2443-4

Winter College on Optics: Trends in Laser Development and Multidisciplinary

Applications to Science and Industry

4 - 15 February 2013

General introduction to solid-state lasers

L. Carra'
Bright Solutions, Pavia
Italy

General introduction to solid-state lasers

Trends in laser development and multidisciplinary applications
to science and industry

Dr. Luca Carr

Bright Solutions srl - Pavia - Italy

February 5, 2013

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Outline

Introduction
Doping, inversion, gain, power model, CW operation
Materials
Geometries (pump schemes, resonators, active media shapes)
Fiber lasers
Pulsed operation: Q-switching
Pulsed operation: mode-locking
Non linear optics: harmonics generation

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Introduction (I)
Frequency shift
High quality
light source

Frequency / Mode selection

Pulse generation

Low quality
light source

up to 10 kW
low M 2

up to 10s of kW
cw or pulsed (ms)

cw, ns, ps, fs

tunable

M 2 10 5000

Solid state laser

Pout /Pin =optical efficiency (20 - 70%)

flashlamps
FAPs
diode stacks
single diodes

A solid state laser is a transformer box for light

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Introduction (II)

HR mirror
Active medium: crystal or glass material
doped with rare earth ions or transition metals

Output coupler: R < 100%

Additional elements for:
pulsed operation,
frequency conversions, etc.

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Energy level diagram of active ions in solid-state lasers

Non-radiative decay (lifetime < 10 ns)

Upper laser level (lifetime 0.1 10 ms)

photons
Laser transition

pumping

Lower laser level (lifetime < 10 ns)

E

E > 0.1 eV Four-level system (Nd:YAG, Nd:YVO4 , Ti:Sapphire)

E < 0.01 eV Three-level system (Ruby)

0.02 eV < E < 0.1 eV Quasi-three level system (Yb:YAG)

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Solid state lasers dopants and hosts

Dopants:
Rare Earths or Lanthanides (narrow emission lines): Nd, Yb, Er, Tm, Gd, Pm, Sm, . . .
Transition Metals (tunable lasers): Ti, Cr, . . .

Hosts:
Oxides: Y3 Al5 O12 (YAG), YVO4 (Yttrium Vanadate), Al2 O3 (Sapphire), . . .
Fluorides: LiYF4 (YLF), LiSrAlF6 (LISAF), . . .
Glass: phosphate and silicate

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Pumping
active medium, doping density N0

pumped volume (Al)

l

pump rate

optical pump power

W

N0 Al

hP =

abs

Ppump

number of dopant ions

absorption efficiency

E NERGY STORED IN TERMS OF POPULATION INVERSION :

W N0 Al hL

= hL /hP abs Ppump =

P /L

abs Ppump

quantum efficiency
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Population inversion

Population inversion: N = N2 N1
dN
N
= W (N0 N)
dt

N W N0 (1 exp(t/))

is the upper-state lifetime

W N0

for

S TORED ENERGY: ES = N Al hL WN0 Al hL

t
(t )

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Gain
dz
Area A
P(0)

P(l)

O
The interaction probability between photons
and ions defines an emission cross-section

z
dP = N Adz /A P

P(L)/P(0) = G0 = exp( N l) = exp(g0 l)

g0 = N is the small signal gain coefficient, g0 l is the small signal gain

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Losses and gain saturation in a laser amplifier

Intensity I0

Laser Medium

Absorption cross-section: A

g0 l, 0 l

Intensity I1 = I0 exp(g0 l 0 l)

Attenuation: P(l) = P(0) exp(N0 A l) = exp(0 l)

S MALL SIGNAL GAIN FACTOR : G0 = exp(g0 l)

L OSS FACTOR : V = exp(0 l)
By rewriting the power available as population inversion and stored energy, we get:
g0 lAIS = P /L abs Ppump and ES = g0 lAIS = P /L abs Ppump
where
IS = hL /() is called saturation intensity
By extracting power from a laser medium, population inversion and gain has to decrease
S ATURATED GAIN : gl = g0 l/(1 + I/IS )
G AIN FACTOR : G = exp(gl)

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Some examples
L [m]

[1019 cm2 ]

[s]

IS [kW/cm2 ]

Nd:YAG

1.064

4.1

230

2.00

Nd:YVO4

1.064

15.0

100

1.26

Nd:YLF

1.047

1.8

480

2.15

Yb:YAG

1.03

0.21

970

9.50

Yb:KYW

1.03

0.3

300

21.58

Cr:LiSAF

0.85

0.5

67

70.25

Ti:Sapphire

0.79

2.8

3.2

160

Yb: SiO2

1.03

0.08

800

30.5

L ASER MEDIUM

High product low saturation intensity high gain and low laser threshold
Long upper-state lifetime high energy storage
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Nd:YAG absorption and emission spectra

Nd:YAG emission (left) and absorption spectra (right)

W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed.

