Dye Laser Textbook

Lasers: Principles and Applications
Past, present, and future
吳光雄教授
Prof. Kaung-Hsiung Wu
Department of Electrophysics
khwu@cc.nctu.edu.tw
Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 1

Contents
I. Introduction ----- A Brief History
II. Basic Laser Principles
III. Kinds of Lasers
IV. Properties of Laser Light
V. Laser Output Modes
VI. Fundamental Gaussian Beam
VII. Laser Applications

I. Introduction
LASER = "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"

This is a bit of a misnomer. A laser is actually an oscillator rather than a simple amplifier.
The difference is that an oscillator has positive feedback in addition to the amplifier.
Amplification of light: A Laser Device:
•Legal
•Amusement of
•Students
•Engineers and
•Researchers

A Brief History
--- Milestones in the history of lasers:

1917 Einstein's treatment of stimulated emission.
Einstein can be considered as the father of the
laser.
1954 Townes, Schalow (USA), and Basov (Russia)

suggested a practical method of achieving
lasing. This was using Ammonia gas and
produced amplified Microwave radiation
instead of visible light (MASER).

1960 T.H. Maiman at Hughes Laboratories reports the first laser: the pulsed ruby laser.
Maiman and Ruby Laser

1961 The first continuous wave laser is reported (the helium neon laser).
1962 The first continuous wave semiconductor laser is reported.
1963 The first CO2 laser is reported.
8 KW CO2 laser

1964: Invention of Argon Ion Laser a Hughes Lab.
1973: Discovery of laser action in quasars
1975: The first GaAs and Excimer lasers are reported.
1980: The first CW Ti:sapphire laser is reported.
1981: Carbon dioxide laser discovered in atmosphere of mars and venus
1984: First X-ray laser
1997: Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips get the Nobel Prize for
“
deve
lopme
ntofme
thodst
ocoola
ndt
rapa
tomswi
thl
ase
rli
ght
.”
1999: Nobel Prize in Chemistry Ahmed Zewail for ultrafast spectroscopy

2005: John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hänsch, " Development of laser-based precision spectroscopy,
including the optical frequency comb technique".

Ar laser Seal off CO2 laser 1000W CO2 laser
50W CO2 laser CW Ti- sapphire laser

CPM M-L Dye laser
Some Laser Systems developed in EP

NCTU
M-L Ti- sapphire laser

The Argon
Ion Laser
Argon ion laser lines:
Wavelength Relative Power Absolute Power

454.6 nm .03 .8 W
457.9 nm .06 1.5 W The Argon
465.8 nm .03 .8 W ion laser
472.7 nm .05 1.3 W also has
476.5 nm .12 3.0 W some laser
488.0 nm .32 8.0 W lines in the
496.5 nm .12 3.0 W UV. The Krypton Ion Laser
501.7 nm .07 1.8 W But it’s very
514.5 nm .40 10.0 W inefficient.
528.7 nm .07 1.8 W Krypton ion laser lines:
Wavelength Power
406.7 nm .9 W
413.1 nm 1.8 W
415.4 nm .28 W
468.0 nm .5 W
476.2 nm .4 W
482.5 nm .4 W
520.8 nm .7 W
530.9 nm 1.5 W
568.2 nm 1.1 W
647.1 nm 3.5 W
676.4 nm 1.2 W

The present state of the art:
Peak powers >1020 W, pulses shorter than 10-15s

Range of laser wavelengths available: THz - X-ray
New laser materials
New laser technology
Blue-UV semiconductor laser
Laser Diode Pumped Solid State Laser

The MIT X-ray Laser Project
•A National User Facility: 10-30 beams
•Wavelength range 100-0.1 nm MIT X-ray Laser is Science Driven
•Integrated laser seeding for full coherence
•Pulses: Dt=1-1000 fs; Dw=3-0.003eV Spatial Scales Temporal Scales
•Pulse power of up to 1 mJ
•Pulse rates of 1 kHz or greater
Science:
single molecule imaging,
femtochemistry,
nanome terlithogra phy…
Technology:
superconducting FEL,
Ti:Sapp HHG seeding technology
Education:
accelerator science curriculum,
synergy with CMSE programs
Cost/Schedule:
$300M; design:
FY04-FY06; construct: FY07-FY10

1990 Ti-sapphire Laser
Ultrafast Laser Pulse
Ultrafast is Ultrashort.
Ultrafast is Ultra-precise.
Ultrafast is Ultra-broad.
Ultrafast is Ultra-intense.
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/CUOS/index.html

2000 Fiber Laser
Fiber lasers occur in a great variety of forms, serving very different applications, e.g.:
 Lasers generating outputs at special wavelengths, e.g. in the visible or in the infrared spectral region
(tracking lasers, displays, pumping of solid-state lasers)
 Lasers for very high output power (many watts or even kilowatts) with good beam quality
(material processing, various industrial processes, military applications)
 Q-switched and mode-locked lasers for short or ultrashort pulses
(distance measurements, time & frequency metrology, material processing)

Fiber technology creates a huge amount of attractive technical options, but also comes
with a bunch of technical difficulties
Rare Earth Doped Core

Pump Coupling Loss Silica First Clad
Second Clad Pump Out
Pump Input Laser Output

at 915 mnm at 1100 nm
Output
Input Coupled Pump Coupler
Mirror
Excited Rare Earth Ions

Advantages of fiber lasers:
 Simplicity
 100,000 hour diode life
 Compact size
 High efficiency (typically CO2 - 10%, YAG - 2%, Fiber - 25%)
 High reliability
 Modular power scaling
 No internal optics to service or align
 Low maintenance resulting in much lower maintenance cost
 Solid state laser technology
 No moving parts
 High beam quality preserved with fiber optic delivery

II. Basic Laser Principles
2-1 Essential elements of a laser
a. gain or laser medium
(active or amplifying medium)
b. pump or energy source
(excitation)
c. optical feedback
(cavity or resonator)

2.2 Gain Medium and Types of Lasers
The laser active medium:
 The active medium is a collection of atoms or molecules, which can be excited into a
population inversion situation, and can have electromagnetic radiation extracted out of it by
stimulated emission.
 The active medium can be in any state of matter: solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
 The active medium determines the possible wavelengths that can be emitted from the laser.
These wavelengths are determined by the specific transitions between the energy levels in this
laser material.
 The list of materials that lase under certain laboratory conditions include hundreds of
substances, and the number increases with time.

2.2.1 Energy States and Two-Level System
Every atom or molecule in nature (gas, liquid, solid, and semiconductor, etc) has a specific
structure for its energy levels.
The electron can stay only at the specific energy

states (levels) which are unique for each specific
atom. The electron can not be in between these
"allowed energy states", but it can "jump" from
one energy level to another, while receiving or
emitting specific amounts of energy.
When all electrons in an atom are in their lowest possible energy levels (follows the Pauli exclusion
principle), the atom is said to be in its ground state. It is the naturally preferred energy state.
When the atom receives energy (electrical
energy, optical energy, or any form of energy), this
energy is transferred to the electron, and raises it to a
higher energy level (in our model further away from
the nucleus). The atom is then considered to be in an
excited state.

