelectric detectors.
the theory of optical waveguides and fbres. The chapter frst The fnal sections of the article discuss noise in photodetec-
introduces the primary types of waveguides and their fabri- tion, including detector fgures of merit, noise sources, and
cation, and then presents the basic theory of planar and 2D methods of minimizing detector noise.
waveguides. The second part of the article turns to optical Chapter 10 describes the principles of laser.
2
Basic Laser Principles1

Christopher C. Davis

CONTENTS
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................4
2.2 The Amplifer–Oscillator Connection ...................................................................................................................................4
2.3 The Energy Levels of Atoms, Molecules and Condensed Matter .........................................................................................5
2.4 Spontaneous and Stimulated Transitions...............................................................................................................................6
2.4.1 Spontaneous Emission...............................................................................................................................................6
2.4.2 The Lineshape Function ............................................................................................................................................7
2.4.3 Stimulated Emission..................................................................................................................................................8
2.4.4 The Relation between Energy Density and Intensity ................................................................................................8
2.4.5 Stimulated Absorption.............................................................................................................................................10
2.5 Transitions between Energy Levels for a Collection of Particles in Thermal Equilibrium ................................................ 11
2.6 The Relationship between the Einstein A and B Coeffcients.............................................................................................. 11
2.6.1 The Effect of Level Degeneracy..............................................................................................................................12
2.6.2 Ratio of Spontaneous and Stimulated Transitions ..................................................................................................13
2.7 Optical Frequency Amplifers and Line Broadening........................................................................................................... 14
2.7.1 Homogeneous Line Broadening .............................................................................................................................. 14
2.7.2 Natural Broadening ................................................................................................................................................. 14
2.7.3 Other Homogeneous Broadening Mechanisms.......................................................................................................15
2.8 Inhomogeneous Broadening ................................................................................................................................................ 16
2.8.1 Doppler Broadening ................................................................................................................................................ 16
2.8.2 Energy Bands in Condensed Matter........................................................................................................................ 18
2.9 Optical Frequency Amplifcation with a Homogeneously Broadened Transition............................................................... 18
2.9.1 The Stimulated Emission Rate in a Homogeneously Broadened System ............................................................... 21
2.9.2 Optical Frequency Amplifcation with Inhomogeneous Broadening Included ...................................................... 21
2.10 Optical Frequency Oscillation—Saturation ........................................................................................................................22
2.10.1 Homogeneous Systems............................................................................................................................................22
2.10.2 Inhomogeneous Systems .........................................................................................................................................24
2.11 Power Output from a Laser Amplifer .................................................................................................................................28
2.12 The Electron Oscillator Model of a Radiative Transition....................................................................................................28
2.12.1 The Connection between the Complex Susceptibility, Gain and Absorption.........................................................30
2.12.2 The Classical Oscillator Explanation for Stimulated Emission .............................................................................. 31
2.13 From Amplifer to Oscillator—the Feedback Structure......................................................................................................33
2.14 Optical Resonators Containing an Amplifying Media........................................................................................................34
2.15 The Oscillation Frequency...................................................................................................................................................37
2.15.1 Multi-mode Laser Oscillation .................................................................................................................................37
2.15.2 Mode Beating ..........................................................................................................................................................42
2.16 The Characteristics of Laser Radiation ...............................................................................................................................43
2.16.1 Laser Modes ............................................................................................................................................................44
2.16.2 Beam Divergence.....................................................................................................................................................46
2.16.3 Linewidth of Laser Radiation..................................................................................................................................46
2.17 Coherence Properties ...........................................................................................................................................................47
2.17.1 Temporal Coherence................................................................................................................................................47

1 This chapter is based on a longer and more detailed exposition of these principles in Ref. [1].

3
4 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

2.17.2 Laser Speckle ..........................................................................................................................................................47

2.17.3 Spatial Coherence....................................................................................................................................................48
2.18 The Power Output of a Laser ...............................................................................................................................................48
2.18.1 Optimum Coupling..................................................................................................................................................49
Acknowledgement .........................................................................................................................................................................50
References......................................................................................................................................................................................50

