Characterization and Optimization of Gain Medium in A Ring Laser Gyroscope

CHARACTERIZATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAIN
MEDIUM IN A RING LASER GYROSCOPE
A project report submitted in partial fulfillment for the award

of degree of
MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
OPTOELECTRONICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
Submitted by
LEKSHMI A
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PHOTONICS
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
KOCHI 682 022

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PHOTONICS
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
KOCHI 682 022
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled Characterization and Optimization of
Gain Medium in a Ring Laser Gyroscope submitted by Lekshmi A (Register No: 95713005)
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of
Technology in Optoelectronics And Laser Technology is a bonafide record of the work
carried out under my (our) guidance and supervision at International School of Photonics
and Advanced Inertial Systems Division, IISU, Indian Space Research Organization.
This project report was evaluated on ..
EXAMINER HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Acknowledgement
I would never have been able to finish my project without the guidance of my
supervisors and teachers, help from friends, and support from my family.
I would like to thank Dr. Kailasnath, Head of the Dept, International School of
Photonics for encouraging me. I would also like to specially thank all my professors
at ISP without whose guidance and blessings, I wouldnt have been able to come this
far.
I would like to thank Shri. Sam Dayala Dev, Deputy Director and Shri. S Paul
Pandian, Group Director, AISG, AIS Entity, IISU for granting me permission for the
project. I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to my project guides,
Shri. Enni Krishna and Shri. Jagroop, Scientist/Engineer SD, IISU for their
excellent guidance, caring and patience. I consider it as my honor working with them
on this project. I would also like to thank everyone in AIS entity specially Smt. Jyothi
Janardhan, Shri P B N Kutty and Smt. K Subhasini for their kind help at every stage
of work.
I would like to thank all my friends and family for standing up beside me throughout
this research.
I thank God for showering his blessings and letting me through all the difficulties.
Abstract
With the advent of the laser, rotation sensing is possible in the frame of the laser, thus
allowing the device to be attached directly to the vehicle, and avoiding the need for
gimbals. He Ne laser based Ring Laser Gyroscope are advance inertial navigation
sensors based on the principle of Sagnac Effect. These are highly sensitive and
accurate. The gain provided by He Ne discharge is the fundamental parameter for the
performance of the laser gyroscope. Gain (or amplification) in laser physics is a
process, where the medium transfers part of its energy to the emitted electromagnetic
radiation, resulting in an increase in its power. Its theoretical understanding and
characterization is utmost necessary for successful operation and desired performance
of RLG.
Theoretical modeling of gain is done by using the rate equation for He Ne laser
system with corresponding boundary conditions. It depends on total gas pressure, He
Ne ratios and pump power etc. It needs extensive experiments to optimize the various
parameters that characterize the gain. Theoretical modeling is required to minimize
the experimental iterations and also to draw the boundaries at which experimental
work has to be done. A method based on calculating the change in power of an
incoming beam after passing through plasma is employed to measure the gain and its
radial distribution for different electrode profiles at optimal pressure and ratio and
pump power. The resulting gain and its distribution are found to be matching with our
theoretical calculations and earlier measured literature values.
Hence both theoretical analysis and experimental methods are utilized to optimize the
various parameters that characterize the gain.
Contents
1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Motivation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Objective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Organization of the report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Theory and background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.1 Introduction to Laser Gyroscope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Historical Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Sagnac Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.4 Active and Passive Gyroscopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.5 Ring Laser Gyroscope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5.1 RLG Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.6 Helium Neon Laser System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.7 Gain Medium and Radial Profile.13
3. Formulation of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 17

3.1 Theoretical Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1.1 Rate Equation Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1.2 Calculation of electron density. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1.3 Calculation of gain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4. Experimental work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.1 Indirect method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1.1 Excitation voltage variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.1.2 Ratio variation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.1.3 Pressure variation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.1.4 Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2 Direct method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5. Experimental Scheme for direct Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.1 Optical setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1.1 Probe laser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1.2 Optical isolator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1.3 Beam expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.1.4 Polarizing beam splitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.1.5 Variable neutral density filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.1.6 Laser line filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.1.7 Variable aperture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.1.8 Photodetector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.2 Electrical setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.2.1 Amplifier card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.3 Instruments for data acquisition and processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.3.1 Power meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.3.2 Polarimeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.3.3 Beam profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.3.4 Data logger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5.4 Experiment Design considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.4.1 Plasma source generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.4.2 Stabilization of laser power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.4.3 Alignment of laser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.4.4 Optimization of laser beam size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.4.5 Characterization of power and polarization 53
5.4.6 Selection of horizontal polarization state: signal beam . . . . . . . 55
5.4.7 Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.4.7.1 Photodetector characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.4.7.2 Amplifier card characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.5 Experiment considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.5.1 Laser stabilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.5.2 Plasma stabilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.5.3 Adjusting the signal and reference arm power ratio . . . . . . . . . 62
5.5.4 Checking photodetector stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.6 Sources of error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.6.1 Laser ripple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.6.2 Plasma oscillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.6.3 Background light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.6.4 RF interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.7 Accounting for erroneous signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6. Results and discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.1 Scope of the work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Motivation
Since the beginning of the optical gyroscopes, the Helium-Neon laser system has
been used extensively for the construction of ring laser gyroscopes. Helium-Neon
laser was chosen mostly because of the maturity of its technology and ready
availability of optical components designed to operate at the 632.8nm wavelength. As
the ring lasers became more and more successful, it has become necessary to move
further away from the known territory of traditional Helium-Neon lasers. The laser
gain tubes used in the current generation of ring laser gyroscopes differ largely
compared to those used in commercial Helium-Neon lasers in many parameters like
gas pressures and gas mix ratio, pump mechanism (HF electric field, as opposed to
the more traditional direct DC excitation).
The motivation for this project comes from the importance of gain in operation of any
laser system. Its theoretical understanding and characterization is utmost necessary
for successful operation and desired performance of laser based systems in different
environmental conditions. Second, probably no literature is there where RF excited
He-Ne laser systems with pd = 2.5*4 =10 Torr mm are studied as is the case of our
study.
1.2 Objective
The objective of this project is the theoretical analysis of the gain of He-Ne high
frequency plasma discharge in a Ring Laser Gyroscope and then to realize an
experimental setup to measure the gain for the same. Gain is the fundamental
parameter for the performance of the laser gyroscope. It need extensive experiments
to optimize the various parameters such as optimum combination of gas mix ratios,
pressure, excitation power, plasma distribution, etc. that characterize the gain.
Theoretical modeling is required to minimize the experimental iterations. Hence both
theoretical analysis and experimental methods are necessary to optimize the various
parameters that characterize the gain.
1.3 Organization of the report

In Chapter 2, literature survey is provided, which includes an introduction to Laser
Gyroscope, Sagnac effect, the details of Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) and also deals
with the He-Ne laser system, the gain in lasers and studies performed for the analysis
and measurement of gain.
Chapter 3 describes the formulation of problem and proposed theoretical methods for
gain analysis.
Chapter 4 deals with experimental methods used to evaluate and optimize the system.
The three parameters which are studied are gas mix ratio, gas pressure and excitation
voltage. The spectroscopic method for optimizing gain is also given in detail.
Chapter 5 explains the direct method to measure the radial gain profile for optimized
ratio and pressure with different pumping power and electrode profile. The
experimental setup, details along with measurement scheme is discussed. The sources
of error and the necessary precautions are explained.
Chapter 6 deals with the discussion of results obtained from the theoretical and
experimental methods. The key results are studied and inferences are discussed.
Chapter 7 summarizes the entire report by illustrating the progress made and also
provides direction for future work.
Chapter 2
Theory and Background
2.1 Introduction to Laser Gyroscope
In the past, gyroscopes used a spinning mass mounted on stable element, so that the
gyroscope was fixed in inertial space and through the use of gimbals, isolated from
the vehicle motion. With the advent of the laser, rotation sensing is possible in the
frame of the laser, thus allowing the device to be attached directly to the vehicle, and
avoiding the need for gimbals. With the development of so-called laser gyroscopes
and fiber optic gyroscopes based on the Sagnac effect, the bulky mechanical
gyroscope is replaced by one having no moving parts in many modern inertial
navigation systems. The principles behind the two devices are different, however. A
conventional gyroscope relies on the principle of conservation of angular momentum
whereas the sensitivity of the ring interferometer to rotation arises from the
invariance of the speed of light for all inertial frames of reference.
In that, the laser was configured with a closed contour for the cavity described as a
ring laser gyro (RLG) [1,2]. Academic and industrial interest in the HeNe RLG is
due to a number of advantages it has over mechanical gyros, i.e., the absence of
moving parts, system simplicity (less than 20 components), insensitivity to vibrations,
digital output, a wide dynamic range, and a fast update rate. The RLG was first
operated in 1962 and over the past 37 years, it has been investigated by many
universities and industrial laboratories. It was put into large scale production in 1978
by Honeywell, as a strap down inertial reference unit for aircraft applications. It is
now considered a mature technology and there have been many publications
describing the various form of its implementation.
2.2 Historical Overview
As early as 1925, Michelson, Gale and Pearson demonstrated that it was possible to
measure the rotation of the Earth using a Sagnac interferometer. Their device had a
rectangular form of dimensions 2000x1100 feet and was made from evacuated sewer
pipes near Clearing, NZ. This remarkable technological achievement (for the time)
yielded a detectable fringe phase divergence due to earth rotation thereby
demonstrating a measurement of an absolute rotation rate from within a rotating
reference frame.
The advent of the laser in 1960 changed the face of interferometry forever. The
potential of ring lasers as sensors of inertial rotation (i.e. gyroscopes) was first shown
by Macek and Davis as little as 3 years after the laser was first created. Their device
operated using a helium-neon gain medium lasing on the 1.153 micron transition.
By 1970s, Honeywell developed first dithered RLG. By the onset of 1980s, RLGs
started effectively replacing mechanical gyroscopes in most of the applications that
require accurate precision.
2.3 Sagnac Effect

