8.

Quantum Optics

1. Interaction of light with matter.

In order to describe the interaction of light with matter it is necessary to move away
from the wave view of electromagnetic radiation and try to understand the ways in
which quantised electromagnetic radiation, photons, may interact with matter.
To do this we consider the simplest possible situation where matter is to be described
by a quantum mechanical two level system consisting of the ground state and an
excited state. There are three basic processes by which photons can interact with such
a two energy level atomic (or molecular) system: absorption, spontaneous emission
(fluorescence), and stimulated emission. This last process is only predicted within
quantum mechanics and is not a classical process. We can however make a great
deal of progress in a simple manner describing each process by its Einstein

coefficient , B12 , A21 and B21 , respectively and discovering the relationship
between the three coefficients.

2. Absorption, Fluorescence, Stimulated Emission and the

Einstein Coefficients.
By consideration of an atomic system consisting of two electronic quantum levels, the
ground state and the excited state (denoted by subscripts 1 and 2 respectively in what
follows), in equilibrium with a radiation field at temperature T, three different processes
whereby an atom can interact with light may be identified.

i) Absorption
Most familiar of the three to everyday life is the process of absorption whereby a photon
of appropriate frequency promotes an electron from the ground state to the excited
state(s).

N2 E2

h21

N1 E1
278
The rate at which this process occurs per unit volume is proportional to;
i) The number of occupied ground state atoms/molecules per unit volume, N1, (ie
the number of initial states) and
ii) The energy density in the electromagnetic field, (), at the transition frequency
(ie, the number of photons present per unit volume and available to take part in
the process).
The constant of proportionality is the Einstein coefficient B12.
The rate at which the absorption process occurs may be written as;
dN1
 B12  N1
dt
Losing an amount of energy h with each transition, the rate of decrease of energy
density per unit volume in the presence of this process alone can then be written;
d  dN
 h 1  hB12  N1
dt dt
NB. The minus sign on the RHS of the above equation exists as the loss of a
ground state atom corresponds to the loss of a photon from the electromagnetic
field.
Generally it is more useful to know the rate of decrease of intensity I with distance as
this is what is measured in a spectrophotometer where a light beam crosses a sample
of known thickness and the emergent intensity is measured. When light is of a
frequency such that h = E2 – E1 (with E2 being the excited state energy and E1 the
ground state energy) some of the light will be absorbed by the sample and it is the
consequent loss in light intensity that the spectrophotometer measures By noting that
for a propagating radiation field (beam of light)  and I are related by
I I dt
     I
v dz dz
dt
therefore
d dI

dt dz
The earlier equation can thus be rewritten;
dI  I n
 hB12  N1  hB12N1I 
dz v c
dI  n
 hB12 N1dz
I c
and by integrating from 0 to L

279
  I (L )  n
loge    hB12 N1L
 I (0 )  c
finally;
I (L)  I (0) exp( L)

This final equation is known as Beers law where  is the absorption coefficient of
the system given by
n
  hB12 N1
c
Evidently knowledge of  from spectroscopy will lead to a value for B12
1 c 1
B12  
h n N1
It is necessary to note that in arriving at equation 8.5 the fiction was adopted that the
two level system was interacting with perfectly monochromatic radiation. In fact any
energy levels will have a spread of frequencies over which they may interact, . That
is, the energy levels are broadened by some external physical effect. For example
i) In a crystal different atoms may lie in different environments and local fields will
shift slightly the actual transition energy eg the Zeeman effect (magnetic field) and
the Ziman effect (electric field). This is similar to the chemical shift seen in NMR
absorption experiments where the local magnetic field in combination with an
applied magnetic field determines the transition frequency. Alternatively
ii) In a gas different atoms moving with different velocities (Maxwell-Boltzmann
distribution) will undergo a different Doppler shift or
iii) Excited electrons have a finite lifetime and the uncertainty principle requires a
corresponding uncertainty in the energies of the levels.

()

g()



280
If this level broadening is accounted for correctly an absorption coefficient ()d for a
specific frequency range lying between  and  + d is measured. In this circumstance
the equation for  is modified as:

N1g  d
n
()d  hB12
c
The broadening of the transition can be seen experimentally where a plot of () vs 
will not give a delta function but a broadened absorption.
g()d is known as the line shape function that gives the probability of a transition
occuring at a frequency that lies between  and  + d. This lineshape function is
normalised such that

 g ( )d  1

The width of the transition is related to the lineshape function and at the central
frequency of the transition, 0 it is generally the case that
1
g ( 0 ) 

and
1 n
()  hB12 N1
 c

ii) Fluorescence
Fluorescence (spontaneous emission) is a mechanism whereby the atom will return to
the ground state having been previously excited by for example optical absorption.

N2 E2

h21

N1 E1

This process is spontaneous ie it occurs at random much like nuclear decay and the
rate at which it proceeds is proportional to;
i) The number of excited atoms/molecules per unit volume
with the constant of proportionality being A21 thus the rate of change of the excited state
population is given by
281
 dN2
  A21N 2
dt
NB There is no photon involved in the initiation of this process and therefore the
energy density in the electromagnetic field, (), at the transition frequency (ie,
the number of photons present) is not a factor in determining the rate.
By re arrangement
dN 2
  A21dt
N2
and integrating between t =0 and t gives;
 N (t ) 
loge  2   A21t
 N 2 (0 ) 
finally
t 
N2 (t )  N2 (0) exp  A21t   N2 (0) exp 
  

where  ( = A21-1) is the lifetime of the excited state against radiative recombination. It is
possible to measure  by exciting the atomic system with a pulse of absorbed light
faster than  and recording the temporal decay of the fluorescence.
The value of A21 may be found from quantum mechanical considerations to be
 16 3  3 
A21     2   2   2 
 3hc 3 e  x y z

 
where the component of the transition dipole moment x is given by

x  
x    2 x ex1x dx
x  

where 1 and 2 are the wavefunctions of the lower and upper levels. For the integral
and A21 to be non-zero the requirement is that the integrand be symmetric ie the
parities of the wavefunctions must differ, one wavefunction being even and the other
odd. This requirement is the origin of an optical selection rule.

iii) Stimulated Emission

The third process is a “non classical” process and is only predicted by quantum
mechanics. An atom/molecule in the excited state can be induced to make a transition
to the ground state, by interaction with a photon of the appropriate energy, causing
emission of a further photon. Furthermore the emitted photon will have the same

282
frequency, phase, wavevector (ie direction) and polarisation as the inducing photon.
This process is the basis of light amplification and laser action.

