Laser fundamentals 1

Interaction of light with matter

Basic processes (A. Einstein, 1916)

E2 E2 E2

hν = E2 - E1 hν = E2 - E1 hν = E2 - E1
hν = E2 - E1

E1 E1 E1

Absorption Spontaneous emission Stimulated emission

9 transition probability B12 9 transition probability A21 9 transition probability B21
9 random phase and direction 9 has the same frequency and 
phase as the incident light
⇒ light amplification
Laser fundamentals 2

An ensemble of (two-level) atoms in equilibrium with black-body radiation at temperatute T:

Matter:
T N2 e − E 2 / kT
= − E1 / kT = e − h ν / kT Boltzmann [ν = (E2 - E1)/h]
N1 e
when E2 > E1 ⇒ N2 < N1
Field:
8πhν 3 1
energy density ρ(ν) = 3 hν / kT Planck
c e −1

In equilibrium: ρ(ν) B12 N1 = A21N2 + ρ(ν) B21 N2

A21 N 2 A21 8πhν 3 1
ρ(ν ) = = =
E2 N2 B12 N 1 − B 21 N 2 B12 e h ν / kT
− B 21 c 3
e h ν / kT
−1

 A21 8 π h ν 3 B12  h ν / kT  A21 8 π h ν 3 

B12 A21 B21  − 3 e − − 3 =0
B
 21 c B 21  B
 21 c 

E1 N1 (non-degenerate levels) A21 8 π h ν 3

=    and    B12 = B 21
B 21 c3
Laser fundamentals 3

Emission ρ(ν) =
8πhν 3
3
1
hν / kT
A21 8π h ν 3
=
c e −1 B 21 c3
Ratio of the emission rates:

stimulated emission ρ(ν ) B21 1 λ = 550 nm:

= = hν / kT << 1
spontaneou s emission A21 e −1
ρ (ν ) B21
= 1 when T ~ 41.000 K
™ thermal sources incoherent A21

Stimulated processes
B12 = B21 and N2 < N1
™ in a large atom population:
netto effect = absorption

An artificial population inversion (N2 > N1) is needed to allow light

amplification by stimulated emission

= LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
Laser fundamentals 4

PUMPING
™ Creating population inversion

3
fast
relaxation
2

PUMPING LASER 1) Optical pumping (lamp, another laser)

2) Electron excitation (electrical discharge)
1 3) Inelastic atom-atom or
fast molecule-molecule collisions
relaxation A∗ + B → A + B∗
0
4) Chemical reaction
e.g. H2 + F2 → 2 HF

Created in an excited state
Laser fundamentals 5
™ 4-level laser
dN 1 4-level system
= − γ 10 N 1 + γ 21 N 2
dt
3 γ30 , γ31 << γ32 dN 2
γ32 = − γ 21 N 2 + γ 32 N 3
γ20 << γ21 dt In equilibrium:
2
dN 3 dN i
γ21 = Γ N 0 − γ 32 N 3 =0
Γ dt dt
1 dN 0 dN 1 dN 2 dN 3
− = + +
γ10  dt dt dt dt
0

Γ Γ Γ
N1 = N0       N2 = N0       N3 = N0
γ10 γ 21 γ32
™ 3-level laser
γ −γ 
3 N 2 − N1 =  10 21 ΓN 0
γ32  γ10 γ 21 
2
If γ10 > γ21
Γ γ21
⇒ Population inversion: N2 > N1 as soon as Γ > 0
1
Population inversion much easier to achieve
Population inversion: N2 > N1 , when Γ > γ21 in a 4-level system
Laser fundamentals 6
OPTICAL RESONATOR
™ In electronics: amplifier + feedback → oscillator
™ Laser is an optical oscillator, which requires optical feedback to operate

E.g. maser resonator

What type of a resonator ? amplification eigenmodes

µ-waves, radiowaves:
closed resonator
λ
L
λ ~ L → modes wide apart

In the optical region:

λ << practically possible L → a closed cavity supports an ‘impossible’ number of modes

Solution: decrease the number of modes by keeping only the end facets!

Drawback: diffraction losses

Laser fundamentals 7
Laser has an open resonator M M
™ in its simlest form: two mirrors facing each other
™ assume: empty cavity
™ phase factor due to propagation: z
∝ e-ikz ( k = 2π/λ = 2πν/c ) L
™ one round trip through the resonator:
the phase must change by a multiple of 2π
→ resonance frequencies the phase condition defines the
Phase change in mirror reflection LONGITUDINAL (OR AXIAL) MODE STRUCTURE

c
− 2 L ⋅ k + 2 δ = 2 πp p = 0, ±1, ±2 ...
2L
δc c
ν = − p
2 πL 2L ••• •••
ν
c
separation between successive resonances: ∆ν = = constant
2L
Laser fundamentals 8
AMPLIFYING MEDIUM placed in OPTICAL RESONATOR ⇒ LASER

