CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO LASER WHAT IS A LASER A laser is a device that produces a very special kind of light

Nd:YAG

He-Ne He-Ne laser

Argon

Ti:S

Excimer

What is a Laser? LASER is a device that converts some form of energy, usually electrical into optical energy. LASERS generate intense beams of light. LASER is an acronym for:

light

amplification by the

stimulated

emission of

radiation

LASER, therefore, is a process of amplification, not merely a device. LASER radiation in this context simply means light, any of several different colors. LASER radiation is not associated with the hazards of ionizing radiation such as X-ray. The termed stimulated emission is a process whereby atoms may be de-excited by radiation

Excited atom

Fig. 1.1 When a ray of light is amplified by a stimulated emission device, it continues in the same direction.

PHYSIC OF LIGHT Light is locked up in matter Different materials produce characteristic color of light. Different type of LASERS are able to produce their own characteristics colors Nature of light does exhibit characteristics of both i. ii. discrete particles, or photons waves.

Light wave For purposes of understanding lasers we will primarily look at light in terms of its wave characteristics. a. A light wave may be compared to a sound wave b. A wave is characterized by four quantities, (Figure 1.2) 1. Wavelength 2. Frequency 3. Velocity 4. Amplitude Compression v x Expansion

Amplitude Wavelength Figure 1.2: Light waves have brightness (amplitude) and color (wavelength)- much like sound wave.

Wavelength i. The wavelength is the distance between two successive crests. ii. iii. iv. Wavelength determines the color of light The terms Color, Energy and Wavelength all are synonymous The shorter the wavelength the bluer the color and the more energy in the photon (Figure 1.3). v. Another way to think of wavelength is as the vibrational energy or resonance of the photon

488 nm Blue light

Packet of energy (photon) ; light particle 500 nm

Green light Red light Figure 1.3: Light comes in packages called photons

633 nm

Light particle Planck's theory was based on the idea that black bodies emit light only i. ii. iii. as discrete bundles or packets of energy. These packets were called quanta The particle of light was given the name photon

A photon has an energy, E, proportional to its frequency, f, by

hf

where h is Planck's constant, is the wavelength and c is the speed of light.

Propagation of light is best described by a wave model. Emission and absorption phenomena require a particle approach

ALBERT EINSTEIN IN 1917 Associated most directly with the theory of relativity He made significant contributions in photoelectric effect. In the photoelectric effect radiation incident on metal surfaces releases electrons - occurs only if the incident light is of a high enough frequency. introduced the idea of stimulated emission, whereby a beam of light can induce atom to give out similar radiation SPECTRUM x-ray - 1 4 nm, x-ray laser Ultraviolet UV, -193 nm, 200 nm, 337 nm, excimer, nitrogen Visble light, Vis- 400 700 nm, krypton, he-ne, ruby, dye, argon, Infrared IR 800 10,000 nm, diode, Nd:YAG , CO2

Frequency Hz Wavelength, m 3 104 10 Long wavelength 103 105 Medium wavelength 106 10 Short wavelength 109 10 10
11

microwave Infrared

10-2 Infrared 10-5 red Yellow Green Blue Ultraviolet 10

-12

1000 nm 700 nm

14

1015 1017 10
20

Visible Ultraviolet X-ray - ray Cosmic ray

10-9

500 nm

300 nm

1021 1023

10-15

Figure Electromagnet spectrum

C= f

c v

APPLICATION Industrial and commercial applications Material working Measurement and inspection Reading, writing and recording of information Displays Communications Holography Spectroscopy Remote sensing

Surveying, marking and alignment Research applications pursued on various scales by government and industrial organizations and in universities: Laser weaponary Laser induced nuclear fusion (inertial confinement fusion ICF) Isotope enrichment (particularly of uranium and plutonium) Spectroscopy and atomic physics Plasma diagnostics

BASIC LASER Cavity Mirrors, laser material, pumping source

Principal components: 1. Active laser medium 2. Laser pumping energy 3. Mirror 4. Partial mirror 5. Laser beam Nd:YAG crystal Laser materials Solid state Ruby crystal of aluminum oxide (synthetic sapphire crystal) doped with atoms of chromium. In chemical terms, this is Cr2O3 in Al2O3 ruby laser light at 694.3 nm Yittrium aluminum garnet (Y3Al5O12) orYAG crystal doped with nadinium (Nd3+)-laser light at NIR 1064 nm Glass doped with Nd YVO4 ortovanadate Nd:YAG laser rod LiNbO3 Ti: sapphire semiconductor

Gases He-Ne- red light 632.8 nm Argon green 500 nm Excimer UV 193 nm Nitrogen 337 nm CO2 FIR, 10,000 nm Liquid Organic compound (a dye) dissolved in a liquid solvent- rhodamine 6G, coumarin Solvent water, organic solvents ; methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide, mixture of alcohols and water Solvent can influence both the optical and degradation characteristics of dyes advantages tunable wavelength

ENERGY AND POWER OF LASER Laser as a source of energy in material processing ; cutting, welding and drilling Focus laser energy heat Ablation target burning with laser which cause melted, vaporize or change structure Laser system Consist of a unit of laser, optical system, robotic, computer control, visualize system Power Unit, mW, MW Continuous laser- average power, mW Pulse laser- peak power = energy /pulse MW Power density /fluence W/cm2 Energy Pulse laser measure in Joule Energy density : J/cm2

PUMPING ENERGY Definition energy used to excite atoms in laser material Pumping action is accomplished by several methods, depending on the type of laser 1. Electrical discharge

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Optical pumping Direct current-forward bais Chemical reaction Solar energy Magnetic field

OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS Output laser can be produced in two modes 1. Continuous 2. Pulse Continuous wave (CW) Most low power laser is operated in continuous mode Eg. He-Ne laser, diode laser, CO2 laser, argon laser a continuous steady beam is required for treating a skin disease, for alignment for measuring, for marking,. But for drilling holes or eye surgery desire a short and powerful laser pulses. Pulse laser Can be triggered in single pulse or in repetitive mode The frequency of repetitive in the range of 10 Hz, 20 Hz, 50 Hz, for manual operation for solid state laser such as Nd:YAG laser or dye laser If the laser is control by the computer, the repetitive could be higher reach up 200 Hz for gas laser like excimer laser, 1 kHz The pulse duration in the range microsecond, Ultrashortpulses Pulse Laser can be produced much shorter by using mode lock (ML) and chirp pulse amplification CPA The pulse can be lasting in a trillionth of a second or picoseconds, femtoseconds and the shortest pulse achieve nowadays is in, attosecond Physicists can use these ultrashort pulses as probes into chemical process, or records the motion of molecule in the organ.