The Sagnac effect [3] (also called Sagnac interference), named after French physicist
Georges Sagnac, is a phenomenon encountered in interferometry that is elicited by
rotation. The Sagnac effect manifests itself in a setup called a ring interferometer. A
beam of light is split and the two beams (clockwise CW, and counterclockwise CCW)
are made to follow the same path but in opposite directions. To act as a ring, the
trajectory must enclose an area. On return to the point of entry, the two light beams
are allowed to exit the ring and undergo interference to produce a fringe pattern
which shifts if a rotation rate is applied along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the
beam path.
The two CW and CCW experience a relative phase difference proportional to the
rotation rate . This effect is based on the fact that, with respect to inertial space, the
two counter-propagating light waves take different times to complete a trip around
rotating closed path.
Light source
Half-silvered Mirror
=0
FRINGE PATTERN
0
Figure 2.1: Classic Sagnac Interferometer. The CW and CCW waves interfere to produce
fringe pattern which shifts for 0
The enclosed area by the beam is A. When the inertial frame that the beams are
located in rotates with an angular frequency of , the difference in arrival time
between the two beams is given by
where c is the speed of light. The optical path difference L, between the two waves
is:
From this equation, for A= 1 m2 and = 10o/h: L =7.1- l3 m. As suggested by the
above equation, the larger the ring, the easier the detection of the Sagnac frequency.
In 1925, during famous experiment, Michelson and Gale measured the earth rotation
rate (10o/h), with a rectangular path of 2.105 m2. For a visible light source the
measured path difference was roughly a quarter of a fringe.
Large size also mitigates the effects of lock-in, a major problem with active ring
laser, especially the small one when measuring very low angular velocity. Lock-in is
the tendency (typical of coupled oscillators with similar frequency) of the counter-
propagating laser beams to lock to one or the other frequency, practically blinding the
ring laser as rotation sensor. The coupling arises in ring laser usually because of
backscattering: part of radiation of both beams scattered in the counter-rotating
direction.
The Sagnac topology was actually first described by Michelson in 1886, who
employed an even-reflection variant of this interferometer in a repetition of the
Fizeau experiment. Michelson noted the extreme stability of the fringes produced by
this form of interferometer. White-light fringes were observed immediately upon
alignment of the mirrors. In dual-path interferometers, white-light fringes are difficult
to obtain since the two path lengths must be matched to within a couple of
micrometers (the coherence length of the white light). However, being a common
path interferometer, the Sagnac configuration inherently matches the two path
lengths. Likewise Michelson observed that the fringe pattern would remain stable
even while holding a lighted match below the optical path; in most interferometers
the fringes would shift wildly due to the refractive index fluctuations from the warm
air above the match. Sagnac interferometers are almost completely insensitive to
displacements of the mirrors or beam-splitter. This characteristic of the Sagnac
topology has led to their use in applications requiring exceptionally high stability.
2.4 Active and Passive Gyroscopes
Two possible configurations [1,2] can be identified for optical gyroscopes, passive
and active. In passive gyroscopes the laser source is external (Fiber Optic
Gyroscopes), while in active gyroscopes the two beams are generated within the
optical path (Ring Laser Gyroscope).
In the RLG, two counter-propagating beams are generated within the laser. These
signals experience a rotation-induced frequency shift that can be measured by an
interferometric technique. The RLG, using a HeNe gas mixture as gain medium,
replaced electromechanical navigation instruments in many applications by late
1980s.
A passive ring interferometer uses light entering the setup from outside. The
interference pattern obtained is a fringe pattern, and what is measured is a phase shift.
In passive ring interferometers, the fringe displacement is proportional to the first
derivative of angular position; careful calibration is required to determine the fringe
displacement that corresponds to zero angular velocity of the ring interferometer
setup. On the other hand, ring laser interferometers do not require calibration to
determine the output that corresponds to zero angular velocity. Ring laser
interferometers are self-calibrating. The beat frequency will be zero if and only if the
ring laser setup is non-rotating with respect to inertial space. Along every section of
the ring cavity, the speed of light is the same in both directions. When the ring laser
device is rotating, then it rotates with respect to that background. In other words:
invariance of the speed of light provides the reference for the self-calibrating property
of the ring laser interferometer.
SAGNAC EFFECT
Active sensing Passive sensing
RING LASER GYRO FIBER OPTIC GYRO
Figure 2.2: Types of Optical Gyroscopes
Fiber optic gyros (FOGs) and ring laser gyros (RLGs) differ considerably in various
cost, reliability, size, weight, power, and other performance characteristics that need
to be considered when evaluating these distinct technologies for a particular
application. RLGs require accurate machining, use of precision mirrors, and assembly
under clean room conditions. Their mechanical dithering assemblies add somewhat to
their weight but not appreciably. RLGs are capable of logging in excess of 100,000
hours of operation in near-room temperature conditions. Their lasers have relatively
high power requirements.
Interferometric FOGs are purely solid-state, require no mechanical dithering

components, are not subject to lock-in and have a flexible geometry. They use many
standard components from the telecom industry where they have proven performance
with life spans of decades. However, the assembly of multiple optical components
into a precision gyro instrument is costly. Analog FOGs offer the lowest possible cost
but are limited in performance; digital FOGs offer the wide dynamic ranges and
accurate scale factor corrections required for stringent applications. Use of longer and
larger coils increases sensitivity at the cost of greater sensitivity to temperature
variations and vibrations. The FOG has been effectively exploited for inertial
navigation in submarines and spacecraft, but it has not yet superseded the HeNe
RLG because of the large existing RLG-based industrial infrastructure and the FOGs
higher sensitivity to external perturbations (temperature changes, vibrations, and so
on).
2.5 Ring Laser Gyroscope
Another scheme devised to increase the sensitivity of an optical gyroscope is the

introduction of an active laser medium in a ring cavity as shown in Fig 2.3.The basic
interferometer is modified to become a ring resonator with L as the perimeter [4].
Laser waves are generated inside the resonator if two conditions are realized:
the number of wavelengths in the cavity must be equal to an integer
(resonance condition for the oscillation of one mode),
the gain of the amplifying medium must exceed cavity losses.
The adjustment of the cavity length allows the oscillating frequency f, of the laser
wave to coincide with the maximum gain frequency of the amplifying medium.
GAIN MEDIUM
Clockwise
Wave
Detector
Counter clock-
wise Wave
Figure 2.3: Schematic view of a Ring Laser Gyroscope

If a rotation rate is applied to the ring cavity, the optical path difference L, arising
from the Sagnac effect, results in a frequency difference f, between two counter-
propagating travelling waves.
leading to a frequency difference proportional to the rotation rate applied along the
sensitive axis of the RLG:
2.5.1 RLG Configuration
The main element of Ring Laser Gyro is a ring cavity based Helium-Neon laser. This
choice arises mostly because of its wavelength in the visible region, spectral purity,
high degree of coherence and availability of optical components at the 632.8 nm
wavelength. A ring laser is designed in such a way that the He-Ne gas fills the entire
cavity avoiding the need of interfaces or optical surfaces that can cause backscatter.
Within the narrow discharge tube, the plasma discharge is usually limited to one
small part of the perimeter. Another benefit can be obtained using an isotopic mixture
of neon ( Ne and Ne in equal concentration) the presence of both isotopes prevents
competition between counter propagating modes, assuring the good multi-directional
capabilities needed for operating the gyro.
The ring laser optical cavity is formed by four (Total Reflecting Prism) TRP [5]. To
provide cavity stability two of them, referred as first prisms, have spherical small leg
surface. The other two prisms may have one spherical surface (small leg or
hypotenuse) or all surfaces may be flat. The combining prism is used to take output
from the cavity and to mix a part of counter-propagating waves (CW and CCW)
energy. This mixed beam is directed onto the two-plate photo detector. In the plane of
the photo detectors sensitive plates, interference (fringe pattern) is observed. The
TRPs are fixed by the optical contact on the Zerodur body at its Brewster angle to
achieve complete p-polarization. One channel of the body (one arm of the ring cavity)
that is vacuum tightly closed by first prisms is filled with active Helium-Neon
mixture. Special external apertures are used to select the 632.8nm wavelength and
single mode operation. The TRP are closed air-tight by special Zerodur covers (caps)
to keep their surfaces clean. Gas is filled at an optimum pressure and He-Ne mixture
ratio. To avoid the gain competition between two beams, Ne is usually a 50:50
mixture of isotopes of Ne and Ne. The channel of the body that is located opposite
to the active one is filled with the dried air and the ring laser generation frequency
control (cavity path-length control) is carried out in it. The High frequency RF
discharge method is used to get the He-Ne plasma and specially designed impedance
matched Special Oscillator called High Frequency oscillator is used to sustain the
plasma.
2.6 The Helium-Neon Laser System
For theoretical understanding of gain and its radial distribution, the energy level of
He-Ne laser needs to understand. Figure 2.4 shows the basic atomic transitions which
give rise to the 632.8nm emission. The pumping mechanism, (free electrons
accelerated by the RF electric field) brings Helium atoms to a long lived metastable
energy level of 20.6eV. The lifetime of this state is 2.04ms which for our purposes is
essentially forever. By good fortune there is a close coincidence in energy levels
between the He (2S) level and those of Ne (3s) and Ne (2s).With the addition of
around 0.085eV of thermal energy (corresponds to an effective temperature of around
980K) we note that there is now a high probability that a collision between a ground
state Neon atom will result in energy transfer leaving the Neon atom in either one of
the 3s or 2s doublet states. In our case we are interested primarily in the 3s state since
it is the 3s2 to 2p4 transition which provides laser action at the familiar 632.8 nm
wavelength as the 3s2 state is sufficiently long lived (~55 ns) to allow a population
inversion to be established. After stimulated emission occurs we note that the Neon
remains in an excited 2p state.
Figure 2.4: He-Ne Laser transitions
Transitions from the 2p level directly to the ground state (lifetime ~19 ns) are
effectively forbidden as the many transitions from the 2p state to lower energy
excited states are each much more probable (lifetimes of 7-10 ns).In practice
collisions with the walls (which can be calculated to happen after time of the order of
~10-100 ns depending on discharge conditions) are mostly responsible for the final
transition to the ground state.
It is for this reason that a typical helium-neon laser uses as narrow a tube diameter as
possible with as high a pressure as possible when also considering that as pressure
increases the population inversion is decreased as a result of excitation of the lower
laser level by electron collisions with atoms in the 1s state. It is this mechanism
which fundamentally limits the maximum power of any realistic helium-neon laser.
The most powerful helium-neon laser ever made (total output of 350mW) used two
flattened gain tubes to maximize wall area, at the expense of beam profile. It is often
assumed that to a first approximation the electron temperature in a cylindrical
discharge tube (such that the electrons have a Maxwellian distribution) is a function
of only the pd ( p: pressure; d: gain channel diameter) product and is independent of
discharge power.
Typical helium-neon lasers use a He: Ne ratio of between 5:1 and 9:1. In ring lasers
we use ratios of up to 15:1. The electron temperature in helium-neon plasma is much
higher than the gas temperature, which is typically around 500 K. The axial electric
field results in high temperature electrons in the central part of the discharge which
continually generate new charge carriers by impact ionization. Because of their high
temperature and thus mobility the electrons build up on the tube walls much more
easily than ions. This results in the tube walls building up a negative charge which
mostly reflects further incoming electrons from the central region. This process keeps
the electron and ion currents from the central region to the tube wall equal, thus
allowing for overall electrical neutrality of the system, a fundamental property of all
plasmas [6,7].
2.7 Gain Medium and Radial Profile