Eigenmodes of the laser resonator:

Linewidth
c 2
δν1/ 2 =
2δν1/2 4πL F
(OBS! NOT the laser linewidth)
4R
F=
(1 − R) 2
c (R = mirror reflectivity)
∆ν =
2L

Losses
ï scattering

Output Intensity
Amplification

ï diffraction
ï mirrors

losses
ν
ν
Laser fundamentals 9
What happens when pumping is gradually increased?
LASER THRESHOLD (limit where round-trip gain exceeds total loss)
™ Under threshold: (spontaneous emission)
9 radiation isotropic
9 incoherent, thermal light
9 broad spectrum

™ Above threshold: (stimulated emission)

9 laser output in a directed, narrow beam
Np
9 coherent light
9 narrow spectrum

™ Np ’explodes’ at the threshold

™ Above threshold Np increases linearly as

a function of pumping
™ Above threshold the population inversion
Np = cavity photon number stays at its threshold value
r = normalized pump rate ⇒ spontaneous emission stays
at its threshold value
Laser fundamentals 10

Summary: ™ Optical pumping

™ Electron excitation
PUMPING ™ Inelastic atom-atom or
molecule-molecule collisions
™ Chemical reaction

LASER BEAM

LASER MEDIUM

• solid
• gas
R ~ 100 % • liquid R < 100 %
• semiconductor

OPTICAL RESONATOR
Laser fundamentals 11
LASER RESONATOR CONFIGURATIONS

Unstable resonator
Laser fundamentals 12

TRANSVERSE MODE STRUCTURE: CONFOCAL RESONATOR
A transverse mode is a field configuration on the 
surface of one reflector that propagates to the other 
Fresnel - Kirchhoff :
reflector and back, returning in the same pattern,  (essentially Huygen’s principle in mathematical form)
apart from a complex amplitude factor (that gives 
ik e −ikρ
the total phase shift and loss of the round trip. E 2 ( x ' , y ') = − ∫∫ E (x, y )
1 [cosθ + 1]dxdy
4π ρ
ik e −ikρ
M1 M2
≅−
2π ∫∫ E (x, y )
1
ρ
dxdy

(x, y) R
E1(x, y) θ ρ (xí, yí) xx' yy '
E2(xí, yí)
R >>  x, y, xí, yí ⇒ρ≅ R− −
R R
z Integration limits → ± ∞

+∞  xx ' yy ' 
R ik e − ikR ik  +
E2(xí,yí) ≅ −
2π R ∫∫ E (x, y )e
−∞
1
 R R 
dxdy

9 M1 and M2 : radius of curvature = R

9 cos θ ~ 1
2-D Fourier transform
Laser fundamentals 13

For an eigenmode: field distribution is stationary inside the resonator

™ E1 returns to itself after one round trip
™ Symmetry ⇒ for the main modes: E2 =   E1 Hermite polynomials:

H 0 ( x) = 1
E ∝ H m (x )H n ( y ) e − a
2 2 2 2
x −b y
™ ⇒ E1 is its own F -transform: H1 ( x ) = 2 x
(cf. Quantum mechanics / harmonic oscillator) H 2 ( x ) = 2( 2 x 2 − 1)
M
TEMmn - modes
+∞
TEM00 - mode ik e − ikR
 xx ' yy ' 
ik  + 
E2 ( x ', y ' ) ≅ − ∫∫ E ( x, y ) e
1
 R R 
dxdy
2π R −∞
Ansatz: E1(x,y) =e ( )
− x 2 + y 2 / r02

+∞ +∞
ik e − ikR +∞
π
∫e dx ∫ e
E2(xí,yí) − x 2 / r02 ikxx ' / R − y 2 / r02 ikyy ' / R
=− e e dy ∫ e e dx =
2 2 2
i ξx / 4a 2
−a x
e −ξ
2π R −∞ −∞ −∞
a
k 2 r02
ik e − ikR − (x ' 2
+ y '2 )
E2(xí,yí) =− πr02 e 4R2
2π R
Laser fundamentals 14
k 2 r02
(x ' )
e ( )
2
− x +y 2
/ r02 ik e − ikR − 2
+ y '2 1 kr0 2R
E1 ≡ E2 : =− π r02 e 4R 2
⇒ = ⇒ r0 =
2π R r0 2 R k

Gaussian intensity distribution on the mirrors:
Phase factor: e-i(kR+π/2)
 π
⇒ for one round trip: 2δ - π - 2Rk = 2πp
( 2
−ikR − x ' + y '
2
) / r02 −i kR+ 
E2 = −ie e =e  2
E1 [ for a plane mirror resonator: 2δ - 2Lk = 2πp ]