2.2.2 Energy transfer to and from the atom
Energy transfer to and from the atom can be performed in two different ways:
1. Collisions with electrons and other atoms, and the transfer of kinetic energy as a result of the
collision. This kinetic energy is transferred into internal energy of the atom.
2. Absorption and emission of electromagnetic radiation (optical processes).

Optical Processes (proposed by Einstein 1917):
(a) Stimulated absorption:

(b) Spontaneous emission:
(c) Stimulated emission:
The photon which is emitted in the stimulated emission process is identical to the incoming photon.
They both have identical wavelengths, identical directions in space, identical phase, and
identical polarization.
As a result of the stimulated emission process, we have two identical photons created from one
photon and one excited state. Thus we have amplification in the sense that the number of photons
has increased
Thus, the stimulated emission process is an essential part of the operation of a laser
(coherence and amplification).

2.2.3 Population Distribution in a Laser Medium
Boltzmann distributions in a thermodynamic equilibrium:
The situation described above relates to that of a single isolated atom.
For a gas in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings at a temperature T. The numbers of atoms
per unit volume, the population density, in a particular energy state depends solely on the
temperature of the gas, and the difference in energy between the excited level and a known lower
level.
The population density of atoms, N2, in an excited state, E2,

in relation to those, N1, in a lower energy state E1 is given
by the Boltzmann relationship, as,
N2  ( E2 E1 )   E 
exp 
 exp  

N1  kT   kT 

2.2.4 Population Inversion:
We saw that in a thermodynamic equilibrium Bolzman equation shows us that :
N1 > N2 > N3
Thus, the population numbers of higher energy levels are smaller than the population numbers of
lower ones. This situation is called "Normal Population Distribution".
For a laser medium, by putting energy into a

system of atoms, we can achieve a situation of
"Population Inversion".
In population inversion, at least one of the
higher energy levels has more atoms
than a lower energy level.

In a situation of normal population, there will always be more upward transitions due to absorption
than downward transitions due to stimulated emission. Hence there will be net absorption, and the
intensity of the beam will diminish on progressing through the medium.
I I 0e x
: absorbption coefficient

Once we have population inversion, we have a mechanism for generating gain in the laser medium.
The art of making a laser operate is to work out how to get population inversion on the transition
you want to get lasing.
I I 0e gL
g : gain coefficient
L : length of laser medium

A Good Laser Medium:
Easy to get population inversion.
(a) The pump rate of the upper laser level should be higher than that of the lower laser level.
(b) The decay rate (lifetime) of the upper laser level should be higher (slower) than that of the
lower laser level.
For some pairs of energy levels in certain materials, the spontaneous lifetime can be of the order of
microseconds to a few milliseconds. We call this a metastable state.
We need to add more and more atoms to the upper metastable state, and hold them long enough to store
energy, and allow the production of great numbers of stimulated photons.

2.3 Pump Sources
In laser terminology, the process of energizing the amplifying medium is known as "pumping" or
"excitation".
The excitation mechanism is the source of energy that raises the atoms in the active medium into
their excited state, thus creating population inversion.

There are few types of excitation mechanisms:
(a) Optical pumping - Excitation by photons:
In lasers with solid or liquid active medium, it

is common to supply the excitation energy in
a form of electromagnetic radiation
(photons) which are absorbed in the active
medium.
The electromagnetic radiation source can be of different kinds:
 Flash lamps, which are build from a quartz tube filled with gas at low pressure. Usually Xenon
gas is used, but sometimes when higher energy is required, other noble gasses with lower
atomic weights such as Krypton or Helium are used.
 Another laser, for examples:

Ar ion lasers  Dye or Ti-sapphire lasers
Laser diodes  Nd: YLF or Yb:YAG lasers
An argon laser pumps a CPM Dye
laser. (1993, NCTU EP)
An argon laser pumps a Ti:sapphire laser.

(1995, NCTU EP)

(b) Electrical excitation of a gas:
When the active medium is in the gas state, the best

excitation is by electrical discharge of the gas.
The gas in the tube is electrically neutral, and as long as no external energy is applied, most of the
molecules are in the ground state.
When the high electrical voltage is applied, electrons are released from the cathode and accelerated
toward the anode. On their way, these electrons collide with the gas molecules and transfer energy to
them. Thus, the gas molecules are raised to excited state.
Higher voltage is required to start the electrical discharge in the tube than to keep the discharge.
The ballast resistor is used to limit the current in the tube after discharge is achieved.

(d) Chemical Excitation
In this excitation, the energy is supplied by the chemical reaction between two atoms or
molecules.
(e) Electric current in diode lasers.

When a forward voltage is applied to the semiconductor p-n junction, the density of the
carriers, both p-type and n-type, increase around the junction.
Under these conditions, there is a significant

increase in the concentration of electrons in
the conduction band near the junction on the
n-side and the concentration of holes in the
valence band near the junction on the p-side.
The electrons and holes recombine

(conduction band electrons move into empty
valence band states) and energy is given off
in the form of photons. The energy of the
photon resulting from this recombination is
equal to that associated with the energy gap.

(f) Other novel pumping methods
nuclear, accelerator or electron-beam pump
thermal pumping (gasdynamic laser)
Beam Transport System and FEL Transport System

2.4 Optical Cavity
Pumped amplifying media as described in section 2.3 could be used to increase the intensity of light at
particular wavelengths and such amplifiers are often incorporated into laser systems. However, except
in a few exceptional cases, light amplifiers would not be regarded as lasers.
A laser consists of a pumped amplifying medium positioned between two mirrors as indicated below.
Usually one mirror is 100% reflecting, so all the radiation coming toward the mirror is reflected back
to the active medium. The other mirror is partially reflecting (10%-99%), according to the laser type.

The part of the radiation which is not reflected back into the optical cavity, is transmitted out, and it is
the laser output.
The purpose of the mirrors is to provide what is described as 'positive feedback'. This means simply
that some of the light that emerges from the amplifying medium is reflected back into it for further
amplification. An amplifier with positive feedback is known as an oscillator. So, the laser is a system
that is similar to an electronic oscillator.
An Oscillator is a system that produces oscillations without an external driving mechanism (from
the noise of the internal circuit). Any small noise signal will start and grow until a steady state
situation arises. For an example, we can use the familiar acoustic analog:
A sound amplification system has a microphone, amplifier and speaker.
When the microphone is placed in front of the speaker, a closed circuit is formed, and a whistle is heard out of the speaker.

The whistle is created spontaneously, without any external source. In laser case, the optical
noise is produced by the spontaneous emission of the medium itself.
Analog between an electronic oscillator and an optical oscillator:
(a) Electronic amplifier vs. optical amplifier
Optical amplifier Electronic amplifier

(b) Electronic oscillator vs. optical oscillator
Electronic oscillator
Eout
A
Ein'
Ein' Ein Eout
Eout A
 
Ein 1 A
Eout
when A 1 
Ein
This is the oscillation condition.

Optical oscillator:
Eout t1t2 e jgL

 L length of active medium
Ein 1 r1 r2 e jg ( 2 L )
g g r jg i complex gain
Oscillation condition : 1 r1 r2 e jg ( 2 L )
The threshold gain and oscillation frequency can be calculated from the laser oscillation
condition.

