UNIT I : LASERS and OPTICAL FIBERS

LASER is acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser light
is different from ordinary light. Laser is a device that produces a beam of coherent,
monochromatic, intense and directional light. Hence laser light is highly organized. This is
because the waves of a laser beam move in phase with each other, travel in a narrow path and in
one direction. But in the case of an ordinary light it spreads out, travels in different directions
and hence it is incoherent. On account of these special properties lasers are the most versatile and
exploited tools in different fields such as Engineering, Medicine, Defense, Entertainment,
Communication etc., Other common applications of lasers include reading the bar code, cutting
and welding metals, displaying in light show, playing music, printing documents, guiding
missile to its target and so on.
Basic principles: Interaction of Radiation with Matter
Production of laser light is a consequence of interaction of radiation with matter under
appropriate conditions. The interaction of radiation with matter leads to transition of the quantum
system such as an atom or a molecule of the matter from one quantum energy state to another
quantum state.
A material medium is composed of identical atoms or molecules each of which is
characterized by a set of discrete allowed energy levels. An atom can move from one energy
state to another when it receives or releases an amount of energy equal to the energy difference
between those two states, which is termed as a quantum jump or transition.
Consider a two energy level system with energies E 1 and E2 of an atom. E1 is the energy
of lower energy state and E2 is the energy of excited state. The energy levels E1 and E2 are
identical to all the atoms in the medium. The radiation (either absorbed or emitted) may be
viewed as a stream of photons of energy (E2-E1) = hν interacting with the material. These
interactions lead to any one of the following

 Absorption of radiation
 Spontaneous emission of radiation
 Stimulated emission of radiation
Absorption:

An atom in the lower energy state E1 may absorb the incident photon of energy (E1-E2) and
go to the excited state E2. This transition is known as absorption. For each transition made by
an atom one photon disappears from the incident beam.
for an atom A,
A + hν A* (excited state)
The number of absorption transitions per second occurring in the material at any instant of
time will be proportional to
(i) No of atoms in the ground state N1
(ii) Energy density of the incident radiation (Uν)

Rate of absorption = B12UνN1

where B12 is proportionality constant which gives the probability of absorptions per unit time is
called Einstein co-efficient of absorption.
As the number of atoms in the lower energy state is greater, the material absorbs the incident
radiation and the process leads to attenuation of radiation.
Higher or excited energy state is unstable as any system seeks out the lowest energy state.
Therefore the excited atoms do not stay in the excited state for long time. They tend to return to
the lower state by giving up the excess energy hυ = (E 2-E1) in the form of spontaneous emission.

Note: Subscript 12 represents transition is from lower to higher level.

Spontaneous Emission:
An atom which is at E2 state may return to the lower state E1 on its own during which
(E2-E1) = hυ is emitted, the process is known as spontaneous emission.
This spontaneous transition can be expressed as
A* A + hυ

The number of spontaneous transitions per second depends on the number of atoms N2 in the
excited state.
Rate of spontaneous emission = A21N2
Where A21 is proportionality constant which gives the probability of spontaneous emissions per
unit time is called Einstein co-efficient of spontaneous emission of radiation.
The process has no control from outside. The instant of transition, direction of emission of
photon, phase of the photon and its polarization state all are random quantities. There will not
be any correlation among the parameters of the innumerable photons emitted spontaneously by
the assembly of atoms in the medium. Therefore the light generated by the source will be
incoherent (ex; light emitted from conventional sources). It contains the superposition of many
waves of random phases and the net intensity of such incoherent waves is proportional to the
number of radiating atoms.

Stimulated Emission:
A mechanism of forced emission was first predicted by Einstein in 1916 in which an atom in
the excited state need not wait for the spontaneous emission to take place. A photon of energy
hυ = (E2-E1), can induce the excited atom to make downward transition and emit light. Thus, the
interaction of a photon with an excited atom triggers it to drop down to the ground state (lower
energy) by emitting a photon. The process is known as induced or stimulated emission of
radiation.
A * + hυ A + 2 hυ

The number of stimulated transitions per sec in the material is proportional to

(i) No of atoms in the ground state N2
(ii) Energy density of the incident radiation (Uν)
Rate of stimulated emission= B21UνN2
Where B21 is proportionality constant which gives the probability of stimulated emissions per
unit time is called Einstein co-efficient of induced (stimulated) emission.
The process of stimulated emission has the following properties.
(i) The emitted photon is identical to the incident photon in all respects. (It has the same
frequency; it will be in phase and will travel in the same direction and will be in the same state of
polarization.
(ii) The process can be controlled from outside.
(iii) Multiplication of photons takes place in the process. The number of atoms is very large.
Coherent emission leads to an enormously high intense light. This process is the key for laser
action.

Expression for energy density of incident radiation in terms of Einstein coefficients

Einstein’s theory of absorption and emission of light by an atom is based on Plank’s theory
of radiation. Also under thermal equilibrium, the population of energy levels obeys Boltzmann’s
distribution law.
 To get a relationship among Einstein coefficients, let us consider atoms are to be in thermal
equilibrium with radiation field, which means that the energy density U γ is constant in spite of
the interaction that is taking place between itself and the incident radiation. This is possible only
if the number of photons absorbed by the system per second is equal to the number of photons it
emits by both the stimulated and spontaneous emission processes.
At thermal equilibrium,
Rate of absorption = Rate of spontaneous emission + Rate of stimulated emission
B12N1Uγ = A21N2 + B21N2Uγ
or Uγ (B12N1 – B21N2) = A21N2

A 21N 2
U 
B12N1  B21N 2
rearranging above equation we get

 
A 21  1 
U    --------- (1)
B 21  B12N1  1 
B N 
 21 2 

In a state of thermal equilibrium, the populations of energy levels E 2 and E1 are fixed by
the Boltzmann factor. The population ratio is given by,
E 2 E1
N2 ( )
e kT
N1
 E  E1  h
 2   kT
N 2  N1e  kT 
 N1e

h
N1
 e kT
N2

 Equation (1) becomes,

  
 
