PH-101

Diffraction

Dr. A. K. Singh
Department of Physics
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela-769008
Geometrical
shadow
region

Geometrical
shadow
region
The spreading of the waves when it pass
through a narrow openings is usually
referred to as diffraction. The intensity
distribution on the screen is called
diffraction pattern.

Interference: superposition of wave coming

out from a number of point sources .
Diffraction: wave coming out from an area
source like a circular or rectangular aperture
or even a large number of rectangular
apertures.
No one has ever been able to define the
difference between the interference and
diffraction satisfactorily. It is just a question
of usages and there is no specific,
important physical difference between
them. The best we can do is, roughly
speaking, is to say that when there are only
a few sources, say two, interfering, then the
result is usually called interference, but if
there is a large number of them, it seems
that the word diffraction is more often used.
R. P. Feynman, Lectures on Physics, Vol.1
Narosa Publishing, 2008.
The source of light and the screen are at finite distance from the
diffracting aperture
Fresnel
diffraction

Fraunhofer
diffraction
The source of light and the screen are at infinite distance from the diffracting
aperture
 Single Slit Diffraction

Fig. 16.3 (a) A plane wave incident normally on a long narrow slit.
The intensity distribution to be calculated on the focal plane of lens
Assumptions:
(i) The slit consist of a large number of equally
spaced point sources.

(ii) Each point on the slit is a sources of Huygens’

secondary wavelets which interfere the
wavelets emanating from other points.
The distance between two consecutive
points sources is ∆, then b=(n-1) ∆.

“P” be an arbitrary point receiving parallel

rays making an angle “θ” with the normal of
the slit.

At the point P, the amplitude of the

disturbance reaching form A1, A2, A3….will
be very nearly same, but the field produce
by them will be different.
If the diffracted rays make an angle θ with the
normal to the slit, the path difference (A2B2P-A1B1P)

A2 A2   sin 
2
The phase difference will be   sin 

If the field at the point P due the disturbance
emanating from the point A1 is
 a cos t
For the point A2  a cos(t   )

For the point A3  a cos(t  2 )

The resultant field at the point P would be

cos t  cos(t   )  cos(t  2 ).......

E  a 
  cos(t  (n  1) ) 

cos t  cos(t   )  cos(t  2 ).......a cos(t  (n  1) )

n
sin
2 1
 cos(t  (n  1) )
 2
sin
2
  sin(n / 2)   1 
E  a  cos t  (n  1) 
 sin( / 2)   2 
 1 
E  E0 cos t  (n  1) 
 2 

 sin(n / 2) 
E 0  a 
 sin( / 2) 
In the limit of n→∞ and →0 in such a way that
n→b, we will have
n n 2 
  sin   b sin 
2 2  
 1 2  b sin 
   sin   0
2 2   n

 
sin 
2 2
 b sin 
sin
sin(n / 2) E 0  na 
E0  a b sin 
( / 2)


sin 
E0  A

b sin 
where A  na and  

  1 
E  E0 cos t  (n  1) 
 2 
 1 1  
 i.e.,  (n  1)   n  b sin    
 2 2  
sin 
EA cos(t   )

The corresponding intensity distribution
sin  2
I  I0
 2

I0 represents the intensity at θ=0.

Position of Maxima and Minima
 sin  2
I  I0
 2

The intensity will be zero when

  m , m  0
When β=0, sin 
1 then I=I0

Substituting the value of β

b sin 


 m b sin   m
b sin   m; m  1,  2,  3....
Condition of minima.

The first minima occurs at    sin  
1

b
1  2 
The 2nd minima occurs at    sin  
 b 
Since sinθ cannot exceed unity, the
maximum value of m is the integer which is
less than (close to) (b/)
 sin  2
I  I0
 2

In order to find the position of maxima,

dI  2 sin  cos  2 sin   2

 I0     0
d   2
 3


sin    tan    0
sin   0, or   m (m  0)
Condition of minima.
The condition of maxima are the roots of
the following transcendental equation

tan   
The root β=0 corresponds to central
maxima.
The other roots can be found by determining
the points of the intersection of the curve y=β
and y=tanβ
The intersection occurs at β=1.43π, 2.46π
etc. and are known as first maximum and
second maximum.

 sin(1.43 ) 
2

 1.43   0.0496

The intensity of the 1st maximum is about

4.96% of the central maximum.
The intensity of the 2nd and 3rd maxima are
about 1.68% and 0.83% of the central
maximum respectively.
 Two Slit Diffraction Pattern
Fraunhofer diffraction pattern produced by two
parallel slits each of width ‘b’ and separated by a
distance ‘d’.
Similar method used for the case of single slit.
Assumptions:
(i) The slits are consist of a large number of
equally spaced point sources.
(ii) Each point on the slit is a sources of
Huygens’ secondary wavelets.
(iii) The distance between two consecutive
points in either of the slit is ∆.
If the diffracted rays make an angle θ to the plane
of the slit, then the path difference between two
consecutive point reaching the point P will be

 sin 
The field produced by first slit at point ‘P’
sin 
E1  A cos(t   )

The field produced by second slit at point ‘P’
sin 
E2  A cos(t    1 )

 2
1  (d ) sin 

1-represents the phase difference between the
disturbances (reaching the pint P) from two
corresponding points on the slit, i.e., (A1, B1), (A2,
B2), ……..which is separated by a distance d.