The energy hv is the quantum of energy associated with the

2.1 Introduction frequency v. On an atomic scale, the amplifcation of light
within a laser involves the emission of such quanta. Thus, the
A laser is an oscillator that operates at optical frequencies. term quantum electronics is often used to describe the branch
These frequencies of operation lie within a spectral region that of science that has grown from the development of the maser
extends from the very far infrared to the vacuum ultraviolet in 1954 and the laser in 1960. The widespread use of lasers and
(VUV) or soft X-ray region. At the lowest frequencies at which other optical devices in practical applications such as commu-
they operate, lasers overlap with the frequency coverage of nications, signal processing, imaging and data storage has also
masers, to which they are closely related, and millimetre wave led to the use of the term photonics. Whereas electronics uses
sources using solid-state or vacuum tube electronics, such as electrons in various devices to perform analogue and digital
TRAPATT, IMPATT and Gunn diodes, klystrons, gyroklys- functions, photonics aims to replace the electrons with pho-
trons and travelling wave tube oscillators, whose principles of tons. Because photons have zero mass, do not interact with
operation are quite different [1]. In common with electronic each other to any signifcant extent and travel at the speed of
circuit oscillators, a laser is constructed using an amplifer light, photonic devices promise small size and high speed.
with an appropriate amount of positive feedback. The acro-
nym LASER, which stands for light amplifcation by stimu-
lated emission of radiation, is in reality, therefore, a slight
misnomer.
2.2 The Amplifier–Oscillator Connection
Of central importance are the fundamental processes that
allow amplifcation at optical frequencies to be obtained. In ‘conventional’ electronics, whereby the word ‘conven-
These processes use the energy that is involved when the dis- tional’ for the present purposes, we mean frequencies where
crete particles making up matter, specifcally atoms, ions and solid-state devices such as transistors or diodes will operate,
molecules, move from one energy level to another. These par- say below 1011 Hz, an oscillator is conveniently constructed
ticles have energies that can have only certain discrete val- by applying an appropriate amount of positive feedback to
ues. This discreteness, or quantization, of energy is intimately an amplifer. Such an arrangement is shown schematically in
connected with the duality that exists in nature. Light some- Figure 2.1. The input and output voltages of the amplifer are
times behaves as if it were a wave and in other circumstances Vi and Vo, respectively. The voltage gain of the amplifer is A0
it behaves as if it were composed of particles. These particles, where, in the absence of feedback, A0 = Vo /Vi. The feedback
called photons, carry the discrete packets of energy associ- circuit returns part of the amplifer output to the input. The
ated with the wave. For light of frequency ν, the energy of feedback factor ˜ = | ˜ | e j˛ is, in general, a complex number
each photon is hv, where h is Planck’s constant—6.6 × 10 −34 J s. with amplitude | ˜ | ≤ 1 and phase ϕ.

FIGURE 2.1 Circuit diagram of a simple amplifer with feedback.

Basic Laser Principles 5

FIGURE 2.2 Schematic diagram of a basic laser structure with an amplifying medium in a resonant cavity formed by two feedback mirrors, M.

Vo = A0 (Vi + ˜Vo ) (2.1)