A 21  1 
U  ------ (2)
B 21  B12 h  1 
 e kT 

 21
B 


According to Planck's law, the equation for U  is,

 
8h 3  1 
U 
c 3  kTh
1 
-------(3)
e 

Now comparing the equation (2) and (3) term by term on the basis of positional identity we have

A 21 8h 3
 3
B 21 c

and

B12
1 or B12  B21
B21
this implies that the probability of induced absorption is equal to the probability of stimulated
emission.
Because of the above identity, the subscripts could be dropped, and A21 and B21 can be simply
represented as A and B and equation (3) can be rewritten.
 At thermal equilibrium the equation for energy density is

A 1
U  h
B
[e kT
 1]
Conditions for light amplification:-
At thermal equilibrium,
Stimulated Emission B21 N 2U B21U
 
Spon tan eous Emission A21 N 2 A21
This suggests that in order to enhance the number of stimulated transitions the radiation density
Uν should be made high.
stimulated Emission B21 N 2U B21 N 2
 
Stimulated Absorption B12 N1U B12 N1

If B21=B12, The stimulated emission will be larger than the absorption only when N2>N1. If

N2>N1 the stimulated emission dominates the absorption otherwise the medium will absorb the

energy. This condition of N2>N1 is known as inverted population state or population inversion.

Requisites of a laser system:

The three essential components of a laser are

 An active medium to support population inversion
 Pumping mechanism to excite the atoms to higher energy levels
 An optical cavity or optical resonator

Active medium:

It is the material medium composed of atoms or ions or molecules in which the laser action is

made to take place, which can be a solid or liquid or even a gas. In this only a few atoms of the

medium (of particular species) are responsible for stimulated emission. They are called active

centers and the remaining medium simply supports the active centers.

In a state of thermal equilibrium the populations of energy level E2 and E1 are given by

Boltzmann factor.

N2= N1 exp [-(E2-E1)/kT]

The negative exponent indicates that N2<<N1 in thermal equilibrium state.

Pumping Mechanism:

For the population inversion to be achieved in the active medium, the atoms are to be raised

to the excited state continuously. It requires energy to be supplied to the system. The process of

supplying energy to the medium with a view to transfer the medium into population inversion

state is called pumping.

Important pumping mechanisms are

(a) Optical pumping: It employs a suitable light source for excitation of desired atoms. This

method is adopted in solid state lasers (ex: Ruby laser).

(b) Electric discharge: In this electric field causes ionization in the medium and raises it to the

excited state. This technique is used in gas lasers (ex: Ar+ laser).

(c) Inelastic atom-atom collision : In this method a combination of two types of gases are used,

say A and B. During electric discharge A atoms get excited and they now collide with B atoms

so that B goes to excited state. This technique is used in gas lasers (ex: He-Ne laser).

(d) Direct conversion : In this process electrical energy is directly converted into light energy.

This technique is used in semiconductor lasers (ex: GaAs laser).

The Principal pumping Schemes:

Three level system:

E1, E2 and E3 are the ground and the excited levels. The atoms are readily excited to upper
most level E3 (pumping level) when light of frequency hυ = (E 3-E1) is incident on them. As E3 is
not a stable state atoms undergo downward transition either to E 2 or E1 level. E3—>E1
probability is comparable with E3—>E2, where E2 is meta stable state (life time is ~10-3 sec) and
E2—>E1 probability is very small. As the medium is exposed to a radiation of frequency ν, large
number of atoms will be in excited state E3 . Some of these atoms make spontaneous transitions
lowest level E1 but many of them make a spontaneous transition to a meta stable state E2 through
a non-radiative transition. Transitions E 2 to E1 occur rarely and the atoms get trapped in E 2. The
process continues due to pumping and after a short time there will be large number of atoms at
E2 level. When more than half of the ground state atoms reach E 2, the population inversion is
achieved between E1 and E2. Now a photon of energy ΔE = E2-E1, can trigger the stimulated
emission at E2.
Three level system (ex; Ruby laser)

Non-radiative
transition
Metastable state
E2
hυ = (E3-E1).

hυ = (E2-E1).
lasing transition
E1

Four level System (ex. He-Ne laser) :-

pumping level
E4
(rapid decay, non radiative)
hν = E4-E1 E3 metastable
laser emission

E2 lower energy level

(non radiative)
E1
ground level
The pumping frequency lifts the active centers from the ground level E 1 to the upper most E4
from which the atoms rapidly fall to metastable state E3. The population of E3 grows rapidly,
while the level E2 is virtually empty. Therefore population inversion is achieved between E 2 and
E3. A photon of energy E3-E2 can stimulate a transition.

Optical resonator:
Optical resonator constitutes an active medium kept between a 100% reflecting and a partially
reflecting (90-100%) mirror. Light amplification by an active medium is supported by placing it
in an optical cavity. A photon spontaneously emitted by an atom acts as the input and starts
stimulated emission. A positive feedback enhances the act of stimulated emission. The
spontaneous photons emitted by the atoms independently in various directions may lead to an
incoherent light. An intense beam of light can be available only when the optical gain of the
system exceeds the optical loss. A large radiation density is also required to keep the
stimulated emission dominating. All the above conditions are met with the help of an optical
cavity resonator, which converts the active medium into a light generator.