N2 E2
h21

h21

h21

N1 E1

The rate of loss of atoms from the excited state due to stimulated emission per unit
volume is proportional to
i) The number of occupied/excited state atoms/molecules per unit volume, N2, (ie
the number of initial states) and
ii) The energy density in the electromagnetic field,  , at the transition frequency
(ie, the number of photons present and available to take part in the process).
dN2
 B 21N 2  
dt
Or
d 
 hB 21N 2 
dt
As for the case of absorption we can use the relation between energy density and
intensity to rewrite this equation as

dI  n
 hB 21N 2I 
dz c
dI  n
 hB 21 N 2 dz
I c
NB Unlike in the case of absorption there is no minus sign on the RHS of the
above equations as the loss of an excited atom corresponds to the addition of a
photon to the electromagnetic field.

283
1) Stimulated Emission 2)Spontaneous emission 3)Absorption

Rate = B21N2 A21N2 B12N1

The above diagram encapsulates all three processes and their rates.

NB processes 1) and 3) require the presence of a photon to proceed and this is

reflected in the presence of the energy density,  (which is related to the photon
density) , in their rates of transition.
3. Electromagnetic Mode Density & Blackbody Radiation
To continue further it is necessary to find relationships amongst the Einstein B and A
coefficients. This may be done by considering thermal equilibrium where the
populations N1 and N2 must be independent of time.
dN2
 B12N1   B21N2   A21N2  0
dt

In thermal equilibrium it is also required that the electromagnetic energy density,   ,
is that of a blackbody.

Electromagnetic Mode Density.

To find the blackbody radiation distribution it is necessary to start by quantising the
electromagnetic waves, that is to say the electromagnetic waves are limited to certain
allowed modes lying in a frequency range between  and  + d from which any other
wave may be constructed, the so called normal modes of the system. It is possible to
“count” the number of modes per unit volume in the frequency interval between  and
+d by considering the electromagnetic energy to be confined to a cube of side L
(which will later tend to infinity). An electromagnetic plane wave confined to this box
will have a spatial variation of the form;
284
 
A exp jk  r   A exp j k x x  k y y  k z z  
Applying periodic boundary conditions to the cube the allowed wavevectors, k, can be
found from
A exp jk x 0  A  A exp jk x L
and similar for the other two components.
 
A exp jk y 0  A  A exp jk y L  A exp jk z 0  A  A exp jk z L

and therefore restrictions on kx (and ky , kz ) as follows;

2
k x L  n x 2  kx  nx
L
2
k y L  n y 2  k y  ny
L
2
k z L  n z 2  k z  nz
L
where nx etc are integers 0, 1 2 etc and a set of three integers specify an
electromagnetic mode of the cube (NB there are two orthogonal polarisation states per
set). Any particular mode as described by the three integers and the polarisation is not
describable in terms of the other modes, they form an orthogonal set .
The following relationships between frequency and wavevector are used to find the
mode density:

 
2
 2 
k 2    n 2x  n 2y  n 2z
 L 

 
2 2 2
   kc  c 
          n2x  n 2y  n 2z
2
 2   2  L

With reference to the diagram

opposite, each mode represents
a point in the mesh over nx, ny and nz, z
(ignoring for the moment a factor
of two for the two polarisations). nz
R
A sphere of radius R  n x2  n y2  nz2

4 x y
will contain M  2  R 3 modes ny nX
3
(with the additional factor of two to

285
account for the polarisations).
The number of modes, M, can then be
expressed in terms of  as

3
8  L 
M  
3  c 
and the mode density is then

3
M 8 
  
L3 3 c 
Which is sensibly independent of the dimensions, L, of the artificial box we used to
obtain this result.
The electromagnetic mode density per frequency interval in free space, m() can
M
now be found by differentiating wrt  ;
L3

d M  2
m      8 d
d  L3  c3
NB in a medium of refractive index n the mode density becomes

2
m   8n 3 d
c3
Black Body Radiation.
The black body radiation distribution describes the unique emission spectrum of a
“perfectly emitting” body in thermal equilibrium with its environment at temperature T in
terms of the energy density in the frequency interval    + d. The early attempts to
describe theoretically the spectrum (Rayleigh-Jeans) failed catastrophically at short
wavelengths towards the UV end of the spectrum. To achieve an accurate description
at all wavelengths a postulate, that radiation at any particular frequency can only
take up discrete energies given by U n    nh and cannot vary continuously in
value, was required. Here h is Plancks constant and n is the occupation number of the
mode at frequency  ie number of photons present in that particular quantum state
recalling that photons are spin zero particles or Bosons and any number may occupy
the same quantum state.
Statistical mechanics describes the probability of a mode having the energy Un in
thermal equilibrium and is given by;

286
   Un    nh 
exp   exp  
Pn   B 
k T
  B 
k T
   Un     nh 
 exp    exp  
n 0  k BT  n 0  k BT 

This is a result from statistical physics but the Boltzman factor for a state with n photons
is recognizable in the numerator and the denominator is the sum of all such states
called the partition function.
The average energy of the mode of frequency  in thermal equilibrium is then given by;

   nh 
 nh  exp  
 n 0  k BT 
Wth   PnU n 
n 0    nh 
 exp  
n 0  B 
k T

 h 
With r  exp    the denominator is an infinite geometric progression and
 k BT 
 1
n
r 
n 0 1 r
And the numerator can be seen as;
 d  n
h nr n  hr  r  hr
d
1 r 1  hr 2
0 dr 0 dr 1 r 
and the average energy of the mode is then
 h 
h exp   
hr  k BT 
WTh    
1 r  h 
1  exp   
 k BT 

h
WTh   
 h 
exp    1
 k BT 

Finally it is now possible to find the blackbody energy density ,  bb d , of the radiation


field in the frequency interval  + d by multiplying by the mode density in that
interval;

287
 h 2
( )d  8 d
 h  c3
exp   1
 k BT 

The RHS is made up of three terms and it is helpful to make these explicit in order to
understand the physics of the equation.
 
 
 1   2 

 bb
 d   ( h  )  8 3 d 

 exp  h    c 
  k    1
    

The first term is simply the energy per photon while the last term is the density of
modes around the frequency . The middle term is the Bose-Einstein distribution
function
 
 
 
fBE h   
1

 exp  h   1
 k T  
  B  
which describes the probability that a state is occupied by a boson (particle of integer
spin eg photon with spin zero). So the energy density at frequency  is simply the
product of the energy per photon, the probability that a state at that frequency is
occupied and the density of states at that frequency.

 d  hfBE h m d

bb

a) By differentiation of the blackbody distribution the maximum wavelength of

emission is discovered at a given temperature T;

MaxT = constant = 2.898x10-3mK (Wiens displacement law)

b) By integration the total energy emitted by a body at temperature T may be

found;
Utot = T4 (Stefans law where  = 5.67x10-8 W.m2.K4 )

At 300K (room temperature) Max = 9.6m. Detectors for night vision have to work at
around 10m implying for photoconductive detectors a low energy gap semiconductor
0.12eV a factor of ten lower than Si and only a factor five greater than kBT.