The resultant field point ‘P’

E  E1  E2
sin 
A [cos(t   )  cos(t    1 )]

The resultant represents the interference of
two waves , each of amplitude A sin 
and phase 1. 
sin  2t  2  1
E A [2  cos( )
 2
 cos(1 / 2)]
sin  1 
E  2A  cos  cos(t    )
 2 2
sin  
E  2A  cos   cos(t    )
 2
 1

   d sin 
2 
The intensity distribution will be
sin  sin 
2

I  (2 A  cos  ) 2 I  4I 0 cos 
2

  2

The first term represents diffraction pattern

produced by a single slit of width ‘b’.

The second term represents the interference

pattern produced by two point sources separated
by a distance d.
If the slit width are very small (so that there
is almost no variation of sin2β/β2 term with
θ) then one simply obtain the Young’s
interference pattern.

I  cos  2

Young’s interference pattern

 Position of Maxima and Minima
sin 
2
I  4I 0 cos 
2

 2

The intensity will be zero whenever

 3 5
   , 2 , 3 .... or   , , ...
2 2 2
b sin 
  m b sin   m

  3 5   1
  , , ...   d sin    n  
2 2 2   2
 1
d sin    n  
 2
The corresponding angle of diffraction for
minima will be

b sin   m m= 1, 2, 3, 4……..

 1
d sin    n   n= 0, 1, 2, 3, 4……
 2
The interference maxima will occur when
sin 
2
I  4I 0 cos 
2

 2

  0,  , 2 , 3 ...
d sin   0, 1 , 2 , 3....
The position of the maxima will
approximately at the above angles provided
the variation of the diffraction term is not so
rapid.
Further a maximum may not occur at all if θ
corresponds to a diffraction minimum, i.e.,

b sin   1 , 2 , 3.....
These are usually referred to as missing
orders.

sin 
2
I  4I 0 cos 
2

 2
N-Slit Diffraction Pattern
Fraunhofer diffraction pattern produced by N
parallel slits each of width ‘b’ and the distance
between two consecutive slit is ‘d’.
Assumptions:
(i)Each slits are consist of n equally spaced
point sources with spacing ∆.
 The field at an arbitrary point ‘P’ will
essentially be a sum of N terms:
sin  sin 
EA cos(t   )  A cos(t    1 ) 
 
sin  sin 
A cos(t    2 )  ........  A cos(t    ( N  1)1 )
 
Rewriting this equation

sin  cos(t   )  cos(t    1 )  

EA cos(t     )  ....  cos(t    ( N  1) )
  2 1 
 sin  sin N  1 
EA cos t    ( N  1)1 
 sin   2 
1

   (d ) sin 
2 
The corresponding intensity distribution
will be

sin  sin N
2 2
I  I0
 2
sin 
2
 sin  sin N
2 2
I  I0
 2
sin 
2

Single slit Interference

produced by N
Diffraction
equally spaced
point sources
 If N=1 sin  2
I  I0
 2

sin 2
If N=2 I  4I 0 cos  2

 2

sin N
2
The plot of the function
sin 
2

as a function of  for N= 5 and 11 will be

As the value of N becomes very large, the
above function become very sharply peak at

p
  ; p  1,  2,  3.....
N

but p  0,  N ,  2 N

Which referred to as secondary minima.

 Position of Maxima and Minima
sin  sin N
2 2
I  I0
 2
sin 
2

When the value of N is very large, one can

obtain the intense maxima at =m, i.e.,
d sin   m m  0,1, 2.......
This can be seen for N is very large

sin N N cos N
Lim  Lim  N
 m sin   m cos 
The maximum corresponds to double slit.
=m, i.e., d sin   m m  0,1, 2.......
The resultant amplitude and corresponding
intensity distribution will be

sin  sin 
2
E  NA I  N I02
  2

b sin  b m bm
   
  d d
Such maximum are Principal Maxima
Physically, at these maxima the fields
produced by each of the slits are in phase
and therefore they add up and the resultant
filed is N times the field produced by each
of the slit.
The intensity has larger value unless
sin  2

Itself is very small. 

2

d sin   m
The maximum value of sinθ~1 and m cannot
be grater than d/, therefore there will be only
a finite number of principal maxima.
 sin  sin N
2 2
I  I0
 2
sin 
2

The intensity will be zero when either

   , 2 , 3 .... b sin   n; n  1,  2....
Or in the case when
N  p ; p  1,  2,  3..... p  0,  N ,  2 N

N d sin   p

p
d sin   p  1,  2,  3.....
N
 p
d sin   p  1,  2,  3.....
N
p  0,  N ,  2 N
 2 ( N  1)
d sin   , ........... 
N N N
( N  1) ( N  2) (2 N  1)
, ............ 
N N N
(2 N  1) (2 N  2)
, ...........
N N
So between two principal maxima, we have
(N-1) minima.

Between two such consecutive minima, the

intensity has to have a maximum:
Secondary maxima.

