PREAPRED BY

AKANKSHYA UPADHYAYA
REGD. NO. 0801307119

FULLFORM
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

HISTORY

In 1917, Albert Einstein established the theoretic foundations for the LASER . In 1928, Rudolf W. Ladenburg confirmed the existences of the phenomena of stimulated emission and negative absorption. In 1939, Valentin A. Fabrikant predicted the use of stimulated emission to amplify short waves. Willis E. Lamb found apparent stimulated emission in hydrogen spectra and effected the first demonstration of stimulated emission.

 in

1950, Alfred Kastler (Nobel Prize for Physics 1966) proposed the method of optical pumping. On 16 May 1960, Theodore Maiman demonstrated the first functional laser at the Hughes Research Laboratories.

DEFINATION

A device that uses the principle of amplification of electromagnetic waves by stimulated emission of radiation and operates in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet region is called laser.

WORKING

The process of stimulated emission can be described as follows: When atoms, ions, or molecules absorb energy, they can emit light spontaneously or they can be stimulated to emit by a light wave. This stimulated emission is the opposite of (stimulated) absorption, where unexcited matter is stimulated into an excited state by a light wave. If a collection of atoms is prepared (pumped) so that more are initially excited than unexcited (population inversion), then an incident light wave will stimulate more emission than absorption, and there is net amplification of the incident light beam. This is the way the laser amplifier works.

A laser amplifier can be made into a laser oscillator by arranging suitable mirrors on either end of the amplifier. These are called the resonator. Thus the essential parts of a laser oscillator are an amplifying medium, a source of pump power, and a resonator. Radiation that is directed straight along the axis bounces back and forth between the mirrors and can remain in the resonator long enough to build up a strong oscillation.

Radiation may be coupled out by making one mirror partially transparent so that part of the amplified light can emerge through it . The output wave, like most of the waves being amplified between the mirrors, travels along the axis and is thus very nearly a plane wave.

Observations About Lasers

They produce narrow beams of intense light They often have pure colors They are dangerous to eyes Reflected laser light has a funny speckled look

Spontaneous Emission
Excited atoms normally emit light spontaneously Photons are uncorrelated and independent Incoherent light

Stimulated Emission
Excited atoms can be stimulated into duplicating passing light Photons are correlated and identical Coherent light

Laser Amplification
Stimulated emission can amplify light Laser medium contains excited atom-like systems Photons must have appropriate wavelength, polarization, and orientation to be duplicated Duplication is perfect; photons are clones

Laser Oscillation

Laser medium in a resonator produces oscillator A spontaneous photon is duplicated over and over Duplicated photons leak from semitransparent mirror Photons from oscillator are identical

Properties of Laser Light

Coherent identical photons Controllable wavelength/frequency nice colors Controllable spatial structure narrow beams Controllable temporal structure short pulses Energy storage and retrieval intense pulses Giant interference effects Apart from these issues, laser light is just light

Types of Lasers

Gas (HeNe, CO2, Argon, Krypton)

Powered by electricity

Solid state (Ruby, Nd:YAG, Ti:Sapphire, Diode)

Powered by electricity or light

Liquid (Dye, Jello)

Powered by light

Chemical (HF) Nuclear

APPLICATIONS
used

in industry for cutting and boring metals and other materials. In medicine, they have been used in surgical operations. can be tuned to emit light over a range of frequencies, instead of producing light of only a single frequency.

 scientific

research

Holography is based on the fact that actual wave-front patterns, captured in a photographic image of an object illuminated with laser light, can be reconstructed to produce a three-dimensional image of the object.

USES

Law enforcement: used for latent fingerprint detection in the forensic identification field. Industry: Cutting, welding, material heat treatment. Product development/commercial: laser printers, optical discs(e.g. CDs and the like) scanners, thermometers, laser pointers.

 War:

Marking targets, missile defence, electro-optical countermeasures (EOCM), blinding troops. Laser lighting displays.

CONCLUSION
After a brief description about laser, I would like to conclude that the discovery of laser light has played a very important role in this modern era. Laser has now become a major part and parcel of our life which finds its applications in various fields and brought a new era of revolution in the field of electronics.

Bibliography
S.

Leinwoll, Understanding Lasers F. T. Arecchi and E. O. SchulzDubois, Laser Handbook J. Walker Light and Its Uses

THANK U