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Ti:Sapphire emission and absorption spectra

Ti:Sapphire emission and absorption spectra

W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed.
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Round-trip in a laser resonator

Intensity I0
Intensity I3
HR mirror

g0 l, 0 l

Intensity I1
Intensity I2
R

I is the average intensity in the resonator

Gain factor: G = exp[g0 l/(1 + I/IS )]
Loss factor: VS = exp(0 l)
is the single-pass diffraction loss

Round-trip steps
I1 = GVS I0
I2 = RI1 = RGVS I0
I3 = GVS I2 = G2 VS2 R I0

Lasing condition: I3 = I0
G2 VS2 R = 1
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Laser output power (I)

g0 l, 0 l

Intensity I0
Intensity I3

Intensity I1
Intensity I2

HR mirror

G2 VS2 R = 1

g0 l/(1 + I/IS ) 0 l = ln( R)

exp[2g0 l/(1 + I/IS ) 20 l]R2 = 1

g0 l 0 l(1 + I/IS ) = ln( R) (1 + I/IS )

1
I = IS
[g0 l | ln( RVS )|]

| ln( RVS )|
The average intensity I is the sum of the two counter-propagating intensities
Assuming that both waves carry the same intensity (low output coupling approximation):

1R
Pout = AB I1 (1 R) = AB I/2 (1 R) = AB IS
[g0 l | ln( RVS )|]

|2 ln( RVS )|

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Laser output power (II)

Intensity I0

g0 l, 0 l

Intensity I3

Intensity I1
Intensity I2

HR mirror

By taking into account the expression for the small signal gain:
g0 lAIS = P /L abs Ppump
and assuming a constant mode beam area AB , we get:
Pout =

AB
1R

[
/

AI
|
ln(
RVS )|] = (Ppump Ppump,th )

P L abs pump
S
A 2| ln( RVS )|

Threshold pump power

AIS
Ppump,th =
| ln( RVS )|
P /L abs

Slope efficiency

AB
1R

P /L abs

A 2| ln( RVS )|
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Optimum output coupling

The output coupling ratio R can be chosen for maximum output power:
Optimum output coupling:

Maximum optical efficiency:

ln Ropt = 20 l
opt,max =

g0 l
1
0 l

Pout,max
Ppump

0 l
= P /L abs

g0 l

g0 l
1
0 l

The optimum output coupling depends on the small signal gain and losses

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Laser resonators
R1

R2

g1

g2

The mode size AB in the previous equations depends on the resonator design.
We consider resonators with two mirrors. Actual resonator might be way more complicated!
Mirrors have their own radius of curvature (R > 0 for convex mirrors)
We define g-parameters as follows:
gi = 1

L
Ri

i = 1, 2

L is the resonator length

Resonators define eigenmodes, E-field distributions which retain their profile after every round-trip
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Stable resonators
g1
2w1

g2
2w2

2w0

R1

R2
L

Condition for resonator stability:

Beam radius of fundamental mode on mirrors 1,2:

Beam waist in the resonator:

0 g1 g2 1

gj
L L
2
wi =

gi (1 g1 g2 )

w02 =

i, j = 1, 2; i = j

L L g1 g2 (1 g1 g2 )
|g1 + g2 2g1 g2 |

In multimode operation the beam area is M 2 larger than the fundamental mode area
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Pumping schemes and active media geometries

O PTICAL PUMPING:
flash-lamps or arc-lamps:

very high pump power, immune to current or voltage spikes

limited lifetime, low wall-plug efficiency (a few percents), low brightness

diode-pumping (end-pumping or side-pumping):

high wall-plug efficiency, narrow bandwidth, high beam quality (allowing

end-pumping and precise mode-matching), long lifetime, compactness
higher cost per watt of pump power

A CTIVE MEDIA GEOMETRIES:

Rod: side-pumping or end-pumping (Nd:YAG)

Slab: side-pumping (Nd:YVO4 , Nd:YAG)
Thin-Disk: optimum for heat dissipation, requires high pump absorption and
high doping concentration (Yb:YAG)
Fiber: optimum for heat dissipation and beam confinement

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Fiber lasers







  




Resonator layout significantly simplified
Mode area and beam quality determined by the propagation condition inside of the optical fiber
The pump power needs to be coupled into the resonator through WDMs or pump combiners
The mirrors can be realized inside of the fiber (Fiber Bragg Gratings, FBG)
Easier management of thermal problems than in bulk materials
High brightness

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Pulsed operation

CW operation allows to achieve output power in the order of 10 kW (fiber lasers) or few kW (bulk
materials)
Lasers can also operate in pulsed regimes (e.g. by using a pulsed pump source)
Q-switching and mode-locking allows to redistribute the stored energy to get high peak powers
and pulse energies
High peak powers and pulse energies are required in a number of applications (material
processing and non-linear processes)
Q-switching allows to generate ns-long pulses with energies up to 100s of mJ and repetition rates
from a few Hz to a few 100s of kHz (peak power in the order of kWs)
Mode-locking operation allows to get J-level ps-long or fs-long pulses (ultrafast pulses) with
repetition rates ranging from 10s of MHz up to a 10s of GHz (peak power in the order of MWs)