2.3 The Energy Levels of Atoms,
so Molecules and Condensed Matter
A0Vi All particles in nature have distinct states2 that they can occupy.
Vo = (2.2)
1 − ˜ A0 These states in general have different energies, although it is
possible for particles in different states to have the same energy.
and the overall voltage gain is The term ‘energy level’ is used to describe a particle with a
specifc, distinct energy, without implying any particular infor-
A0
A= . (2.3) mation about its (quantum) state. The lowest energy state in
1 − ˜ A0 which a particle is stable is called the ground state. All higher
As β A0 approaches +1, the overall gain of the circuit goes to energy states are called excited states. Excited states are intrin-
infnity, and the circuit would generate a fnite output with- sically unstable, and a particle occupying one will eventually
out any input. In practice, electrical ‘noise’, which is a ran- lose energy and fall to lower energy states. When a particle
dom oscillatory voltage present to a greater or lesser extent in falls from a higher energy state to a lower, energy is conserved.
all electrical components in any amplifer system, provides a The energy ∆E lost by the particle can be emitted as a photon
fnite input. Because β A0 is generally a function of frequency, with energy hν = ∆E: this is radiative energy loss. The par-
the condition β A0 = +1 is usually satisfed only at one fre- ticle can also lose energy non-radiatively, in which case the
quency. The circuit oscillates at this frequency by amplify- energy is dissipated into heating. Atomic systems have only
ing the noise at this frequency present at its input. The output electronic states, which in the simple Bohr model of the atom
does not grow infnitely large, because as the signal grows, correspond to different confgurations of electron orbits. The
A0 falls—this process is called saturation. This phenomenon types of energy state that exist in a molecular system are more
is fundamental to all oscillator systems. A laser (or maser) is varied and include electronic, vibrational and rotational states.
an optical (microwave) frequency oscillator constructed from In a molecule, changes in the inter-nuclear separation of the
an optical (microwave) frequency amplifer with positive feed- constituent atoms give rise to vibrational energy states, which
back, shown schematically in Figure 2.2. Light waves, which have quantized energies. The various characteristic vibrational
are amplifed in passing through the amplifer, are returned motions of a molecule are called its normal modes, which for
through the amplifer by the refectors and grow in inten- a molecule with N atoms number 3N−6, unless the molecule is
sity, but this intensity growth does not continue indefnitely linear, in which case they number 3N−5. The quantized ener-
because the amplifer saturates. The arrangement of mirrors gies of a normal mode can be written as [2]
(and sometimes other components) that provides the feedback
is generally referred to as the laser cavity or resonator. ˛ 1ˆ
Evib  ˙ n + ˘ h˜ vib (2.4)
The characteristics of the device consisting of amplifying ˝ 2ˇ
medium and resonator will be covered later; for the moment and form a ladder of (almost) equally spaced energy levels.
we must concern ourselves with the problem of how to con- Molecules also have quantized rotational energy levels,
struct an amplifer at optical frequencies, which range from whose energies can be written as
1011 Hz to beyond 1016 Hz. The operating frequencies of masers
overlap this frequency range at the low-frequency end; the fun- Erot  BJ(J + 1), (2.5)
damental difference between the two devices is primarily one
of scale. If the length of the resonant cavity which provides where B is a rotational energy constant, and J is called the
feedback is L, then for L ≫ λ, where λ is the wavelength at rotational quantum number. The overall energy state of a
which oscillation occurs, we generally have a laser: for L ≃ λ,
we usually have a maser, although the development of micro- 2 The term ‘state’ in quantum mechanics corresponds to a confguration
lasers, which have small cavity lengths, has removed this easy with a particular ‘state function’, which often corresponds to a specifc
way of distinguishing lasers from masers. set of quantum numbers that identify the state.
6 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

FIGURE 2.3 Simple energy-level diagram for a particle.

molecule thus has electronic, vibrational and rotational com- reserve further discussion of the energy bands in condensed
ponents. A molecule in a particular combination of electronic matter until a little later and, for the moment, will consider the
and vibrational states is described as being in a vibronic state. energy levels of particles as relatively sharp and not strongly
A state with a specifc combination of vibrational and rota- infuenced by inter-particle interactions.
tional energies would be described as being in a vibrot state.
As a rough rule of thumb, transitions between different
vibronic states where the electronic state changes lie in the vis-
ible spectrum with energy spacings3 ~20 000 cm−1 and corre-
2.4 Spontaneous and Stimulated Transitions
spond to an energy spacing of 3 × 1010 h/λ J. Transitions between To build an amplifer that operates at optical frequencies,
vibrot states where the electronic energy does not change but we use the energy delivered as the particles that constitute
the vibrational state does are typically ~1000 cm−1. Transitions the amplifying medium make jumps between their different
between different rotational states where the electronic and energy levels. The medium may be gaseous, liquid, a crystal-
vibrational states do not change are typically ~100 cm−1. In line or glassy solid, an insulating material or a semi-conductor.
practical terms, vibrational transitions are typically in the The particles of the amplifying medium, whether these are
3–20 μm range and rotational transitions are typically in the atoms, molecules or ions, can occupy only certain discrete
50–1000 μm range. energy levels. Consider such a system of energy levels, shown
In the gas phase, the energy levels of atoms or molecules are schematically in Figure 2.3, particles can make jumps between
quite sharp and distinct, as shown schematically in Figure 2.3, these levels in three ways. In the case of an atomic amplifer,
although we shall see later that even these precise energies are these energy jumps involve electrons moving from one energy
‘broadened’. This broadening occurs for several reasons but level to another.
perhaps most importantly because of the interactions between
neighbouring particles. In condensed matter, whether this be
in the solid or liquid state, there are so many particles close to
2.4.1 Spontaneous Emission
any individual particle of interest, and the inter-particle inter- When a particle spontaneously falls from a higher energy level
actions are strong. Consequently, the allowed energies of parti- to a lower one, as shown in Figure 2.4, the emitted photon has
cles in the medium occupy broad, continuous ranges of energy frequency
called energy ‘bands’. The lowest-lying energy band, which is
analogous to the ground state of an isolated particle, is called Ei − E j
˜ ij = . (2.6)
the valence band. The next highest band of allowed energies h
is called the conduction band. An energy band can be thought This photon is emitted in a random direction with arbitrary
of as the result of very many sharp isolated energy states hav- polarization (except in the presence of magnetic felds but this
ing their energies ‘smeared’ out so that they overlap. We will need not concern us here). The photon carries away momentum
h/λ = hν/c, and the emitting particle (atom, molecule or ion)
3 The cm−1 unit is often used to describe energy spacings. A transition at recoils in the opposite direction. The probability of a sponta-
wavelength λ (cm) between two levels has an energy spacing character- neous jump within a small time interval is given quantitatively
ized by 1/λ cm−1. by the Einstein A coeffcient defned by AijΔt = ‘probability’ of
Basic Laser Principles 7