We can mention here that

1. A particular principal maximum may be
absent if it corresponds to the angle which
also determines the minimum of single slit
diffraction pattern.
This happens when
d sin   m
b sin    , 2 , 3............
are satisfied simultaneously: missing order

Even when b sin    , 2 , 3............

Does not hold exactly, the intensity of the
corresponding principal maximum will be
very weak.
We can mention here that
2. In addition to the minima predicted for

N  p ; p  1,  2,  3..... p  0,  N ,  2 N
We will have diffraction minima

b sin   n; n  1,  2....

However when N is very large, the number
of such minima will be very small.
 Width of the Principal Maxima
The diffraction pattern produced by N slits,
the mth order principal maxima occurs at

=m, i.e., d sin   m m  0,1, 2.......

The minima occurs at the angle
 2 ( N  1)
d sin   , ........... 
N N N
( N  1) ( N  2) (2 N  1)
, ............ 
N N N
(2 N  1) (2 N  2)
, ...........
N N
 θm-∆θ2m θm+∆θ1m
θm

1
1m   2m  Angular half width of the
2 principal maxima.
For larger value of N, 1m   2m
We can write  m

d sin  m   m   m 
N
sinm  m   sin m cos m  cos m sin m

 sin  m   m cos  m
d sin m   m   d sin  m  d ( m cos  m )

d ( m cos  m ) 
N

 m 
dN cos  m

The principal maximum become sharper as

N increases.
 The Diffraction Grating
An arrangement which is essentially
consists of a large number of parallel
equidistant slits (and separated by equal
opaque space) is known as diffraction
grating.
The diffraction pattern is grating spectrum
The diffraction pattern produced by N slits,
the mth order principal maxima occurs at

d sin   m m= 0, 1, 2, 3….
The position of the principal maxima
depends on (i) wave length and (ii) angle of
diffraction.

So the grating spectrum provides us with an

easily obtainable experimental set up for
determination of wave length.
The width of the principal maxima

 m 
Nd cos  m
For narrow principal maxima (sharper
spectral width) a large number of N is
required. So a good quality grating required
large number of slits (about 15000 per inch)
Grating are constructed by ruling
equidistance parallel lines on a transparent
material such as glass, with fine diamond
point.
The rules lines are opaque to light while the
space between any two lines is transparent
to light and act as slit.
Plane transmission grating.
 The Grating Spectrum
The position of principal maxima occurs at
d sin   m m= 0, 1, 2, 3….
Grating equation and d= grating element.
This can be used to study the dependence of
angle of diffraction on wave length.
The zeroth order principal maximum occurs
at θ=0 irrespective of wavelength
(polychromatic source).
The intensity is maximum for zeorth order
spectrum and it falls as the value of m
increases.
For m≠0, the angles of diffraction are
different for different wavelength, so
various spectral component appear at
different position.
So measuring the angle of diffraction for
various colour (for particular m),  can be
determine.
d sin   m
Differentiating both side
 m

 d cos 
Conclusions:
1.Assuming θ to be very small (i.e., cos
θ~1), we can see that, the angle ∆θ is
directly proportional to the order of
spectrum (i.e, m) for a given ∆.
2.So that for a given m, ∆θ/∆ is a constant.
Such spectrum is known as normal
spectrum and in this the difference in
angle for two spectral line is directly
proportional to the difference in wave
length. However, for larger θ, it can easily
be shown that the dispersion is greater at
the red end of the spectrum.
Conclusions:
3. ∆θ is inversely proportional to d and
therefore the smaller the grating element
the larger will be the angular dispersion.
Oblique Incidence
The 
measureme
nt can be
carried out
using the
method of
minimum
deviation as
we do for
prism.
The path difference of the diffracted rays
from two corresponding points in adjacent
slits will be (d sinθ+ d sini).

The principal maxima will occur when

d sin   sin i   m
d sin(  i)  sin i   m

  i  is the angle of deviation.

For δ to be minimum, we must have
d
sin(  i)  sin i  0
di
 cos(  i)  cos i  0

i  i  i 
2

Hence, at the position of minimum deviation
the grating condition becomes


2d sin  m
2
The minimum deviation position can be
obtained in a manner similar to that used in
the case of prism and since the adjustment
are relatively simpler, this provides a more
accurate method for determination of .
 PH-2002

Diffraction

Dr. Anil K. Singh

Department of Physics
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela-769008
Fresnel
diffraction

Fraunhofer
diffraction
 Fresnel’ Diffraction

Huygens-Fresnel Principle:
“Each point on a wave front is a source
of secondary disturbance and the secondary
wavelet emanating from different point mutually
Interfere”.
Angular Spreading 
 ~
2a
a  

a~
Fresnel’ Half-Period Zone
A plane wave front WW' propagating along
the z-direction.

We have to find out the filed at an arbitrary

point ‘P’ due to the disturbance reaching from
different portion of the wave front .

