ECE 455: Optical Electronics Lecture #9: Inhomogeneous Broadening, the Laser Equation, and Threshold Gain Substitute Lecturer: Tom Spinka Tuesday, Sept. 22 nd, 2009

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Topic #1: Inhomogeneous Broadening

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Homogeneous vs. Inhomogeneous Broadening There are two general classification of line broadening: –Homogenous — all atoms behave the same way (i.e., each effectively has the same g(ν). –Inhomogeneous — each atom or molecule has a different g(ν) due to its environment. What physical processes result in homogeneous broadening? Inhomogeneous broadening?

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Inhomogeneous Broadening Excited atoms in glasses (or other materials with little long-range order) are inhomogeneously broadened because the “host” looks different at each site Excited atoms in crystals are generally homogeneously broadened because of periodicity to structure

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Inhomogeneous Broadening Each emitter produces a homogeneously-broadened lineshape For Example: Stark Broadening

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening In a gas, atoms are moving in all directions with velocities given by the Maxwellian distribution:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening In the frame of the emitter, a homogeneously-broadened lineshape is generated, but in the lab frame (seen by an external observer) the homogeneously-broadened lineshape is frequency-shifted by the Doppler effect

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening The Doppler broadened profile is the weighted sum of the lineshapes arising from all possible velocities: What is the lineshape function, g(v), for a Doppler broadened transition?

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening TWO ASSUMPTIONS: 1.Homogeneous linewidth is small compared to the inhomogeneous linewidth 2.Gas atom/molecule velocity distribution is Maxwellian Maxwellian velocity distribution: Relationships between velocity and frequency:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening This is a Gaussian Distribution:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Doppler Broadening Doppler Broadening in a Nutshell: –Physical Origin: Movement of transitioning atoms/molecules in the laboratory reference frame –When It Is Important/Dominant: High Temperature, Small Mass –Lineshape Function: –Lineshape Function at Line Center: –Full-Width at Half-Max (FHWM)

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Broadening Examples (Cu-Vapor Laser) The copper vapor laser operates at T = 1750 K!

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Broadening Examples (Sodium Doublet) What is the pressure-broadened linewidth in He at 1 Torr and 400ºC?

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Topic #2: Threshold Gain

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Requirements for Laser Action 1.Gain Medium Can be a gas (or plasma), liquid, or solid Must have an established population inversion N 2 > N 1 When a medium is inverted, the “stimulated emission” process is stronger than the “absorption” process 2.Excitation Mechanism or “Pump” “Pumping” is the process, sequence of processes, or method by which one “excites” or promotes atoms into the upper laser level Pumping may well not be “direct” but via an intermediate level or set of levels

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Requirements for Laser Action 3.“Seed” for Stimulated Emission In some cases, the “seed” is supplied by spontaneous emission In other cases, the “seed” can be provided in another fashion, generally another laser. “Seeding” a laser can improve 1.Timing jitter for pulsed lasers 2.Wavelength stability 3.Spectral purity (bandwidth)

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Requirements for Laser Action 4.Optical Cavity or Resonator This is necessary to: 1.Provide optical feedback to the gain medium 2.Define the spatial and longitudinal lasing modes

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification At the heart of the laser is its ability to “amplify” light within a particular frequency (wavelength) range –This requires a population inversion which can not exist under equilibrium conditions In thermodynamic equilibrium, the relative population of available states is given by:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification Consider the population in the upper laser level as a function of time: Spontaneous Emission Stimulated Emission AbsorptionPumping Non-radiative Relaxation

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification When the spectral bandwidth of the radiation field is small compared to the broadened transition:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Now we introduce the photon intensity: Now we group terms: Gain and Amplification

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification Lets try to regain the link to the physics in the “stimulated processes” term (2): Stimulated Emission Cross-Section # of Photons Crossing a unit Area per unit Time

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification Put it all together! THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! The stimulated emission cross-section is purely a property of the material Spontaneous Emission Stimulated Emission Absorption Pumping Non-Radiative Relaxation Stimulated Emission Cross-Section # of Photons Crossing a unit Area per unit Time

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification Consider the radiation field as it travels through a gain medium: –Keep in mind that this is at a single frequency –Neglect spontaneous emission –Propagation in the z-direction

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Gain and Amplification The result looks suspiciously like Beer’s Law … Gain Coefficient (cm -1 )

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain What is threshold gain? Threshold Gain is the gain value that exactly compensates for losses occurring on a round-trip through the cavity

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain Follow the photon intensity through a round trip through a generic cavity with a gain medium: Threshold Condition:

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain Examples (He-Ne Laser) This is an exceedingly low threshold gain. In general, mirror and other losses are much larger, and the corresponding threshold gain is much higher.

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain Examples (Diode Lasers) This case represents the other end of the spectrum. Threshold for diode lasers is 4 orders of magnitude greater than the He-Ne case.

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain Examples (Absorption Cell)

ECE 455: Optical Electronics Threshold Gain Examples (Absorption Cell)