As explained above, for initializing a laser action, Gain medium provides the
amplification to light waves generated by spontaneous emission from the gain
medium in the direction of cavity axis and thus due to feedback action of cavity, after
sufficient amplification, a sustained laser comes out of the cavity [6,7]. The
amplification depends on the population inversion, shape of the gain curve, frequency
of the transition and radiative lifetimes. In gas laser as in He-Ne laser, the gain
decides the total output power and it depends on many factors such as total pressure,
gas mix ratio, plasma discharge scheme, pump power and cavity geometry etc.
Siegman [6] showed empirically that gain per unit length is a function of pd
(pressure-diameter) product and varies inversely with tube diameter. Literatures [8,9]
has shown from empirical measurement, the optimum value of pd product as 6.6 Torr
mm and 14.6 Torr mm for DC discharge and RF Discharge respectively. Similarly,
the optimal He-Ne ratio is found between 5:1 to 15:1[10, 11]. It was also found from
literature [5,11] that average gain per unit length for RF discharge is approximately
15% more than DC discharge.
Beside total axial gain of medium, the radial profile of gain is equally
important as it decides the selection of Transverse modes (TEMmn) and gain variation
with optical axis perturbation inside the cavity. These two points are very important
for better performance of RLG as it should operate predominantly in TEM00 mode
and gain variation should be negligible with small optical axis perturbation due to
assembly error and environmental factors. Various people [12-20] have studied the
radial gain distribution for RF He-Ne discharge and DC discharge with different
pump powers. Spoor and Latimer [13, 14] measured the radial gain profile for DC
discharge for a 3mm diameter rube and with different ratios. The results are shown
for a particular ratio in Fig 2.5 and clearly show the lowering of gain in center at
higher currents.
Figure 2.5 Radial distribution of gain with 0.2 Torr Ne and 4.8 Torr 3He. Current 2.5mA
(O), 6.0mA (), 12mA (), 20mA ( ).
Similarly, they also showed that gain per unit length was maximum for a particular
ratio. The explained the reason for dip in gain due to effect of increasing gas pressure
on the average electron density and the electron density within discharge.
Tsarkov et al. [15] measured radial gain at 633 nm with RF discharge for different
pump power. They found that in centre, the gain becomes negative (Absorptive) at
higher pump power but had a maximum lower pump power as shown in figure 2.6.
Figure 2.6 Radial distribution for various arbitrary pumping powers.
Troitski and Chebotaev [16 ] measured the radial gain in DC pumped He Ne laser for
1.15 micron and stated in general gain typically follows the electron density across
the tube ( described by zero order Bessel function with zeros just inside the walls)
and showed it dip in center at higher pressure and discharge current.
Mazanko et. al. [17] observed similar dip in DC pumped He Ne laser for 633 nm at
higher current. The reason for dip is saturation of concentration of metastable He
atoms at higher currents, more population of lower lasing energy level etc.
Leontev and Ostapchenko [18] did a theoretical modelling of a DC pumped He Ne

laser for different excitation mechanisms and showed that unsaturated gain on the
axis for a particular He Ne mixture reaches a maximum value at lower pressure and
pumping current and at higher ratio in comparison to edge of tube.
Duncan Macleod [19] in his PhD thesis, gave a theoretical modelling of radial gain
distribution in RF excited He Ne laser operating in near threshold voltage ( low gain
domain) based on observation of previously available literature.
Richard Graham [20] in his MSc thesis gave a beautiful account of laser gain media
and measured radial gain distribution with two approaches, using an experimental
setup. So from literature survey for gain in He Ne laser, we can conclude following
points:
1. Gain mainly depends on total gas pressure, He Ne ratio, pd product and pump
power.
2. At low pump powers, gain distribution follows the electron density or
population inversion density, typically described by zero order Bessel
function with zeros just inside the walls.
3. At high pump powers, there is dip in gain on the axis and even negative in
case of RF pumped laser.
4. In case of RF discharge, gain does not falls to zero even at walls but remains
finite within the measured radial resolution.
Chapter 3
Formulation of the Problem
Both theoretical analysis [20, 21, 22, 23] and experimental methods are necessary to
optimize the various parameters that characterize the gain.
Theoretical analysis
Theoretical modeling is required to minimize the experimental iterations.

The theoretical analysis establishes a well-defined experimental limit of
applicability of the various techniques.
Experimental methods
Finally, theoretical analysis is examined in terms of actual experimental data.

Experimental data is used to validate the optimized conditions for maximum
gain.
3.1 Theoretical analysis
3.1.1 Rate Equation Model
The metastable 21s and 23s states in helium are populated by exciting ground state
atoms by electron impact. These states are nearly coincident in energy with the 3s and
2s levels in neon and can populate these levels by resonant atom-atom collisions. In
this way, the neon s states can become selectively populated with respect to the 2p
and 3p states and this leads to a population inversion and the possibility of laser
action at the three wavelengths shown in Fig 3.1. Because of the fine structure
splitting, there is a considerable multiplicity of sub-levels (four for each s state and
ten for each p state). This, together with the presence of cascades from higher states,
makes a 'complete' calculation intractable. However, simplified models have been
very successful in describing the main features of laser performance. The model used
here is shown in figure.
Figure 3.1: Simplified energy level diagram
For the sake of simplicity, each level is represented by a number as given below
1 Helium ground state 2 Helium 21S metastable level

3 Neon 3s (upper laser level) 4 Neon 3p
5 Neon 2s 6 Neon 2p (lower laser level)
7 Neon1s 8 Neon ground state
For the 623.8 nm (red) laser line, electrons accelerated by the electric field collide
with the ground state helium atoms, exciting them to the 21S level. These atoms, upon
collision with the ground state neon atoms, transfer their energy to them and excite
them to the 3S level, which is the upper energy level for population inversion. Two
types of losses, one because of ionization and other due to collision with the walls are
also taken into account. Thus the rate equation for helium excitation is
where ne is the electron density, e12 is the collision cross section between the
electrons and N2, i is the cross-section for collision with another electron for
ionization, and m is the diffusion rate of N2 to the wall. The first term in equation
represents the 11S to 21S transition process, the second represents the diffusion to the
wall, the third represents the transfer to neon, and the fourth denotes the ionization.
N3is defined as the density of the excited upper energy state 3s2 of Ne. In the absence
of stimulated emission, the rate equation for this state is
The first term is the rate at which the excited upper energy states are being generated.
The second term is the decay via spontaneous emission with a rate A3. For simplicity,
lets assume that the spontaneous decay of N3 ends up in the N7 state which is the 1s
Ne state and not in the lower energy state N6 of the lasing transition which is the 2p4
state of Ne. (See Figure 3.1). Note that this energy state is not the ground state of Ne.
We have two processes that can populate the lower energy lasing state N 6 other than
stimulated emission. The first is via direct electronic excitation of the ground state of
neon (with cross-section e76). The second is via electronic excitation from state
N7(with cross section e86). This competing process can be written as
where A6 is the spontaneous decay rate for N1. In the same manner, we can write the
rate equation for the state N7 where e87 is the cross-section of the electronic
excitation from the neon ground state to N7, m is the diffusion rate to the wall and 2
is the collision rate with a second electron.
At steady state, all the time derivatives are equal to zero.

From the above equations, we see that N2 increases with the electron density ne until
the ionization of He becomes dominant (i.e. the third term in the denominator
becomes dominant), then N2 saturates. Since N3 and N7 follow N2, they have the
same trend and saturate as well. However, N6 goes like ne for both terms, and there is
no saturation which means that the lower lasing state density continues to increase
with increasing electron current. Therefore, as ne increases, N = N3 N6 has a
maximum, then decreases to zero and finally becomes negative mean that the Ne
absorbs light! This explains why the emission power saturates for He-Ne lasers.
3.1.2 Calculation of electron density (Ne)
To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, initially the electron density
(Ne) of the generated plasma was calculated for 10:1 He:Ne ratio at 2.5 Torr pressure.
10*x*He + 1*x*Ne =2.5 Torr

11*x =2.5 Torr
x =0.227 Torr
Partial pressure of Neon, PNe = 0.227 Torr

Partial pressure of Helium, PHe = 2.27 Torr
Total volume (V) of tube containing plasma is,
V= r2h + 4/3r3
V= 8 cc.
Total energy supplied for discharge is 10mJ.
10 mJ= 6.24*1016 eV
The ionization energy required for one Helium atom is 24 eV. Therefore 26*1014
atoms can be ionized using 6.24*1016 eV assuming 100% efficiency.
Hence calculated electron density(Ne) in the plasma is,
Ne =
Ne = = 5.46*1020 electrons/m3
Ne = 5.46*1020 electrons/m3
3.1.3 Calculation of gain
Density of atoms in the ground state Ne can be found out by,
PV = nRT
n= = = 1.2*10-6 moles
1 mole = 6.023*1023 atoms
1.2*10-6 moles = 7.2*1017 atoms
Ne = = 8.27*1022 atoms/m3
For He:Ne ratio of 10:1,
Density of Helium atoms in the ground state (HHe) is,
HHe = th of Ne
HNe = 7.518*1022 atoms/m3
Density of Neon atoms in the ground state (NNe) is,
NNe = of Ne
NNe = 0.752*1022 atoms/m3
Density in excited state of Neon (N3s)* is ,
Density in excited state of Neon (N2p) is ,
( )
Therefore gain is,

= ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
= 0.1845/m (18.4%/m)
Chapter 4
Experimental Work
The objective is to characterise and optimize the gain media in RLG by theoretical
analysis and then to validate the obtained data by experimental methods. The
experimental part includes
1. To optimize the Helium-Neon plasma power for different gas mix ratios of
Helium-Neon.
2. To optimize gain curve by changing the gas pressure inside the cavity.
3. To measure experimentally the radial gain distribution for a variety of
discharge power levels in Helium-Neon discharges.
4. To measure the radial gain profile for various electrode geometries.
The experimental part can be divided into two sections namely direct method and
indirect method.
a) Direct method
The principal idea is to measure the intensity of light from a small probe beam both
before and after it has passed through a Helium-Neon gain medium [21]. The gain in
the laser cavity is directly reflected on the probe beam intensity after passing through
the gain medium. The intensity is measured throughout the entire radial cross-section
of the laser tube. By taking the ratio of these intensities, the radial single pass laser
gain can be determined.
b) Indirect method
Here the intensity of the wavelength of interest is measured using a spectroscope for
different values of excitation voltage, gas mix and pressure. Then the obtained values
are plotted to get the value of pressure, gas mix and excitation voltage for the best
performance of the device. The indirect method is done first to obtain the optimum
value of pressure, gas mix and excitation voltage. Then the direct method is done on
the optimized laser tube to get the radial gain pattern for the system for different
pump voltages and electrode geometries.
4.1 Indirect Method
The vacuum equipment used to evacuate the laser cavity and fill it with various
Helium and Neon gas mixtures is shown in Figure 4.1.
Figure 4.1: Vacuum Setup