288
Einstein Coefficients and Thermodynamics.
Einstein noted that if thermal equilibrium was to be possible it is necessary that the
three coefficients, B12 , B21 and A21 are related. With the blackbody distribution it is now
possible to establish this relationship.
The following treatment pertains to a non degenerate system where there is only one
quantum state per energy level. In this case the ratio of atoms in the excited state, N2 ,
to those in the ground state, N1 is found in equilibrium by applying Boltzmann
statistics.

N2  E  E2    h 
 exp 1   exp 
N1  k BT   k BT 

Or

  h 
N 2  N1 exp 
 B 
k T

Here Ei and Ni are the energy and population per unit volume of quantum level i.  is
E 2  E1
the transition frequency = .
h
Degeneracy is the more usual case and what follows can easily be modified to take
into account degeneracy. If the degeneracy of the states 1 and 2 are g1 and g2
respecively then the Boltzmann equation is straightforwardly modified to;

g   h 
N 2  2 N1 exp 
g1  k BT 

The interaction of the two level system with radiation will result in transitions between
the excited and ground states. Furthermore, in thermal equilibrium the populations N1
and N2 must be independent of time. Therefore the number of “upward” transitions
from ground to excited state, (N1 N2) must equal the number of “downward”
transitions from excited to ground state, (N2 N1).
The equilibrium requirement that (N1 N2) = (N2 N1) then is expressed as;

B21  N2  A21N2  B12  N1

289
andusing Boltzmann statistics to express N2 in terms of N1;

  h 
N1 exp A21  B21    B12  N1
 k BT 

Finally rewriting the above equation with  as the subject and using the blackbody
distribution to describe  ;

A21  
 
B21  1  8 2 n 3
    ( h )
 B12  h    h  3
 exp    1   1 c
B   k 
 21  k BT  

By inspection of the left and right hand sides of 8.40 and noting that the equation holds
at all frequencies it is seen that the Einstein coefficients are related as follows;

B12
1
B21

A21 8h 3 n 3

B21 c3

c3
B21  B12 
8h 3 n 3 

30
B21  B12 
8hn 3 

290
Optical Gain.
It is now possible to find the optical gain from earlier equations. To do this the net
addition of photons to the radiation field is found (stimulated emission – absorption)
ignoring spontaneous emission.
So far by considering absorption and stimulated emission seperately;
dN1 dN2 dN2
 B12N1  g ( 0 )    B21N 2   g ( 0 )
dt dt dt
Where the effect of lineshape function has been included;
The net loss of atoms/molecules from level 2 (equal to the net addition of photons) is
then
dN2
  B21N 2  B12N1 ()g ( 0 )
dt
And the net addition of energy to the radiation field is

d 
 B21N 2  B12N1 h g ( 0 )
dt

It has already been found that

d dI I n
 and     I
dt dz v c
Therefore

dI 
 B21hI  g  N 2  N1 
n
dz c
dI 
 B21h g  N 2  N1 dz
n
I c
Integrating gives
I  z   I  0expz 

Where  is the optical gain coefficient and is given by;

   B21h g  N 2  N1 

n
c

291
In general the transition is not monochromatic and to take into account the probablity
that the transition occurs at the frequency  of interest the lineshape function, g() , is
used which is typically described by a Gaussian or a Lorentzian.

At the central frequency of the transition, 0 , the lineshape function is g  0  

1

where 
is the transition linewidth and thus;

 0   B21h N2  N1 

n 1
c 

c 30
Using  0  and B21  B12  the optical gain coefficient may also be written
 8hn 3

as;

20
 0   N2  N1 
8n 2 

Inspection of this equation shows that  is positive if N2 > N1 . This is an unusual

situation and is known as population inversion. To achieve a positive gain and
therefore light amplification, energy must be supplied to the two level system to get the
atoms into the excited state and achieve this population inversion.

292
Feedback & Oscillation Conditions
With positive gain coefficient obtainable in the presence of a population inversion light
amplification may occur.
Introduction, into a gain medium, of a light wave of the frequency at which positive gain
is available will result in the amplification of that light intensity, I(0) as it propagates
through the gain medium as described. So far the system is behaving as does any
amplifier with a gain

 exp L 
I (L )
A
I (0 )
As with any electronic amplifier having achieved gain it is possible to cause the
amplifier to break into oscilllation by providing positive feedback. The most common
way of implementing this feedback is to place the gain medium in an optical
cavity/resonator for example a Fabry Perot resonator as discussed previously in the
context of thin film interference.
The diagram below shows such a resonator and a consideration of this will enable the
conditions for oscillation to be discovered.

t1EI t1EIexp(jk/L) t1t2EIexp(jk/L)

EI
t1r2EIexp(2jk/L) t1r2EIexp(jk/L)

t1r1r2 EIexp(2jk/L) t1r1r2 EIexp(3jk/L) t1t2r1r2 EIexp(3jk/L)

t1r1r22EIexp(5jk/L) t1r1r22EIexp(3jk/L)

t1r12r22EIexp(5jk/L) t1r12r22EIexp(7jk/L) t1t2r12r22EIexp(7jk/L)


 t1t2r13r23EIexp(9jk/L)
k/ = k + j(-)/2
R1, T1, r1, t1 t1t2r14r24EIexp(11jk/L)
R2, T2, r2, t2

L
MI M2

The quantities, t and r are the transmission and reflection coefficients for the field E or
the amplitude coefficients. T and R are the intensity transmission and reflection
coefficients.

293
In the case of most lasers the feedback is provided by mirrors to reflect some of the
electromagnetic energy back into the gain medium. The above diagram enables the
conditions for oscillation to be found. It shows an input wave with field EI at the LHS. A
fraction t1 of this enters the resonator through the left hand mirror and propagates down
the axis of the mirror pair and at the RHS some fraction, t2 , of the wave is transmitted
and a fraction r2 reflects back into the gain medium to repeat the process.
The total transmitted wave, Et can be found by summing all the partial waves leaving
the right hand mirror (cf. thin film multiple reflections),

 n0 
E t  E i t1t 2 exp jk / L  r1r2 exp 2 jk / L n
 1
This is a geometric progression and using,  x n 
n 0 1 x
the ratio of the transmitted electric field to the incident electric field is given by;

Et  
t1t 2 exp jk / L

 
E i 1  r1r2 exp 2 jk / L

This quantity goes to infinity when the denominator is zero. Physically this implies the
existence of an output, Et , in the absence of Ei . in practice it means that the system
will break into spontaneous oscillation due to noise much as any electronic
amplifier will do if provided with positive feedback!
The oscillation condition is thus


1 r1r2 exp 2 jk / L 
This condition is in fact two seperately necessary conditions as it must be true
for both the real and imaginary parts seperately:

1) The Amplitude Condition requires the real part of the RHS to be equal to one
ie
r1r2 exp  L  1
This may be rewritten, by taking logs, as
lnr1r2      L

294
There is thus a threshold gain, T , in order for oscillation

lnr1r2 
1
T   
L

Physically this is a requirement that the round trip gain is equal to the round trip
losses.
The first term on the RHS represents parasitic losses that are to be avoided such as
reabsorption, scattering, walkoff, absorption at the mirrors etc. The second term on the
RHS represents useful output which appears as a loss as far as analysis of the
resonator is concerned.