Active medium

100%
reflecting mirror partially
reflecting mirror

In the above diagram, the active medium is in between two mirrors. Through a suitable
pumping technique population inversion is achieved. Spontaneous photons are emitted in
random directions. The ones which are along the axis travel to and fro and get amplified. After
acquiring sufficient energy it comes out through the partially reflecting mirror. Such photons
which are not along the axis are lost to the surroundings.
The wave properties of light require that the waves should take the standing wave pattern for
resonance. If L is the optical path length between the two mirrors, 2L=mλ, where, ‘m’ is an
integer. The wavelengths satisfying the above condition are only amplified.
Helium-Neon (He-Ne) Laser:
Important characteristics of He-Ne laser are
Type : Gas laser (atomic)
Example : Four level laser system
Active medium : Mixture of He & Ne gas (10:1)
Pumping method : Inelastic atom-atom collision
Optical resonator : Pair of mirrors facing each other
Power output : 0.5 – 50 mW
Nature of output : continuous waves
Wavelength of output : 6328 Ao

Helium-Neon laser is a gas laser with operating wavelength of 632.8 nm which is in the red
portion of the visible spectrum. It is first successfully operated gas laser gives a continuous laser
beam. This is designed by Ali Javan and his co-workers William Bennett Jr. and Donald Herriott
at Bell Labs in USA.
The schematic diagram of He-Ne laser is given in the figure. He-Ne laser consists of
discharge tube made of fused quartz with length and diameter respectively of about 1m and
1.5cm. The discharge tube is filled with a mixture of helium and neon gases in the ratio 10 : 1.
Helium and neon gases are chosed because certain energy levels of helium coincides with energy
levels of neon. The tube with the gases is sealed at both ends using flat quartz plates which
function as Brewster’s windows. Two optically flat mirrors are fixed on either side of the tube
normal to the axis; one of the mirrors is fully silvered, while the other is partially silvered. An
electric discharge is produced through the gases by applying a high voltage across the electrodes
in the tube. The optical output power of He-Ne laser in the range of 1 mW to 100 mW
 Fig : Schematic diagram of He- Ne Laser

Working:

The He-Ne laser employs four-level pumping scheme. The energy level diagram of He and
Ne atoms are shown in the figure. When power is switched on, a high voltage of about 1000V is
applied across the gas discharge tube. It is sufficient to ionize the gas. During discharge many
electrons released from the atoms. A large number of electrons thus produced will be accelerated
and attain high velocities. Frequently these electrons will collide with helium atoms. In this
collision, the energetic electrons loose part of their energy to the helium atoms which are excited
to the meta stable levels 21S and 23S. This is represented as

He + electrical energy He*

where He* represents excited He atom

The excited helium atoms collide with the neon atoms, which are in their ground state. Because
of the matching of the energy levels, resonant transfer of energy takes place from helium to neon
atoms. As a result neon atoms are excited from the ground state to the 3S and 2S levels, whereas
helium atoms return to the ground state. This type of collision is represented as

He* + Ne He + Ne*
Where Ne and Ne* refers neon atoms in the ground and excited states respectively.
Fig: The energy level diagram of He – Ne laser

Thus the population of the 3S and 2S levels of neon atom increases rapidly which leads to
population inversion. Once the population inversion is established between the high energy state
with respect to lower ones, then the system gives rise to three main types of laser transitions,
they are

3S 3P gives out radiation of wavelength 33912A (IR)

3S 2P gives out radiation of wavelength 6328 A (VIS)
2S 2P gives out radiation of wavelength 11523 A (IR)

Once the atoms come to the 3P and 2P energy levels they make a rapid spontaneous
transition to the 1S level, which is again metastable state. The neon atoms tend to stay at this
level for a relatively long time. This will affect the condition of population inversion because
when atoms in the 3P and 2P levels transit to the 1S level the photons tend to re-excite the atoms
back to the 3P be more than that of 3S and 2S levels. This adversely affects the production of
laser. Therefore it is very essential that the 1S level be rapidly depopulated. This is can be made
possible by the collisions of Ne atoms with the walls of the tube. Therefore the tube is a made as
narrow as possible so that the number of collisions of the neon atoms increases with the walls the
tube. Thus the efficiency of laser production is inversely proportional to the diameter of the
tube. Once started, the production of laser is continuous and the output is taken from the partially
silvered mirror in the form of continuous wave trains. In He-Ne laser major spectral line 6328 Ao
is emitted as output and all other lines are eliminated in the process of reflection.
Applications
He-Ne laser is used to produce holograms, to read bar codes, in surveying, engineering
construction etc.

Semiconductor diode laser:

There is another class of lasers which are compact lasers amongst all lasers and convert
electrical energy directly into optical energy (light) with no need of a separate energy unit as in
other conventional lasers. In a semiconductor laser two kinds of semiconductor materials with
different properties are joined together to form a junction. One is doped with donor impurities
called n-type and other is doped with acceptor impurities called p-type.
Basically semiconductor laser is a heavily doped (~1024 impurity atoms/m2) forward biased
p-n junction diode made up of direct band gap semiconductors (like GaAs, GaP, InS). Direct
band gap materials have high probability of recombining electrons with holes thereby emitting
radiation in the form of photons. These lasers are also called as injection lasers since laser action
is achieved by minority carrier injection.
Theory: When the p-n junction is forward biased by an external voltage source, excess charge
carriers moves across the depletion region which results in the production of photons. Diode
lasers have threshold level of current across the junction above which the laser action occurs and
below which emitted photons are incoherent. As the forward current is increased to above
threshold level, more photons are produced which drift randomly in depletion region, strike
another atom and release more photons. All these photons move back and forth between two
reflecting surfaces. The photon activity becomes so intense that at some point a strong beam of
laser light comes out of the partially reflective surface of the diode.

Important characteristics of diode laser are

Type : Semiconductor laser
Active medium : p-n junction region
Pumping method : Direct pumping
Optical resonator : Two polished opposite parallel faces of p-n junction diode
Power output : 1-10 mW
Nature of output : Pulses or continuous waves

Construction:
Semiconductor laser was first constructed by Hall et.al. in 1962. The active medium in these
lasers is p-n junction diode and hence they are also known as diode lasers. Diode laser consists of
a heavily doped p-n junction diode with small in dimensions (0.1X0.1X0.3 mm). The top and
bottom faces the diode are metalized and p-region and n- region are connected to positive and
negative terminals of the source respectively. The front and rear faces are well polished parallel
to each other and perpendicular to the plane of the junction. The polished faces form the
arrangement of optical cavity called Fabry - Perot cavity. The other two opposite faces are
roughened to prevent the lasing action along that direction.

