LASERS

Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. small

Tunable Diode Laser

- about 2mm x 2mm chip
- used to measure water vapor concentration in the near-IR
- used to detect low-levels of gas concentration (ppm, ppb)

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Large!!!

NOVA Laser at LLNL

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. History
1917--Albert Einstein describes the photon and points out that stimulated emission
of light could occur.
1958--Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes publish their theoretical paper
"Infrared and Optical Masers" in Physical Review, 1958.

1960 --Theodore Maiman invents the first laser, the optical version of the maser,
using a man-made ruby crystal. First operated on May 16, 1960.
1961--HeNe gas laser is invented by Ali Javan, et al., Bell Labs.
-first laser to emit a continuous (CW) beam of light
-first output was at 3.39 microns, in the infrared
-visible output at 0.633 microns (633 nm) in 1962
-"workhorse of the laser industry
1963--CO2 gas laser is invented by Patel, Bell Labs.
1964--Argon ion laser is invented by Bridges, Hughes Research Labs.
1966--Organic Dye (liquid) laser is invented.
1970's--Semiconductor lasers are run at room temperature, paving the way for their
practical use today.

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. 2010, the 50th Anniversary!

A solution looking for a problem.

http://spie.org/media/laserplayer/laserplayer.html

http://www.laserfest.org/
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Basic Principle

Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Atoms absorb energy
A population inversion is created
The atoms return to their non-energetic states by emitting radiation
(light--UV, visible, or IR) through stimulated emission
Feedback in an optical cavity amplifies this light
Some of this light is emitted in the form of laser light!

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Stimulated Emission

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Characteristics of Laser Light

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Laser Speckle

(random interference pattern)

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Fundamental Parts

"How to Make a Laser"

"Gain medium (to provide for population inversion)"
+
"Input source of energy (electricity, light, etc.)"
+
"Resonant cavity (provides optical feedback and
sustains stimulated emission)"

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: The Ruby Laser

The RubyLaser
- Sapphire crystal doped with chromium ions ( 0.05%)
- The sapphire rod has flat, polished ends coated with gold
- The chromium ions absorb the input white-light and emit the
laser light
- Wavelength of 694 nm (ruby-red color)
- Output beam is pulsed
- Needs high voltage to run the flash lamp
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: The Ruby Laser

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: The Ruby Laser

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: He-Ne Laser

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: He-Ne Laser

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: He-Ne Laser

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: Red laser pointer

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: Red laser pointer

Red Laser Pointer

- direct output of red light from the Laser Diode (LD)
= 633nm, 650nm, 670nm, etc.
- output is monitored by the built-in
photodiode detector (PD)
-beam expands and is collimated by the aspheric lens

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: Green laser pointer

= 532 nm

5mW beam
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: Green laser pointer

Diode-Pumped Solid State DPSS laser

- 808nm (near-infrared) pump diode laser 808nm energy converted to 1064nm
by the Nd:YVO4 crystal
- 1064nm energy converted to 532nm green light by the KTP crystal
- this is a non-linear process called frequency-doubling
- the input frequency is doubled, and the output wavelength is cut in half
- beam is expanded
- beam is collimated
- beam is filtered to block the (powerful) original IR energy at 808nm
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS Red vs. Green

Reference:

Sams Laser FAQ

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS Red, Green and now Blue!

= 405 nm
blue
P = 150 mW

= 532 nm
green
P=50mW

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: High-Power Diodes

- Stacks of linear arrays of diode lasers

- 100s to kilowatts of power
- near infrared wavelengths
- used for materials processing
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS .. Example: CD Diode Lasers

output in the near-infrared

5 50mW output

actual laser chip from a CD player

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS

Laser Guide Stars

- VLT 8.2m telescopes
- creates an artificial star at an altitude of 90 km
-yellow sodium line
- part of the VLTs Adaptive Optics system

Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010

LASERS
Laser Cutting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lasercutting-video.ogg

Laser Welding
CO2, Nd:YAG
E 1MW/cm2
beam < .5mm
carbon steel,
stainless steel,
aluminum, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Remote_Fibre_Laser_Welding_WMG_Warwick.ogg
titanium

top: CAD model

bottom: laser-cut part
- 0.5mm thick stainless steel
Dr. Mike Nofziger 2010