This threshold gain may be written in a number of different ways each useful in its own
right. For example the amplitude reflection coefficients r1 and r2 are not what is
measured when desigining a mirror but rather the intensity reflection coeffcients, R1 and
R2

lnR1R2 
1
T   
2L

where the fact that R = r2 has been used.

Alternatively we may couch the condition in terms of the transmission of the mirrors by
noting that the transmission of the mirror T  1  R (for a non-absorbing mirror) and
using the approximation 1 – x  -lnx for x  1 we may recouch in terms of transmission

T   
1
lnR1R2    
1
ln R1  ln R2     1 (1  R1)  (1  R2 )
2L 2L 2L
1
T    (T1  T2 )
2L

Using the previously found expression for the gain, we can express the amplitude
condition as a condition on the population inversion.

T    B21h N2  N1 T    1 lnR1R2 

n 1
c  2L
and so;
1 c  
N2  N1 T   
1
lnR1R2 
B21 nh  2L 

295
2) The Phase Condition requires that the imaginary part of the RHS of equation 3.2.3
is equal to one, ie
exp2 jkL  1
or
2kL  2m m  1, 2, 3.......

ie only certain wavelengths will oscillate such that

2 2L
 
k m
or of course

m L
2
and
c c 1
  mm
 2nL T

These are the axial modes of the laser resonator and physically they are such that
after one round trip the wave returns with the same phase. This means that
successive waves can constructively interfere. Another way of viewing this physically is
that integer half wavelengths fit between the resonator mirrors similarly to
standing waves on a guitar string. This is because of the boundary condition that the
electric field must be zero at the mirrors, ie a metal cannot support an electric field.
The same would be true of any “perfect reflector”. The axial modes are seperated in
frequency by
c
 m 1   m     T 1
2nL

where T is the round trip time in the resonator.

296
Resonator Decay Time

R1 R2


An important consideration in the analysis of laser resonators are the losses and one
important way of describing these is through the resonator decay time or photon lifetime
of the cavity.
Consider a wave of intensity I undergoing one round trip in the resonator with the gain
"turned off" at time t = 0. It will then have a new intensity after the round trip

I *  IR1R2 exp 2L 

and the loss in intensity is

I  I  I *  I 1 R1R2 exp 2L

and the fractional intensity loss is then
I
 1  R1R2 exp( 2L)
I
and this loss occurs in the round trip time
L
T 2
c
n
We may define the resonator decay time, C , through the equation

dI I I
 
dt C T

The resonator decay time is then found to be

 1  R1R2 exp  2L 

1 c
C
2nL

297
For R1R2 exp 2L  1and using 1  x   ln x for x  1

1  c
lnR1R2 
1
C   
 2L n

Comparing this with an earlier equation for threshold gain coefficient, found in the real
part of the amplitude condition, it is possible to express T in terms of C

lnR1R2   N2  N1 T
1 n n 1
T     B21h
2L cC c 

30
Thus using B21  B12  we may write the threshold population inversion as;
8hn 3 

33
N2  N1 T  1   8 2  n     8 n  12 
B21 hC c C c  0 C

Note that the threshold population inversion increases with decreasing cavity decay
time and with increasing transition linewidth, .
Note also that it is inversely proportional to the square of the wavelength hence it is far
easier to get lasers to work at red wavelengths. This explains why all the early
examples of devices based on optical gain work at longer wavelengths cf Ruby Laser,
HeNe, GaAs semiconductor pn junction and of course the ammonia maser!

A further and frequently used way to define the losses of a resonant system is through
the quality factor, Q. The quality factor of the resonator is Q is a measure of the
sharpness/resolution of a resonant cavity and is usually defined as

Q


Where  is the resonant frequency and  the width of the resonance. In the case of the
laser resonator under discussion this is a Fabry Perot resonator and the width of the
resonance has been discussed previously.
Another way of defining the quality factor more directly related to the losses is;
S I
Q  2  2
 d  dI
dt dt

298
Where εS is the energy stored in electromagnetic field of the resonator and  d is
dt
the power dissipated.  is the resonant frequency of the cavity and I is the intensity
proportional to energy through the velocity of propagation of the electromagnetic
I
energy. From the definition of the cavity decay time tC  we may see that we
 dI
dt
can alternatively express Q in terms of cavity lifetime
Q  tC  2tC
and so in terms of Q we may write the threshold inversion as

2
NT 
B21hQ

This equation shows that as Q is reduced NT ,and consequently N, may be driven to
much higher values thus allowing the temporary existence of a much higher gain should
the losses be subsequently and rapidly reduced. This is the basis of Q-Switching.

Q-switching is a technique for obtaining laser pulses of high intensity, brief duration (of
the order tC , the cavity decay time) and high energy. To achieve this the population
inversion is held unusually high through artificially high cavity losses thus inhibiting
stimulated emission.When those losses are suddenly reduced to their normal low value
a "giant pulse" results.

299
Shown above in figures a) to d) are the temporal variation of four parameters of a laser.
It is a flashlamp pumped laser and
a) shows the pump rate R (output of the pumping lamp).
b) shows the Q factor of the resonator (inversely proportional to the losses,
c) the resulting total population inversion and
d) the consequent laser output which after a rapid initial build up decays with the cavity
decay time τC.

300
 Four Level Lasers.
To arrive at an expression for and understanding of gain in an atomic/molecular
system, a two level system has been so far considered. While this is good enough to
derive the gain of a laser, in actual fact a two level system could not operate as a laser.
This is because of the prohibitive difficulty in attaining a population inversion and the
impossibility of maintaining it when it is recalled that a lasing transition takes the atom
to the lower level reducing the inversion by two. To avoid this 3 or 4 level systems are
used.