In summary, the laser cavity has several important functions:
(a) This light is increased in intensity by multiple passes through the amplifying medium so that it
rapidly builds up into an intense beam.
(b) The cavity ensures that the divergence of the beam is small.
(c) The laser cavity also improves the spectral purity of the laser beam.
(d) The laser cavity improves the coherence of the laser beam.

2.5 Lasing Procedure
(a) In a thermodynamic equilibrium, the

population distribution of the atoms follows the
Boltzmann relationship. The laser medium is
situated between the mirrors of the optical
resonator (HR and OC).
(b) When the excitation mechanism of a laser is

activated, energy flows into the active medium,
causing atoms to move from the ground state to
certain excited states. Some of the atoms in the
upper laser level drop to the lower laser level
spontaneously, emitting incoherent photons at
the laser wavelength and in random directions.
(c) At the same time, the incoherent photons (seed

photons) will collide with the excited atoms, and induce the stimulated emission.
(d) Most of these photons escape from the active medium, but those that travel along the axis of the
active medium will grow rapidly.
(e) The stimulated emission adds identical photons in the same direction, providing an ever-increasing
population of coherent photons that back and forth between the mirrors.
(f) If the gain for a round-trip exceeds the losses, the oscillation condition is built up, and a
steady-state laser light will pass out through the output coupler.

III. Kinds of Lasers
Lasers can be divided into groups according
to different criteria:
1. The state of matter of the active medium:

solid, liquid, gas, or plasma.
2. The spectral range of the laser
wavelength: visible spectrum, Infra-Red
(IR) spectrum, etc.
3. The excitation (pumping) method of the active medium: Optical pumping, Electrical
pumping, etc.
4. The characteristics of the radiation emitted from the laser. CW mode or pulsed mode,
temporal distribution, spatial distribution, etc.

Pulsed modes:
 Normal pulsed mode ( chopping ,enhance dpul
sed…)pulsed width: ms ~ ns
 Q switched mode: pulsed width: ns
 Cavity-dumped mode: pulsed width: ns ~ ps
 Mode-locking mode: pulsed width: ps ~ fs
Temporal distribution of laser output Spatial distribution of laser output

IV. Properties of Laser Light
4.1 Monochromaticity
4.2 Directionality
4.3 Brightness
4.4 Coherence
4.5 Polarization

4.1 Monochromaticity
Monochromaticity means "One color".
When "white light" is transmitted through a prism, it is divided into the different colors which
are in it.
In the theoretical sense "One Color", which is called "spectral line", means one wavelength.

In reality, every spectral line has a finite spectral width () around its central wavelength (0), as
can be seen in the left side of figure.
For thermal sources, 300 nm (1014 Hz)
For discharge lamps, 0.01- 0.5 Å (5×107~ 1.5×109 Hz) Kr lamp 0.0095 Å
For lasers, 10-5- 10-7 Å (104~ 106 Hz)

The spectral line width of lasers can be much smaller than that of the atomic transition. This is
because the emission is affected by the optical cavity and the lasing mechanism. In certain cases,
the laser can be made to operate on just one of the modes of the cavity.
Since the Q value of the cavity is generally rather large, the mode is usually much narrower than
the atomic
transition, and the spectral line width is orders of magnitude smaller than the atomic transition.
Advantages of high degree of monochromaticity:
(a) standard color source

(b) Applications in high resolution spectroscopy, interferometry and holography, etc, which require
high coherence.
(c) Sources for precision measurements
(d) Increase focusability

4.2 Directionality
This is perhaps the most obvious aspect of a laser beam: the light comes out as a highly directional
beam. This contrasts with light bulbs and discharge lamps, in which the light is emitted in all
directions. The directionality is a consequence of the cavity.
Radiation comes out of the laser in a certain direction, and spreads at a defined divergence angle ().
This angular spreading of a laser beam is very small compared to other sources of electromagnetic
radiation, and described by a small divergence angle (of the order of milli-radians).
(a) From Geometric Optics point of view:

Only rays that are closely aligned wi
tht
her
esona
tor
’scenterline can make the required number of
round trips, and these aligned rays diverge only slightly when they emerge.

(b) From Wave Optics point of view:
Beam diverges due to diffraction and partial spatial coherence. The divergence of a TEM00 laser
beam is determined by the intrinsic size of beam within laser cavity (beam waist 0).
2 1 
2tan ( ) 1.27
0 n 20
4.3 Brightness

By definition,
Brightness≡radiant flux (radiometry, power) or luminous flux (photometry) emitted per unit surface
area (source) per unit solid angle
radiant flux( power ) Watts 

B radiance( radiometry )   2 
area solid angle m  
or
lu min ous flux lumen 
B lu min ance( photometry )   2 
area solid angle m  
Since laser radiation divergence is of the order of milli-radians, the beam is almost parallel, and laser
radiation can be send over long distances.

Example: Calculate the brightness (photometry) of a typical 1 mW HeNe laser
The divergent angle φ= 10-3 rad
The beam waist at the rear mirror = 0.5 mm
So the area A ~ 210-3 cm2
The diameter of the spot size at L = 1m from
the rear laser mirror is ~ φL~ 1 mm

And the solid angle = A/L2 ~ 10-6 st
1 W at peak wavelength of 555 nm

corresponds to the luminous flux of 685 lm.
For = 633 nm, the corresponding luminous flux is 685 lm V(633 nm) = 160 lm, where V(633 nm)
is CIE luminous efficiency at =633 nm and V(633 nm) = 0.265.
Therefore, the brightness is
160 10 3
B 6
2 10 7 lm / cm 2 st
( 0.5mm ) 10
2
The brightness of sun is about 1.5105 lm/cm2-st.
So, a 1 mW HeNe laser looks brighter than a sun!

A 10 mW laser light may damage eye permanently!

4.4 Coherence
In discussing the coherence of an optical beam, we must distinguish between spatial and temporal
coherence. Laser beams have a high degree of both.
Temporal coherence : measure the phase correlations at different time at the same position.
Consider the electric field at a fixed point P, if there has a phase relationship between the two fields
at time t and t+
, we say that the electric field is temporal coherence over time 
.
If this occurs for any value 

, the E. M wave is said to have perfect time coherence. If this occurs
for 0 < < 
c, it said to said partial temporal coherence with coherence time 
c.
It measures the degree of monochromaticity of the light.
In general, the temporal coherence time 

c is given by the reciprocal of the spectral line width.
c =/
Coherence length lc = c  =c/
2

Spatial coherence: measure the phase correlations at different position at the same time.
Consider P1 and P2 located on the same wavefront, the distance between P1 and P2 is l. If there has a
phase relationship between the two fields at P1 and P2, for any value of l, the wave is said to have
perfect spatial coherence. In practice, P2 must lie within some finite area around P1 to have good
phase relation, this wave is partial spatial coherence.
It measures the uniformity of phase across the optical wavefront and depends on the length of the
light source.

4.4 Polarization
Figure shown below is concerned with the
operation of Brewster windows in a gas
laser to produce a polarized laser beam.
Figure (a) shows the overall cavity geometry,
Figure (b) shows the initial action of a Brewster
window on an unpolarized laser beam incident on the
window at Brewster's angle (56° for an
air-to-glass interface).

V. Laser Output Modes
Optical resonator is one of the essential elements of a laser. The main function of an optical resonator is
to create the optical radiation field with a define spectrum and a define field distribution in space and
time.
A complete mode in an optical resonator should be described completely by both transverse mode
and longitudinal mode, or in general,
TEMm,n,q
where m and n are the transverse mode numbers, and q is the longitudinal mode number.