Fig: Schematic construction of semiconductor laser

Working:
The region around the junction contains large number of electrons in conduction band and
holes in valance band. As the population density increases population inversion is achieved.
When the diode is biased in forward direction, electrons from n-region and holes from p-region
flow across the junction and recombine with each other. Since the semiconductor is direct band
gap, high concentration of electron-hole recombination is radiative and causes spontaneous
emission of photons with wavelength λ = hc /Eg (h = Plank’s constant, c = velocity of light, E g =
Energy gap of the semiconductor). If the current across the junction is greater than threshold
current density optical amplification takes place in active region. The spontaneously released
photons trigger the stimulated emissions which results with the emission of photons in phase
with the stimulating photons. The photons are travelling back and forth due to the reflection by
the resonator gets amplification and emerges as laser beam from the junction region of partially
reflecting face.

Fig: Energy band diagram of a diode laser

Semiconductor diode lasers are two types

1. Homojunction lasers : A p-n junction with the same type of material on either sides of
the junction is known as homojunction lasers.
Ex: GaAs Laser
 2. Hetero Junction lasers : A p-n junction with different type of material on either sides of
the junction is known as heterojunction lasers.
Ex: GaAlAs Laser

Draw backs of homojunction lasers:

 Threshold current density is very large
 Only pulsed mode output is obtained
 Laser output beam has large beam divergence
 Poor coherence and poor stability

Advantages of heterojunction lasers:

 Threshold current density is low
 Continuous mode operation is possible
 Very narrow beam with high coherence and monochromacity is obtained
 Highly stable and longer life time

Advantages of semiconductor diode lasers:

 Small in size make them good choice for many applications
 Low cost
 Construction is very simple
 High efficiency
 Low power consumption

Applications
They are used in optical communications, reading devices in compact disc players, laser
printers, laser pointers etc.
Characteristics of Laser beam
 Directionality: The design of the resonant cavity, especially the orientation of the mirrors to
the cavity axis ensures that laser output is limited to only a specific direction. Since laser
emits photons in a particular direction, the divergence is less when compared the other
ordinary sources.
 Monochromacity: The laser beam is characterized by a high degree of monochromacity
(single wavelength or frequency) than any other conventional monochromatic sources of
light. Ordinary light spreads over a wide range of frequencies, where as laser contains only
one frequency. The spectral bandwidth is comparatively very less when compared to
ordinary light. Hence the degree of monochromacity is very high in lasers.
 Coherence: The degree of coherence of a laser beam is very high than the other sources.
The light from laser source consists of wave trains that are in identical in phase. Laser
radiation has high degree of special and temporal coherence.
 High Intensity: The laser beam is highly intense. Since wave trains are added in phase and
hence amplitudes are added. Laser light emits as a narrow beam and its energy is
concentrated in a small region. Since all the energy is concentrated in the particular focus
point, it is highly intense and bright. When laser beam is focused on a surface, the energy
incident is of the order of millions of joules.
 Focus ability: Since laser is highly monochromatic, it can be focused very well by a lens.
Yet it is so sharp the diameter of the spot will be close to the wavelength of the focused
light. It can be focused to a very small area 0.7m2. Since even laser is not ideally
monochromatic the spot diameter in actual cases will be 100 to 150 times larger than the
wavelength.

Applications of Lasers
Applications of lasers are wide spread over various scientific disciplines like Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, Communication, Holography, Material processing, Industry etc.,
 In industry lasers are mainly used in cutting, welding and drilling processes.
Welding:

Laser light

the

Welding spot

In the welding process the laser beam is focused on to a spot to be welded. Due to heat
generation, the material melts over a tiny area on which beam focused. As a result an impurity
such as oxides floats upon the surface. On cooling the material within becomes homogenous
solid structure which makes weld strong. In the laser welding process No destruction occurs in
the regions around the welded portion. Since it is a contact less process no foreign material
comes in contact in to the welded joint. Further since the heat-affected zone is small, laser
welding is ideal in areas such as microelectronics.
CO2 lasers are the most popular ones in this particular application.
 Advantages of laser welding are
 High quality and speed
 Weld dissimilar metals
 No need of filler
 Welding can be done in inaccessible areas
Cutting:

Laser cutting is generally done assisted by gas

blowing. In this process a jet of gas is issued through
Laser light
nozzle right at the spot where laser beam is focused. The
combustion of the gas burns the metal thus reducing the
laser power requirement for cutting. The tiny splinters
along with the molten part of metal will be blown away by
oxygen jet. The blowing action increases the depth and
speed of the cutting process
Advantages:
 The quality of cutting is very high.
 Complicated 3D cutting profiles is possible.
 There will be no thermal damage and chemical change when cutting is done to regions
around cut area.
 High edge quality
 No wear and tear of cutting tool
 Minimal amount of mechanical distortion

Drilling:
Drilling of holes is achieved by subjecting materials to laser pulses of duration 10-4to 10-3
second. The intense heat generated over a short duration by the pulses evaporates the material
locally, thus leaving a hole.
Advantages:
 In conventional methods tools wear out while drilling whereas the problem doesn't exist
with laser setup.
 Drilling can be achieved at any angle.
 Very fine holes of diameter 0.2 to 0.5mm could be drilled with a laser beam
 Very hard materials or brittle materials could be subjected to laser drilling since there is
no mechanical stress with a laser beam.

ND-YAG laser is used to drill holes in metals, where as CO2 laser is used in case of metallic
and non -metallic materials.