Level 3
Pump Band

R2
Level 2
Laser transition upper level

h
W21 =B21N2 h

R1
h
Level 1
Laser transition lower level

Pump energy
W10 =A10N1

Level 0
Ground State

A three level laser would have the energy seperation of the lower lasing level and
ground state kBT or less and thus the lower lasing level would have a significant
population at room temperature thus making a population inversion less easy to
achieve than for a four level laser where the lower lasing level is much greater than k BT
above the ground state and is barely occupied at room temperature in thermal
equilibrium. In the above diagram the energy levels and transitions of a four level laser
are shown schematically. The requirements are as follows:

301
i) The input “pump” energy is likely to be over a broad spectrum of energies and
therefore an upper pump level represented by a broad and closely spaced set of
levels is used to initially absorb the pump energy and to take up the excited electrons.
ii) Relaxation from the pump level, 3, to the upper lasing level, 2, should be rapid
and efficient while relaxation from 3 to 1 should be non existent (or at least negligible).
This ensures that the pump energy goes into creating a population inversion, N2 > N1 .
iii) The upper lasing level 2 must be connected to the lower lasing level 1 by a
strongly allowed radiative transition. ie. B21 (or equivalently A21) must be large.
iv) The lower lasing level 1 must be rapidly de-populated to the ground state
(something that is not available to our simple two level system) ie. A10 needs to be large
or another means of return to the ground state available.

The kinetics of the four level system shown schematically above and described in
general terms may be considered via the rate equations with R2 and R1 the pump rates
into levels 2 and 1 respectively. The latter is undesirable and it needs to be reduced.
The rate equations give;

dN2
 N2 A21  W21N2  N1   R 2
dt
and
dN1
 N1A10  N 2 A21  W21N 2  N1   R1
dt

Note. For simplicity the spontaneous emission from level 2 to the ground state, A20 , is
subsumed in the R2 term and; the rate A10 here refers to the total rate of transition from
1 to 0 including radiative and non-radiative transitions and so is not an Einstein
coefficient. Also we have written W21 (= B21) in describing the stimulated emission
rate.
In the steady state d/dt = 0
The two equations may then be manipulated to give an expression for the population
inversion

R 2 1  ( A21 / A10 )(1  R1 / R 2 )

N2  N1 
W21  A21

302
Examination of this reveals that for inversion to be at all possible it is necessary that A10
> A21 . ie the lifetime of the upper level (A21-1) is to be greater than that of the lower level
(a more stringent condition than iv described above). The rate of stimulated transition is
inversely proportional to the upper state lifetime (recall B21  A21 = 21-1 ) so A21 cannot
be too small, ie it is the lower level which should have a very short lifetime (A10 to be
large)!
Physically this requirement is that the lower level is emptied at a rate faster than
it fills from the upper level in order to maintain the inversion, ie 10 <<21.
Threshold Pump Rate.
An effective pump rate may be defined for the purpose of analysis;

Reff  R2 1  ( A21 / A10 )(1  R1 / R2 )

Reff is increased by decreasing R1 (an unwanted side effect of the pump energy)
and by increasing A10 (the rate at which the lower level empties). The population
inversion can be rewritten using Reff as

R eff
N 2  N1 
W21  A21

Below threshold there is effectively no stimulated emission and W21 = 0, then;

R eff
N 2  N1  below threshold
A21
until the pump rate has increased to a value such that;

Reff  RT  N2  N1T A21

Gain Saturation.
Once Reff > RT, (N2 – N1) will not increase further but will remain clamped at a
threshold value, (N2 – N1)T and the the gain will attain a value;

T ()  N 2  N1 T B21h
n 1 1
 ln R1R2
c  2L

The best way of viewing this is that the gain, (), which is proportional to (N2 – N1),
becomes clamped at some threshold value given by the round trip losses (as seen in
303
the examination of oscillation conditions). It cannot rise beyond the round trip losses as
this would result in runaway output rather, there will now be stimulated emission and
with

Reff  N2  N1T W21  A21 Reff  RT

it can be seen that any further increase in Reff above RT (by increasing the pumping

power) results not in an increase in (N2 – N1) but in an increase in W21 (= B21 ) , ie
stimulated emission.
This clamping phenomenom is known as gain saturation.

Power Generated in a Laser.

The power generated in the cavity is given straightforwardly by

PG  N2  N1 T W21hV

where V is the volume occupied by the oscillating mode (ie the volume of atoms or
molecules with which the field interacts).
From the earlier equation
Reff
W21   A21
N2  N1 T
then PG is
 Reff 
PG  N 2  N1 T h   A21V
 N 2  N1 T 

Noting that the power generated due to fluorescence alone (ie spontaneous emission)
is given by

PS  N2 A21hV  N2  N1 T A21hV

Using the previous result RT  N2  N1 T A21

304
 R 
PG  PS   1
RT 

PS

PG

R
RT 2RT

Power output from laser.

Having arrived at an expression for the power generated within the laser medium it is
important to know how much of this appears as output. To do this consider the round
trip losses. Previously the losses were given by the right hand side of the amplitude
condition (for oscillation);

T ()  N2  N1 T B21h

n 1 1
 ln R1R2
c  2L
As previously the losses may be divided up into parasitic losses and “useful output”, 
1
and  ln R1R2 respectively.
2L
R1 and R2 will be close to 1 and using 1  x   ln x we may write


1
ln R1R2   ln R1  ln R2  
1 1
1 R1  1 R2 
2L 2L 2L

1
The latter “useful losses” may then be written as (T1  T2 ) and in most laser
2L
oscillators To minimise the losses one of the mirrors is 100% reflecting with zero
transmission and the output is from the second partially reflecting mirror, the output

305
 T
coupler, with transmission T. Thus the useful losses may be written as . Of the
2L
T
power generated (which will be proportional to the losses) only the fraction 2L
 T
2L
appears as emission and the power output is;
T
POut  PG 2L  P  R  1 T
S 
 T
2L RT  2L  T

Optimum Output Coupling.

There is an optimum value for the transmission T of the output coupler. This is easily
seen; if T is 0 then there will be no output, all the radiation is confined to the resonator.
If T becomes too large then the losses are greater than the round trip gain attainable
with the pumping conditions prevailing and again there is no output.The actual power
out of the laser is;

R  T
POut  PS   1
RT  2L  T

The graph below shows the energy stored in the radiation field as T is increased,  and
the power out, POut. There is clearly some optimum value for the transmission.

POut
POut

TOPT
T306
TOpt may be found by differentiating the power out with respect to T and equating this to
zero.
dPOut d R  T
 PS   1
dT dT RT  2L  T

To do this differentiation we need to recognise that RT depends on T through the

amplitude condition as seen previously;
 T 
RT  N2  N1 T A21 N 2  N1 T 1 c
    
B21 nh  2L 

8 2 n 2  T 
RT     
c2  2L 

There is a more simple way of proceeding where it is noted that the gain constant,  , is
proportional to (N2 – N1) and also that below threshold with W21= zero
Reff
N2  N1 
A21

This allows the gain to be written as

0

W 21
1
A21

where 0 is the unsaturated gain, (below threshold 0 and (N2 – N1) vary with Reff ).