™OBS.     At x = r0
R 2 1 2
E × E
x = r0 =
x =0
e2
™ The mode is completely
x
determined by the resonator 
2r0 geometry (and λ)
2r0 ™Spot size on mirrors:
2 E.g. λ = 633 nm, R = 1 m
Wave front Intensity distribution
⇒ 2r0 = 0.9 mm (small !!)
Laser fundamentals 15
HIGHER ORDER TEMnm MODES

TEM00 TEM10 TEM20

OBS. To each transverse mode there corresponds
a set of longitudinal modes spaced by c/2L
TEM30 TEM60 TEM11

TEM21 TEM22 TEM23

Laser fundamentals 16
SINGLE TRANSVERSE MODE OPERATION

TEM00, TEM10, TEM20 modes:

Intensity distribution in the transverse plane
1.2

1.0
Intensity (a.u.)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Transverse distance (a.u.)

™ Higher order transverse modes can be ‘killed’

with a suitable aperture in the cavity
Laser fundamentals 17
L
LONGITUDINAL MODE
2L
λ=
λ 7
L = m⋅ , m = integer
z 2L
2 λ=
6

SINGLE LONGITUDINAL MODE OPERATION
c
1) ∆ν = ⇒ by shortening L, the modes get further apart 2) Lower amplification (reduced pumping)
2L

Amplification
Amplification

loss loss

ν ν

™ 1) and 2) allow only low powers to be obtained (of no practical use)

Laser fundamentals 18

3) Generate additional losses for the extra modes by placing frequency selective optical elements
in the laser resonator

OBS. The lasing mode gets some of the gain of the killed modes
→ higher power/mode
Laser fundamentals 19

LASER PROPERTIES 

™ Wavelength range
™ 10 - 15 nm → 100 - 500 µm (100 eV → 0.01 eV)
™ tunable lasers: dye laser, diode laser, Ti:Sapphire laser …

™ Monochromaticity
™ typically ∆ν ~ 1 MHz - 1 GHz
™ at best ∆λ = ∆ν ≈ 1 − 100
14
 Hz
~ 10 −15 − 10 −12
λ ν 5 ⋅ 10 Hz

™ Directionality
λ
™ δΘ ≈ d  , (d = beam diameter)
™ typically δΘ ~1 mrad, with extra collimation → 1 µrad
Laser fundamentals 20
™ Coherence
™ coherence time ∆τ = 1/∆ν
™ e.g. ∆ν = 1 MHz → ∆τ = 1 µs
™ coherence length ∆z = c ⋅ ∆τ
™ e.g. ∆z = c ⋅ ∆τ = 3 ⋅ 108 m/s ⋅ 1 µs = 300 m

™ Spectral brightness
™ βν = Pν / A ∆Ω ∆ν [W/cm2-sr-Hz]
™ Sun βν ~ 1.5 ⋅ 10-12 W/cm2-sr-Hz
™ HeNe-laser (1 mW) βν ~ 25 W/cm2-sr-Hz
™ Nd:glass-laser (10 GW) βν ~ 2 ⋅ 108 W/cm2-sr-Hz

™ Operation mode
™ CW (continuous wave)
™ pulsed operation
™ shortest pulses < 10 fs (10-14 s)
™ peak power at best tens of TW
 Most common laser lines

[µm] [µm]
0.15 Molecular Fluorine (F2) 0.158 1.0
ArF excimer 0.192
KrCl excimer 0.222
KrF excimer 0.248
Ar ion 0.275-0.306 XeCl excimer 0.308 HeNe 1.15
He-Cd 0.325
Ar or Kr ion 0.33-0.36 N2 0.337
Ne 0.33-0.38 XeF excimer 0.351
0.4 Nd:YLF 1.313
He-Cd 0.442 I2 1.315
Ar ion 0.45-0.52 Nd:YAG 1.32
Cu vapor 0.51 InGaAsP diode 1.2-1.6
0.5
Xe ion 0.48-0.54
HeNe 0.543
Cu vapor 0.578
Pulsed dye 0.32-1.0 HeNe 0.594
HeNe 0.612 Au vapor 0.628
InGaAlP diode 0.63-0.66 HeNe 0.633 1.5 Color center 1.4-1.6 HeNe 1.523
He-Cd 0.636
GaInP diode 0.67 Er-amplifier 1.54
0.7 Ruby 0.694
HeNe 0.73
Alexandrite 0.72-0.8
Color center 2.3-3.3 Holmium 2.1
2.0 HF chemical 2.6-3.0 Er:YAG 2.94
GaAlAs diode 0.75-0.9
DF chemical 3.6-4.0 HeNe 3.39
CO 5-6
Ti:Sapphire 0.68-1.13
CO2 9-11
1.0 InGaAs diode 0.98 10.0 N2O 10-11
Nd:(YAG,Glass,YLF) 1.06
Wavelength Wavelength Lead Salt diode 3.3-29