Laser System and Applications

Introduction, Definition, Properties of laser beams, Concept of coherence, Temporal coherence, Spatial coherence, Longitudinal Coherence length, Transverse Coherence length, Absorption, Spontaneous Emission and Stimulated emission processes with its characteristics, Einstein’s A and B coefficients and Relation between these coefficient.

Population inversion, Meta stable state, Pumping- types, Optical pumping methods, Two, three and four level pumping schemes, Gain in lasers, Gain factor, Optical Cavities/Resonators, Fabry-Perot optical resonator, Loop gain, Gain at threshold, Stability, Stability diagram.

Main components of Laser, Principle of Laser action, Introduction to general lasers and their types. Two, Three & Four level Lasers, CW Lasers, Pulsed Lasers, Method of Short pulse generation and its Measurement.

Atomic gas Lasers – He-Ne laser, Argon Ion Laser; Molecular Gas Lasers- Carbon dioxide laser, excimer laser; Liquid Lasers- Organic dye lasers, Solid Sate Lasers- Ruby lasers, Nd-YAG Laser, Semiconductor diode laser.

Laser applications in medicine and surgery- effect of laser on biological tissues, diagnostic of disease, ophthalmology, general surgery, dermatology, dentistry, advantages and disadvantages; Laser applications in materials processing – hole drilling, cutting, laser hardening, advantage and disadvantage of laser in material processing; Laser applications in optical communication; Laser applications in metrology; Laser applications in LIDAR; Laser applications in holography; Laser hazards and safety consideration.