5.1 Basic Concepts of Longitudinal Cavity Modes
cut here to observe the longitudinal mode structure

Standing waves in a string

These are equivalent to the longitudinal laser modes which are the modes along the optical axis of
the laser.
2L
m 
m
c
m m
2nL
L = Length of the optical cavity.
n = Index of refraction.
m = Number of the mode, which is equal to the number of half wavelengths inside the optical
cavity.
m = Wavelength of the m mode inside the laser cavity.

5.2 Transverse Cavity Modes
cut here to observe the transverse mode structure
A transverse mode of a laser cavity is the

specified transverse plane which is
perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser
cavity.
The shape of transverse laser modes

For a “
stable”laser cavity, i.e.,
0 g1 g 2 1
L
where g1 1 
R1
L
g 2 1 
R2

Then the field existing in the cavity is the Gaussian distribution. The magnitude and location of waist
ω0 are determined by the radius of curvature of cavity mirror (R1 and R2) and the distance between
them (L).
 L( R1 L )( R2 L )( R1 R2 L )
02 
 ( R1 R2 2 L )
L( R2 L )
z1 
R1 R2 2 L
L( R1 L )
z2 
R1 R2 2 L

VI. Fundamental Gaussian Beam
 0  r2  
ETEM 00 q ( x, y,z,t ) E0   2
exp  
 (a)
( z )   ( z ) 


  1 z 


exp i 
kz tan ( )  (b)
 
 z 
0 

 kr 2 
exp i  (c)
 2 R( z ) 
exp it  (d )
r 2 x 2 y 2
(a) amplitude factor
(b) longitudinal phase
(c) radial factor (spherical wavefront)
(d) time factor

Parameters of Gaussian Beam:
(1) ω(z) = spot size at z

The spot size is measured from the on-axis position in a transverse plane to the off-axis position
where the beam irradiance has decreased to 1/e2 of its on-axis value.

 r2 
 2
exp  : Gaussian factor
 ( z ) 
 z  2

( z ) 0 
2 2
1  spot size at z

 0 
z

20
z0  Rayleigh Range

(2) R(z) = radius of curvature of wavefront at z
 z0 
2

R( z ) z 
1  
 z 
 
If z z0 then R 
z z and the beam looks like a spherical wave emanating from z =0.

(3) φ= divergence angle
z 
( z 0 ) 0  
z 0 
 dw 
 ( z 0 ) 
2 dz w 0
2 
 1 . 27 depend on and 0
w 0 2 0

VII. Laser Applications
7.1 Scientific/Research and Developments

7.2 Metrological Applications
7.3 Holography
7.4 Laser Material Processing
7.5 Medical Applications
7.6 Laser Daily Applications
7.7 Military Applications
7.8 Laser Fusion

7.1 Scientific/Research and Developments
7.1.1 Laser Spectroscopy.
Spectroscopy is the science of mapping out the energy levels of atoms and molecules. It can be a tool for inferring the physical
and chemical status of a sample under study.
Every material has its own characteristic absorption and emission spectrum. By selective excitation using specific wavelengths, it
is possible to identify materials with high certainty, even if only small traces exist.
The laser allows the use of definite controlled
wavelengths, which results in a very high
resolution measurements. Increasing the accuracy
of the determination of the wavelength allows a
distinction between smaller details in the material
structure.

7.1.2 Laser Cooling of Atoms and Laser Tweezers
All atoms in nature are moving because they are at a temperature higher than 0 [K], thus they have thermal energy.
At low temperatures, it is possible to almost stop atoms by using the momentum of the photons of the laser radiation.
Explanation:
A beam of laser light moving in the

opposite direction of a beam of atoms can
be made to interact with each other in such
a way that the atoms absorb photons from
the laser beam. The process occurs when
the photons energy (which is determined
by the photon frequency) is exactly equal
to the energy difference between energy
levels of these atoms.
When the atom is in motion, then by the

Doppler effect this atom "sees" a slightly
different frequency of the incoming
photons. By using a few beams from
opposite directions, it is possible to stop
the movement of atoms.

The frequency of the laser beam is chosen such that it is very close to the absorption frequency of the atom, but not identical to it.
Each time the atom starts to move toward one of the laser beams, the Doppler effect causes the radiation from that beam to be
absorbed by the atom, so it returns to its place.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=En3lY1MFXKU
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=fnqAwtorUTE

Optical tweezers are capable of trapping microscopic particles in the focus region of a light beam. By transfer of photonic
momentum, a restoring force pushes the particle back as soon as it tries to flee the trap. For optical tweezers to work strongly
focused light is needed. Therefore many tweezers use modified commercial microscopes.
The first optical tweezers were developed by A. Ashkin in 1986. The tweezers proved to be a valuable tool for biological and
technical applications, as well as for basic research purposes.

COMBINATIONS of laser scissors and tweezers can make it possible to perform subtle subcellular manipulations. In a
procedure that should be feasible within a decade, two tweezers beams (pink) hold a cell firmly in place. One scissors beam
(lighter blue) penetrates the cell to delete a faulty gene (red). A second scissors beam (dark blue) cuts a hole in the cell membrane
through which a competent genetic sequence (black dots) can pass. Clones of the genetically altered cell could then be produced
and transplanted into the body for therapeutic use.

7.1.3 Ultrafast Laser Pulse Applications
The principle of Pump-probe technique
100 e-
100 m
12 2
9 3

THz Generation and Its Applications
Current source MgO substrate
MgO hemispherical lens
Optical laser pulse

λ=800 nm
tp~50 fs
Terahertz pulse E o(t)

YBCO thin film tTHz~ ps
Eo(t)
Ei(t)
Vdc
SI-GaAs
fs Laser
Au
500μm , 100 μm , 10 μm

Terahertz time-domain (TDS) spectroscopy
Measure the Optical conductivity in superconducting
YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films
The complex transmittance of the thin film

Eref (t)
substrate
ETHz(t)
1/
Esam (t)
film substrate
t () E film () *

2n 2 (1 n3 )
T * ()   * 
t ' () E substrate () ( n1 n 2 )( n 2 n3 )e in2d / c
( n1 n 2 )( n 2 n3 )e in2d / c
T *exp () Tthe

*
() n f (, T ) n ik
*
1.0
min 0.9 295K
Amplitude Transmittance
95K
0.8 83.6K
80K
0.7
70K
0.6 60K
50K
( n 
2
1 i
0.5 6.3K
f 2) L 0.4

1 n k
0.3
2 2
0.2
2 2nk 0.1
 (, T ) 1 i2 i0

* 1/ 0.0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Frequency (THz)
0.8 0.9 1.0
42

飛秒雷射照射玻璃就可能變成寶石
飛秒雷射外科手術
飛秒雷射在齒科領域的應用
科學家利用飛秒雷射成功觀測電子運動
利用超快雷射實現奈米加工

OTST 2009: International Workshop on Optical Terahertz Science and Technology
Santa Barbara, CA, March 7-11, 2009.
About the THz Network # Terahertz pulse generation and detection

# Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy
# THz imaging and nondestructive evaluation
# THz near-field microscopy: developments and applications
# Nanotechnology impact on terahertz instrumentation
# Terahertz characterization of nanomaterials
# Time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy
# Probing ultrafast carrier dynamics and transport in materials
# Novel optical and material development: metamaterials and plasmonics
# Applications to molecular, biomolecular, and liquid phase spectroscopy
# Portal security applications
# Quantum cascade lasers
# Sources based on telecom pumps
# Emerging laser technology for use in optical THz sources and detectors
# LIDAR/DIAL systems
History THz Organizations Website Stats THz Image Gallery Virtual Journal
Most Cited THz Papers

7.2 Metrological Applications
Low power lasers for
(a) alignment and leveling
(b)ga gi
ng:l ength, t
hi ckne ss,diame ter
, veloc
ity
,or ientation, counti
ng…
(c) inspection: vibration, strain, surface roughness, pattern recognition
7.2.1 Alignment and leveling---Straight line marking, or plan of reference.
A. Alignment
Many daily applications require a precise reference line for alignment. A visible line which can be used for positioning an
object, surveying, guidance of equipment in construction.
Examples are:
 Laying pipes of gas, water, electricity, etc.

 Digging tunnels under-ground (such as the one under the English Channel between England and France).
 Alignment of mechanical systems.
 Marking spots for pointing invisible radiation from another laser (such as Nd-YAG or CO2 lasers). The visible laser
radiation is aligned parralel to the invisible radiation, such that it mark the place where the invisible beam is pointing.
 Alignment for Standford linear accelerator: total length :15 km, accuracy :10 m/1 km, misorientation <10-7 rad.

B. Leveling --- Marking a reference plane for construction:
By using a vibrating (or rotating) mirror to reflect a visible laser light, a perfect plane is defined in space. The mirror is
vibrating around one axis, so the light is reflected into consecutive angles continuously, thus defining a perfect plane. Since
the vibration of the mirror is at a frequency greater than the persistence of vision in the brain, the viewer sees a plane of
light. This plane helps aligning walls, sealing, etc. in industrial construction.

How to scan laser light?
(1) oscillating mirror
(2) rotating mirror with a constant angular velocity
(3) rotating polygon mirror
(4) rotating pentaprism
(5) rotating hologram
Applications: l
eve
li
ng,
gagi
ng,
sur
fac
eins
pec
ti
on,
barc
oder
eadi
ng,
las
era
rt,
las
erp
rin
ter
….

7.2.2 Gaging: measurements of length, thickness, diameter, velocity, orientation,
c
ounting …
A. Measure the diameter of a round bar:
The laser beam will be blocked for a period of time t as the beam
scans across it, the cylinder diameter y then can be
determined.

B. Measure distance and length
(1) long distance measurement by beam-modulation method.
(2) long distance measurement by pulse-echo technique.
Measurement of the distance from Earth to the moon:
One of the known precise measurements with a laser was measuring the distance from Earth to the moon. The astronauts
who landed on the surface of the Moon left there a corner cube (a system of three perpendicular mirrors that reflect light
in the same direction where it came from).
A pulsed laser beam was sent from Earth to the moon and was reflected from this corner cube back to Earth. The travel
time of the pulse was recorded.
From the known speed of light (c) the distance was calculated, with accuracy of tens of centimeters (!).
Accuray: 368000 km 0.15 m
(3) length measurement by interferometer.

C. Measure velocity --- laser Doppler Velocimeter
Applications:
1. Velocity measurement range: v 0.004 cm/s to 104 m/s in
Noncontact nature
2. Me asurepa r
ticlev elo ci
tyinva cuum, bl oo
d,combus tioncha
mbe
r…
3. Analyze vibration in industry seem vast
4. Measure speed of car on the highway

D. Measurement of angular rotation --- ring laser gyro
cheaper, smaller, and weigh less than the old gimbal system
The ring laser rotates about an axis through the intersection O. There is then a change in the lengths in opposite direction.
Consequently, the two counter-rotating beam have slightly different wavelengths and frequencies.
Gyroscope is an instrument that helps maintain orientation in space.
In the past the gyroscopes were mechanical spinning systems, in which the principle of conservation of angular momentum help
keep the device pointing in one direction. These devices were very massive and required motors and maintenance.
Optical gyroscopes are based on a principle called Sagniac effect.
This effect which was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, states that:
" An electromagnetic wave which moves in a closed path, which surrounds a finite area, is influenced from the angular velocity
of the system which is included in this area".

7.2.3 Inspection: vibration, strain, surface roughness
A. Surface Inspection and Optical Component Testing
Surface inspection is done by evaluating the specular or diffuse reflection from the surface being interrogated. It is used to
a
detect surface defects, presence honed surface, fine periodic scrtc
hes
….

B. Optical component testing by interferometry:
The Precision Stabilized Laser Interferometer accompanying with the Reference Lens find their application on the
measurement of optical lens surface, detection of lens quality, as well as flatness measurement of semiconductor wafers. The
measurement of flatness accuracy reaches wavelength/20 and the spherical accuracy reaches wavelength/10.
Precision Stabliized Laser Interferometer

7.2.4 Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring
Lidar systems are laser radar systems. A laser transmits a pulse of light into the atmosphere.
The LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) is a very powerful and versatile remote sensing tool. It has a broad range of
applications.
With a lidar system, the thermal, structural and dynamic properties of the atmosphere can be studied. It is well suited for air
pollution monitoring, but it is also an excellent tool to obtain very detailed information about atmospheric boundary layer
processes. Possible applications of lidar are (this list is far from being complete):
- Atmospheric boundary layer dynamics
- Wind field (pollution tracking)
- Cloud optical properties (crucial for climate models)
- Cloud altitude
- Aerosol-cloud interactions
- Aerosol monitoring
- Optical properties of the atmosphere (e.g. backscatter and
extinction)

7.3 Holography
In everyday life we see everything in 3-D, and we accept it as obvious.
However, when we look at a hologram which show a 3-D image of something, we are impressed.
The medium on which the 3-Dimageisre
cor
dedi
sca
lle
d“ .
Hologram”Thena
meHologram comes from the Greek language,
andme ans“ .
whole message (picture)”
Holographic photography was invented by Dennis Gabor from the Imperial College in London in 1948. On this invention he
received the Nobel price in 1971.
Only after the invention of the laser (in 1960) researchers succeeded in taking good quality holograms, and the most well known
among these researchers were Emmett N. Leith and Juris Upatnieks from the university of Michigan in 1961.
Since hologram is based on interferometry, it will be explained first:
What is recorded on the hologram is not the image (as in standard film photography), but the interference pattern
created by the waves from all parts of the bodies in the scene.

7.3.1 Holographic Photography
Holography is in principle a two-stage process:

1. Recording Hologram - which is writing the information from the object on the photographic plate.
2. Reconstructing the image from the hologram - which creates the 3-dimensional image of the object from the recorded
interference pattern.
1. Recording Hologram
A coherent beam from a laser is split into two beams:

One beam is projected by a mirror or set of mirrors directly on the photographic plate, and serves as a Reference Beam.
The second beam is projected by a mirror or set of mirrors to illuminate the bodies to be photographed. The radiation
reflected from the bodies is scattered into all directions, and part of it illuminates the photographic plate. This beam is called the
Object Beam.
On the photographic plate an interference pattern between these two beams is recorded, and these interference pattern
contain all the information on the photographed bodies.