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Q-factor
R1

R2

g1

g2

L
TR =

2L
c

round-trip time
c =

TR

= 20 l ln R

fractional loss per round-trip

average lifetime of photons in the resonator

We define a Q-factor as ratio between the stored energy Est

and the dissipated energy Ed in an optical cycle T0 = 1
0 = L /c:

Q = 2

Est
Est
2c
= 2

= 20 c
Ed
Est [1 exp(T0 /c )]
T0

the lower the losses the higher Q

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Q-switching principle of operation

Initially Q is low for energy storing by

pumping over a time interval
A much higher population inversion
than the threshold value for high Q is
achieved
The Q level is suddenly increased and
the energy is released in the form of a
giant pulse
Due to the high gain established, the
energy is released in a short pulse
The peak power exceeds by several
orders of magnitude the power of CW
lasers in the same pumping conditions
W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed.
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Q-switching pulse parameters

Peak power

Ppeak

Pulse energy

hL
ln(1/R)
AB
gi

EP
TR
P

= c
Ppeak

EP

Pulse duration

hL
ln(1/R)
AB
gi

TR

Build-up time

tb

20c
gi /gth 1

gi is the initial gain before the switching time

gth is the laser threshold gain value for high Q value
The pulse energy is proportional to the saturation fluence hL /
Comparing Q-switching and CW operation at the same pump power:

PQS /PCW /TR

For Q-switching operation TR is required

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Q-switching techniques
A CTIVE Q- SWITCHING
V

Electro-optic or acousto-optic
switches might me used

V =0

/4

Electro-optic switches are faster,

acousto-optic switches more
suited for repetition rates > 1 kHz

PC

V = V/4

Electro-optic switches (figure)

include a waveplate, a Pockels cell
(PC) and a polarizer

PASSIVE Q- SWITCHING
T

A saturable absorber is a non-linear

device with transmission increasing
with the incident intensity
The absorber has to saturate before than
E/AA
E/AL
gain:
>
FSA
FSL

Tsat

T0
Fsat
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Repetitive Q-switching (I)

W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed.

The upper-state lifetime sets a critical frequency 1/f

If the repetition rate is in the order of 1/f the initial gain at the switching time is clamped at a
lower value because population inversion can not recover completely
High f is required for energy storage while low f is required for operation at high repetition rates

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Repetitive Q-switching (II)

W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed.

For Nd:YAG f = 230 s

1/f 4.3 kHz

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Mode-locking: principle of operation

g()
A

ML

Ip = N 2 E02
ICW = NE02

A resonator with length L creates a set of equally spaced resonance frequencies

c
=
frequency separation between two adjacent modes
2L
The mode-locking regime is based on the inset of a precise phase relationship between adjacent
longitudinal modes: repetition rate fR = c/2L
Pulses are created as a consequence of constructive interference between phase-locked modes

Higher number of phase-locked modes means larger pulse spectra and shorter pulse durations
and higher peak powers: minimum pulse duration related to A
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Mode-locking techniques

g()

ML

Ip = N 2 E02
ICW = NE02

Mode-locking operation might be achieved with:

employing electro-optic or acousto-optic modulators
PASSIVE TECHNIQUES employing saturable absorbers: semiconductor saturable absorber
mirrors (SESAM) or Kerr-effect
ACTIVE TECHNIQUES

Passive techniques allow shorter pulse durations

Pulse durations range from 10s of picosecond down to a few femtoseconds
For pulse duration below 1 ps group velocity dispersion has to be taken into account
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Non-linear optics
2 E

1 2 E

=
z2 c2 t 2

The incident electric field E creates in the medium a

polarization P. For weak fields: P = 0 (1) E

1 2 P

0 t 2

In general: P = 0 (1) E + (2) E 2 + (3) E 3 + . . . = P (L) + P (NL)

(1)
0.01 5

(2)
1012 m/V

QUANTUM MECHANICAL DESCRIPTION (SHG):

LBO

(3)
1020 m2 /V2
E NERGY CONSERVATION:
+ = 2

M OMENTUM CONSERVATION :
k + k = 2k

2
n() +
n() =
n(2) n() = n(2)
c
c
c
Polarized light is required!
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Generation of new frequencies

Second order nonlinearity ((2) )

Third order nonlinearity ((3) )

Second harmonic generation

Third harmonic generation

Sum frequency generation

Sum and difference frequency generation

Parametric amplification

Kerr effect

Due to the typical values of (2) the required optical intensities for efficient frequency conversion
are 100 MW/cm2
New frequencies can be easily generated with Q-switched and mode-locked lasers
SHG (second harmonic generation) and THG (third harmonic generation) can be achieved also in
CW lasers by intra-cavity generation
Due to the typically low values for (3) it is usually more convenient to generate third order effects
by cascading two second order processes

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Further reading

W. Koechner, S OLID -S TATE L ASER E NGINEERING, Sixth Ed., Springer

A. E. Siegman, L ASERS, University Science Books

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