CONTENT

Topic Slide No.

Introduction to Laser 3-6
Brief History of Laser 7-9
How Laser Works 10-13
Applications of Laser 14
Advantages of Laser 15 - 19
Disadvantages of Laser 20 - 22
Conclusion 23
Introduction to laser
Many might think including me that Laser is just a word...
But it is not so. It is a acronym.
L - Light
A - Amplified by
S - Stimulated
E - Emission of
R - Radiation
Now let us see some 3 sources of light
From the above Table we can say that :
(a) The Sun has high light power but has less density or
intensity.
(b) But Laser has very high intensity but less power. This
makes laser a powerful device.

Laser has some of its own properties. Some are :

(a) It is nearly 100% monochromic i.e. it travels for
long distance in a uniform frequency & wavelength,
(b) It is nearly 100% perfectly directional i.e. it travel
only in a particular direction without diverging.
(c) It is 100% coherent i.e. the distance between each
wave is equal at a given point on the line which is
perpendicular to the base of laser source.
Monochromi
c Directional
 Brief History of laser
Year Name Achievement
1900 Max Plank Said that light is a form of electromagnetic
radiation

1916 Albert Einstein Theory of light emmision

1951 Charles H Townes The inventor of MASER (Microwave
Joseph Weber Amplification of Stimulated Emission of
James P. Gordan Radiation)

1957 Gordon Gould First document defining a LASER

1959 John D. Myers First stroboscopic X-Ray system.
16/05/1960 Theodore Maiman Invented first working LASER based on Ruby.
1960 Peter P Sorokin First Uranium LASER
Mirek Stevenson
Year Name Achievement
1960 Ali Javan, First helium-neon LASER
William Bennett
Donald Herriot

1961 Elias Snitzer First glass LASER

1961 Leo F. Johnson, First neodymium crystal LASER
K. Nassau
1962 Robert Hall Invention of semi-conductor LASER
Nick Holonyak
1962 Alan White First helium neon (HeNe) visible CW LASER
Dane Rigden
1964 William Bridges Invention of Argon Ion LASER
1965 John D. Myers First dual frequency LASER
1965 George Pimentel First chemical LASER
J V V Kasper
1965 John D. Myers First frequency-doubled LASER rangefinder
Year Name Achievement
1966 John D. Myers First plane position indicating LASER radar
1967 Bernard Soffer First wavelength tunable dye LASER
B. B. McFarland
1969 G M Delco First industrial installation of three LASERS
for automobile application
1980 Geoffrey Perts First report of X-ray using LASER action
Group
1984 Dennis Matthews Demonstration of X-ray using laser
Group
1985 John D. Myers First commercial LASER eye surgery
1996 Wolfgang Keterle First pulsed atom LASER at MIT
2006 John Bowers First silicon LASER
2010 First 10 Petawatt LASER
How Laser Works
Animation
Spontaneous Emission
a. Excited atoms normally emit light spontaneously
b. Photons are uncorrelated and independent
c. Incoherent light

Stimulated Emission
a. Excited atoms can be stimulated into duplicating passing light
b. Photons are correlated and identical
c. Coherent light

Laser Amplification
a. Stimulated emission can amplify light
b. Laser medium contains excited atom-like systems
c. Photons must have appropriate wavelength, polarization, and
orientation to be duplicated
d. Duplication is perfect; photons are clones
Applications of Laser
Medical Uses Laser Cooling

Cutting and Welding Nuclear Fission

Surveying and Ranging Photochemistry

In Garment Industry Lunar Laser Ranging

In Communication Microscopy

Heat Treatment Targeting

Barcode Scanners Arms and Weapons

Metrology Spectroscopy

Military
Advantages of Laser
Laser Surgery:

a. Results are good in cosmetic sense

b. Multiple lesions could be treated with laser surgery
c. Birthmarks and pigmented lesions could also be
treated with laser which was considered as untreatable
in past
d. Less complication after treatment.
Laser Beam Cutting

(a) Due to rapid rate of operation, the (heat)

distortion to the base metal is minimum.
(b) The narrowness and accuracy of the cut together
with relatively shallow HAZ with negligible surface
cracking are major advantages of this process.
(c) Even most complicated profiles can be cut.
(d) Very hard material like silicon carbide, friable
material like glass, sticky material like confectionery
etc., can be cut by laser.
(e) Laser is a faster process than sawing or nibbling
and is very efficient.
Laser Beam Cutting
Operation on eye using Laser:

(a) Being able to see well without having to wear glasses

or contacts
(b) Improved appearance
(c) Greater choices in sunglasses styles
(d) Not having to worry about losing or breaking glasses
(e) No worries about having to buy expensive cleaning
solutions for contacts or new contacts every few months
Gas Detection with a Laser.

(a) Because of the very narrow 0.3 nm line width of the laser emission, there is no
interference from other gases.
(b) Response times are in the order 1 second. This allow for fine
resolution/control when making process measurements.
(c) The intense laser light concentrated at the absorption wavelength enables
path lengths up to 1 km to be measured.
(d) An average measurement is taken over the total path so that a narrow
plume of gas has less chance of escaping detection.
(e) The range of measurement can be up to 4 orders of magnitude, enabling
concentrations of 0.1 ppm to 1000 ppm to be measured.
(f) Because of the internal reference cell, the system is self calibrating.
(g) There is no poisoning or degradation of the instrument with long term
exposure to a gas.
(h) Can easily be conformed to be Intrinsically Safe.
(i) Low maintenance and low operating costs.
(j) Reliable technology.
Disadvantages of Laser
Laser Surgery:

(a) Laser surgery is costly as equipment are very costly.

(b) Repeated laser treatment could be required.
(c) Any type of local infection could complicate laser
treatment.
(d) Scarring or altered skin texture is also a possibility.
Operation on eye using Laser:

(a) Expensive. The greater the correction, the higher the

cost
(b) Not everybody can benefit from it. Those with thin
corneas or large pupils are considered to be poor
candidates for it
(c) Bad night vision. Many people complain about the halo
effect or seeing star bursts around lights
(d) Dry eyes. It can be permanent in some people
(e) Overcorrection or undercorrection
(f) Results often don't last and for older people, they likely
will need glasses again
(g) It permanently weakens the cornea and increases its
risk for rupture
Laser Beam Cutting

(a) The limit on thickness of section (6 mm in plain

carbon steel; for other metals it is still lesser) and the fact
that workpiece must be moved relative to the rather
cumbersome equipment restrict the use of gas-jet laser
cutting.

Gas Detection with a Laser.

(a) Only one gas can be measured with each instrument.

(b) When heavy dust, steam or fog blocks the laser beam,
the system will not be able to take measurements. This
is also the case when a person or vehicle blocks the
path.
Conclusion
From the above slides we understand :
a. Invention of Laser
b. How laser works
c. Its application
d. Its Advantages & Disadvantages

Last but not the least, I want to say that Lasers are nowadays used in
many places as it time saving & very efficient even though it is costly. Laser
has disadvantages but has many advantages due to which it has become
popular.