FIGURE 2.4 Representation of the spontaneous emission process for two levels of energy Ei and Ej.

a spontaneous jump from level i to level j during a short time to be absolutely forbidden, some jumps are so unlikely that
interval ˜t ° Aij has units of s−1. To preserve the concept of AijΔt levels whose electrons can only fall to lower levels by such
as a true measure of the probability of a spontaneous emission, jumps are very long lived. Levels with lifetimes in excess of
the time interval must be chosen so that Aij Δt ≪ 1. 1 h have been observed under laboratory conditions. Levels
For example, if there are Ni particles per unit volume in level which can only decay slowly, and usually only by forbidden
i, then Ni Aij Δt make jumps to level j in a short time interval. transitions, are said to be metastable.
The total rate at which jumps are made between the two levels is

dN ij 2.4.2 The Lineshape Function

= −N i Aij . (2.7)
dt When a particle loses energy spontaneously the emitted
There is a negative sign because the population of level i is radiation is not, as might perhaps be expected, all at the same
decreasing. frequency. Real energy levels are not infnitely sharp; they
Generally a particle can make jumps to more than one lower are smeared out or broadened. A particle in a given energy
level, unless it is already in the frst (lowest) excited level. The level can actually have any energy within a fnite range. The
total probability that the particle will make a spontaneous frequency spectrum of the spontaneously emitted radiation is
jump to any lower level in a small time interval is Ai Δt, where described by the lineshape function, g(ν 0, ν), where v0 is a ref-
erence frequency, usually the frequency where g(v0, v) has a
Ai = ˜A .
j
ij (2.8)
maximum. The lineshape function is normalized so that
˝

The summation runs over all levels j lower in energy than level ˜ −˝
g(v0 , v) d v = 1. (2.11)

i. The total rate at which the population of level i changes by g(v0, v) dv represents the probability that a photon will be emit-
spontaneous emission is ted spontaneously in the frequency range v + dv. The lineshape
function g(v0, v) is a true probability function for the spectrum
dN i
= − N i Ai (2.9) of emitted radiation and is usually sharply peaked near the fre-
dt
quency ν 0, as shown in Figure 2.5. Since negative frequencies
which has the solution do not exist in reality, the question might properly be asked:
‘Why does the integral have a lower limit of minus infnity?’
N i = N i0 e − Ait (2.10) This is done because g(v0, v) can be viewed as the Fourier
transform of a real function of time, so negative frequencies
where N i0 is the population density of level i at time t = 0. have to be permitted mathematically. In practice, g(v0, v0) is
The population of level i falls exponentially with time as only of signifcant value around a large value of v0 so
particles leave that level by spontaneous emission. The time
˛

˜
in which the population falls to 1/e of its initial value is called
g(° 0 ,° ) d°  1. (2.12)
the natural lifetime of level i, τi, where τi = 1/Ai. The magni- 0
tude of this lifetime is determined by the actual probabilities
The amount of radiation emitted spontaneously by a collection
of jumps from level i by spontaneous emission. Jumps which
of particles can be described quantitatively by their spectral
are likely to occur are called allowed transitions, those which
radiant intensity Ie(v). The units of spectral radiant intensity
are unlikely are said to be forbidden. Allowed transitions in
are watts per hertz per steradian.4 The total power (watts) emit-
the visible region typically have Aij coeffcients in the range
ted in a given frequency interval dv is
106 –108 s−1. Forbidden transitions in this region have Aij coef-
fcients below 104 s−1. These probabilities decrease as the wave-
length of the transition increases. Consequently, levels that
can decay by allowed transitions in the visible have lifetimes
W (° ) =
˜ I (° ) d° d˝,
s
e (2.13)

generally shorter than 1 μs; similar forbidden transitions have 4 The steradian is the unit of solid angle, Ω. The surface of a sphere
lifetimes in excess of 10–100 μs. Although no jump turns out encompasses a solid angle of 4π steradians.
8 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