(i) from the point P, drop a perpendicular PO

on the wave front.
(ii) If PO=d then with point ‘P’ as centre draw
spheres of radii d+/2, d+2/2, d+3/2,……
The radius of the nth circle will be
1/ 2
 n 
2

rn   d   d 
2

 2  
 2  n  2 
 d     nd  d 
2

  2  
 n 
1/ 2

 nd 1  
 4 d 
Since d>>>

rn  nd
The annular region between nth circle and
(n-1)th circle is known as nth half period zone.

The area of the nth half period zone is

A  r  r
n n
2 2
n 1

  nd  (n  1)d 
An  d
The area is independent of ‘n’ and depends
on only  and d.
Area of the half period zones are
approximately equal.

The resultant disturbance produced by nth zone

will be π out of phase with the disturbance
produced by the (n-1)th or (n+1)th zone.

For infinitesimal area surrounding a point Qn in

the nth half period zone, there is a corresponding
infinitesimal area surrounding the point Qn-1 in
the n-1th half period zone.

Qn  Qn 1  due to π out of phase
2
Since the area of the zone plate are equal,
one can have one-to-one correspondence
between points of various zone.
The resultant displacement at point ‘P’

u ( P)  u1  u2  u3  u4  .........
m 1
 (1) um  .....
un is the net amplitude produced by the
secondary wavelets emanating from nth zone.
The alternative +ve and –ve signs represents
the fact that the resultant disturbance produced
by two consecutive zones are π out of phase
with respect to each other.

The amplitude produced by a particular zone is

proportional to the area of the zone and
inversely proportional to the distance of the
zone from the point P. It depends also on
obliquity factor.
An (1  cos  )
u n  cons tan t
Qn P 2
 is the angle that the normal to the zone makes
with the line QP.
If we use the exact expression of rn, the area of
the zones increases with n; however this slight
increase in area is exactly compensated by the
increase distance of the zone from the point P.

The amplitude u1, u2, u3……….. Decreases

monotonically because of increase of obliquity.

u1  u 2  u3 ..........
 u1  u1 u3   u3 u5 
u( P)     u2      u4    .........
2 2 2  2 2
1 1 
The last term would either u m or  u m1  u m 
2 2 
according to m being odd or even.
If the obliquity factor is such that

u n  u n 1  u n 1 
1
2
Then the quantities inside the bracket will be
negative.
 u P   u1  u m for m is odd
1 1
2 2 Eq.-1
u1 u m
uP   u1  u m1  u m  
1 1
2 2 2 2
for m is even
In order to obtain the upper limit,
u2  u2 u4   u4 u6 
u P   u1     u3      u5  
2  2 2  2 2
The last term would  1 
  um1  um  if m is odd
1  2 
 um If m is even.
2
Since the quantities inside the bracket will be
negative.
u P   u1 
u u2
 m 1
 um
2 2
Eq.-2
u1 um
  When m is odd
2 2
u 2 u m u1 u m
u P   u1    
2 2 2 2
When m is even
Eqn-1 and Eqn-2 can be approximately written
as
u1 u m
u P    When m is odd
2 2
u1 u m
u P    When m is even
2 2
If we can neglect um, in comparison to u1,

u P  
u1
2
 u P  
u1
2
The resultant amplitude produced by the entire
wave front is only one half of the amplitude
produced by the first half period zone.
 The Zone Plate
The beautiful application of the concept of
Frenel’s half period zone lies in the
construction of the zone plate.
With the help of the zone plates, the
correctness of the Fresnel’s method diving the
wave front into half period zones can be
verified.
A zone plate is a specially constructed screen
such that light is obstructed from every
alternative zone.
It can be designed so as to cut off light due to
the even number zones or that due to odd
number zones.

Construction of zone plate.

Zone plate consist of large number of concentric
circles whose radii are proportional to the square
root of natural number and the alternative
annular region of which are blackened.

Let the radii of the circles be

1K , 2 K , 3K , 4 K .............
K is a constant and has the dimension of length.
2
r
rn  nd d  n

n
Let us consider a point P1 at a distance K2/
from the zone plate
For this the blackened ring corresponds to 2nd,
4th, 6th…… zones.
2
r
For point P1 d  n
n
B D B D
2 2 2 2 2
1K 2K 3K 4K nK
d .....................
n n n n n
n=2 n=3 n=4 n=n
n=1
So the even zones are obstructed and the
resultant amplitude at P will be
u  u  u .......
1 3 5
Producing an
intense maxima
For point P3 (which is at a distance K2/3 from
the zone plate K 2
d 
3
B D B D
2 2 2 2 2
1K 2K 3K 4K nK
d .....................
n n n n n3
n=3 n=6 n=9 n=12
n=4, 5, 6 n=7, 8, 9 n=10, 11, 12
n=1, 2, 3
So first black ring contains 4th, 5th and 6th.

Second black ring contains10th, 11th and 12th.

uP3   (u1  u2  u3 )  (u7  u8  u9 )  .........

The intensity at P3 will still bright but less than

P1.
For point P2 (which is at a distance K2/2 from
the zone plate.
2
K
d 
2
B D B D
1K 2 2K 2 3K 2 4K 2 nK 2
d .....................
n n n n n2
n=2 n=4 n=6 n=8
n=1, 2 n=3, 4 n=5, 6 n=7, 8

uP2   (u1  u2 )  (u5  u6 )  .........

