3. Principles of Lasers
Lasers operate on the principles of stimulated emission, population inversion, and optical cavities, providing a coherent beam of light with a narrow wavelength. Various types of lasers, including gas, solid-state, diode, fiber, and chemical lasers, have diverse applications across telecommunications, medical, industrial processing, and scientific research. Understanding these principles and applications is critical for advancing technology in multiple fields.
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What we have learnt
- Lasers generate coherent light through stimulated emission.
- Different types of lasers, such as gas, solid-state, and fiber, have unique characteristics and uses.
- Applications of lasers range from telecommunications and medicine to material processing and consumer electronics.
Key Concepts
- -- Stimulated Emission
- The process by which an incoming photon causes an excited atom to emit light of the same energy, phase, and direction.
- -- Population Inversion
- A state in which more atoms are in an excited state than in a ground state, necessary for amplified stimulated emission.
- -- Optical Cavity
- A structure made of two mirrors that reflects light back and forth, resulting in amplification of light in a laser.
- -- Gain Medium
- The material in which the laser operates, determining the characteristics of the laser, such as wavelength and power.
- -- Fiber Lasers
- Lasers that use an optical fiber doped with rare-earth elements for light amplification, commonly used in telecommunications.
- -- Laser Diodes
- Semiconductor devices that emit coherent light when an electric current passes through them, widely used in consumer products.
Additional Learning Materials
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