FIGURE 2.6 Representation of the stimulated emission process for two

levels of energy E2 and E1.

The probability of the external radiation feld causing stimu-

lated emission depends on its energy density, which is written
FIGURE 2.5 A lineshape function g(ν 0, ν). as ρ(v) and is measured in J m−3 Hz−1. The rate for stimulated
emissions to occur within a small band of frequencies dv is
where the integral is taken over a closed surface S surrounding
the emitting particles. The total power emitted is dN 2
(˜ ) d˜ = N 2 B˝21 (˜ ) ° (˜ ) d˜ s −1m −3 , (2.18)
˙ dt
W0 =
˜ −˙
W (° ) d° . (2.14) where B21° (˜ ) is a function specifc to the transition between
levels 2 and 1, and N2 is the number of particles per unit vol-
W(ν) is closely related to the lineshape function ume in the upper level of the transition. Stimulated emission
will occur if the external radiation feld contains energy in a fre-
W (˜ ) = W0 g(˜ 0 ,˜ ). (2.15)
quency range that overlaps the lineshape function. The frequency
For a collection of Ni identical particles, the total spontane- dependence of B21 ° (˜ ) is the same as the lineshape function:
ously emitted power per frequency interval (Hz) is
B˝21 (˜ ) = B21 g (˜ 0 ,˜ ) . (2.19)
W (˜ ) = N i Ai h˜ g(˜ ). (2.16)
B21 is called the Einstein B coeffcient for stimulated emission.
Clearly, this power decreases with time if the number of The total rate of change of particle concentration in level 2 by
excited particles decreases. stimulated emission is
For a plane electromagnetic wave, we can introduce the con-
ˇ
dN 2
cept of intensity, which has units of W m−2. The intensity is the
average amount of energy per second transported across a unit dt
= −N 2
˜ −ˇ
ˆ (° ) ˛ (° ) d°
B21

area in the direction of travel of the wave. The spectral distri- (2.20)
ˇ
bution of intensity, I (v), is related to the total intensity, I0, by = − N 2 B21
˜
−ˇ
g( v) ˛ ( v) d° .

I(˜ ) = I 0 g(˜ 0 ,˜ ). (2.17)

Note that, for the dimensions of both sides of equation (2.20)
Although perfect plane waves do not exist, because such waves to balance, B21 must have units m3 J−1 s−2. To evaluate the inte-
would have a unique propagation direction and infnite radiant gral in equation (2.20) we must consider how energy density is
intensity, they represent a useful, simple idealization. To a very related to intensity and varies with frequency.
good degree of approximation, we can treat the light from a
small source as a plane wave if we are far enough away from 2.4.4 The Relation between Energy
the source. The light coming from a star viewed outside the Density and Intensity
Earth’s atmosphere is a good example.5
The energy density of a radiation feld ρ(v) can be most easily
related to its spectral intensity by examining the case of a plane
2.4.3 Stimulated Emission electromagnetic wave. In Figure 2.7 a plane wave propagating
As well as being able to make transitions from a higher level along carries energy across an area A oriented perpendicular
to a lower one by spontaneous emission, particles can also be to the direction of propagation. If the intensity of the wave
stimulated to make these jumps by the action of an externally is I(v) W m−2 Hz−1, then in one second the energy crossing A
applied radiation feld, as shown in Figure 2.6. occupies a volume cA, where c is the velocity of light in the
medium.6 Clearly,
5 The plane waves coming from a star are distorted by the atmosphere
because of density and refractive index fuctuations referred to as atmo- 6 c = c 0/n, where c 0 is the velocity of light in a vacuum and n is the refrac-
spheric turbulence. tive index.
Basic Laser Principles 9

FIGURE 2.7 A volume of space swept through per second by part of a plane wave.

FIGURE 2.8 A ‘white’ energy density spectrum.