2. Reconstructing the Image from the Hologram
After development, the film contains
interference pattern which are
unreadable by human eyes.
When the Reference beam illuminate the
film, from the same direction as the
original Reference beam, it interacts with
the interference pattern, and recreate the
Object beam.
As a result, a 3-D image of the bodies is
reconstructed at the original place of the bodies compared to the film.
Stability Requirements
The interference pattern on the film must be without movement throughout all the exposure time. This means that all
the optical components, including the photographed bodies, must be stable up to a movement of the order of half a
wavelength of the laser used to illuminate the scene.

7.3.3 Applications of Holography
The number of applications of holography increases rapidly.
A. Holographic Microscopy
B. Storage of Information
C. Optical processing of information
D. Applications of Holography in Accurate Measuring Techniques - Interferometry
E. HOE = Holographic Optical Elements
G. Applications of Holograms in Art

7.4 Laser Material Processing
The mechanism of interaction between the laser beam and the processed material:
 Thermal Effects - Most of the applications of lasers in material processing were based on the absorption of the laser
radiation inside the material, and the effects were thermal in nature. The absorption process transfers energy to the
material. As a result, there is a rise in the temperature in that region to high temperatures.
 Photochemical Effects - Breaking the bonds between the molecules in the material. The Excimer laser emits in the
Ultra-Violet (VU) part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and its photons are very energetic. It can be used to cut very
delicate and accurate structures without causing thermal damage to
surrounding areas.
The mostly used lasers for material processing are:
1. CO2 laser - which has high power and is highly absorbed in most
materials.
2. Nd-YAG laser - which has high power and can be transmitted
through optical fibers.
3. Fiber laser -
http://www.fiber-laser-systems.com/laser_applications.htm

The main advantages of lasers for material processing are:
 Close tolerance (± .001 inch)
 Excellent repeatability
 Unit cost reductions
 Material versatility
 Flame/fire polished edge cutting (acrylics)
 Minimal distortion in heat affected zones
 No tooling to wear out or change over
 Non-contact processing eliminates unwanted stress on materials
 Clean processing to eliminate debris (shavings, dust, etc.)
 Flexibility - fast setups achieved with computer controls
 Little or no burring can make secondary finishing unnecessary
 90% less heat input results in welds with minimal distortion

7.4.1 Laser Cutting
Laser cutting is the process of vaporizing material in a very small, well-defined area. The laser itself is a single point cutting
source with a very small point, (0.001" to 0.020" / 0.025mm to 0.5mm) allowing for very small cut widths.
Laser Cutting Advantages
 There is almost no limit to the cutting path; the point can move in any direction unlike
other processes that use knives or saws.
 The process is forceless allowing very fragile or flimsy parts to be laser cut with no
support. Since the laser beam exerts no force on the part and is a very small spot, the
technology is well suited to fabricating high accuracy parts, especially flexible
materials. The part keeps its original shape from start to finish.
 The laser beam is always sharp and can cut very hard or abrasive materials.
 Sticky materials that would otherwise gum up a blade are not an obstacle for a laser.
 Lasers cut at high speeds. The speed at which the material can be processed is limited
only by the power available from the laser.
 Cutting with lasers is a very cost effective process with low operating and maintenance costs and maximum flexibility.

7.4.2 Laser Drilling
Laser drilling is the process of repeatedly pulsing focused laser energy at a specific
material.
The laser beam consistently drills holes down to 0.004" with little or no
debris. Holes with length-to-diameter ratios of up to 50 can be drilled with reliable, high
quality results.
With lasers it is possible to drill in very difficult locations using mirrors to bend the
beam. Laser drilling at very high rates, 1000 pulses per second or greater, is also
possible.
Laser Drilling Advantages
 Using laser system software, the operator instantly can control hole shape and size to produce round, oval or rectangular
holes, or any shape imaginable. This eliminates downtime due to tool changes.
 Very small holes can be laser drilled in production. A focused spot can be as small as 0.1mm (0.004") in diameter.
 Since the tool is a beam of light, the tool never needs to be replaced eliminating downtime because of punch breakage.

7.4.3 Laser Micro Perforating
The laser can be pulsed on and off quickly so materials can be perforated at very
high speeds and the perforation pattern changed at will.
Holes are drilled as fast as the laser beam is pulsed and moved from hole to
hole. In some cases, the laser beam can drill as fast as 10,000 holes per
second.
An example of this is laser perforated computer paper that is with a hole

pattern so fine it is almost impossible to tell if it was sheared or torn
apart. Laser micro perforating is also useful for package applications such as easy
open and breathability.
Laser Micro Perforating Advantages
 Using laser system software, the operator can automatically control hole shape and size to produce round, oval, or
rectangular holes or any shape imaginable. This eliminates down-time due to tool changes.
 Very small holes can be drilled in production. A focused spot can be as small as 0.1mm (0.004") in diameter.
 Since the tool is a beam of light, the tool never needs to be replaced eliminating down time because of punch breakage.

7.4.4 Laser Heat Treating
Laser heat treating is a surface modification process designed to change the
microstructure of metals by controlled heating and cooling. Lasers have the
advantage of being able to heat treat precise areas of metals without involving the
entire workpiece. The mass of the material being processed is generally sufficient for rapid
heat removal or "quenching ".
The enhanced mechanical properties resulting from laser heat treating depend upon the
specific composition of the metal or alloy. Laser case hardening of transformation
hardenable metals provides high wear and abrasion resistance with a minimum of
distortion and cracking. Laser spot annealing of precipitation and work hardened
metals (i.e., 300 series stainless steel and copper alloys) restores ductility and
improves formability and fatigue resistance in critical areas.
Laser Heat Treating Advantages

 Precision control of heat input to localized areas
 Minimum distortion
 Minimum stress and cracking
 Self-quenching, requires no quenching medium
 Inherently time efficient process
 Line-of-sight access for hard to reach areas

7.4.5 Laser Welding
Laser welding uses an intense energy beam as its heat source. Laser welding is accomplished at very high speeds with low heat
generation and little or no distortion. Since no filler material is required, laser welds are less bulky and more precise. Laser welds
are also very repeatable because they eliminate the human error. No physical material such as electrodes or contacts is needed to
apply heat to the part.
With their well defined beams, lasers are excellent tools for welding thin materials, hermetic welds or in close proximity to
heat-sensitive components. Even hard to reach areas can be laser welded if a line-of-site exists.All materials which are
commonly welded can be easily laser welded. In addition, difficult to join materials such as high carbon stainless steels and
titanium may be successfully laser welded. Lasers are also used to weld many dissimilar materials which may otherwise be
incompatible.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=1-J_EzKm_70&feature=related
Laser Welding Advantages

 Low heat input/minimal heat affect
 Fine grain structure/excellent weld quality
 High energy density/high weld speeds
 No filler material
 Line of sight access for hard to reach areas


7.4.6 Laser Scribing / Etching
Laser scribing is a process in which lines and characters of different fonts can be produced on materials.
Unlike laser engraving, the line being laser scribed is only as wide as a single laser beam and is set to a specific tolerance depth.
The line consists of a series of small, closely spaced holes in the substrate that is produced by laser energy pulses.
Laser scribing is a process in which lines and characters of different fonts can be produced on materials.
Ceramics, glass and wood are common laser scribed products. Laser scribing is a process in which lines and characters of
different fonts can be produced on materials.
Ceramics, glass and wood are common laser scribed products.