Copper Electrodes
He Ne discharge in Zerodur tube
(45 mm L X 4 mm d)
Copper Electrodes
Figure 4.2: Enlarged view of laser cavity
4.1.1 Excitation Voltage Variation
The excitation voltage is varied from 6V to 15V and the intensity of the 632.8nm line
is plotted as a function of voltage at He: Ne ratio of 10:1 and pressure 2.5 Torr.
12000
Intensity (Counts)
9000
6000
3000
0
5 10 15 20
Voltage (V)
Figure 4.3: Intensity of 632.8 nm Vs. Excitation voltage
From the graph, it can be concluded that the intensity of the 632.8nm line increases
with increase in excitation voltage and eventually saturates at higher voltages. From
the theoretical explanation, we had already seen that the intensity will increase with
voltage, eventually saturates and further starts decreasing. Hence our theoretical and
experimental data are validated.
The reason for this behaviour is that as excitation voltage increases, the energy of the
electrons as well as the collision frequency increases. But with further increase in the
voltage applied, the ground state neon atoms get excited directly to the 1s and 2p
states. This reduces the population inversion for the wavelength of interest. Also, as
voltage increases, the neutral neon atoms get ionized and hence the density of neutral
neon species decreases. This brings about saturation for the 632.8nm photons. Thus
the graph also tends to go to saturation. As the voltage is further increased, both these
processes dominate and the intensity of the wavelength of interest decreases.
4.1.2 Ratio Variation
The He:Ne ratio is varied and the intensity of the 632.8nm line is plotted as a function
of the ratio at a voltage of 9V and 2.5 Torr pressure.
From the graph, it is evident that the intensity of the wavelength of interest increases
with ratio till an optimum value and then decreases. It can be explained with the fact
that as helium concentration increases in the mix, the number of electron-helium
collision increases and hence the number of metastable helium atoms increases. This
increase causes increase in the probability of metastable helium-ground state neon
collisions which causes an increase in the neon upper laser level density. This is seen
directly as an increase in the intensity of 632.8nm line. After a particular level, de-
excitation of Helium atoms from the metastable level due to collision with ground
state He atoms as well as the decrease in neon ratio counters the initial increase in
helium concentration and hence, the intensity decreases. At higher ratios, i.e. above
15:1, uncertainty in spectroscopic measurement increases. It causes more error in the
analysis.
11600
11400
11200
11000
Intensity
10800
10600
10400
10200
10000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Ratio
Figure 4.4: Intensity of 632.8 nm Vs. Gas mix ratio
4.1.3 Pressure variation
The gas pressure in the gain tube was varied for a fixed He:Ne ratio of 10:1 and
different excitation voltages. Using the spectrometer, intensities of all wavelengths of
interest were noted.
The following graphs show the intensity of 632.8nm line for various values of
excitation voltage with pressures ranging from 2 mbar to 9 mbar. All the plots show a
tendency to attain a peak at a particular pressure, which corresponds to the optimum
working pressure for that voltage. As the excitation voltage increases, the peaks were
observed to broaden gradually.
As the pressure inside the gain media is increased, the collision frequency increases
initially. But the mean free path between the collisions decreases and so the collision
energy decreases. A ground state He atom needs 20.6eV energy to get excited to the
metastable level. When the collision energy decreases, the number of He atoms
getting excited decreases. This directly causes a decrease in the number of 632.8 nm
photons emitted. Thus there is a trade-off between the increase in collision frequency
and decrease in collision energy. Thus the intensity of 632.8nm line increases initially
with pressure, but then starts decreasing as pressure is further increased.
When the excitation voltage is increased, the kinetic energy of the electrons increases.
This causes an increase in the collision energy as well as collision frequency. This is
the reason for broadening of the peak in Fig 4.6, Fig 4.7 and Fig 4.8 compared to
Fig 4.5.
632.8 nm at 6V 632.8nm at 9V
14000.00 20000.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity (Counts)
12000.00 18000.00
10000.00 16000.00
8000.00 14000.00
6000.00 12000.00
0 5 10 0 5 10
Pressure (mBar) Pressure (mBar)
Figure 4.5: Intensity of 632.8nm vs. Figure4.6: Intensity of 632.8 nm vs.

Pressure at 6V Pressure at 9V
632.8 at 12 V 632.8nm at 15 V
35000.00 60000.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity (Counts)
30000.00 50000.00
25000.00
40000.00
20000.00
15000.00 30000.00
10000.00 20000.00
5000.00 10000.00
0.00
0.00
0 5 10
0 5 10
Pressure (mBar)
Pressure (mBar)
Figure 4.7: Intensity of 632.8nm vs. Figure4.8: Intensity of 632.8 nm vs.

Transitions from 3s2 Transitions from 2p4
Wavelength (A0) Transition Wavelength (A0) Transition
5434 3s2 2p10 5943 A0 2p4 1s5
6328 3s2 2p4 6095 A0 2p4 1s4
6401 3s2 2p2 6678 A0 2p4 1s2
7305 3s2 2p1
Table 4.1: Transition data for He-Ne
Table 4.1 shows all the major transitions from the upper and lower laser level of
632.8nm and the energy level diagram is shown in Fig 4.9.
Figure 4.9: Detailed energy level diagram
The spectrometer reading for all the major transitions from 3s2 (upper laser level)
were plotted and compared. It can be generalised that all the lines emerging form a
common upper level shows similar behaviour. However, an exception was noted for
the 640.1 nm transition. It can be explained with the fact that there exists a stronger
transition corresponding to 2p9 to 1s5 at 640.2 nm and hence the overall behaviour of
the line is affected more by this stronger transition.
543.4 nm at 9V 632.8nm at 9V
1400.00 20000.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity (Counts)
1300.00
18000.00
1200.00
1100.00 16000.00
1000.00
14000.00
900.00
800.00 12000.00
0 5 10 0 5 10
Figure 4.10: Intensity of 543.4 nm vs. Figure 4.11: Intensity of 632.8 nm vs.
640.1nm at 9V 730.46 nm at 9V
100000.00 1600.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity(Counts)
80000.00 1500.00
1400.00
60000.00
1300.00
40000.00
1200.00
20000.00 1100.00
0.00 1000.00
0 5 10 0 5 10
Pressure(mBar) Pressure (mBar)
Similar procedure was done for all 2p4 lines and their behavior was noted. It was
observed that the 2p4 lines intensity increase with pressure and tends to saturate. This
leads to the conclusion that the major process populating the 2p 4 level is not He-Ne
energy transfer from the He 21S level, but rather from He 23S-Ne 4s energy transfer
and excitation from Ne ground state. The slope of the curve was noted to increase
with excitation voltage. This is because the lower laser level population increases
linearly with increase in electron density, unlike the upper laser level which saturates
with electron density.
609.5nm at 6 V 609.5nm at 9 V
50000.00 80000.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity (Counts)
70000.00
40000.00
60000.00
30000.00 50000.00
40000.00
20000.00
30000.00
10000.00 20000.00
0 5 10 0 5 10
609.5nm at 12 V 609.5nm at 15 V
150000.00 200000.00
Intensity (Counts)
Intensity (Counts)
150000.00
100000.00
100000.00
50000.00
50000.00
0.00 0.00
0 5 10 0 5 10
All the transitions from 2p4 were also observed to show similar behavior due to their
common upper level.
4.1.4 Results
He-Ne laser media was made to work under varying conditions of gas mix, pump
voltage and gas pressure and the optimum working conditions were obtained using
spectroscopic method.
Excitation Voltage 6V - 9V
Gas Pressure 3.5mBar
He:Ne Ratio 10:1
Table 4.2: Optimized parameters from Spectroscopic Method
In order to confirm that the working conditions we chose are favorable for the
632.8nm photons in our laser tube (fixed d), 543.4nm, which is another major
transition from 3s2 is selected and compared with our wavelength of interest.
543.4nm corresponds to 3s2 2p10 transition. The upper level for both 543.4nm and
632.8nm are the same. Hence we do a comparative study on the major transitions
from the lower laser level. The major line from 2p 10 is 703.5nm and from 2p4 is
609.5nm. Gas was filled in the laser tube using the vacuum setup at 10:1 ratio and an
optimum excitation voltage of 6V was given. Reading for these lines at various
pressures were taken and plotted as shown in Fig 4.19.
120000.00
y = 12773x - 3062.4
100000.00
Intensity(Counts)
80000.00
60000.00 609.5nm
40000.00 y = 3156.6x + 16575 703.2nm
20000.00
0.00
0 5 10
Pressure (mBar)
Figure 4.18: Lower level transitions for 632.8 nm and 543.5 nm

The slope of the curve was taken for both the lines. It was observed that the slope of
703.2nm was approximately four times that of 609.5nm. This means as the pressure is
increased, 2p10 gets filled four times faster than 2p4. Thus the population inversion
and hence photon intensity for 543.4nm decreases four times faster than 632.8nm.
Net population inversion for both the lines was calculated from the reading and
corresponding graph was plotted. The plot shows that our pd (pressure-diameter) and
other parameters support 632.8nm more than 543.5nm.
150000
100000
Population
Intensity(Counts)
50000 inversion
for
0 632.8nm
0 2 4 6 8 10
-50000 Population
inversion
-100000 for
543.4nm
-150000
Pressure (mBar)
Figure 4.19: Population Inversion of 632.8nm and 543.5 nm
4.2 Direct method
As part-II phase of the project, the radial gain profile of the laser tube which is
working under optimum conditions of excitation voltage, gas mix and pressure is
obtained by detecting the irradiance of a probing beam using the direct ratio method
described below.
The principal idea of this method is to measure the intensity of light from a small
probe laser both before and after it has passed through a Helium-Neon gain medium
[21]. It involves splitting the beam from a small probe laser operating at the
wavelength of interest. The average intensity of the probe laser is measured before
and after it has travelled through the gain medium and the single pass laser gain is
determined from the ratio of these measurements. The gain tube can be moved
relative to the probe beam to build up the complete radial profile. In theory this
method gives the most pure result as the conditions under which the plasma and
probe beam are operating are essentially identical to that of a running laser.
In practice the main difficulties with this method have been found to be:
1. Maintaining stability of both photodiode modules for the duration of the

experiment.
2. Maintaining stable plasma conditions throughout the duration of the experiment if
long measurement times are necessary.
3. Cancellation of background light.
4. Susceptibility to low frequency noise sources.
The first difficulty can be circumvented through the design of high quality
photodiode modules and/or software that can take into account the long term drifts of
these modules.
The second difficulty can in principle be circumvented through good design of the
impedance matching unit used to drive the plasma or by using the light from the
discharge as the input to a servo loop used to control plasma intensity.
The third difficulty can be overcome to some extent by placing laser line filters in
front of the photodiode modules, though this does not completely eliminate all
background light, especially some incoherent light from the plasma which will be
within the pass band of the optical filter. A better solution involves simply subtracting
the background light and for this some kind of optical shutter is necessary.
Another approach used previously was to modulate the probe beam using a spinning
toothed wheel and then use a digital band pass filter on the resulting signal to
eliminate background light [14,21].
Alternatively this could be taken a step further and a lock-in amplifier could be used.
This also circumvents the last problem. The method of modulating the probe beam
does however have its share of problems. These include maintaining a sufficiently
stable modulation frequency, the difficulties in filtering a square wave signal and the
time required for signal processing.
Computing individual signals when using direct ratio method
After recording the two simultaneous waveforms when using the direct ratio method,
there are two approaches that can be used to compute the laser gain.
a) Compute the gain individually from each measurement and average them.

