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LBM Lecture 2

Laser based manufacturing

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Eemesh Narayana
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5 views

LBM Lecture 2

Laser based manufacturing

Uploaded by

Eemesh Narayana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NPTEL online certification course on

Laser Based Manufacturing


Dr. Shrikrishna N. Joshi
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati, Assam, India
Week 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: Fundamentals of Laser


technology
Laser technology
Lasers produce intense beams of light:
• Monochromatic: the wavelength (color) of laser light is
extremely pure
• Coherent: have a fixed phase relationship (coherence) with
respect to one another
• Highly collimated: has very low divergence

• Can be focused to a very small spot


Laser technology
• LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission
of Radiation.
• LIGHT: electromagnetic radiation ranging from 1 nm to 1000 µm in
wavelength.
• The visible spectrum (what we see) : 400 to 700 nm
• From 700 nm to 10 µm : near infrared
• Beyond 10 µm : far infrared
• From 200 to 400 nm is called ultraviolet (UV)
• Below 200 nm : deep ultraviolet
The Bohr atom
• In 1915, Neils Bohr proposed a model of the atom
• A simple model -> the basis for the field of quantum
mechanics
• Not fully accurate by today’s understanding, however
helpful for demonstrating laser principles
• Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom
• The Bohr atom has a limited number of fixed orbits that
are available to the electrons.
• Under the correct conditions an electron can jump from
its ground state (lowest-energy orbit) to a higher
(excited) state, or it can decay from a higher state to a
lower state, but it cannot remain between these states.
The allowed energy states are called “quantum” states.
The Bohr atom
• For an electron to jump to a higher quantum state -> the atom must
receive energy from the outside world.
• This is possible through a variety of mechanisms : inelastic or semi-
elastic collisions with other atoms and absorption of energy in the form
of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., light).
• When an electron moves from a higher state to a lower state, the atom
must release energy : as kinetic activity (nonradiative transitions) or as
electromagnetic radiation (radiative transitions).
Photons and Energy
• Light is made up of particles : “photons” -> exhibit both particle-like
and wave-like properties
• The intrinsic energy of a photon can be determined by using the
equation

✓ longer the wavelength of


the light -> lower the
energy of the photon
✓ ultraviolet light is much
more “energetic” than
infrared light
Photons and Energy
• For an atom to absorb light : for the light energy to cause an electron to
move from a lower energy state En to a higher energy state Em) -> the
energy of a single photon must equal (almost exactly) the energy
difference between the two states.
• Too much energy or too little energy and the photon will not be
absorbed.
• Therefore, the wavelength of that photon must be
Laser technology: spontaneous and stimulated
emission
• When an electron is in an excited energy state,
it gets decayed to a lower level -> releasing a
photon of radiation. This is called spontaneous
emission.
• The photon is emitted in a random direction
and a random phase.
• The average time it takes for the electron to
decay is called the time constant for
spontaneous emission, and is represented by τ.
Laser technology: spontaneous and stimulated
emission
• Whereas, if an electron is in energy state E2, and its decay
path is to E1
• However, before the electron has a chance to
spontaneously decay, a photon is passing near to the
electron. The energy of the photon is approximately
(E2 ‒ E1).
• Then there is a probability that the passing photon will
make the electron to decay in a way that a photon will be
emitted at exactly
• same wavelength
• same direction As of passing photon

• same phase
• This process is called “stimulated emission.”
Laser technology: spontaneous and stimulated emission
• Consider:
✓ A group of atoms : exactly the same excited state, and most are effectively
within the stimulation range of a passing photon.
✓ τ is very long
✓ Probability for stimulated emission is 100 %.
• The incoming (stimulating) photon interacts with the first atom,
causing stimulated emission of a coherent photon
• These two photons then interact with the next two atoms in line,
-> four coherent photons -> continues…..
• Many photons with identical phases and all traveling in the same
direction.
• That means the initial photon has been “amplified” by a certain
factor.
• Essential to note that the energy to put these atoms in excited
states is provided externally by some energy source which is
usually referred to as the “pump” source.
Laser technology: spontaneous and stimulated emission
Population Inversion: Different materials
have different number of energy levels. At
thermal equilibrium, the population of
2
atoms in the lower energy level is more
than that of the upper energy level. When Very Fast non
the population of atoms at the higher radiative decay
energy level is more than that the 3
population of atoms at the lower energy
Laser

Pumping
level, the condition achieved is known as
population inversion. Population inversion is
important for any material so that they can 4
be used for producing laser. The population Very Fast non
inversion is usually achieved by supplying radiative decay
the required amount of energy to the 1
Active medium
material and this process of supplying
energy is called as pumping.
Summary

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