7.4.7 Laser marking and engraving
Laser marking or engraving is very much as it sounds. A PC controlled laser beam is used to either discolour the surface of a
component or to actually engrave it by vaporising material. The laser and its position can be very accurately controlled and this
allows a variety of effects to be achieved from putting barcodes onto stainless steel to putting company logos onto plastic pens.
 All metals, most plastics and ceramics.

Marking anodised aluminium or coated components with barcodes and
serial numbers.
 Marking of CE marks on safety and electrical equipment.
 Marking of batch numbers and serial numbers for ISO 9000 compliance.
 Marking of wiring diagrams and symbols directly onto components.
 Very precise engraving on fragile components.
 Medical instruments can be marked without creating a rough surface
which would have hygiene implications.
 Logos can be applied to promotional items.
 Removing coatings.

 Medical
 Electronic
 Automotive
 Aerospace
Tooling Item Marked for Product Pen Engraved with Company Name & Logo
Identification

Promotional Item Engraved with Company Engraved Machine Dials
Name
Part Number Engraved on Wooden Mirror Marked with Graphic

Drill Bit

Smoked Glass Engraved with Custom Graphic Wood Marked with
Custom Fonts
Product Tags Engraved with

Photograph Engraved on Coated Aluminum
Part Numbers / Serial Numbers

Electronic Machining , Military & Consumer Products
Backside Silicon Wafer Marking
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxqvvRz6KQ&feature=related

7.4.8 Pulsed Laser Ablation and Deposition
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) can produce diamond-like coatings that make a surface nearly diamond-hard, or high-temperature
superconducting films to pave the way for practical superconducting devices. PLD has the highest instantaneous deposition rate
among all other known deposition methods like electron-beam deposition, magnetron sputtering, or chemical vapour deposition.
The unique ability of the PLD process to operate over a wide range of gas pressures motivated a number of groups to deposit
various types of nitrides, complex multicomponent oxides to synthesise nanocrystalline quantum dots, ferroelectric thin films,
and planar lasers and nonlinear waveguides.
Pulsed laser deposition is basically a simple process. A high-intensity pulsed laser beam is focused on a target in a chamber that
is either evacuated or filled with a specific gas such as argon, oxygen or nitrogen. The laser pulse ablates the target material, and
the ablated vapour expands into the chamber. When the substrate to be coated is placed in path of the laser-produced plume, the
vapour adheres to the surface. The repetitive plumes lay down a thin film of the ablated material.
The process may be simple, but the deposition process control is very sensitive to many laser and target parameters. Several
technical obstacles still stand between pulsed laser deposition and widespread commercialization.
The main drawback has been the deposition of particulates (or droplets) on the film during the deposition process. The origin of
these particles is connected with inhomogeneities in the target, fluctuations in the laser fluence, and other irregularities of the
process.

7.4.9 Laser material processing with ultrashort pulses
540 nm

This Venus statue, about 0.5 cm high, demonstrates the
Femtosecond pulses generate microstructures power of the 2PP technique. LZH says that by using
different focusing optics it can produce statues as small
as 10 µm - the size of a human cell

7.5 Medical Applications
7.5.1 General introduction of Lasers Applications in Medicine
There are many medical applications of lasers, and there are different ways to classify them into groups:
According to the organ to be treated by the laser, such as: Eye, General Surgery, Dentistry, Dermatology, Blood vessels,
Cardiac, etc.
According to the type of laser used for treatment, such as: CO2, YAG, Argon, Ex cime r
, Dye ,Erdope df
ibe
rla
ser
s…. .
.
According to the type of treatment, such as diagnostic, surgery, connecting blood vessels.
Interaction between Laser Radiation and Biological Tissue
The interaction between electromagnetic radiation and biological tissue depends on:
1. The wavelength of light, which determines the energy of each photon of light..
2. The intensity of radiation.
3. The shape of irradiation (continuous or pulsed).
For power levels is up to few Watts, the interaction is divided into 3 regions of wavelengths:
1. Short UV region - the photons interact with the proteins, RNA and DNA, and usually kills the biological cells.
2. Near UV and Short visible range - photochemical reactions such as photosynthesis. Especially with the Excimer laser.
3. Visible and Near Infra-Red region - Thermal effects due to absorption of the radiation.

7.5.2 Lasers in Medical Surgery
Almost every medical surgery in which a removal of tissue is required or a cut needs to be made, can be done with a laser.
In general, the results of surgery using lasers are better than the results using a surgical knife.
Medical Surgery Fields
The areas of medical laser surgery are well established, and include:
 Eye Treatment.
 General Surgery.
 Ear, Nose and Throat.
 Dentistry.
 Dermatology.
 Gastroenterology and colo-rectal.
 Plastic surgery.
 Gynecology.
 Urology.
 Oncology.
 Orthopedics.
 Neurosurgery.
 Veterinary.
 Cardiovascular.

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=3uD4sKBhhsU
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ySteD-Snc&feature=related
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoA4PLb7hc

7.5.3 Lasers in Diagnostic Medicine, and in combination with Drugs:
Diagnostics of cancer cells using Fluorescence, and Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT)
One of the biggest problems in medicine today is to find a cure for cancer.
There are many treatments for cancer to destroy the cancer cells, such as:
 Disectomy of the infected organ.
 Radioactive irradiation.
 Heat treatment.
All these treatments improve the chance of cure in some cases, but the "magic" medicine has not yet been found. Since there is no
solution yet, the medical professionals are looking for new ways to solve the big problem of cancer.
Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT)

In 1972 a new method was developed to identify and destroy cancer cells. This method is called: Photo-Dynamic Therapy
(PDT).
It is based on the use of special drugs that are injected into the patient body.
These drug accumulates in cancer cells, more than in "normal" cells. The drugs are sensitive to light at specific wavelengths.
When exposed to these specific wavelengths:
It can release chemical substance that kills the cells around it. It can emit fluorescence light, so the cancer cells can be
identified.

7.5.4 Soft lasers
Most of the medical laser applications were until recently based on the thermal effects caused by the electromagnetic radiation
which was absorbed in the biological tissue.
In the last few years, some new applications are using low power lasers with output power less than 1 Watt.
Some of the effects of these low power levels on the biological tissue is not thermal, and in effect the mechanism of interaction
is not yet clear.
It is sometimes referred to as Biostimulation, which does not explain a lot.
Some of the low power laser applications are:
 Wound healing
 Slow down destruction of injured nerve cells
 Reconnection of blood vessels
 Pain relief
 Acupuncture without needles
 Cosmetic applications
 Hair Removal
 Hair Transplant

7.6 Laser Daily Applications
The daily applications of the laser include:
Compact disk - Optical storage of information.

Laser in the office, which include:
Laser printer.
Optical computer.
Laser in Commerce, which include:
Bar code scanner.
Holograms against forgery (on credit cards, money, special goods, etc.).
Laser in Communications, which include:
Fiber optic communications.
Lasers in Art and Entertainment, which include:
Laser shows (Lasarium) (in discotheques and open theaters).
Holograms in exhibits and museums.
Kinetic sculptures.