With
PG hN 2  N1 W21V W21
 
PS hN 2  N1 A21V A21
It is possible to write
0

PG
1
PS

Once threshold is reached the gain is clamped (saturated) at T and this value may be
used for  and PG found
 
PG  PS  0  1
 T 

307
The oscillation condition is T    lnr1r2  with the round trip gain equal to the
1
L
losses. This may be written

expT L(1 fL )  1

where fL is the fraction of energy lost per pass. To see this consider a wave of unit
intensity. After one pass it will have intensity 1  f L  in the absence of gain. With an

exponential gain coefficient  the intensity will be exp T L1  f L  and for oscillations to
be sustained this must be unchanged and equal to 1.
For fL <<1 (low losses)
T L  fL
or
f
T  L
L
2L LI
We use this and fL   where LI  2L are the intrinsic losses to get
2L  T LI  T

  L 
PG  PS  0  1
 LI  T 
T
The fraction of the power coupled out is and so the power out is
LI  T

  L  T
PO  PS  0  1
 LI  T  LI  T
 T c L T
Using PS  NT A21hV at threshold and N T  with T  I the power
B21nh L
out may be written
T c   T
PO  A21hV  0  1
B21nh  T  LI  T

 c  LI  T   0 L  T   c    0 L  T 
PO   V    1    V   1 
 B21n  L  Li  T  Li  T   B21n   Li  T  L 

The identities g(0) = -1 and A21 = --1 have been used
To find TOpt dPO/dT is set equal to zero

308
 TOpt  LI   0 LLI

and POpt may be found by using this value of TOpt in the equation for PO .

309
Real Lasers.
Having established how a laser can be made to work in practice in particular the
requirements for a four level laser;

i) The input “upper pump level needs to be a broad and closely spaced set of
levels is used to initially take up the excited electrons.
ii) Relaxation from the pump levels to the upper lasing level must be rapid while
relaxation from the pump level to the lower level should be non existent (or at least
negligible).
iii) The upper lasing level 2 must be connected to the lower lasing level 1 by a
strongly allowed radiative transition.
iv) The lower lasing level 1 must be rapidly de-populated to the ground state
(something that is not available to our simple two level system).

it is now possible to look at a variety of actual lasers and see how these requirements
are met by the particular lasing medium involved.

i) Dye Laser.
Dyes are complex and highly coloured organic molecules with tetravalent (four valence
bonds) carbon atoms covalently bonded to other carbon atoms, hydrogen, oxygen or
nitrogen being the other most common constituents. If a particular carbon atom is
bonded to less than four neighbours in the molecule there are spare valence electrons
that are not strongly bound in the molecular skeleton and are consequently delocalised
over the molecule. This relative uncertainty in the position of the electron as a
consequence leaves the electron with low lying (energetically) excitations excitable with
near IR-visible-near UV light l(~ 300nm - 1000nm). The strong colour is an indication
that x is large, the same considerations applying to absorption of light as for emission.
Condition b) is then satisfied by the very definition as to what constitutes a dye
molecule. One of the most commonly used dye molecules, Rhodamine 6G, and its
absorption/fluorescence emission spectrum is shown. There are carbon atoms at each
vertex unless indicated otherwise and an hydrogen atom attached to these vertices
unless indicated otherwise . The double bonds (indicated by double lines) occur where
the carbon has only three neighbouring atoms and there is a "spare" non bonding
electron. In this example there are nine such electrons associated with the carbon
atoms.

310
 Rhodamine 6G Emission and absorption
spectra of Rhodamine 6G.

The emission spectrum is red shifted compared to the absorption spectrum for reasons
that will become clear. The two spectra are also approximate mirror images of one
another.

The absorption is due to light exciting one of the pair of electrons in the ground, S 0 ,
state of the molecule into a singlet excited state, S1 . In the ground state the two
electrons have their spins antiparallel (Pauli exclusion principle). The total spin of the
system, S, is zero as the electrons contribute spin of +1/2 and -1/2. The total spin of the
system, S, cannot change during photon absorption and S = 0 after absorption with an
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excited electron of spin +1/2 (-1/2) and ground state electron of spin -1/2 (+1/2). The
degeneracy of the excited state is given as (2S + 1) from quantum mechanics and is
thus 1, hence the description, singlet state. The ground and excited singlet states, S 0
and S1 are more precisely represented as an electronic energy level associated with
the electron distribution over the molecule. There is a manifold of closely spaced
vibrational levels coupled to each electronic energy level associated with the vibrational
motions of the molecular skeleton and the energy level structure is even more finely
structured due to very closely spaced rotational energy levels. Because this skeleton is
complex the normal modes of vibration are many and closely spaced as are the
rotational levels. The electron may return to the ground, S0 , state from S1 with emission
of a photon of lower energy than that which originally excited it in the process known as
fluorescence.
There is also a triplet state, T1 at energy less than S1 . This is inaccessable by
photon absorption as the spin of the electron in T 1 and the ground state, S0 , are
parallel adding to 1. The degeneracy, 2S + 1 = 3 and hence triplet. To get to the triplet
state from S1 requires the spin of the electron to be reversed, a process possible only by
intervention of some other mechanism/collision in order to conserve total spin.
Such S1  T1 transitions can occur but weakly and the event is called "intersystem
crossing". Once in the triplet state the excitation is long lived and the slow decay to S 0
is the process known as phosphorescence when accompanied by emission of a photon.
Intersystem crossing is an undesirable effect as once the molecule is in the T 1 state,
photon absorption to the T2 state can occur and the pump energy may be effectively
taken up in these unwanted transitions. Absorption of a photon with transition from S0 to
S1 as represented in the above diagram tells only a part of the story. In fact absorption
and a change of electronic state changes the distribution, (r)2, of electronic charge
over the molecule. This affects the shape of the molecular skeleton and its vibrational
modes. The situation is more properly represented by a "configuration co-ordinate"
diagram for the molecule in its various electronic states.

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 S1

Relaxation

h S0
Emission
E Absorption
h

Relaxation

Q0 Q1
Q

In general Q represents the configuration (shape) of the molecule and given the
complexity of a dye molecule is a multi dimensional parameter. A simpler diatomic
molecule could be described by a configuration co-ordinate such that Q represents the
internuclear seperation. Considered in this light none of the physics of the more general
case is lost and continuing in this spirit.
In the diagram are shown variation of molecular energy, (elastic energy due to the
molecular shape plus electronic energy), for the ground and first singlet excited states.
There is an energy minimum or prefered configuration for the ground or excited state,
Q0 and Q1 , and these are in general different. Any small excursion, Q, from say Q0
when in the ground state results in an increase of the elastic energy of the skeleton
which is approximately parabolic in Q (cf Hookes law). This leads to harmonic
oscillator type behaviour and a set of oscillator energy levels as shown. The lower
vibrational levels will be occupied and the electron wavefunction is localised around Q 0 .
Absorption of a photon is an essentially instantaneous process, the nuclei are 10 3 times
heavier than the electron, and Q cannot change instantaneously. On the diagram the
transition is then to be represented by a vertical line. The molecule will therefore finish
up in one of its higher vibrational levels in S1 . Because there is a vibronic manifold the
pump energy h may be a spread in energy eg a flashlamp, c) is thus satisfied. The
molecule is now in a stressed configuration and will rapidly relax to its equilibrium
configuration, Q1 shedding energy as phonons (heat). This occurs in times far too rapid
than to allow immediate relaxation back to the S 0 level thus satisfying requirement d).