Measurement of pollutant in atmosphere

There are various types of pollutants in the atmosphere they are oxides of nitrogen, carbon
monoxide, sulphur dioxide. In conventional technique the type and the concentration of
pollutants in the atmosphere are determined by the chemical analysis. However this is not a real
time data. This limitation can be overcome by using laser which yields a real time data.
In the measurement of pollutant, laser is made use of the way RADAR system is used. Hence it
is often referred to as LIDAR which means light detection and ranging. A LIDAR can be
employed to measure distance, altitude & angular coordinates of the object.
In LIDAR

 Ruby lasers used as transmitting source which sends the laser beam through the desired
region of the atmosphere.
 The receiving part consists of concave mirror collects scattered light. The mirror focuses
the light on to a photo-detector which converts the light energy into electrical energy. A
narrowband filter is used to cuts off extraneous light and background noise. Then the
electrical signal is fed to a computer a data processor, which gives information regarding
distance, dimensions of the object etc.

Two methods can be employed to know the composition of the pollutants

(i) Absorption technique (ii) Raman back scattering
Absorption technique:
When laser beam is made to pass through the atmosphere then molecules can either absorb
light of certain frequencies or scatter light of certain frequencies. Depending upon the
characteristic absorption pattern, the composition of the pollutant molecules can be determined.
Raman back scattering:
In this method also laser light is passed through the sample, and the spectrum of the
transmitted light is obtained. Since laser is highly monochromatic we expect to see only one line
in the spectrum but due to Raman scattering, in the spectrum not one but several other lines of
weak frequencies can be seen symmetrically. Additional spectral lines are called side bands and
their result when the oscillating frequencies of the molecules of the gas are added to or
subtracted from the incident's light's frequency. The oscillating frequencies of different types of
molecule will be different, different gases produce different side bands .the shift in frequencies
are termed as Raman shifts. Thus by observing Raman spectra of the back-scattered light in the
gas sample one can get the information about the composition of the pollutants.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS (2 marks)
1) Define the terms:
a) Spontaneous emission.
b) Stimulated Emission.
c) Active medium.
d) Population inversion.
2) Explain any one of the industrial applications of laser.
3) Give any two differences between the laser light and ordinary light.
4) Why two energy level system is not feasible to obtain laser action at thermal equilibrium?
Explain.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS (5 marks)
1) Discuss the requisites of a laser system.
2) Explain the construction and working of He-Ne laser.
3) Discuss the conditions required for laser action.
4) Write a note on measurement of pollutants in atmosphere using laser.
5) Mention the basic requirements for a laser.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS (8 marks)
1. Explain the three processes which takes place when radiation interacts with matter.
2. Explain the terms stimulated emission and population inversion. Obtain an expression for
energy density of photons in terms of Einstein’s co-efficients.
3. Explain the construction and working of He-Ne laser with energy level diagram.
4. Discuss the industrial applications of Laser.
5. Explain the characteristics of a laser beam.
6. Explain the working principle of a semiconductor laser using band diagram and discuss its
advantages.
 OPTICAL FIBERS

Optical fibers are the light guides used in optical communications as wave-guides. They are
thin, cylindrical, made up of transparent dielectrics and able to guide visible and infrared light
over long distances. The working structure of optical fiber consists of three layers. Core- the
inner cylindrical layer which is made of glass or plastic. Cladding- which envelops the inner
core. It is also made of similar core material but of lesser refractive index than core. Buffer
jacket- the core and the cladding layers are enclosed in a polyurethane jacket called buffer jacket
which safeguards the working structure of fiber against chemical reactions, mechanical abrasion
and crushing etc.

Wave guides (propagation mechanism)

A wave guide is a tubular structure through which energy of some sort could be guided in the
form of waves. In optical fibers light waves can be guided through it, hence called light guide.
The cladding in an optical fiber always has a lower refractive index (RI) than that of the core.
The light signal which enters into the core can strike the interface of the core and the cladding
only at large angles of incidence because of the ray geometry. The light signal undergoes
multiple reflections within the fiber core. Since each reflection is a total internal reflection (when
the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, the ray undergoes total internal
reflection), the signal sustains its strength and also confines itself completely within the core
during propagation. Thus, the optical fiber functions as a wave guide.
Numerical Aperture and Ray Propagation in the Fiber
Let us consider the special case of ray which suffers critical incident at the core cladding
interface. The ray travels along AO entering into the core at an angle of 0 with respect to the
fiber axis. Let it be refracted along OB at an angle 1 in the core and further proceed to fall at
critical angle of incidence (= 90-1) at B on the interface of core and cladding. Since it is critical
angle of incidence, the refracted ray grazes along BC.

It is clear from the figure that any ray enters at an angle of incidence less than 0 at O, will
have to be incident at an angle greater than the critical angle at the interface, and gets total
internal reflection in the core material. Let OA is rotated around the fiber axis keeping 0 same,
then it describes a conical surface. We can say that it a beam converges at a wide angle into the
core, then those rays which are funneled into the fiber within this cone will only be totally
internally reflected, and thus confined within for propagation. Rest of the rays emerges from the
sides of the fiber.
The angle 0 is called the wave guide acceptance angle or the acceptance cone half-angle
which is the maximum angle from the axis of optical fiber at which light ray may enter the fiber
so that it will propagate in core by total internal reflection.
Sin 0 is called the numerical aperture (N.A.) of the fiber. It determines the light gathering
ability of the fiber and purely depends on the refractive indices of core and cladding.
Condition for Propagation:
Let n0, n1and n2 be the refractive indices of surrounding medium, core and cladding
respectively.
Now for refraction at the point of entry of the ray AO into the core, by applying the Snell’s law
that,
N1 Sin 0 = N2 Sin 1 ----(1)
at the point B on the interface the angle of incidence = 90 - 1
again applying Snell’s law we have
n1 sin (90-1) = n2 sin 90
or, n1 cos 1 = n2
or, cos 1 = n2/n1 ----(2)
rewriting eqn. (1) we have
n1
sin 0 = n1/n0 sin 1 =  (1  cos 2 1 )
n0