7.7 Military Applications
7.7.1 Laser Range-finder
Measuring distances with high speed and high accuracy was the immediate military application after the laser was invented.
Since the laser beam is electromagnetic light, it is traveling in space with known velocity (the velocity of light c).
By sending a short laser pulse to the target and measuring the time it take the beam to arrive at the target and reflect back to the
sender, it is easy to calculate the distance.
Measuring distances with high accuracy is important for military applications such as:
 Measuring the distance to a shooting target for artillery and missiles.
Tracking a moving target is very important for military applications.

Using Doppler effect, it is possible to calculate the velocity of the moving target, and its direction of movement . Thus, it is
possible to use the computer to align the optical system to track the moving object.
Since the laser beam is moving at the speed of light, is easy to track fast moving objects, even if they suddenly change their
direction.

7.7.2 Laser Target Designator
The laser is used to mark targets for attack by "smart" artillery and guided missiles.
The properties that make the laser so attractive as laser designator are:
 The laser beam advance great distances in a straight line.

 The laser beam propagate at very high speed (speed of light).
 It is possible to modulate the laser beam to include information for identification.
A soldier in the field, or a flying vehicle can be used to send a laser beam on the target.
The laser is designed to send a series of pulses in a specific pattern (code) of pulses of invisible light.
Special detecting systems are locked on these specific pattern of laser pulses, and guide the "Smart Bombs" to hit the marked
target.

7.7.3 Laser weapons ("Star War").
A lot was written on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the US government.
This futuristic project was named by the public

"Star Wars".
The idea behind this initiative was to build high

power devices that can send beams over very big
distances in a very high accuracy and very high
speed.
These high power devices were supposed to

destroy the USSR missiles above their lounching
sites right after this launch. Since these missiles
were supposed to carry nuclear weapons, it was
not possible to let them arrive above Europe or the
US. By destroying the missiles at the launch zone a
great damage would be caused to the attacker, so
such defense system was a threat to the other side.
Location of Laser Weapon

One of the more advanced device in this SDI project was a laser.

There were two possible locations to put the laser:
1. On a high Mountain (to reduce the length of transmission through the atmosphere).
2. On a satellite revolving around Earth.
An artist view of such system is described in figure 8.7.2.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=nVxZ9IHTH2E
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKk1bTL6fk

7.7.4 Laser blinding for man and sensitive equipment.
A simple and very promising project, which is being developed at many sites all over the world, is laser system for blinding
enemy soldiers and their optical equipment.
The power required is not specially high, because of the high sensitivity of our sight system, and the high sensitivity of the
optical detection systems in use at the battlefield.
The operation of blinding laser system is simple:
The laser beam is used to scan the space in front of the military troops, blinding enemy soldiers and their equipment.
The optical power density higher than the safe level can cause blindness (temporary or permanent) to humans, and saturation or
damage to sensitive optical equipment.

7.8 Laser Fusion
Three Basic Requirements for Nuclear Fusion:

1. High temperature of the plasma - The required temperature of the plasma is millions of degrees such that the Deuterium and
Tritium nuclei will have enough kinetic energy to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between them.
The energy is measured in units of electron volt [eV]:
The average energy per particle at temperature T is: E = 3kT/2
In the laboratory, the maximum energy people achieved was 33 [KeV], which is equivalent to temperature of 2*10 8 [K].
For comparison, the temperature in the center of the Sun is about 107 - 108 [K].
2. High density of particles (n).
Density describes the number of particles per unit volume. The denser the material, it contains more particles per unit volume.
3. Long confinement time (
).
Requirements 2 and 3 for the n and to be high enough, mean that there will be high probability for collisions between
Deuterium and Tritium nuclei. This is the Lawson criterion:. n > 1014 [s/cm3]
It is enough to increase one of these numbers to achieve the goal of controlled nuclear fusion .

Stages in Controlled Nuclear Fusion Process:
The first reaction that the scientists will try to perform under controlled conditions is:
D + T ==> 4He + n + 17.6 [MeV]
1. Energy on the target - by many laser beams simultaneously.

2. Pellet compression - The outer layer heat up and ejected away. A shock wave toward the center compresses the nuclear
fuel toward the center. Pressure rise to tens of millions of atmospheres.
3. Fuel "Ignition" - As a result of compression, the temperature rises at the center, and nuclear fusion occurs at 50-100
millions degrees.
4. "Mini Explosion" - The fusion process produce enormous amounts of energy which is released in all directions on a time
scale of micro-seconds (miniature Hydrogen bomb ...).
Stages in controlled nuclear fusion.

Basic Design of a Controlled Nuclear Fusion Reactor.

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=QOagieCvxio
Assembly of the current world's most powerful laser, the OMEGA EP
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=dmIHD6P3rdo
It's the largest laser beam in the world and it's being built in the Bay Area
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=d8h5ZuPQWZw

Partial contents and figures of this lecture are collected from the following websites:
1. http://stwi.weizmann.ac.il/Lasers/laserweb
2. http://www.dewtronics.com/tutorials/lasers/leot/
Laser TV
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=DS6wsJRGqnQ
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XpemxLPT4&feature=related
Laser show
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=8QM4SzTCLoI&feature=related
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=-MCKupK2vV8&feature=related
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=aBlaqz2FD8E&feature=related
Laser marking
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=WoUYAV1BbNo&feature=related
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ngMyyUf_o&feature=related
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv9tc4bBOTI&feature=related


Dye Laser Textbook

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dye Laser Textbook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dye Laser Textbook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lasers: Principles and Applications

Past, present, and future

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 1

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 2

LASER = "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"

Amplification of light: A Laser Device:

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 3

--- Milestones in the history of lasers:

1954 Townes, Schalow (USA), and Basov (Russia)

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 4

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 5

1962 The first continuous wave semiconductor laser is reported.

1963 The first CO2 laser is reported.

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 7

1973: Discovery of laser action in quasars

1975: The first GaAs and Excimer lasers are reported.

1980: The first CW Ti:sapphire laser is reported.

1981: Carbon dioxide laser discovered in atmosphere of mars and venus

1984: First X-ray laser

1999: Nobel Prize in Chemistry Ahmed Zewail for ultrafast spectroscopy

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 8

50W CO2 laser CW Ti- sapphire laser

Some Laser Systems developed in EP

M-L Ti- sapphire laser

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 9

Argon ion laser lines:

Wavelength Relative Power Absolute Power

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 10

Peak powers >1020 W, pulses shorter than 10-15s

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 11

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 12

Ultrafast Laser Pulse

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 13

(distance measurements, time & frequency metrology, material processing)

Rare Earth Doped Core

Pump Input Laser Output

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 14

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 15

a. gain or laser medium

(active or amplifying medium)

b. pump or energy source

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 16

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 17

The electron can stay only at the specific energy

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 19

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 20

(a) Stimulated absorption:

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 21

The population density of atoms, N2, in an excited state, E2,

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 22

We saw that in a thermodynamic equilibrium Bolzman equation shows us that :

For a laser medium, by putting energy into a

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 23

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 24

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 25

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 26

Fundamental Optics Prof. K. H. Wu JAN/2009 27

(a) Optical pumping - Excitation by photons:

In lasers with solid or liquid active medium, it