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The molecule will then return to the ground state as before by a vertical transition ending
up in one of the higher vibrational levels of S 0 and emitting a photon of lower energy
than that absorbed, (the redshift or Stokes shift described earlier). This higher level will
be more than kBT above the lowest vibrational level satisfying requirement a) and the
molecule will again be far from its equilibrium configuration. It will rapidly relax back to
equilibrium in accordance with requirement e)
All conditions are then satisfied and dyes dissolved in water or alcohol do indeed make
excellent lasers. A typical flashlamp pumped dye laser is shown below.
One reason why dye lasers are particularly useful is related to the broad emission
spectrum. This means that the actual laser wavelength of any particular dye may be
tuned. The resonator is made up of a partially reflecting mirror, from which is emitted the
output, and a diffraction grating with lines of spacing d etched into a reflecting surface.
This has the property that light incident at an angle, , will be reflected back upon itself
when 2dcos = m, m = 1.2,3,.......etc. Thus by selecting the angle , a wavelength
that will be retroreflected has been chosen and will have low losses while all other
wavelengths will be reflected out of the cavity. The laser mode will thus build up at this
tuned wavelength. Furthermore, by the simple expedient of changing dyes, further
wavelengths may be accessed by the same basic laser. The dye laser is thus highly
tunable with a single dye and more so when a selection are used. It is for this reason an
extremely useful research tool where spectroscopy is to be carried out.
Also to be noted in the design is that the dye is contained in a long narrow
transparent tube through which the dye is flowed. This is because frequently complex
organic molecules can undergo photochemistry and degrade. Either end of the tube is
sealed by a transparent window set at an angle known as the Brewster angle. This has
the property that its reflectivity for light polarised parallel to the plane of incidence (the
plane of the paper in this diagram) is zero while for the perpendicular polarisation it is
finite. This has two effects. Firstly, the perpendicular light is partially reflected out of the
resonator and it thus "sees" higher losses than the parallel polarisation. This has the
effect of polarising the laser output in a "survival of the fittest" mechanism where the
parallel polarisation gets to use more of the inversion reproducing photons with the
same polarisation as itself.

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 Xenon
Flashlamp

Brewster Windows

Dye Cuvette

Diffraction
Grating
Dielectric Mirror

Dye in
Dye out

Also to be noted in the design is that the dye is contained in a long narrow
transparent tube through which the dye is flowed. This is because frequently complex
organic molecules can undergo photochemistry and degrade. Either end of the tube is
sealed by a transparent window set at an angle known as the Brewster angle. This has
the property that its reflectivity for light polarised parallel to the plane of incidence (the
plane of the paper in this diagram) is zero while for the perpendicular polarisation it is
finite. This has two effects. Firstly, the perpendicular light is partially reflected out of the
resonator and it thus "sees" higher losses than the parallel polarisation. This has the
effect of polarising the laser output in a "survival of the fittest" mechanism where the
parallel polarisation gets to use more of the inversion reproducing photons with the
same polarisation as itself.

NB Lasers are not inherently polarised because of the effect of stimulated

emission but if they are it is because something in the design of the laser leads to
a higher loss for one polarisation than for another!

The second and designed effect of the Brewster windows and the reason they are used
is to cancel out the secondary resonators that would otherwise form between the mirror

315
or grating and the windows as the windows now have zero reflectivity for the parallel
polarisation..
One last design feature for this particular laser is that the flashlamp and dye tube would
be held along the axis of an ellipsoidal and highly reflecting cavity with one at either
focus of the ellipse. In this way the flashlamp energy is efficiently coupled into the dye.
It is to be noted that there are many designs of dye laser and the above is one example.
Dye lasers may also be run continuous wave and pumped by other lasers.

ii) Excimer Laser

Excimer lasers are large volume gas lasers utilising a mixture of a halogen and a noble
gas. They are used uniquely as high powered pulsed lasers with wavelengths ranging
throughout the UV from 190nm to 351nm the actual wavelength depending on the
particular Halogen/Noble gas mix.
An excimer is a molecular species which is unstable in the ground state. As an
example we use the Noble gas/Halogen mixture Krypton/Chloride, Kr/Cl. If the molecule
KrCl were to form it should be ionically bonded (cf Na+Cl- ) as Kr+ Cl- where the
Chlorine has abstracted an electron from the Krypton and coulomb attraction binds the
two atoms. In fact we see that this cannot happen from energetic considerations:
To ionise a Kr atom takes an energy input, I = +13.93eV, its ionisation energy. Adding
an electron from the vacuum to Cl releases an energy, A = -3.75eV, its electron affinity.
The coulomb attraction between Kr+ and Cl- releases -8.0eV. The nuclear repulsive
energy between Kr and Cl is +1.0eV. Thus by adding these four energies we find that to
make Kr+Cl- from Kr and Cl requires a net input of energy of +2.18eV per molecule. It is
clearly unfavoured as an option for the two atoms.
If however we begin with a Krypton atom in an excited state the energy to ionise it will
drop by an ammount equivalent to the energy of the excited state. The ionisation energy
*
of Kr = +5.0eV, a reduction of 8.93eV. All the other energies are the same except the

coulomb attraction which is now -7.0eV. The excited state molecule or excimer is thus
formed with a net release of 5.75eV.
Again the energetic levels involved may be described using a configuration co-ordinate
diagram and now Q is simply the internuclear seperation. The diagram shows the
molecular energy as a function of Q for the excited and ground states. With Kr and Cl
alone the curve falls away as Q increases with no potential minimum indicating that the
two atoms will tend to stay apart in order to reduce their overall energy. If now Kr is
excited to Kr* there is a potential minimum at some value of seperation, Q . The initially

316
seperated atoms will attract one another and fall into the potential well as the excimer is
formed. There will be vibrational levels associated with the potential well as excursions
Q either side of Q will result in a restoring force, -dE/dQ, acting on the excimer thus
causing oscillation.