Substituting for cos 1 from eqn. (2) we have

n1 n22 n12  n22

Sin  0  1 
n0 n12 n0

If the medium surrounding the fiber is air, then n0 = 1,

or,

NA  Sin  0  n12  n22

If I is the angle of incidence of an incident ray, then the ray will be able to propagate,
If I < 0
or if sin I < sin 0
or, sin I < NA
The relation between numerical aperture and acceptance angle is
NA= sine of Acceptance Angle
Fraction Index Change ():
The fractional index change  is the ratio of the refractive index difference between the core
and the cladding to the refractive index of core of an optical fiber. It is also known as relative
core clad index difference.
therefore,
(n1  n2 )
= ------(3)
n1

Relation between NA and 

from eqn. (3) (n1-n2) = n1  -----(4)

N . A.  n12  n22
we have (n1  n2 )( n1  n2 )
(n1  n2 )n1

Since n1~ n2 , (n1+ n2) = 2n1

N . A.  2n12 
therefore,
N . A.  n1 2

Though an increase in the value of  increases NA and thus enhances the light gathering
capacity of the fiber, we cannot increase  to a very large value, since it leads to a phenomenon
called “intermodal dispersion” which causes signal distortion.

Modes of Propagation:
The possible number of paths of light in an optical fiber determines the number of modes
available in it. It also determines the number of independent paths for light that a fiber can
support for its propagation without interference and mixing.
 We may have a single mode fiber supporting only one signal at a time or multimode fiber
supporting many rays at a time.
Such number of modes supported for propagation in the fiber is determined by a parameter
called V-number. If the surrounding medium is air then the V- number is given by
d
V n12  n22 )

where d is the core diameter, n1 is the refractive index of core, n2 is the refractive index of the
cladding and λ is the wavelength of the light propagating through the fiber.

d
or V  ( NA)

If fiber is surrounded by a medium of refractive index n0, then

d n12  n22 )
V
 n0

If V number is ≤ 2.405, only one mode can be propagated through the core.

V2
The number of modes supported by step index fiber is ≈
2
(If the refractive index of core is uniform, they are called step index fibers)

The number of modes supported by graded index fiber is ~ V2/4

(If the refractive index of core is not uniform, they are called graded index fibers)

Types of Optical fibers

The optical fibers are classified under 3 categories. They are

Single Mode Step Index Fiber

Step Index Multi Mode Fiber
Graded index Multi Mode Fiber
This classification is done depending on the refractive index profile and the number of modes
that the fiber can guide.
 (a) Single mode fiber (step index)
A single mode fiber has a core material of uniform refractive index (RI) value. Similarly
cladding also has a material of uniform RI but of lesser value. This results in a sudden increase in
the value of RI from cladding to core. Thus its RI profile takes the shape of a step. The diameter
value of the core is about 8 to 10 m and external diameter of cladding is 60 to 70 m. Because
of its narrow core, it can guide just a single mode as shown in Fig. 3. Hence it is called single
mode fiber. Single mode fibers are most extensively used ones and they constitute 80% of all the
fibers that are manufactured in the world today. They need lasers as the source of light. Though
less expensive, it is very difficult to splice them. They find particular application in submarine
cable system.

8 to 10 m 60 to 70 m

refractive index profile

Radial distance

ray propagation

Cladding

Core

Fig:3 Step Index Single Mode Fibre

light ray
b) Step – index multimode fiber:
The geometry of a step-index multimode fiber is as shown in Fig.4.Its construction is similar
to that of a single mode fiber but for the difference that, its core has a much larger diameter by
the virtue of which it will be able to support propagation of large number of modes as shown in
the figure. Its refractive index profile is also similar to that of a single mode fiber but with larger
plane regions for the core.
The step-index multimode fiber can accept either diode laser or LED (light emitting diode) as
source of light. It is the least expensive of all. Its typical application is in data links which has
lower bandwidth requirements.

100 to 250 m
50 to 100 m

RI profile

radial distance

Cladding

Core

Fig. 4. Step index multimode fiber

c) Graded index multimode fiber
Graded index multimode fiber is also denoted as GRIN. The geometry of the GRIN
multimode fiber is same as that of step index multimode fiber. Its core material has a special
feature that its refractive index value decreases in the radially outward direction from the axis
and becomes equal to that of the cladding at the interface. But the RI of the cladding remains
uniform. Its RI profile is also shown in Fig.5 Either a diode laser or LED can be the source for
the GRIN multimode fiber. It is most expensive of all. Its splicing could be done with some
difficult. Its typical application is in the telephone trunk between central offices.

50 to 100 m
100 to 250 m

RI profile

radial distance

Fig. 5a; Graded index multimode fiber

Differences between single and multimode fibers

Single mode fiber Multi mode fiber

Only one mode can be propagated Allows large number of modes for light to pass
through it
Smaller core diameter
Larger core diameter
Low dispersion of signal
More dispersion of signal
Can carry information to longer distances
Information can be carried to shorter distances
Launching of light and connecting two fibers only
are difficult Launching of light and connecting of fibers is
easy

Differences between step and graded index fibers

Step index fiber Graded index fiber

Refractive index of core is uniform Refractive index of core is not uniform
Propagation of light is in the form of Propagation of light is in the form of skew rays
meridional rays
Graded index fibers has higher bandwidth
Step index fibers has lower bandwidth
Distortion is less
Distortion is more (in multimode)
No. of modes for propagation Ngrad = V2/4
No. of modes for propagation Nstep = V2/2

Attenuation in optical fibers

The total power loss offered by the total length of the fiber in the transmission of light is
called attenuation.
The important factors contributing to the attenuation in optical fiber are
i) Absorption loss ii) Scattering loss iii) Bending loss iv) Intermodal
dispersion loss and v) coupling loss.
The total losses in the fiber are due to the contribution of losses due to absorption, scattering
radiation and coupling. All these losses are related to material or composition, structural design
of the fiber and wavelength dependent. The losses can be minimized by taking proper care in
selection of materials, design and the operating wavelengths.
Attenuation in fiber is defined as the ratio of power input and power output. It is denoted by
symbol . Mathematically attenuation of the fiber is given by,

10 X log( Pout / Pin )

 dB/km
L

Where Pout and Pin are the power output and power input respectively, and L is the length of the
fiber in km.