The resultant amplitude at P2 is minimum, even
less than P1 and P3.

Thus if a plane wave is incident normally on a

zone plate, then the corresponding focal points
are at a distances
2 2 2
K K K
, , ...................
 3 5
from the zone plate.
 Application of Zone Plate

a b

It can be used for imaging point on the axis.

If we have a point source at S, then a bright
image will be formed at P, where the point P
should be such that

SL  LP  SP 
2
The point L being on the periphery of the first
circle of the zone plate.
If the radius of the first circle is r1, then

SL  LP  SP  a  r  b  r  (a  b)
2
1
2 2
1
2
  r 
2
 r 2
 a 1  1
  b 1 
2   ( a  b)
1
2
 2a   2b 
1 1
2
r
 1
  
2 a b
1 1 
2
r
SL  LP  SP  1
  
2 a b 2
1 1  1 Resembles with Lens
  2  law.
a b r1 f
 2
r
f  1

represents the focal length.

There are large number of foci depends on

number of zones and wavelength
 LASER
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation

Characteristics of a LASER

(a) Directionality: The divergence of a laser beam

can be less than 10-5 radians. This leads to the
application of laser in surveying, remote
sensing, lidar [Light Detection and Ranging, is
a remote sensing method that uses light in the
form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges
(variable distances) to the Earth.]
(b) High Power: Continuos wave lasers having power
levels ~105 W and pulsed laser having total energy
50,000 J. So laser can be used in cutting, welding,
laser fusion, star wars etc.

(c) Tight Focusing: Due to high directional properties

of lasewr beams, they can be focused to area ~ few
(µm2). This leads to application in surgery, material
processing, compact discs.

(a) Spectral Purity: Laser beams have extremely small

spectral width Δλ~10-6 Å. Because of this lasers
find applications in holography, optical
communications, spectroscopy etc.
 Basic Principle of LASER
The basic principle involved in lasing action is the
phenomenon of stimulated emission predicted by
Einstein in 1917.
Spontaneous Emission
Atoms in the energy state E2 can make a
(spontaneous) transition to the energy state E1 with
the emission of radiation frequency
where

This process occurs even in the absence of any radiation,

this is called as spontaneous emission
The rate of spontaneous emission is proportional to the
number of atoms in the excited state.
Stimulated Emission
This was proposed by Einstein. When an atom is in
the excited state, it can also make a transition to a
lower energy state through stimulated emission in
which an incident signal of appropriate frequency
triggers an atom in an excited state to emit radiation.

This results in the amplification of the incident beam.

The rate of Stimulated Emission depends on both the

intensity of the external field and also the number of
atoms in the excited state.
Stimulated Absorption
Stimulated Absorption (Absorption) is the process in
which the EM radiation of an appropriate frequency
can pump the atom to its excited state.

The rate of Stimulated Absorption depends both on

the intensity of the external field and also on the
number of atoms in the lower energy state.
Population inversion
When the atoms are in the thermodynamic
equilibrium, there are larger number of atoms in the
lower energy state implying that the number of
absorptions exceeds the number of stimulated
emissions. (Attenuation of the beam)

On the other hand, if we are able to create a state of

population inversion in which there are larger number
of atoms in the upper state then the number of
stimulated emissions would exceed the number of
absorptions resulting in the (optical) amplification of
the beam

The amplification process due to stimulated transition

is phase coherent, i.e. the energy delivered by the
molecular system has the same field distribution and
frequency as the stimulating radiation.
 Main components of a
laser
1. The Active Medium
 The active medium consists a collection of atoms,
molecules or ions (in solid, liquid or gaseous form),
which is capable of amplifying light waves.

 Under normal circumstances, there are always large

number of atoms in the lower energy state than in the
excited energy state.

 An EM wave passing through such a collection of

atoms would get attenuated. In order to have optical
amplification, the medium has to be kept in a state of
population inversion. This is achieved by the means of
a pump.
2. The Pumping source
 The pumping mechanism provides for obtaining such
a state of population inversion between a pair of
energy levels of atomic system and when we have the
sate of population inversion , the input light beam can
get amplified by the stimulated emission.
The active medium essentially consists of a collection of
atoms in a state of population inversion which can
amplify the input light beam (or spontaneously emitted
light) by stimulated emission. This is known as optical
amplification.
2. The Optical Resonator
 The medium with population inversion is capable of
amplification; however, in order that it acts as an
oscillator, a part of output energy must be fed back
into the system.

 Such a feedback is brought about by placing the active

medium in a resonator; the resonator could just be a
pair of mirrors facing each other.

 The sides of the cavity are usually open and hence

such resonators are referred as OPEN RESONATORS.

 A resonator is characterized by various modes of

oscillations with different field distribution and
frequencies. Because of open nature of the
resonators, all modes are having finite loss due to
 In addition to this basic loss, scattering from the laser
medium, absorption at the mirrors and output coupling
at the mirrors also contribute to the cavity loss.

 In an actual laser, the modes that keep oscillating are

those for which the gain provided by the laser medium
compensates for the losses. When the laser oscillates
in a steady state, the losses are exactly compensated
for by the gain.