( )

b) Use the average of individual waveforms to compute the gain
( )
Where S is the signal and R is the reference signal.

Chapter 5
Experimental Scheme for Direct Method
Figure 5.1: Experiment setup
The idea is to measure the intensity of a probe laser before and after it has passed
through a gain medium and thus obtains the gain. To facilitate simultaneous
measurement, the probe laser is split into a signal beam and a reference beam. Gain is
directly manifested as an increase in the signal beam intensity with respect to
reference beam, obtained by taking the ratio of signal beam power to reference beam
power. Experimental setup used for this method is given in Fig 5.1.
5.1 Optical setup
The details of components used along with their specifications are given below. The
operating principle of these components is explained in literature [24, 25].
5.1.1 Probe laser
The probe laser is a 2.5mW frequency/intensity stabilized helium-neon laser from

Research Electro-optics (Model no: 32734).
This Frequency/Intensity Stabilized Laser at 632.8 nm applies superior thermal

compensation resulting in a good balance of high output power and stability with low
temperature sensitivity and reliability. The laser can be easily switched between the
intensity and frequency stabilized operation. In the intensity stabilized mode, the laser
can operate as an output power reference, with long-term intensity stability of <
0.2% (1 hour). In the frequency stabilized mode, long term frequency stability is
specified as < 3 MHz over an 8 hour period. The laser beam has a TEM00 mode
structure and offers a coherence length greater than 100m.
5.1.2 Optical isolator
Isolators are used to reduce or eliminate the effects of optical feedback: reflections of
a lasers energy back into itself. These effects include noise, amplitude fluctuation,
and laser damage. Isolators protect the laser, while maintaining beam alignment and
providing maximum forward transmission and reverse isolation. The isolator used in
this setup is IO-5-633-VLP from Thorlabs.
Figure 5.2: Optical Isolator

a) Forward mode operation
Laser light enters the isolator via the input polarizer and is linearly polarized. This
light then enters a rotator, which rotates the plane of polarization by +45. The beam
exits through the output polarizer, whose axis is oriented at +45.
b) Reverse mode operation
A portion of the random beam reflections will be directed back towards the laser.
This feedback re-enters the isolator through the output polarizer and is polarized at
45 with respect to the input beam. This beam is then rotated through a +45 by the
rotator. The feedback, which is now polarized at 90 relative to the input polarizer, is
extinguished, and the laser is effectively isolated from its own reflections.
5.1.3 Beam expander
The device used is Newport T81-3X Laser Beam Expander. This Galilean 3X beam
expanders incorporate the highly regarded Tropel optical designs with improved
adjustability and mounting. They are ideal for applications in which a small spot must
be formed at some distance from the laser, or where the collimation range must be
extended for illumination, or for alignment of distant objects. Wavefront distortion of
less than /4 guarantees a minimum focused spot size even at long ranges. The lenses
are antireflection coated with magnesium fluoride optimized for 632.8 nm, yielding
transmission of over 95%. The T81-30X has an expansion ratios of 30x and a means
for continuous focus change. As the power increases, the beam divergence decreases
proportionately, providing a greater collimation range. The entrance aperture is 3mm
in diameter and exit aperture is 6mm.
Figure 5.3: Beam Expander
5.1.4 Polarizing Beam Splitter
It consists of two prisms joined together to make up a cube. A dielectric beam

splitting coating is applied to the hypotenuse of one of the two prisms. Then cement
is used to bind the two prism halves together. Polarizing beam splitter separates the s
and p polarization components by reflecting the s component at the dielectric
beamsplitter coating, while allowing p component to pass. Light can be input into any
of the polished faces to separate the s and p polarizations. However, for best
performance, the light should enter through one of the entrance faces of the coated
prism, which is indicated by an arrow.
Figure 5.4: Polarizing Beam Splitter

5.1.5 Variable neutral density filter
A continuously variable Neutral Density filter from Thorlabs is used in path 2 to

control the intensity of light falling on the photodetector. The intensities have to be
adjusted so that both the arms have equal power before plasma is generated. The ND
filter has a continuously varying reflective coating which can be adjusted manually
by rotating the wheel.
Figure 5.5: Neutral Density Filter
5.1.6 Laser line filters
Line filters used are from Thorlabs (FL05632.8-3)
These band pass filters provide one of the simplest ways to transmit a well-defined
wavelength band of light, here 632.8nm, while rejecting other unwanted radiation.
Their design is essentially that of a thin film Fabry-Perot Interferometer formed by
vacuum deposition techniques and consists of two reflecting stacks, separated by an
even-order spacer layer. These reflecting stacks are constructed from alternating
layers of high and low refractive index materials, which can have a reflectance in
excess of 99.99%. By varying the thickness of the spacer layer and/or the number of
reflecting layers, the central wavelength and bandwidth of the filter can be altered.
Figure 5.6: Laser line filter
5.1.7 Variable aperture
Variable aperture is used to control the amount of light entering the photodetector and
cut off any background or stray reflections from causing random fluctuations in
power while doing the experiment. The aperture size can be manually changed by
turning the knob.
Figure 5.7: Variable aperture
5.1.8 Photodetector
A photodetector [26] is essentially a semiconductor diode generally created by

forming either a P-N junction or P-I-N structure as in Fig 5.8.
When photons with sufficient energy strike a semiconductor, they are absorbed
resulting in the generation of mobile electrons and holes. If the absorption occurs in
the junctions depletion region, these carriers will be separated and swept away by the
strong electric fields in the depletion region resulting in a photocurrent. This
mechanism gives the photodiode an inherently linear response with respect to input
light intensity- essential for this experiment.
Figure 5.8: Structure of P-I-N photodiode [10]
Efficiency of the photodetector depends on the wavelength of incoming photon. The

primary parameter defining the sensitivity of a photodiode is its quantum efficiency
(QE), which is defined as the percentage of incident photons generating electron-hole
pairs which subsequently contribute to the output signal.
The sensitivity of a photodiode may be expressed as amps of photodiode current per

watt of incident radiation. This parameter is usually known as responsivity (R ),
maybe derived by multiplying the Q.E with electronic charge (e) and dividing by the
photon energy for a particular wavelength, hc/.
Photodetector used in the experiment is the QD100-0 quadrature photodetector from

Centronic Ltd. It has a total active area of 100mm2 divided into four quadrants, each
of which can function independently. The spectral response graph given by the
manufacturer is given in Fig 5.9. At 632.8nm, the detector is expected to have
responsivity between 0.4 and 0.41.
Figure 5.9: Spectral response of photodetector
5.2 Electrical setup
5.2.1 Amplifier card
The output of photodetector is given to an amplifier card [27]. It uses a basic

transimpedance amplifier, as shown in Fig 5.10, cascaded in three stages to give
sufficient amplification. A single card is designed to contain two such amplifier
stages so that both the photodetector outputs are given to the same card. Amplifier
converts the current input to voltage, giving it sufficient amplification which can be
designed according to our experimental need. While designing the card, it should be
noted that its capacitance should be greater than the capacitance of the photodetector.
Figure 5.10: The basic transimpedance photodiode amplifier
Design characteristics of the amplifier card are given below
Gain of Channel 1 = 115mV/A

Gain of Channel 2 = 112mV/A
Maximum input current that can be given < 90A
Noise (no input condition),
Channel 1 output = -12mV

Channel 2 output = -9mV
5.3 Instruments for data acquisition and processing
5.3.1 Power meter
The power meter used for designing the setup and calibrating the photo detectors and
amplifier card is Thorlabs S120C power meter. It has wavelength sensitivity in the
range 400nm-1100nm and responds to a power range from 50nW 50mW with 1nW
resolution and 3% measurement uncertainty as per specs data.
Figure 5.11: Power meter
5.3.2 Polarimeter
PAX5710VIS polarimeter from Thorlabs is used in the experiment for accurate

polarization measurements. It has both analog and digital interface for monitoring the
output. The digital interface can be connected to a PC to record the Stokes
parameters, power (dBm/Watt), azimuth, ellipticity, degree of polarization.
Figure 5.12: Polarimeter

5.3.3 Beam profiler
BC-106N-VIS series beam profiler is used for accurate measurement of beam spot
size, much needed during the design phase. It responds to a wavelength range 350nm-
1100nm and power range 1fW-1W. To control the intensity of incoming beam, the
profiler comes with four different ND filters providing an attenuation of 10dB, 20dB,
30dB and 40dB. The package is designed for digital interface and the measurement
data can be viewed on a PC by installing Thorlabs Beam Software.
Figure 5.13: Beam profiler: Device and software
5.3.4 Data Logger
Agilent 34970A data acquisition/switch unit is used for instant data acquisition from
both photo detectors and storage. Two out of the total sixteen channels are used for
the two amplified photodetector outputs. 50k readings of non-volatile memory hold
the data when power is removed. The output is displayed through the Data logger
software where measurements can be made quickly, seen in real-time using the built-
in graphs or data exported into convenient formats.
Figure 5.14: Data Logger software
Fig 5.15 and Fig 5.16 shows a photograph of the experimental setup.
Figure 5.15: Photograph showing apparatus