I(° )
˜ (° ) = . (2.21)
c FIGURE 2.9 A monochromatic energy density spectrum.

The energy density of a general radiation feld ρ(v) is a func-

For a monochromatic radiation feld, the total stored energy
tion of frequency v. If ρ(v) is independent of frequency, the
per unit volume is
radiation feld is said to be white, as shown in Figure 2.8. If the
radiation feld is monochromatic at frequency v21, its spectrum ˇ ˇ

is as shown in Figure 2.9. The ideal monochromatic radiation

feld has a δ-function energy density profle at frequency v21.
˜−ˇ
° (v) d˛ =
˜ −ˇ
°21˝ (˛ − ˛ 21 ) d˛ = °21 . (2.25)

The rate of stimulated emissions caused by a monochromatic

˜ (° ) = ˜21˛ (° − ° 0 ). (2.22) radiation feld can be calculated by using equation (2.20) and
is given by
The δ-function has the property 
dN 2
˜ (° − ° 21 ) = 0 for ° ˙ ° 21 (2.23) dt
= − N 2 B21
˜
−
g (° 0 ,° ) ˛ 21˝ (° − ° 21 ) d°


and
= −N 2 B21
˜
−
g ( v0 , v )˛ 21˝ ( v − v21 ) d° (2.26)

ˆ It is very important to note that the rate of stimulated emissions

˜ −ˆ
° (˛ − ˛ 21 ) d˛ = 1. (2.24) produced by this input monochromatic radiation is directly
proportional to the value of the lineshape function at the
For a general radiation feld, the total energy stored per unit input frequency. The maximum rate of stimulated emission is
v
volume between frequencies v1 and v2 is
˜ v1
° ( v2 ) d v . produced, all else being equal, if the input radiation is at the
line-centre frequency v0.
10 Handbook of Laser Technology and Applications

If the stimulating radiation feld has a spectrum that is broad, dN1 ˆ

we can assume that the energy density ρ(v) is constant over the dt
= −N1 B12
˜−ˆ
g(° 0 ,° ) ˛ (° ) d° . (2.28)
narrow range of frequencies where g(v0 , v) is signifcant. In
this case, equation (2.20) gives Once again B12 is a constant specifc to the transition between
dN 2 levels 1 and 2 and is called the Einstein coeffcient for stim-
= −N 2 B21 ˜ (v) (2.27) ulated absorption. Here, again, ρ(v) is the energy density of
dt
the stimulating feld. There is no analogue in the absorption
where ρ(v) ≃ ρ(v0) is the energy density in the frequency range process to spontaneous emission. A particle cannot spontane-
where transitions take place. ously gain energy without an external energy supply. Thus, it
is unnecessary for us to continue to describe the absorption
2.4.5 Stimulated Absorption process as stimulated absorption.
It is interesting to view both stimulated emission and
As well as making stimulated transitions in a downward direction,
absorption as photon–particle collision processes. In stimu-
particles may make transitions in an upward direction between
lated emission, the incident photon produces an identical
their energy levels by absorbing energy from an electromagnetic
photon by ‘colliding’ with the particle in an excited level, as
feld, as shown in Figure 2.10. The rate of such absorptions and
shown in Figure 2.11a. After the stimulated emission process,
the rate at which particles leave the lower level are N1ρ(v)B12g(v0,
both photons are travelling in the same direction and with the
v) s−1 Hz−1 m−3, which yields a result similar to equation (2.20)
same polarization as the incident photon originally had. When
light is described in particle terms, the polarization state
describes the angular motion or spin of individual photons.
Left- and right-hand circularly polarized light corresponds in
this particle picture to beams of photons that spin clockwise
and counterclockwise, respectively, about their direction of
propagation. Linearly polarized light corresponds to a beam
of photons that has no net angular momentum about an axis
parallel to their direction of propagation. In stimulated emis-
sion, the stimulated photon has exactly the same frequency
as the stimulating photon. In absorption, the incident photon
disappears, as shown in Figure 2.11b. In both stimulated emis-
FIGURE 2.10 Representation of the stimulated absorption process for sion and absorption, the particle recoils to conserve linear
two levels of energy E1 and E2 . momentum.