 Since the gain provided by the medium depends on

the extent of population inversion, for each mode there
is a critical value of population inversion (threshold
population inversion) below which the particular mode
would cease to oscillate in the laser.
 Optical Amplification

EDFA (Erbium doped Fiber

Amplifier)

The EDFA essentially consists of about 20 to 40 m of a silica optical fiber

the core of which is doped with erbium oxide (Er2O3).

Light is guided through the optical fiber because of total internal

reflection.
 The radius of the core of the optical fiber is typically about 4 to 5 mm.
The erbium concentration is about 1025 ions m–3.

First three energy levels of Er3+ ion in silica host glass is shown.
Actually, each level shown in the diagram consists of a large number of
very closely spaced levels—but to keep the analysis simple, we have
shown them as single levels.
The energy difference E3 – E1 ~ 1.3 eV (980 nm) and E2 – E1 ~ 0.81 eV
(1530 nm).

Now, when a laser beam corresponding to the wavelength 980 nm is

passed through the erbium-doped fiber, then the erbium atoms in the
ground state E1 absorb this radiation and get excited to energy state E3.
This laser beam is usually referred to as a pump.

The atom in the energy state E3 makes an almost immediate

nonradiative transition to state E2; in a nonradiative transition, a photon
is not emitted—the energy released could, for example, add to the
vibrational energy of the host medium, resulting in its heating.
State E2 is a metastable state characterized by a long lifetime (~ few
milliseconds).The erbium atom in state E2 can undergo a spontaneous
transition to state E1.

Because of the large lifetime of state E2 (in comparison to that of E3), the
population of the erbium atoms in state E2 grows with time, and if the
pump power is high, the rate at which the erbium atom goes over to state
E2 can be so high that we may have a state of population inversion
between E1 and E2; i.e., the number of erbium atoms in state E2 is greater
than that in E1.
When this happens, a signal beam at 1550 nm can get amplified by
stimulated emission of radiation—this is the underlying principle of
optical amplification which is nothing but light amplification through
stimulated emission of radiation.

Conversely, if the population of level E2 is less than that of level E1,

the number of stimulated absorptions will exceed stimulated emission,
resulting in the attenuation of the signal beam at 1550 nm.
The variation of the pump and signal powers with distance along the
doped fiber is shown below. We notice that because of absorption by
erbium atoms, the pump power gets attenuated as it propagates through
the erbium-doped fiber.
Because of this absorption, the
Er atoms are in a state of
population inversion, and the
signal at 1550 nm gets amplified.
However, as we propagate through
the Er-doped fiber, the pump
power decreases, and the Er atoms
are no more in a state of
population inversion and the signal
starts attenuating because of
absorption by erbium atoms. Thus,
for a given pump power, there is
always an optimum length of the
Er-doped fiber for which
maximum amplification occurs.
For a typical Er doped fiber, we may have
Er3+ concentration~ 7Χ1024 ions m-3,
Pump power ~5mW
Optimum length of the fiber ~7m

A typical gain spectrum of an EDFA (using a 50 mW pump at 980 nm)

is shown below. The gain is usually measured in dB which is defined as:
The gain (for the optimum length) is usually between 20 and 30 dB; a
20 dB gain implies a power amplification of 100; and a 30 dB gain
implies a power amplification of 1000.

If the pump power is higher, the optimum length and also the gain will
be higher. The gain spectrum can be made flat over a certain wavelength
region by putting an appropriate filter after the EDFA.

Figure below shows an almost flat gain (of about 28 dB) of an EDFA
for 1530 < λ < 1560 nm. 28 dB gain corresponds to a power
amplification of about 631. The wavelength 1530 < λ < 1560 nm is
extremely important for optical communications.
 The Resonator
A medium with population inversion is capable of amplification, but in
order that it act as an oscillator, a part of the output energy must be fed
back into the system. Such feedback is brought about by placing the
active medium between a pair of mirrors facing each other. Such a
system formed by a pair of mirrors is referred to as a resonator.

The sides of the cavity are usually open, and hence such resonators are
also referred to as open resonators.
A resonator is characterized by various modes of oscillation with
different field distributions and frequencies. One can visualize a mode as a
wave having a well-defined transverse amplitude distribution which forms
a standing wave pattern.

Because of the open nature of the resonator, all modes have a finite loss
due to the diffraction spillover of energy at the mirrors. In addition to this
basic loss, scattering from the laser medium, absorption at the mirrors, and
output coupling at the mirrors also contribute to the cavity loss.

In an actual laser, the modes that keep oscillating are those for which the
gain provided by the laser medium compensates for the losses. When the
laser oscillates in steady state, the losses are exactly compensated for by the
gain. Since the gain provided by the medium depends on the extent of
population inversion, for each mode there is a critical value of population
inversion (known as the threshold population inversion) below which that
particular mode would cease to oscillate in the laser.
.
The Lasing Action
The onset of oscillations in a laser cavity can be understood as follows:
By pumping mechanism, one creates a state of population inversion in
the laser medium placed in the resonator. Thus the medium is prepared to
be capable of coherent amplification over a specified band of frequencies.

