10B1NPH831

Photonics and Applications

Dr. Anshu D Varshney

 The Quality Factor(Q)
Since an optical resonator is an open cavity, all modes suffer
losses. The finite reflectivities of the mirrors and scattering and
absorption by the medium filling the resonator cavity can also
describe the losses in the cavity by what is known as the quality
factor. This is defined by

where ωο is the oscillation frequency of the mode.

If W(t) represents the energy in the mode at time t, then

Thus if tc represents the cavity lifetime i.e., the time in which the energy
in the mode decreases by a factor 1/e, then

Q no d
t c  Q / o   2o no d 1
2o cLF Q
c 1
1 d  ln R1 R2
where L F  d  ln R1 R2 2
2
 We can write for the field associated with the mode

The frequency spectrum of this wave train comes out to be

Lorentzian Function

The FWHM of the Spectrum is

Thus the linewidth of the passive mode depends inversely on the quality factor.
The higher the quality factor (i.e., the longer the cavity lifetime, the smaller will
be the FWHM).
Calculate the maximum number of modes in a typical cavity of a He-Ne laser with the
following specifications :

d = 20 cm , refractive index is 1, R1=1, R2=0.98  0

 Q-Switching
In order to store many atoms in an upper level, the flow to a lower
level must first be limited.
Q-Switching
 Q-Switching

Generally, several round trips are needed to completely depopulate the upper
energy level and several more round trips to empty the optical cavity so the duration
of the pulse is greater than one round trip. This means that for optical cavities
shorter than a metre (one round trip less than 6 ns), it is possible to generate short
pulses of only a few nanoseconds but several millijoules in power. The peak power
(the pulse energy divided by its duration) of these lasers can be in the megawatt
range or even higher.
 Q-Switching
-method for obtaining energetic pulses from lasers by
modulating the intracavity losses

The quality factor (or Q factor) of a cavity is determined by the losses in the
cavity; the smaller the losses, the larger is the Q-value. Consider a laser cavity
in which a shutter is introduced in front of one of the mirrors.If the laser medium
is
 Q-Switching
•If the laser medium is continuously pumped, the
population inversion in the cavity will go on increasing and
will reach a very high value.
•This value could be much larger than the threshold
inversion required for the same laser in the absence of the
shutter.
•If the shutter is now suddenly opened, then the existing
population inversion will correspond to a value much
above the threshold value for oscillation.
•Thus the gain per round trip will be many times the loss
per round trip and the radiation in the cavity mode will build
up very rapidly.
•This rapid increase in the intensity will deplete the
population inversion which will go below threshold. This
results in the generation of an intense pulse of light from
the cavity.
•Since the Q of the cavity is being switched from a
small value to a large value, the above technique is
referred to as Q-switching.
 Q-Switching
The instantaneous power output is given by

h  Nth 
Pmax  Nth ln  (Nth  N o )
2tc  N o 
For values ΔNo >>ΔNth, Pmax can be expressed as

N o h
Pmax 
2tc
What is the maximum Q-switched power output from a ruby laser with a chromium
concentration of 1.6 x 1025 chromium ions per cubic meter? Assume a ruby laser rod
0.1 m long with a cavity length of 0.4 m and mirrors coated with a reflectivity of 90%.
The index of refraction for ruby is 1.75. Assume also that the diameter of the multi-
mode laser mode volume within the rod is approximately 2 mm. Determine the Q-
switched power output from the laser if it is pumped to a factor of 5 times the threshold
inversion density. =694.3nm.

h  Nth 
Pmax  
 th
N ln  ( N  N o 
)

th
2tc  N o 

The cavity decay time tc is slightly more complex because the transit time is more complicated than just
c/ηd, since there are two different portions of the optical path within the cavity that have different indices
of refraction. For a crystal of length L and a cavity with a mirror separation of d, the transit time per pass
is given by
•Q-switched lasers are often used in applications which demand high
laser intensities in nanosecond pulses, such as metal cutting or
pulsed holography.
•Nonlinear optics often takes advantage of the high peak powers of these lasers,
offering applications such as 3D optical data storage and 3D microfabrication.
•However, Q-switched lasers can also be used for measurement purposes, such
as for distance measurements (range finding) by measuring the time it takes for
the pulse to get to some target and the reflected light to get back to the sender.
•It can be also used in chemical dynamic study, e.g. temperature
jump relaxation study.[4]
•Q-switched lasers are also used to remove tattoos by shattering ink pigments
into particles that are cleared by the body's lymphatic system.
•Full removal can take between six and twenty treatments depending on the
amount and colour of ink, spaced at least a month apart, using
different wavelengths for different coloured inks.