Kr* Cl

Relaxation
Kr*+Cl-

Excitation by
electric discharge
E Fluorescence

Relaxation

Kr + Cl

The lifetime of the upper bound state is about 6ns before emission of light and a
return to the lower curve via a vertical transition. The two atoms will now rapidly
dissociate down the curve in about 100fs (1 femtosecond = 10 -12 s). This rapid
dissociation is the equivalent of condition e) ie 6ns >> 100fs. The formation of the bound
state is also rapid (condition iv)) once the Kr is excited. The Kr is easily excited by a high
voltage discharge in the gas mixture and constitutes a broad range of energies for
condition i) to be satisfied. Because of the short excited state lifetime the excimer is
used as a pulsed laser. Because of the high lasing volumes achievable with a gas it is
possible to attain high energy pulses. The table below shows the halogen/noble gas
combinations and their wavelengths. Not all combinations give an excimer.
Xenon Krypton Argon
Fluorine 315nm 248nm 193nm
Chlorine 308nm 220nm XXXXX
Bromine XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX

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The wavelengths covered are of great use as few lasers attain such short wavelengths.
In particular ArF with a wavelength of 193nm represents a photon energy of 6.42eV.
This combined with a high overall pulse energy gives rise to the process of ablation
when a focused ArF beam is incident on certain surfaces. The photon energy is high
enough to disrupt molecular bonds and the excess energy is transferred into kinetic
energy of the resulting fragments of macromolecules as they are ejected from the
surface. This is a non heat evolving process as the excess energy is carried away in
these fragments. As such this process known as ablation finds application in diverse
processes such as dry lithography where patterns may be etched directly into a
photoresist over silicon without the reqirement of intervening wet chemistry. Further
more it may be used in surgical applications where material is to be removed without
damaging underlying tissue.

iii) Carbon Dioxide laser.

The CO2 laser which is fundamentally different from the four lasers so far discussed. In
the previous four lasers the lasing occured between different electronic levels. In the
CO2 laser the lasing is between vibrational levels and occurs in the far infrared.
The CO2 molecule is a linear molecule and it possesses three normal modes of
vibration, each with its own natural frequency. In decreasing frequency these modes
are: the assymetric stretch mode (0,0,1), the symmetric stretch mode (1,0,0) the
bending mode (0,1,0). The energy of an oscillator of frequency, , takes up discrete
 1
values given by E   m  h , where m is an integer representing the degree of
 2
occupation of the mode. Thus an arbitrary vibration of the CO2 molecule may be
denoted (l,m,n) with l,m and n integers describing the degree of excitation of each of
the modes the ground state being (0,0,0). These modes are illustrated below.

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 Oxygen Oxygen
Carbon
Symmetric Mode
(0,0)

Bending Mode
(0,0)

Asymmetric Mode
(0.0,)

Vibrational modes of CO2

The upper lasing level is the (0,0,1) or assymetric stretch mode and the lower
lasing level is the (1,0,0) symmetric stretch mode giving 10.6m or the (0,2,0) mode at
9.6m. To excite the (0,0,1) mode a CO2/N2 gas mixture is used and resonant transfer
of energy from nitrogen molecules to the CO2 is used. The N2 molecule has a
vibrational energy close to that of the (0,0,1) mode of CO2 and thus effectively passes
on any vibrational energy that it picks up after collisions with accelerated electrons in a
high voltage discharge. The N2 is highly excited after collision but rapidly cascades
down to collect in the lowest energy vibrational state which is long lived and it is this
state that resonantly transfers energy to the CO2. There is thus a band of pump energy
levels.
Helium is included in the gas mixture for two reasons. Firstly, collisions of CO2
in the lower lasing level with He will deactivate these molecules thus emptying that level
as required. Secondly, the He acts to cool the gas mixture by transfering energy in
collisions with the walls of the gas reservoir. This keeps the Doppler broadened
linewidth, , low and the gain which is proportional to --1, high.

319
The energy level scheme of a CO laser.

The CO2 laser is highly efficient reaching up to 30% efficiency. Further, large volumes
of gas may be used and the high mode volume leads to high output power. In order to
maintain an effective high voltage discharge when making the dimensions of the laser
large it is necessary to resort to the so called transverse excitation atmospheric or TEA
laser design where the discharge is perpendicular to the axis of the laser resonator
unlike in the HeNe where the discharge is along the resonator axis. Such a design is
used in other large volume gas lasers such as excimers.

Schematic diagram of the TEA CO laser design.

Because the laser works in the far infra red the materials for mirrors and windows must
be carefully selected. The mirrors would be of gold while an ideal window material is
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Zinc Selenide upon which a semi transparent layer of gold would be evaporated to
fabricate the output coupler.
The CO laser is widely used in industry for its high output and its use in cutting and
welding metals.

iv) Helium Neon laser

The HeNe laser is most commonly seen as a continuous wave laser operating at
633nm in the red although other lines are available. The active participant in lasing is
the Neon atom. It is different from the other lasers so far reviewed in that the pumping
band (level 3) is a level of the Helium atom. Also the lower lasing level of the Neon
atom has more levels below it other than the ground state. The laser action is best
described with reference to the Helium and Neon energy level schemes shown below.

Electronic energy levels of Helium and Neon.

A relatively low voltage electrical discharge is maintained in a tube containing He and

Ne at low pressure which is closed off with Brewster windows. The electrons
accelerating toward the anode will collide with and excite the Helium atoms. The two
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excited Helium levels, 1S0 and 3S0 , are relatively long lived. They are also very nearly
isoenergetic with two sets of levels of the Neon atom and are able to efficiently transfer
their excitation energy to the upper lasing levels of the Neon atoms (cf CO2 laser). It is
this resonant transfer that effectively satisfies d). The diagram shows a number of
transitions to a closely grouped set of lower lasing levels plus a low energy (long
wavelength) transition to a lone level at 3.39m. The lower lasing levels are
depopulated by transitions to the 2p53s levels and not the ground state. There is then
the potential for these "used" electrons to absorb some of the pumping energy and
return to the lower lasing level thereby increasing the threshold pump rate. To avoid this
the return of the Neon to the ground state is by collision of the Neon with the walls of
the gas tube. This is more effective the narrower the tube and consequently the gain is
larger in narrower tubes. The condition, e) is in this way partially satisfied.
The upper lasing, 2p55s, levels have a lifetime of = 10-7s while that of the lower, 2p53p
level is = 10-8s and condition e) is thus satisfied. Recalling that the gain of a laser, other
things being equal, is proportional to 2 it is to be expected that the long wavelength,
3.39m, transition will dominate. This would indeed be the case except that in the
design given here the Brewster windows are made of glass which absorbs 3.39m
while transmitting 0.6328m radiation. To produce the 3.39m or 0.6328m lines
instead of the others requires a 5:1 mixture He:Ne and at a pressure determined by the
product of the pressure and the tube diameter = 3 Torr.mm. The 6 transitions are very
sharply defined and broadening of the transition is through Doppler broadening of the
high temperature gases.

He Ne laser with external mirrors and Brewster windows

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