The spontaneous emission occurring inside the resonator cavity excites

the various modes. For a given population inversion, each mode is
characterized by a certain amplification and attenuation coefficients.

The modes for which the losses in the cavity exceed the gain die out. On
the other hand, the modes whose gain is higher than the losses get
amplified by drawing energy from the laser medium. The amplitude of the
mode increases rapidly until the upper level population reaches a value
when the gain equals the losses, and the mode oscillates in steady state.

When the laser oscillates in steady state, the losses are exactly
compensated for by the gain provided by the medium, and the wave
coming out of the laser can be represented as a continuous wave.
 The Fiber Laser
 If we put the doped fiber between two mirrors (resonator), then with an
appropriate pump we have a fiber laser.

In 1961, Elias Snitzer wrapped a flash lamp around a glass fiber (having
a 300 mm core doped with Nd3+ ions clad in a lower-index glass) and when
suitable feedback was applied, the first fiber laser was born.

The fiber laser was fabricated within a year of the demonstration of the
first ever laser by Theodore Maiman. These days fiber lasers are
commercially available in the market which have applications in many
diverse areas because of their flexibility and high power levels
The curve below corresponds to the output spectrum of an EDFA
(Erbium doped Fiber Amplifier) just before it starts lasing. As we
increase the pump power, the EDFA starts lasing and the spikes
correspond to the various resonator modes; the ends of the fiber act as
the resonator.

Fiber lasers now find widespread applications in welding, cutting,

drilling, and in medical surgery.

The lower and upper curves show

the output of an EDFA just before
and after it starts lasing.
 Master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA)
MOPA consists of a master (seed) laser and an optical amplifier to boost
the output power.
A special case is the master oscillator fiber amplifier (MOFA), where the
power amplifier is a fiber device. MOPA have the advantage to achieve the
required performance (in terms of line width, beam quality, or pulse
duration).
In the MOFA configuration the seed laser consists of a 54.7 cm length of
EDF (erbium-doped fiber) comprising of two high reflective FBGs (fiber
Bragg gratings) written directly on both ends of the EDF. FBG are
characterized with high reflectivity at a particular wavelength with a very
small bandwidth; thus the two FBGs form a resonator.
 The important characteristics of both the gratings are given in Table.

The EDF’s numerical aperture is 0.18 NA, and it has 500 ppm Er-ion in the
fiber core. The EDF in the cavity is pumped through a WDM coupler by a
976 nm laser diode of pump power 100 mW.

 Lasing emission starts at the peak wavelength when the threshold is

achieved. Since there is a small offset in the peak wavelengths of the two
FBGs, FBG II is slightly stretched to match the peak wavelength with that of
the FBG I.

When these two wavelengths coincide, laser emission is obtained from the
FBG II with maximum output power and very good beam quality.
In this MOFA, a seed laser
(at λ=1549.45 nm) with 1 mW
of output power is generated.

To amplify the laser output

power, an extra length of 15 m
EDF is spliced to the cavity.
This extra EDF is pumped by
the residual pump power of a
976 nm laser diode.

An optical isolator is placed after the amplifier to prevent the back
reflection which otherwise degrades the noise figure. In the output, 16.05
dBm (~40 mW) of laser power is obtained . This power can be further
enhanced by increasing the pump power.
 THE RUBY LASER
 It was the first laser fabricated by Maiman in 1960.

The population inversion was achieved in the following manner:

(i) It was made from a single cylindrical crystal of ruby whose ends were
flat, with one of the ends completely silvered and the other partially
silvered.
(ii) Ruby consists of Al2O3 with some of the aluminum atoms replaced by
chromium.
(iii) The energy states of the chromium ion are below. The chief
characteristic of the energy levels of a chromium ion is the fact that the
bands labeled E1 and E2 have a lifetime of ~10–8 s whereas the state
marked M has a lifetime of ~ 10–3 s (the lifetime represents the average
time an atom spends in an excited state before making a transition to a
lower energy state. A state characterized by such a long lifetime is termed a
metastable state.)
(iv) The chromium ion in its ground state can absorb a photon (λ= 6600
Å) and make a transition to one of the states in the band E1. It could also
absorb a photon of λ ~ 4000 Å and make a transition to one of the states
in the band E2—this is known as optical pumping, and the photons which
are absorbed by the chromium ions are produced by the flash lamp

(v) In either case, it immediately makes a nonradiative transition (t ~ 10–8

s) to the metastable state M—in a nonradiative transition (the excess
energy is absorbed by the lattice and does not appear in the form of
electromagnetic radiation).

(vi) Also since state M has a very long life, the number of atoms in this
state keeps increasing and one may achieve population inversion between
states M and G. Thus we may have a larger number of atoms in states M
and G. Once population inversion is achieved, light amplification can
take place, with two reflecting ends of the ruby rod forming a cavity.
(vii) The ruby laser is an example of a three-level laser. In the original
setup of Maiman, the flash lamp (filled with xenon gas) was connected
to a capacitor which was charged to a few kilovolts.