Figure 5.16: Photograph showing apparatus with black box
5.4 Experiment Design considerations
5.4.1 Plasma source generation
A standard RLG block is taken for generating plasma. The plasma cavity is one of the
four cylindrical arms of the laser block with length 45mm and diameter 4mm and
called active channel. Measuring gain in this experiment involves passing an external
laser beam through the gain medium of gyroscope. So the selected cavity is enclosed
by two fused silica polished glass windows. The two windows are optically contacted
to the faces to ensure the hermetic sealing of gain medium. The two faces are at
Brewster angle with respect to axis of active channel, so the two windows act as
Brewster windows.
The gyroscope block is cleaned chemically and with radio frequency excited oxygen
and neon plasma. It is properly degassed and conditioned with Ne plasma to ensure
ultra-pure cavity. Finally, it is filled with high purity Helium and Neon gases at 10:1
ratio and total pressure 3.5mbar as optimized in first part of this report. Dielectric
barrier capacitive-coupled plasma is generated inside the cavity by placing the
electrodes along its length on either side. In order to cause the initial plasma
discharge, high voltage 10kV is required. This is provided using a piezo-lighter.
Once the plasma is on, a constant pump voltage of considerably lower magnitude is
given to sustain the plasma using a High Frequency Oscillator (HFO). The HFO
frequency is at 150MHz and can be fine-tuned to match the plasma impedance with
HFO output impedance. This is verified by maximum power output of plasma and its
uniform longitudinal distribution.
Once the plasma is generated, its spectrum is taken using a spectrometer (Avantes,
Model: 2048) to ensure that there is no contamination. Principle source of
contamination in the cavity is hydrogen due to any degassing over long time. A
Getter (Mo & Ti) is used to absorb any gaseous contamination over the time and
plasma is periodically characterized to ensure its purity during experiment. Fig 5.17
shows the spectrum of plasma.
Figure 5.17: Spectrum of plasma

5.4.2 Stabilization of laser power
Gain in this experiment is measured in ppm. To increase the accuracy of results, it is

very important that laser power reaching the photo detectors is very stabilized during
the course of measurements. To comply this, we have taken externally stabilized
Laser (spec 0.2% for 1 hour in intensity stabilized mode). Besides this all the
optical components which are used to guide the laser up to photo detectors are firmly
attached to the optical table and properly aligned. To cut the effect of external
vibration and thermal drift, all the components are mounted on vibration isolated
table placed in controlled environment in clean room (Class 100).
Still the back reflections entering the laser cavity can cause modulation in its output
power and even can damage it over a long time. This problem is aggravated when
perfect alignment of the beam path throughout the setup is ensured by confirming that
all back reflections fall back to the laser output port. To eliminate the effects of these
back reflections, an optical isolator is used just after the probe laser. This protects the
laser from damage and power fluctuations.
5.4.3 Alignment of laser
A very important and time consuming procedure while designing the experiment
setup is the alignment of laser beam. Probe laser is placed on its stand at an
appropriate height. This height is chosen by taking the height of mounted optical
block into main consideration. Precise alignment of the laser is done with the help
alignment tools and a plane mirror mounted on kinematic mount to ensure the laser
path is in a single horizontal plane over full optical table. The beam path is folded by
a kinematic mounted plane mirror and laser is passed through a polarizing cubic
beam splitter mounted on two axis (tilt correction) mount. Thus the two arms of laser
light are made at 90 degrees to each other; one is passing through gain medium and
another one directly on photodetector as shown in experimental setup. Both arms are
ensured to be in one horizontal plane by alignment tools.
Passing the beam through the active channel is another tedious process. The block is
placed on a stand which is mounted on a four axis mount (two linear and two tilt)
with micrometer screw having least count of 10 microns. By adjusting the four axis
movement, we can ensure the laser light is aligned with respect to center of active
channel, parallel to its axis of the cavity.
This is a very important step since the experiment is intended to measure the radial
gain. Radial gain measurement is done by moving the laser block radially using
micrometer screws. If the beam path is not aligned with active channel center, it will
give wrong measurement near the channel walls as the beam could hit the channel
edges as shown in Fig 5.18and less power will reach the photodetector. Also, the
4mm radial distance will not be available for scanning when probe beam is falling at
an angle to the cavity axis. A rough alignment is achieved by placing a circular
aperture of 4mm in front of active channel and laser is passed approximately through
its center. Now with the help of four axis mount, it is ensured the laser is passed
through center of active channel.
Figure 5.18: Alignment of laser beam through the cavity

5.4.4 Optimization of laser beam size
The probe beam diameter is about approximately 700m near the laser output port.
After passing through the optical components and reflection from the mirror, there is
an increase in the beam size near the intended position of optical block to
approximately 1500m. For the purpose of radial gain measurement, such a high
beam diameter is disadvantageous as the beam will touch the inner walls of active
channel after a radial distance of 750 micron from the center for a 4mm channel.
Thus only central 2.5 mm portion can be scanned. Scattering occurs when the probe
beam touches the edge. Secondly, large area photodetector will be required. So
reducing the beam size is of prime significance for increasing accuracy of the results.
For reducing the beam size, a beam expander is used after optical isolator. This
device has a focal length from 1m to infinity. It can focus the beam at 1meter and
thus the setup is designed such that the cavity center is 1 meter from beam expander.
Using a beam profiler at 1 meter, the focused beam size was measured and found to
be roughly 37010m diameter against a calculated value of 366.67m. Thus
approximately a radial distance of 3.6mm of cavity can be scanned as shown in
Fig 5.19.
Figure 5.19: Scanning of gain tube with probes of different diameter

5.4.5 Characterization of power and polarization
The measured power and polarization state of laser at different locations in the setup
is given below:
a) Laser output port
Laser source generates a vertically polarized beam of power and polarization as given
in table
Azimuth -89.37
Ellipticity -0.058
DOP 100.5%
Power 1.87mW
Table 5.1: Laser output port
b) After optical isolator
Isolator rotates the laser beam by 45 and also there will be some power loss inside
the device.
Azimuth 45.04
Ellipticity 0.068
DOP 100.063%
Power 1.755mW
Table 5.2: After optical isolator
c) After beam expander
Beam expander will not affect the state of polarization except for a small power loss.
Azimuth 44.96
Ellipticity 0.330
DOP 100.088%
Power 1.714mW
Table 5.3: After beam expander
d) After Polarizing Beam Splitter (PBS)
Beam splitter will split the incoming beam at 90 degree in two paths with
approximately half power and some absorption losses. Path 1consists of reflected
beam which passes through gain medium and comprises mostly vertical polarization
and approximately half the power of incoming beam as given below:
Azimuth 86.3
Ellipticity 9.89
DOP 98.2%
Power .8602mW (50.18% approx.)
Table 5.4: After PBS
Path 2 consists of transmitted beam reaching photodetector directly (reference path)

and comprises mostly horizontal polarization and power as given below:
Azimuth 1.1
Ellipticity 0.84
DOP 97.9%
Power .812mW (47.37% approx.)
Table 5.5: Through path 2
Sum of powers of path 1 and path 2 is 1.6722mW. It indicates a 41.8W loss due to
absorption by the beam splitter.
5.4.6 Selection of horizontal polarization state: signal beam
The main reason for the selection of horizontal polarization in the signal arm instead
of vertical polarization is the polarization dependence reflection losses of Brewster
windows. It is well known that at Brewster angle incidence, in plane component of
polarization (p polarization) will completely be transmitted and perpendicular
polarization component (s polarization) will only be partially transmitted. As
Brewster window has some thickness, it will cause multiple reflection and multiple
beams are observed inside the cavity as shown in Fig 5.20 which is completely
undesirable.
Figure 5.20: The incident beam transmission through the system with multiple reflections
from either Brewster windows.
During the initial phase of experiment, a Non-Polarizing Beam Splitter (NPBS) was
used to divide the probe into signal and reference arms. The probe beam is reaching
at 45 azimuth at beam splitter which divided which them into two arms at+45
(transmitting arm) and -45 (reflecting arm). The reflecting beam was measured to
have high ellipticity which was further increasing after passing through active
channel. Thus the NPBS was replaced with a Polarizing Beam Splitter. In PBS, the
reflecting beam has azimuth 86.30 and ellipticity 9.890 which means it is elliptical
polarized beam and has substantial horizontal polarization component. The
transmitting beam has azimuth 1.10 and elliptical 0.80 which shows it is almost
horizontal linear polarized light.
Thus in this condition, the beam entering the active channel is mainly s polarized. So
there is maximum reflection for the incoming beam and multiple reflections can also
increase the ellipticity. The power of incident, reflected and transmitted beams are
measured to find the reflection losses in the cavity. The measured values are given
below:
Incident power at the front window = 0.860mW

Reflected power = 0.181mW
Reflected power percentage = 21.046%
Transmitted Power to cavity = 0.860mW - 0.181mW
= 0.679mW
Transmitted power from the rear window = 78.954% of 0.679
= 0.5361mW
Measured transmitted power out of the cavity= 0.513mW
Losses in the cavity = 23.1nW
These losses can be due to scattering and absorption by the material of Brewster
windows and by the gas filled in the cavity.
A theoretical calculation for multiple reflections of light with respect to its

polarization component can also be made. The Fresnel equations [24] gives the
reflection and transmission coefficient for any material with respect to angle of
incidence and state of polarization. For fused silica (n=1.45704) used for Brewster
window, the reflectivity will be approximately 13% for s component each time it
meets the window boundary and 0% for p. So during each reflection, there will be a
13% loss in s component as explained in Fig 5.21.
Figure 5.21: Multiple reflection in a Brewster window
Take an example of an unpolarized light having equal components of s and p. For

sake of understanding, the ratio is taken as 100s and 100p. At first reflection on the
air-window boundary at the Brewster angle, p component is completely passed
through whereas 13% of s component is reflected out. The transmitted beam is
incident at the Brewster angle for the window-air interface and hence 13% of the
incident s gets again reflected back whereas p is let through completely. This way,
after 5-6 reflections and transmissions, the power of s will become less than 0.1%. As
shown in Fig 5.20, the total percentage of reflected and transmitted power for both
components is given below in Table 5.6.
S polarization P polarization
Incident beam 100 100
Reflected beam 23.006 0
Transmitted beam 76.99 100
Table 5.6: Percentage reflection for s and p polarization
These percentage powers are matching with experimental values with small
difference due to omission of absorption and scattering in theoretical calculations.
Other reason was that in experimental condition beam is not 100% s polarized. In
order to confirm the theoretical calculation, a polarizer is placed right after the beam
splitter to control the type of polarization entering the cavity. In first case, input is
made to contain s polarization alone (as filtered as possible) and reflected power is
measured as follows:
Incident power = 0.702341mW

Measured reflection power = 0.158731mW
Calculated reflection power = 0.161581mW
For second case, the polarizer is made to pass p alone and power measurements are
made as above.
Incident power = 0.025864mW