1. Absorption loss:
There are two types of absorption, one is absorption by impurities and the other intrinsic
absorption. In the case of first type, the type of impurities is generally transition metal ions such
as iron, chromium, cobalt and copper. During signal propagation when photons interact with
these impurities, the electron absorbs the photons and get excited to higher energy level. Later
these electrons give up their absorbed energy either as heat energy or light energy. The
reemission of light energy is of no use since it will usually be in a different wavelength or at least
in different phase with respect to the signal. The other impurity which would cause significant
absorption loss is the OH- (Hydroxyl) ion, which enters into the fiber constitution at the time of
fiber fabrication. In the second type i.e., intrinsic absorption the fiber itself as a material has a
tendency to absorb light energy however small it may be. Absorption in a fiber is the absorption
that takes place in the material assuming that there are no impurities and the material is free of all
in homogeneities and hence it is called intrinsic absorption which sets the lowest limit on
absorption for a given material.

2. Scattering loss:
The power loss occurs due to the scattering of light energy due to the obstructions caused by
imperfections and defects, which are of molecular size, present in the body of the fiber itself. The
scattering of light by the obstructions is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the
wavelength of the light transmitted through the fiber. Such a scattering is called Rayleigh
scattering. The loss due to the scattering can be minimized by using the optical source of large
wavelength.

3. Bending losses
Bending losses occur due to the presence of macro bends and micro bends that are caused
while manufacturing and as well as due to the applied stress on the fiber. At the point of bend the
light will escape to the surrounding medium due to the fact that the angle of incidence at that
point becomes lesser than the critical angle. Hence it will not undergo total internal reflection. In
order to avoid this type of losses the optical fiber has to be laid straight for long distances and
they should be freed from the external stresses by providing mechanical strength by external
encasements.

4. Coupling losses
Coupling losses occur when the ends of the fibers are connected. At the junction of coupling,
air film may exist or joint may be inclined or may be mismatched and then can be minimized by
following the technique called splicing.
Applications of Optical Fibers
Optical fibers find their applications in the fields of communication, medicine, industry and
domestic.

1. Communication applications: (Point to Point (P-P) communication)

The block diagram of a typical fiber optic communication system is as shown in the figure.

Fig.: Schematic diagram of P-P communication using optical fiber

Optical fiber communication is the transmission of information by propagation of optical

signal through optical fibers over the required distance, which involves deriving optical signal
from electrical signal at the transmitting end, and conversion of optical signal back to electrical
signal at the receiving end.
 In a point to point communication system the voice of a telephone user gives rise to electrical
signals in analog form which is converted into binary data using encoder. These electrical signals
are converted into pulses of optical power by modulating the light emitted by an optical source
using optical transmitter, in the binary form. Optical pulses are fed into the optical fiber.

As the signal propagates through the fiber it is subjected to two types of degradation. Namely
attenuation and delay distortion. Attenuation is the reduction in the strength of the signal
because power loss due to absorption and scattering of photons. Delay distortion is the reduction
in the quality of the signal because of the spreading of pulses with time. These effects cause
continuous degradation of the signal as the light propagates and may reach a limiting stage
beyond which it may not be retrieve information from the light signal. At this stage repeater is
needed in the transmission path. An optical repeater or regenerator consists of a receiver and a
transmitter arranged adjacently. The receiver section converts the optical signal into
corresponding electrical signal. Further the electrical signal is amplified and recast in the original
form by means of an electrical regenerator and sent into an optical transmitter section where the
electrical signal is again converted back to optical signal and then fed into an optical fiber
waveguide.
Finally at the receiving end the optical signal from the fiber is fed into a photo detector where
the signal is converted to pulses of electric current which is then fed to decoder which converts
the sequence of binary data stream into an analog signal which will be the same information
which was there at the transmitting end.

Advantages:
Advantages of optical fibers over conventional cables are

 Light in weight and small in size

 No possibility of internal noise, ringing, echoes and cross talks
 No need for additional equipment to protect against grounding and voltage
problems
 Flexible and mechanically strong
  They are immune to electromagnetic interference and radio frequency
interferences.
 High security against tapping of information
 Tolerance to high temperature and other environmental conditions
 Optical fibers are cheaper as they are made from silica (SiO 2) which is one
of the most abundant materials on the earth.
 They have low loss/unit length-the transmission loss/unit length is about
4dB/km which is nearly 20 times less than the conventional cable.

Disadvantages
The disadvantages in the communication systems using optical fibers are
 Fiber loss is more at the joints if the joints do not match (the joining of the two ends of
the separate fibers are called splicing)
 Attenuation loss is large as the length of the fiber increases.
 Repeaters are required at regular interval of lengths to amplify the weak signal in long
distance communication.
 Bends will increase the loss of the fiber. Hence, the fiber should be laid straight.

Note:
 Point to Point haul communication system is employed in telephone trunk lines. This
system of communication covers the distances 10 km and more. Long-haul
communication has been employed in telephone connection in the large cities of New
York and Los Angeles. The use of single mode optical fibers has reduced the cost of
installation of telephone lines and maintenance, and increased the data rate.
 Local Area Network (LAN) Communication system uses optical fibers to link the
computer-oriented communication within a range of 1 or 2 km.
 Community Antenna Television (CATV) makes use of optical fibers for distribution of
signal to the local users by receiving a multichannel signal from a common antenna.