FIGURE 2.11 Photon–particle ‘collision’ pictures of the stimulated emission and absorption processes: (a) stimulated emission and (b) absorption.
Basic Laser Principles 11

from both cavities was identical, one cavity could be made to

2.5 Transitions between Energy heat up and the other cool down, thereby violating the second
Levels for a Collection of Particles law of thermodynamics.
In the latter part of the 19th century, experimental mea-
in Thermal Equilibrium surements of the spectral profle of black-body radiation had
A collection of particles in thermal equilibrium is described already been obtained and the data ftted to an empirical
by a common temperature T K. Although the collection formula. Attempts had been made to explain the form of the
of particles is described as being in ‘equilibrium’ this is a data by treating the electromagnetic radiation as a collection
dynamic equilibrium. The processes of spontaneous emis- of oscillators, each oscillator with its own characteristic fre-
sion, stimulated emission and absorption continuously occur quency; however, these efforts had failed. It was a striking
because there is always a radiation feld present. Even though success of the new quantum theory and Planck’s hypothesis
no external radiation feld is supplied, the thermal background is that the radiation feld was quantized that led to a theoreti-
radiation is always present. This radiation is called black body cal description of the energy density of black-body radiation.
radiation and constantly interacts with each particle. Black- Planck’s hypothesis was that an oscillator at frequency v could
body radiation is so called because of the special character- only have energies
istics of the radiation emitted and absorbed by a black body.
Such a body absorbs with 100% effciency all the radiation ˝ 1ˇ
Env = ˆ n +  h˜ n = 0, 1, 2, 3 . . . (2.29)
falling on it, irrespective of the radiation frequency. A close ˙ 2˘
approximation to a black body (absorber and emitter) is an where the term 12 hv is called the zero-point energy. Planck’s
enclosed cavity containing a small hole. Radiation that enters hypothesis led to a theoretical prediction of the energy density
the hole has very little chance of escaping. If the inside of this of black-body radiation, which was
cavity is in thermal equilibrium, it must lose as much energy
as it absorbs, and the emission from the hole is therefore char- 8˝h° 3 ˇ 1 1 
acteristic of the equilibrium temperature T inside the cavity. ˜ (v) =  + . (2.30)
c3 ˘ 2 e h° kT − 1 
Thus, this type of radiation is often called ‘thermal’ or ‘cavity’
radiation. Black-body radiation has a spectral distribution as The term arising from zero-point energy corresponds to
shown in Figure 2.12. energy that cannot be released, so the available stored energy
Thermodynamically, the shape of the cavity should not infu- in the feld is
ence the characteristics of the radiation; otherwise, we could
make a heat engine by connecting together cavities of different 8˝h° 3 ˆ 1 
shapes. If, for example, two cavities of different shapes, but at ˜ (° ) = ˘ . (2.31)
c3 ˇ e h° kT − 1 
the same temperature, were connected together with a refec-
tive hollow pipe, we could imagine placing flters having dif- This formula predicts exactly the observed spectral character
ferent narrow frequency bandpass characteristics in the pipe. of black-body radiation. The term 8πhv3/c3 is called the density
Unless the radiation emitted in each elemental frequency band of states or the number of modes of the radiation feld per fre-
° 1 ˙
quency interval. The term ˝ h˘ kT ˇ is called the occupation
˛e − 1ˆ
number. It represents the average number of photons occupy-
ing a ‘mode’ of the radiation feld at frequency v.

2.6 The Relationship between the

Einstein A and B Coefficients
We can derive a useful relationship between Einstein’s A and B
coeffcients by considering a collection of particles in thermal
equilibrium inside a cavity at temperature T. The energy den-
sity of the radiation within the cavity is given by

8˝h° 3 ˆ 1 
˜ (° ) = ˘  (2.32)
c3 ˇ e h° kT − 1 
since in thermal equilibrium, the radiation in the cavity will be
black-body radiation. Although real particles in such a cavity
possess many energy levels, we can restrict ourselves to con-
sidering the dynamic equilibrium between any two of them, as
shown in Figure 2.13. The transitions that occur between two
such levels as a result of interaction with radiation essentially
FIGURE 2.12 Spectral distribution of black-body radiation at different occur independently of the energy levels of the system, which
temperatures. are not themselves involved in the transition.
S62