•Nd:YAG lasers are currently the most favoured lasers due to their high peak
powers, high repetition rates and relatively low costs.
 MODE-LOCKING
There are many uses of very short—
duration laser pulses in the fields of
digital communications, diagnostics
of ultrafast processes, and ablation
of materials without causing
significant heating of the material.
Previously we described how the
process of Q-switching generated
very intense short pulses limited to
minimum pulse durations of a few
nanoseconds.

Another technique that has allowed the generation of optical pulses as short
as 5 fs (5 x 10~15 s) is known as mode-locking. For visible pulses of such a
short duration, the electric field oscillates for only a few cycles and the
actual pulse, if frozen in space, would be less than 2 m in length or about
l/30th the thickness of a human hair.
 MODE-LOCKING

Q-switching generated very intense short pulses limited to

minimum pulse durations of a few nanoseconds.

The matching of phases of different modes is called mode

locking. The technique of mode locking allows the generation
of pulses of lesser duration of about 5 fs (5 x 10~15 s).
MODE-LOCKING
 MODE-LOCKING

Mode-locking is achieved
by combining in phase a
number of distinct
longitudinal modes of a
laser, all having slightly
different frequencies.

When modes of
electromagnetic waves
of different frequencies
but with random phases
are added, they produce
a randomly distributed,
average output of both
the electric field and the
intensity in the time.
 MODE-LOCKING
When the same three
frequencies (modes) are
added in phase they
combine to produce a
total field amplitude and
intensity output that has
a characteristic repetitive
pulsed nature.

Hence, achieving such

phasing or mode-locking
has become a powerful
method for generating
ultrashort pulses.
When the longitudinal modes are in phase, there is only one place in the cavity
where the electric fields add together constructively. Everything occurs as if a
pulse was travelling inside the cavity,
Mode locking ( Theory)
Mode locking ( Theory)
Mode locking ( Theory)
Mode locking ( Theory)
Mode locking ( Theory)
Compute the mode-locked pulse width tp and the separation between pulses tsep
for the following mode-locked lasers.
(a)A helium-neon laser operating at 632.8 nm with a mirror cavity spacing of d =
0.5 m. we assume that modes will lase over the FWHM emission linewidth of the
632.8-nm transition of 1.5 x 109 Hz
(b)A Rh6G dye laser operating over its entire gain bandwidth (570-640 nm) with
the cavity mirrors separated by 2 m. The index of refraction of a laser dye in a
typical solvent is approximately 1.4.
Applications:
•Nuclear fusion. (inertial confinement fusion).
•Nonlinear optics, such as second-harmonic generation, parametric down-conversion, optical
parametric oscillators, and generation of Terahertz radiation
•Optical Data Storage uses lasers, and the emerging technology of 3D optical data
storage generally relies on nonlinear photochemistry. For this reason, many examples use
mode-locked lasers, since they can offer a very high repetition rate of ultrashort pulses.
•Femtosecond laser nanomachining – The short pulses can be used to nanomachine in many
types of materials.
•An example of pico- and femtosecond micromachining is drilling the silicon jet surface of ink
jet printers
•Two-photon microscopy
•Corneal Surgery. Femtosecond lasers can create bubbles in the cornea, if multiple bubbles
are created in a planar fashion parallel to the corneal surface then the tissue separates at this
plane and a flap like the one in LASIK is formed (Intralase: Intralasik or SBK (Sub Bowman
Keratomileusis) if the flap thickness is equal or less than 100 micrometres). If done in multiple
layers a piece of corneal tissue between these layers can be removed (Visumax: FLEX
Femtosecond Lenticle Extraction).
•A laser technique has been developed that renders the surface of metals deep black. A
femtosecond laser pulse deforms the surface of the metal forming nanostructures. The
immensely increased surface area can absorb virtually all the light that falls on it thus
rendering it deep black. This is one type of black gold[9]
•Photonic Sampling, using the high accuracy of lasers over electronic clocks to decrease the
sampling error in electronic ADCs