2. Medical application
 Endoscopes are used in the medical field for image processing and retrieving the image to
find out the damaged part of the internal organs of the human body. It consists of bundle of
optical fibers of large core diameter whose ends are arranged in the same sequence. Endoscope is
inserted to the inaccessible damaged part of the human body. When light is passed through the
optical bundle the reflected light received by the optical fibers forms the image of the
inaccessible part on the monitor. Hence, the damage caused at that part can be estimated and also
it can be treated.

3. Industry
Optical fibers are used in the design of Boroscopes, which are used to inspect the inaccessible
machinery parts. The working principle of boroscope is same as that of endoscopes.

4. Domestic
Optical fiber bundles are used to illuminate the interior places where the sunlight has no
access to reach. It can also be used to illuminate the interior of the house with the sunlight or the
incandescent bulb by properly coupling the fiber bundles and the source of light. They are also
used in interior decorating articles.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS (2marks)

1) Give reason
a) Optical fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference.
b) Intermodal dispersion is minimum in GRIN compared to MMSI fiber.
c) Repeaters are used in the path of optical fibers in point to point communication system.
2) Explain the terms
a. Acceptance angle
b. Cone of acceptance
c. Numerical aperture
d. Modes of propagation
e. Attenuation.
3) Discuss attenuation losses in optical fibers .
4) Write any two advantages of optical fiber communication over normal communication
system.
5. Explain propagation mechanism in optical fibers.
6. Distinguish between step and graded index fibers.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS ( 8 marks)

1. With the help of ray diagram, explain the working principle of optical fibers.
2. Derive an expression for acceptance angle of an optical fiber in terms of refractive indices.
3. What is numerical aperture? Obtain an expression for numerical aperture in terms of refractive
indices of core and cladding and arrive at the condition for propagation.
5. Explain the term modes of propagation and types of optical fibers based on modes of
propagation.
6. What is attenuation? Explain the different losses in optical fibers.
7. With the help of a block diagram explain point to point communication.
8. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an optical communication system over
communication system.

PROBLEMS (solved & model)

1. The ratio of population of two energy levels out of which one corresponds to metastable
state is 1.059x10-30. Find the wavelength of light emitted at 330K.
N2
 1.059 x10 30 , T=330K, λ=?
N1
Constants h=6.63x10-34Js
K= 1.38x10-23J/K
C= 3x108m/s
Using the relation for Boltzmann’s factor

N2  h  hc
e e
N1 kT kT
λ = 632.8nm.

2. Calculate the ratio of

i) Einstein Coefficients,
ii) Stimulated to spontaneous emissions, for a system at 300K in which radiations of
wavelength 1.39𝞵m are emitted.
 A21 8h 3 8h
  3  6.2 x1015
B21 c 3

A21
Since B12 = B21 we can write  6.2 x1015
B21

We have
B12 N 2U B21
Rate of stimulated emission/Rate of spontaneous emission=  U
A21N 2 A21

8h 3  1 
But U 
c 3  hkT 
 e  1
A  1 
U  21  h 
B21  kT 
 e  1

Therefore
B21 A21  1 
rate of stimulated emission/rate of spontaneous emission= x
A21 B21  hkT 
 e 1

 1 
==  h  =10-15
 kT 
 e 1

3. Calculate on the basis of Einstein’s theory, the number of photons emitted per second by
a He-Ne laser source emitting light of wavelength 6328Ao with an optical power of
10mW.

E nE nhc
P  
t t  t

hence n  P
t hc

= 3.182x1016

4. Calculate the numerical aperture, relative RI difference, V- number and number of modes
in an optical fibre of core diameter 50𝞵m. Core and cladding Refractive indics 1.41 and
1.40 at λ= 820nm.
 n1  n2 d ( n1  n2 )
2 2
2 2 2
(NA) = (n1 - n2 )  V
n1 
NA= 0.1676 = 0.007 =32

hence no of modes=V2/2 =512.

5. An optical fibre has clad of RI 1.50 and NA 0.39. Find the RI of core and the acceptance
angle.

(NA)2 = n12- n22 θo= sin-1 0.39

(0.39)2= n12 - (1.50)2 = 22.96o
.n1 = 1.54

6. The NA of an OF is 0.2 when surrounded by air. Determine the RI of its core. Given The
RI of cladding as 1.59. Also find the acceptance angle when it is in a medium of RI 1.33.

(NA)2 = (n12 – n22) θo = 8.64o

n1= 1.60

7. A glass clad fibre is made with core glass of RI 1.5 and cladding is doped to give a
fractional index difference of 0.0005. Determine
a) The cladding index.
b) The critical internal reflection angle.
c) The external critical acceptance angle
d) The numerical aperture

8.The attenuation of light in an optical fibre is estimated at 2.2dB/km. What fractional initial
intensity remains after 2km & 6km?

L = 2 : Pout/Pin = 36.3%
L=6 : Pout/Pin = 4.79%

9.Find the attenuation in an optical fibre of length 500m, when a light signal of power
100mW emerges out of the fibre with a power 90mW.

pout
 10 log 10 ( )
Pin
α=
L
α = 0.915dB/km

10. A semiconductor laser emits green light of 551 nm. Find out the value of its band gap.
 Eg = hc/ = 2.25 eV

11.The probability of spontaneous transition is given as 0.08. in a laser action which results with
the radiation of 632.8 nm wavelength. Calculate the probability of stimulated emission.
(Ans. 1.22x1013)

12. Calculate the critical angle if the refractive indices of optical fiber are 1.5 & 1.48.
(Ans. θc = 80.63o)

13. The optical fiber power after propagating through a fiber of 1.5 km length is reduced to 25%
of its original value. Compute the fiber loss in dB/km.
(Ans. 4 dB/km)