Measured reflection power = 0.025431mW
Calculated reflection power = 0.025864mW
Slight difference between measured and calculated power is unavoidable since the
13% is only a rough approximation and also the polarization alignment was done
manually, leaving some space for experimental error.
This proves that the p polarized beam is suffering least (approximately 0%) reflection
losses from the Brewster window. This analysis gives us an interesting possibility to
work with making the laser beam passing through the block strictly p. The main
advantage of this possibility is that the multiple reflections are minimized. Also, the
loss will be mainly due to absorption in the material of the Brewster window and the
gain medium. Another added advantage is considerable reduction in the power
reaching the gain medium and photodetector. Passing a high intensity beam can cause
gain saturation in the medium and also clipping of output voltage in the amplifier
card. So a polarizer was introduced before the block to allow only p polarization to
enter the cavity.
5.4.7 Detection
The most crucial section needing immense planning and trouble shooting is the
detection part. The stability and accuracy of detection greatly affects the resolution of
results by hundreds of ppm.
For better stability, laser line filters are used on both arms to reduce the effect of stray
light either from background or plasma. Variable apertures are placed in front of
photodetector with least possible aperture size to block out any other reflections
coming towards detector or any back reflection from small tilt in laser line filter.
Variable ND filter is kept in the reference arm to keep the signal and reference arms
at nearly equal power level. Keeping them at same level before the experiment starts
is very important as the prime idea is to see how much signal strength has increased
in plasma arm compared to reference arm. This arrangement of laser line filter,
variable aperture and photodetector are covered in housing with an opening made of
black-out material to remove the effect of any stray light from the environment. This
was confirmed by measuring the dark current of photo detector and its response to the
laser-off condition in the black housing and was found to be almost same.
5.4.7.1 Photodetector Characterization
The two photo detectors [28, 29] should have stable and equal responsivity to the
incident radiation. Each quadrant of the two photo detectors was separately calibrated
for different values of incident power and the output response in terms of current is
measured using a pico-ammeter. The third quadrants of both detectors are found
suitable after measurements. The measured response curves are shown is Fig 5.22 and
Fig 5.23.
200
PD 1
PD1 current (uA)

150
y = 0.4039x + 0.3033
100
50
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Laser Power(W)
Figure 5.22: Characterization of PD1
60
PD 2
50
y = 0.4066x + 0.4785
40
PD2 Current (uA)
30
20
10
0
0 50 100 150
Laser Power (uW)
Figure 5.23: Characterization of PD2
5.4.7.2 Amplifier card characterization
The amplifier card is also characterized with respect to input power. It was observed
that the card gave a linear slope till 300W input power after which gain saturated as
shown in Fig 5.24.It can be seen that the photodetector-amplifier card configuration
shows linearity in performance till 300W. This is well within our working range,
which is less than 30W.
Amplifier card characterization
15
y = 0.0451x + 0.1931
Voltage (V)
10
0
0 100 200 300 400
Laser power(uW)
Figure 5.24: Amplifier card characterization
To get results in ppm scale, accuracy of the output voltage recorded at least to the
fourth decimal is very important. Since there is constant fluctuation of output voltage
due to various reasons, taking an average from a set of readings gives more stability
to the result. For this, we connect the outputs of Channel 1 and Channel 2 from
amplifier card to the Data Logger which can be connected to the system and data
recorded simultaneously.
5.5 Experiment considerations
During experimental design considerations, requirements for gain measurement with

better accuracy were discussed. Such requirements were well taken care off during
the measurements to minimize the errors as explained below.
5.5.1 Laser stabilization
Laser stabilization is ensured by keeping it in intensity stabilization mode and with

sufficient warm up time. A stabilization indicator LED is monitored during
experiment along with periodic measurement of power with power meter.
5.5.2 Plasma stabilization
The plasma also takes some time to become stable after it is turned on. Time taken
depends on the pump voltage applied and initial state of the plasma. Plasma power
has to be constantly monitored using a power meter and experiment should be started
only after it shows considerable stability. Plasma power stabilization times for the
pump voltages of 7V, 9V, 12V and 15V are given in Fig 5.25.
Figure 5.25: Plasma stabilization for 7V, 9V, 12V, 15V
5.5.3 Adjusting the signal to reference arm power ratio
The powers of reference beam through path 2 and laser beam through path 1 should
be as equal as possible in order to find gain through direct ratio method. To satisfy
this condition, a variable attenuator is kept in path 2 and the powers are made
approximately equal at the beginning of each set of measurement.
5.5.4 Checking photodetector stability
After all the above steps, a trial reading of both photo detectors should be taken to
confirm its stability and ensure same nature of response for both. If, for some reason
like stray light or back reflection, one of them shows abnormal behavior, it should be
corrected before starting the experiment. A short term stability behavior of two
photodetector is shown in Fig 5.26 and 5.27.
PD 1
1.195
1.19
Voltage (V)
1.185
1.18
1.175
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (s)
Figure 5.26: PD1 stability over time
PD 2
1.25
Voltage (V)
1.24
1.23
1.22
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (s)
Figure 5.27: PD 2 instability over time

5.6 Sources of error
After putting up the experimental setup, taking a rough measurement shows that the
measured output values shows variations at levels which are much larger than the
minimum resolution. The possible causes for these fluctuations are accounted for in
this section.
5.6.1 Laser ripple
Even though we are using the laser in intensity stabilized mode, some amount of
power fluctuations, in the form of ripples are present in the laser output. A series of
one second readings each for 1 minute each are taken by placing the power meter in
front of the laser. The minimum and maximum powers are noted and the percentage
fluctuation from a central value is taken.
Maximum power (mW) Minimum power (mW) Percentage variation (%)

1.6472 1.6503 0.0940
1.647 1.6507 0.1122
1.6468 1.6505 0.1122
1.6464 1.65 0.1092
1.6456 1.6506 0.1517
1.645 1.652 0.2123
1.6426 1.6506 0.2429
1.6452 1.6497 0.1366
Table 5.7: Laser ripple
Thus the average ripple in laser power is about 0.1464% of the total laser power. This
amounts to about 2.7W approximately. This is a huge variation as far as our
experimental resolution is concerned.
The effect of these ripples can be neglected to a large extend as the readings are taken
at the two photo detectors simultaneously and final result is the ratio between them.
Since the source power fluctuation affects both the arms, taking simultaneous
readings (within milliseconds range) will help in eliminating them to a large extend.
5.6.2 Plasma oscillations
Even after allowing the plasma to become stable, oscillations in plasma power were
observed. Eliminating this oscillation demands a deeper knowledge about plasma
behavior. It was found in some literatures that this instability can be minimized to an
extend by using an impedance matching circuit for the plasma. Plasma power
variation is because of variation in plasma impedance. The High Frequency oscillator
used to maintain the plasma is tunable to approximately match the plasma impedance
under different measurement conditions but still small plasma oscillations are
unavoidable as shown in Fig 5.28.
Figure 5.28: Plasma oscillation

5.6.3 Background light
The fluctuations in background light can also affect the photodetector readings due to
the high gain provided by the amplifier.
The following precautions and setup design can eliminate this effect considerably
- Dark room conditions are maintained.

- A black casing is made for the photo detectors.
- Laser line filters at 632.8nm are used in front of the photodetector which will block
all radiations in other wavelengths.
- Variable apertures are used in front of photodetector, which will block background
light as well as any stray reflections of laser light coming from any other apparatus.
5.6.4 RF interference
The RF interference between the amplifier card and HFO can also cause distortions in
the measurement. So amplifier card is EMI shielded and coaxial cables are used for
signal detection from photo detectors to amplifier card. Even though extend of this
interaction is small, it is safer to take necessary precautions for this. The power
supplies are kept at a considerable distance from the optical bench.
5.7 Accounting for erroneous signals
Despite every effort to reduce the possible errors, it could not be completely
cancelled. It is necessary to design a measurement scheme that cancels these
unwanted effects. Table 5.8 shows the effects observed on both photo detectors for
different combinations of variable aperture and plasma settings. S1 and S2 refer to the
variable apertures used in path 1 and path 2 respectively. P refers to the condition of
plasma; on or off. All b variables are background light incident on photodiodes
designated by the subscript. Similarly, r designates RF interference, p for signals due
to plasma light, L for laser beam light (unamplified) which must be considered to be
different at each time interval(alphabetic subscripts) due to drift in the probe laser
output power, g is the signal due to laser gain.
P S1 S2 PD1 PD2
A 0 0 0 b1 b2
B 0 0 1 b1 b2 + L2B
C 0 1 0 b1+ L1C b2
D 0 1 1 b1+ L1D b2+ L2D
E 1 0 0 b1+ r1 b2+ r2
F 1 0 1 b1+ r1 b2+ r2 + p2 + L2F
G 1 1 0 b1+ r1 + p1 + g.L1G b2+ r2
H 1 1 1 b1+ r1 + p1 + g.L1H b2+ r2+ +p2 + L2H
Table 5.8: Truth table for different combinations of plasma and aperture settings
This gives the gain in parts per million:
( )
Chapter 6
Results and Discussions
Probe beam was scanned across the radial distance of the plasma cavity and readings
were taken from both arms. In order to obtain data with high radial resolution and
gain resolution, sets of 75 measurements were taken at each point, with a total of 40
points across the 4mm diameter of the cavity (100m resolution).
Gain measurements were taken for various electrode geometries of copper material
such as flat, curved and gold coated as shown in the Fig 6.1. Each of these pairs was
of 28mm-26mm dimensions. Curved electrodes had a radius of curvature of 1000mm.
Gold coating ( 2m) was chosen because it is more corrosion resistant than copper
and hence shows better conductivity with time.
Figure 6.1: Different types of electrodes
It should be noted that the pump voltage value given refer to the DC value applied to
the HFO. Conversion of this into its equivalent AC rms value which is fed to the
plasma is given in the following table.
DC supply voltage AC rms value
7V 20V
9V 30V
12V 40V
15V 50V
Table 6.1: Equivalent rms Ac voltage

The graphs plotted for the three electrode geometries for different values of pump
voltage are given in Fig 6.2, Fig 6.3 and Fig 6.4.
Flat copper electrode - 7V
4000
Gain (ppm)
-1000
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-6000
Normalised radial distance
Figure 6.2a: Gain curve of flat copper electrode at 7V
Flat gold coated electrode - 7V

5000
0
Gain (ppm)
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5

-5000
-10000
Figure 6.2b: Gain curve of flat gold coated electrode at 7V
Curved copper electrode - 7V
20000
Gain (ppm)
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-20000
Figure 6.2c: Gain curve of curved copper electrode at 7V

In the figures, dotted line shows the plots fitted to a sixth order polynomial.
Fig 6.2a, 6.2b and 6.2c shows that at 7V pumping power, the gain curve shows
maximum value at the center of the tube for all electrodes. This can be explained by
the fundamental property of plasmas in laser tubes; the buildup of a positive space
charge of ions (sheath) very near to the tube walls due to the accumulation of
electrons at the walls. Hence high energy electrons confined at the center, these
causes more gain at the center of the tube.
The curved electrode shows more gain (about 300% more) compared to the flat
electrodes. It may be due to the maximum excitation rate caused by the convergence
of electron fluxes by curvature, due to cross-firing of electron beams accelerated by
the sheath [19].
There is certain relative variation in photo detectors and constant (0.14%) laser
oscillation can cause approximately maximum error of 1000 ppm in the results.
Curved electrodes shows significant ~16% gain m-1 than the flat electrodes (~6% gain
m-1). Gold coated electrodes poor gain ~4% than the copper electrodes.
Gold coated copper electrode gives significantly lesser distortion in the gain curve.
This could be due to better uniformity in plasma distribution than copper electrode as
it is less prone to corrosion and hence offers better conductivity with time. But gain is
lesser than uncoated electrode. Since, Gold is poor conductor than copper; its skin
depth is more at high radio frequency field. This results in more loss in RF field and
hence, these show poor gain.
The tube edges show a finite gain compared to zero gain in the case of DC
discharges. For RF discharge, de-excitation rate of neon by collision with the walls is
less than DC discharge. Hence gain is not zero at the tube edges.
Another important observation was that for curved electrode, the highlighted portion
shows a glitch at one edge for all pump voltages. This can be accounted as some
fixed uncertainty at that edge since it is recurring in all measurements.
6000
4000
2000
Gain (ppm)
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 -2000 0 0.5 1 1.5
-4000
-6000

5000
0
Gain (ppm)
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-5000
-10000
Normalized radial distance

30000
20000
Gain (ppm)
10000
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-10000
-20000

From Fig 6.3a, 6.3b and 6.3c for 9V pumping flux, center of the gain tube shows
increase in gain for flat electrodes. This increase was about 65% for flat copper
electrode, 200% for gold coated and almost no change for curved copper electrode.

