INTERVIEW KEYPOINTS

LED AS A LIGHT SOURCE Advantages

The size of LED is small.
LED has longer life.
It can also operate at low voltage.
Operation of LED can be made over a wide range of temperatures.
It is found in different colours.
The cost of LED is small.
LED AS A LIGHT SOURCE Disadvantages
The output of LED is incoherent.
The directionality of light is small.
The intensity of LED is less.
The power output of LED is low.
LED wors without optical resonator. !ut it is used for multimode fibers only. It can wor up to "## $b%s. It has large beam divergence.
HETEROJUNCTION LASER DIODE AS A LIGHT SOURCE Advantages
The beam divergence of laser diode is small on account of an efficient waveguide structure.
Threshold current density of laser diode is small. It is about "# &%mm
'
. Even with low threshold current( high power
output can be obtained. The power output may be "# m).
*ontinuous wave operation is possible with laser diode.
The stability of laser diode is high and life of the laser diode is long.
The laser diode source can be used for multimode and single mode fibers. It can be used up to "# +b%s. It can be used with an optical
resonator. It is also coherent.
+enerally( we use hetero,-unction laser. The above advantages are obtained effectively with the hetero,-unction laser.
HOOJUNCTION LASER DIODE AS A LIGHT SOURCE Disadvantages
!ut for homo,-unction laser( some problems are encountered.
Laser output possesses large beam divergence.
Threshold current density of laser becomes very large. It is about .## &%mm
'
.
In case of homo,-unction( laser pulsed mode output is found.
*oherence and stability are also not good. The confinement of electromagnetic field is not satisfactory.
SUR!ACE EITTING LED
SUR!ACE EITTING LED AIN !EATURES
The main features of surface emitting LED are as follows/
& double hetero,-unction is utilised here.
The active layer is sandwiched between two layers of layer band gap.
The carrier confinement increases in the vertical direction.
The optical radiation occurs from the surface of the active layer.
SUR!ACE EITTING LED CHARACTERISTICS
The 0iO
'
layer acts as an insulator between 12,+a&s layer and the metallic conductor as shown in 3igure '. Two p,&l+a&s and p,+a&s
layers mae dual functions. They develop the optical confinement.
, The recombination process nearer to the p,+a&s and 42,&l+a&s -unctions is avoided.
, LASER ACTION CATEGORIES
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, Laser action can be categorised as follows/
, 0timulated emission is essential.
, There must be population inversion of atoms.
, There must be a stimulating photon.
, &mplification of light should occur by stimulated emission of radiation.
,
, ABSORPTION
, The process of absorption is described as follows/
, The electrons generally have a tendency to stay in the lower energy level( termed the ground state( under
the usual condition.
, 4ow( a photon of some energy appears on the electron and the electron absorbs the energy.
, Obviously( the total energy of the electron increases.
, SPONTANEOUS EMISSION
, The stages of the spontaneous emissions can be e8plained as follows/
, &ccording to the absorption process( the electrons or atoms are in the higher energy level. In other
words( they are in the e8cited state.
, 4ow( if no incident light appears e8ternally( these electrons stay there for a small period and return to the
ground state later.
, )hen the electron returns from a higher energy level to a lower energy level( it emits the energy which
was absorbed at the time of absorption.
, &s a result( radiation occurs.
, STRUCTURES O! LASER DIODE
LASER STRUCTURES CATEGORIES
, The laser structures can be categorised as follows/
,
, !ig "ase# st#$%t$#es& C"assi'i%ati(n
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