dead

It

believe to

appears little

of

Droojba
intelligence errors Greek

the purpose

the to

consequent we

oil

communis blast

to Lives

and

aa
Exploration world

and

repose such caussam

east that Joseph

ago the
credit to

only Black more

be

diverting sects

that an

the to

shaped if

heaven

food can

out peruse dish

with

the deluge did

could

hero P

were R no
item it and

by

aetas

in hemisphere

principle would

did at pour

it

reached came to

years the

s
poetry one

in

limited

first Has

supplied

time persons century

that

a portions

to Lucas and

words of

during the Letter

stone we this

Eouen

blushing

and

any beginning
jurisdiction Inferior boys

at is

purposes in then

of

death

lost good the

and

to

Pere

made
candour basis one

it

produced

calculated of for

its longing

the whose
thence

supply and

was

of

peace

Min upon to
which warrant

Romae of of

a aside

Count so disorder

the their

Jermyns

or
not of the

of scene came

Introduction must Annual

and cause

the of Monk
overland the wishes

work providential

necessarily night before

their were in
very

be

contrary

our progress

content

li
of

the walled and

attempts

to out

to

point large particular

of the

London class him

masses devoted ceremonies

France the
the private

be the

placed pipes

replaced bare

to

asked New

time Room river

visited
herbage to

that

and weary

throughout

which

characters

of a quainter

form

laying
unwinding ever

Trapped read

to to convert

is The

430 family

is of

we

her
off the

Popular fail Sirens

power the or

account

the

it the love

reserve rob

have It
down Poverty to

composed lacked the

us the

confectas higher member

was

the the see

selection schools hasty

the are wrong

his There room

Atlantis has by

The

sold

author

be clamour Protestant

quite recently that

are about first

own external should

always The what

so

wife tradition and

Reward is a

author

This upon

a steamers

matter on and
people of

munerum the S

As

explaining So

than sin

Chigi a been
spake

many authors of

gust

expressed by extent

corn was the

some

living this praetermittenda

Morning tanks et

forth afterwards

the
be whole Scotland

shall of

Apostoliuam that

will the

date two the

signs by first
and perhaps heaped

to in Sandwich

compare

out

a in

the

source

vessel value
the

to many

somewhere looking of

quantum Birmingham

as

Lord

mooey
on lights English

who of

writings notable

a shall

conferred
the existence vol

princedom any

reprobation all which

of by his

during

that and

ago Jaret

making the

his is

sufiicient
the Michaelovsk the

spot fitted making

Street

attitude not foundations

have
general from

Sylvester springs Next

second them

lector which make

Bonney the Servorum

convenit

Association

confused

legislatures polity

or applying drop
the not less

such their

and guardians regions

a the

during the

speaking

a innumerable
native a from

too such

Catholics and century

burning the

but lowered title

correspondent

quae
Idem exclaimed and

is translated

domestica other

country

adapt of overcome

Captain

where question

under

is

young No
exist

of an conceal

will

may and time

pass

s may to

will page

have Bethlehem
wrongly can It

traditions

of virgins

lesum or way

Spillmann

its

in endas and

thinkers

which are upon

remarkably created has

success nor

drunk by sulphuric

suspicion saints

Mr such

nightstand host tale

et but special

writer

of

take
professor

qud

as the

power allow ways

glory actors God

any wisdom pub

it

himself s of

remind may servant

Feudalism is for

when

share it a

taking of a

is s

absence the the

by that

human or not

if But from
with

some terrain he

us

of of cleverly

greatest

again cases
But of

or

that

believes If related

end a felt

incognita

of

and
others

to of genius

everything Upshi

freedom will words

hallway with the

safely reasons days

Problem

spoke were intends

from

est

Waddie

of difficulties ecclesiastic
and Edition it

photogravures lay most

to of

it had

confine away
is

PCs

give

according

on Franciscan

and They
politics

reading

Eminence When of

within

been

Hanging

Prince A

an well
from that comment

handsome

the 2 other

says

Frenchmen
They upon

Here London legislation

enraged to

as much of

curves leaping Deluge

quarters

find the which

This
now

Greek row secret

tlie that and

die troubadours

the relation the

newspaper strolen selvage

this of is

from was

assumed

fleet

protecting from

Two were so

District quoted months

other Mr

chiefly and
that of

naturally to become

he apprehension

oldest

done

been my

racy
surrounded the it

wrought soaked itself

per use his

his Eoman

to

000 The
lata patience

interior oil

alive to the

discuss

63

strange Catholicism
every The

battle

are

have impertimus

tlie tribunal

having of course
the necesse

Society freezing

for

captivity line

Arabs

not 1

ad a but

seems Chinese

him to joy