6000
4000
2000
Gain (ppm)
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-2000
-4000
-6000

6000
4000
2000
0
Gain (ppm)
-1.5 -1 -0.5 -2000 0 0.5 1 1.5

-4000
-6000
-8000
-10000

30000
20000
Gain (ppm)
10000
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-10000
-20000
Fig 6.4a, 6.4b and 6.4c represents gain at 12V for the electrodes. It was observed that
flat copper electrodes showed a decrease in gain by ~30%. Gold coated electrodes
showed a slight increase (~20%) and curved also showed an increase of ~70% in
gain.

6000
4000
2000
Gain (ppm)
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-2000
-4000
-6000

6000
4000
2000
0
Gain (ppm)
-1.5 -1 -0.5 -2000 0 0.5 1 1.5
-4000
-6000
-8000
-10000
Curved copper elctrode - 15V

40000
30000
20000
GAin (ppm)
10000
0
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-10000
-20000
At a high pumping voltage of 15V, the flat copper electrode showed a dip in the
central region indicating loss, that is, the medium has become absorptive. This is
because at higher pumping powers, there will be an increase in the direct excitation of
neon to its lower laser levels, thus decreasing the population inversion. Flat electrodes
shows a significant decrease in gain ~100% compared to low pumping power. But
others show not much change in gain at the centre.
Comparison of different elctrodes with
pump voltage
14000
Curved
12000 copper
10000
8000 Flat
copper
Gain (ppm)
6000
4000
gold
2000 coated
0 flat
-2000 6 11 16
-4000
Pump voltage (V)
Figure 6.6: Comparison of different electrodes
On comparing the plasma response at different pump voltages for each electrode, it
can be concluded that variation in gain with pump voltage is least for curved
electrode and most for flat copper electrode.
Curved electrode shows most promising performance with optimum gain and better
uniformity with pumping power.
In order to verify this result with respect to the resonator, excite the resonator with
these three electrodes. The laser beam threshold voltage for these three electrodes
was taken in a resonator. Threshold is the point at which single mode operation
begins in the gain tube. Laser beam threshold for 632.8nm photon was found to be
least for curved electrode (5.2V), then flat electrode (5.5V) and most for gold coated
electrode (5.7V). This is in conformation with the fact that electrode showing
maximum gain has the lowest threshold.
An increase in gain near the cavity edges was also observed in most of the cases. This
is because there exists high uncertainty near the edges. At these points, majority of
the probe beam is clipped by the gain tube wall. As a result, the light intensity
measured is very sensitive to vibration of the apparatus. Increase in gain near the tube
walls is also consistent with laser process due to the sheath of ions that develops to
balance the build-up of electrons in the gain tube wall [30].
Chapter 7
Conclusion
The helium neon gain medium is an integral part of the Ring Laser Gyroscope. Hence
optimizing the gain medium is of prime importance. An extensive literature survey on
various methods previously used to model and optimize the gain medium was done.
As a result of this, an in-depth understanding of the physical processes which give
rise to laser gain and its distribution within a general Helium Neon plasma has been
developed. The difference of these systems with ours was noted and a suitable
technique to model our system was adapted.
As a part of Phase I of the project, parameters like gas pressure, gas mix ratio and
excitation voltage were optimized using spectroscopic method. It was found that
when working under the optimized conditions, our laser tube supports maximum gain
for the wavelength of interest, i.e. 632.8 nm. Hence direct measurement of radial gain
can be done on the laser medium working under these optimum conditions. The
methods for direct measurement were investigated and a suitable apparatus is
selected.
Phase II of the project involved construction of a suitable apparatus for the direct
measurement of gain and a campaign of measurements within the boundary of
parameters obtained from Phase I were conducted using different electrode
geometries. From the data obtained from this measurement, it can be concluded that
the curved electrode is better suited as it gives a more uniform plasma distribution
and more gain.
7.1 Future scope of the work
There is enormous scope for further work in characterization of the gain with various
parameters mentioned below to achieve maximum and uniform radial gain across the
gain tube at higher working voltage.
- Different degree of curved electrodes.

- Different sizes of electrodes
- Different He-Ne gas mixture ratio
- Different pressure
- Different lengths of plasma
Bibliography
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61-104 (1985).
[2] The Ring Laser Gyro; M. Faucheux, D. Fayoux, J. J. Roland. J. Optics
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[3] Sagnac Effect, E. Post, Reviews of Modern Physics, 39, 475-493
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[4] The Fundamental of Ring Laser Gyro, Frederick Aronowitz, RTO
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[13] An accurate determination of the radial distribution of gain at 633 nm
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[14] Gain Measurements at 543 nm in Helium Neon laser discharges; B S
Gray, I D Latimer and S P Spoor. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 29 5056,
1996.
[15] Measurement of gain distribution in the tube of helium-neon Laser (
=0.63 micron) under high frequency excitation, V A Tsarkov and M. I.
Molchanov, Optics and Spectroscopy, 35(2) 191,1973.
[16] Distribution of population Inversion across a He Ne discharge, Y V
Troitskii, V.P. Chebotaev, Optics and Spectroscopy, 20. 199-200,1966.
[17] Gain Distribution measurement in He Ne laser tubes, I. P. Mazanko,
M. I. Molchanov, N. D. D. Ogurok, M.V. Sivirdov, Optics and
Spectroscopy, 30. 495-497,1971.
[18] Effects of excitation conditions of population inversion in the active
element of He Ne laser, V G Leontev and E P Ostapchenko Optics and
Spectroscopy, 43(3), 321-325, 1977.
[19] Seismic Effects in Ring Lasers and Transverse Mode Selection in
Helium-Neon lasers, D. McLeod, PhD Thesis, University of Canterbury
1999.
[20] Richard Graham. Ring Laser Gain Media. MSc. Thesis, University of
Canterbury, New Zealand, 2006.
[21] Theoritical Description of Discharge Plasma and Calculation of

Maximum Output Intensity of He-Ne Waveguide Lasers as a Function of
Discharge Tube Radius; D. Schuocker, W. Reif, H. Lagger. Opt.
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[22] Effect of helium on population inversion in the helium-neon laser; R.
T, Young, C. S. Willett, R. T. Maupin. Journal of Applied Physics, 41,
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[23] Theoretical studies on high powered radio-frequency transverse-
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[24] Eugene. Hecht. Optics, Fourth edition .Pearson Education, 2002
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CHARACTERIZATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF GAIN

MEDIUM IN A RING LASER GYROSCOPE

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment for the award

OPTOELECTRONICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PHOTONICS

COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

KOCHI 682 022

COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,

KOCHI 682 022

Technology in Optoelectronics And Laser Technology is a bonafide record of the work

This project report was evaluated on ..

EXAMINER HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

2. Theory and background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3. Formulation of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 17

6. Results and discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

1.3 Organization of the report

2.1 Introduction to Laser Gyroscope

2.3 Sagnac Effect

RING LASER GYRO FIBER OPTIC GYRO

Figure 2.2: Types of Optical Gyroscopes

Interferometric FOGs are purely solid-state, require no mechanical dithering

2.5 Ring Laser Gyroscope

Another scheme devised to increase the sensitivity of an optical gyroscope is the

Figure 2.3: Schematic view of a Ring Laser Gyroscope

2.5.1 RLG Configuration

2.6 The Helium-Neon Laser System

Figure 2.4: He-Ne Laser transitions

2.7 Gain Medium and Radial Profile

Figure 2.6 Radial distribution for various arbitrary pumping powers.

Leontev and Ostapchenko [18] did a theoretical modelling of a DC pumped He Ne

Theoretical modeling is required to minimize the experimental iterations.

Finally, theoretical analysis is examined in terms of actual experimental data.

3.1 Theoretical analysis

3.1.1 Rate Equation Model

Figure 3.1: Simplified energy level diagram

1 Helium ground state 2 Helium 21S metastable level

At steady state, all the time derivatives are equal to zero.

3.1.2 Calculation of electron density (Ne)

10*x*He + 1*x*Ne =2.5 Torr

Partial pressure of Neon, PNe = 0.227 Torr

Total energy supplied for discharge is 10mJ.

Hence calculated electron density(Ne) in the plasma is,

3.1.3 Calculation of gain

Density of atoms in the ground state Ne can be found out by,

1 mole = 6.023*1023 atoms

1.2*10-6 moles = 7.2*1017 atoms

Density of Helium atoms in the ground state (HHe) is,

HNe = 7.518*1022 atoms/m3

Density of Neon atoms in the ground state (NNe) is,

NNe = 0.752*1022 atoms/m3

Density in excited state of Neon (N3s)* is ,

Density in excited state of Neon (N2p) is ,

Therefore gain is,

4.1 Indirect Method

Figure 4.1: Vacuum Setup

He Ne discharge in Zerodur tube

Figure 4.2: Enlarged view of laser cavity

4.1.1 Excitation Voltage Variation

Figure 4.3: Intensity of 632.8 nm Vs. Excitation voltage

4.1.2 Ratio Variation

Figure 4.4: Intensity of 632.8 nm Vs. Gas mix ratio

4.1.3 Pressure variation

Figure 4.5: Intensity of 632.8nm vs. Figure4.6: Intensity of 632.8 nm vs.

10xHe + 1xNe =2.5 Torr

1.210-6 moles = 7.21017 atoms