(viii) The energy stored in the capacitor (~ a few thousand Joules) was
discharged through the xenon lamp in a few milliseconds. This results
in a power which is about a few megawatts. Some of this energy is
absorbed by the chromium ions, resulting in their excitation and
subsequent lasing action.
 Spiking in Ruby Laser
The flash operation of the lamp leads to a pulsed output of the laser. Even
in the short period of a few tens of microseconds in which the ruby is
lasing, one finds that the emission is made up of spikes of high-intensity
emissions. This phenomenon is known as spiking.

Explanation:
(i) When the pump is suddenly switched on to a value much above the
threshold, the population inversion builds up and crosses the threshold
value, as a consequence of which the photon number builds up rapidly to a
value much higher than the steady-state value.
(ii) Since the photon number is higher than the steady-state value, the rate
at which the upper level depletes (because of stimulated transitions)
is much higher than the pump rate.

(iii) Consequently, the inversion becomes below threshold, and the laser
action ceases. Thus the emission stops for a few microseconds, within
which time the flash lamp again pumps the ground-state atoms to the upper
level, and laser oscillations begin again.

(iv) This process repeats itself till the flash lamp power falls below the
threshold value and the lasing action stops.
 THE He–Ne LASER
He-Ne laser was first fabricated by Ali Javan and coworkers at Bell
Laboratories in the USA. First gas laser to be operated successfully.

 The He-Ne laser consists of a mixture of He and Ne in a ratio of about

10:1, placed inside a long, narrow discharge tube. The pressure inside the rube
is about 1 torr. The gas system is enclosed between a pair of plane mirrors or
a pair of concave mirrors so that a resonator system is formed. One of the
mirrors is of very high reflectivity while the other is partially transparent so
that energy may be coupled out of the system.
 The first few energy levels of He and Ne atoms are shown below. When an
electric discharge is passed through the gas, the electrons traveling down the
tube collide with the He atoms and excite them (from the ground state F1) to
the levels marked F2 and F3.

These levels are metastable; i.e., He atoms excited to these states stay in
these levels for a sufficiently long time before losing energy through
collisions.
Through these collisions, the Ne atoms are excited to the levels marked E4
and E6 which have nearly the same energy as the levels F2 and F3 of He.

Thus when the atoms in levels F2 and F3 collide with unexcited Ne atoms,
they raise them to the levels E4 and E6, respectively. Thus, we have the
following two-step process:
This results in a sizeable population of the levels E4 and E6. The
population in these levels happens to be much more than those in the
lower levels E3 and E5. Thus a state of population inversion is
achieved, and any spontaneously emitted photon can trigger laser
action in any of the three transitions .
The Ne atoms then drop down from the lower laser levels to the level E2
through spontaneous emission. From the level E2 the Ne atoms are
brought back to the ground state through collision with the walls. The
transitions from E6 to E5, E4 to E3, and E6 to E3 result in the emission of
radiation having wavelengths of 3.39 mm, 1.15 mm, and 6328 Å,
respectively.

Note that the laser transitions corresponding to 3.39 and 1.15 mm are
not in the visible region. The 6328 Å transition corresponds to the well-
known red light of the He-Ne laser.

A proper selection of different frequencies may be made by choosing

end mirrors having high reflectivity over only the required wavelength
range. The pressures of the two gases must be chosen so that the condition
of population inversion is not quenched. Thus the conditions must be
such that there is an efficient transfer of energy from He to Ne atoms.
Also, since the level marked E2 is metastable, electrons colliding with
atoms in level E2 may excite them to level E3, thus decreasing the
population inversion.

The tube containing the gaseous mixture is also made narrow so that Ne
atoms in level E2 can get de-excited by collision with the walls of the
tube. Actually there are a large number of levels grouped around E2, E3,
E4, E5, and E6. Only those levels are shown in the figure which
correspond to the important laser transitions.

Gas lasers are, in general, found to emit light, which is more directional
and more monochromatic. This is so because of the absence of such
effects as crystalline imperfection, thermal distortion, and scattering,
which are present in solid-state lasers. Gas lasers are capable of operating
continuously without need for cooling.
 OPTICAL RESONATORS
 A light beam passing through a suitable medium with population
inversion may be amplified. To construct an oscillator which can supply
light energy and act as a source of light, one must couple a part of the output
back into the medium.

This can be achieved by placing the active medium between two mirrors
which reflect most of the output energy back to the system. Such a system of
two mirrors represents a resonant cavity. Now, to obtain an output beam, one
of the mirrors is made partially reflecting
Imagine a wave that starts from one of the mirrors and travels toward
the other. In passing through the active medium, it gets amplified. If the
second mirror is partially reflecting, then the wave is partially transmitted
and the rest is reflected back toward the first mirror. In traveling to the
first mirror, it again gets amplified and returns to the position it has started
from. Thus, in between the two mirrors, we have waves propagating along
both directions.

For resonance, when a wave returns after one round trip, it must be in
phase with the existing wave. For this to happen, the total phase change
suffered by the wave in one complete round trip must be an integral
multiple of 2π, so that standing waves are formed in the cavity.

Thus if d represents the length of the cavity, then we may write

where λ is the wavelength of the radiation in the medium enclosed by the

cavity
If n0 represents the refractive index of the medium enclosed by the cavity, then