LASER TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
A Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) is a device used to concentrate light into a narrow beam. LASER is often used as a noun. However, it is actually an acronym. LASER is just used for simplicity.

The light emitted by a LASER is thin and coherent. LASER light is different from the light that normally radiates from atoms. Atoms typically radiate light randomly, resulting in light that is refereed to as incoherent. Basically, this means atoms radiate jumbles of photons that go in numerous directions. Coherent light behaves quite differently, going in one clearly defined direction.

To create coherent light for a LASER, the right atoms must be used in the right kind of environment to allow the atoms to emit light at a particular time and in a precise direction. Atoms or molecules of gases, liquids, crystals, or other materials are used in LASERs. These atoms are excited within a LASER cavity, putting most of them at higher energy levels, while reflective surfaces in the cavity reflect energy and enable it to build up. Through a process called stimulated emission, photons with matching frequencies and phases are emitted. Finally, a fast, chain reaction occurs, discharging atoms and leading to the production of coherent light.

The LASER made its debut in 1960. Since then, LASERs have come a long way. They are available in many different sizes, ranging from those about the size of a grain of sand to those as big as some buildings. Despite such variations, most LASERs produce light beams that are very thin and capable of maintaining size and course, even when traveling over great distances.

LASERs are used for an amazing variety of things. They have many important applications in modern medicine, including LASER-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) eye surgery. They are also important in many manufacturing and construction processes, as well as military and scientific applications. Many individuals have turned to LASER printers to make printing professional-looking documents easier. Likewise, LASERs are important components of compact disc (CD) and Digital Video Disc (DVD) players.

TYPES OF LASERS
There are many different types of lasers. The laser medium can be a solid, gas, liquid or semiconductor. Lasers are commonly designated by the type of lasing material employed:

Solid-state lasers have lasing material distributed in a solid matrix (such as the ruby or neodymium:yttrium-aluminum garnet "Yag" lasers). The neodymium-Yag laser emits infrared light at 1,064 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is 1x10-9 meters.

Fig. SOLID-STATE LASERS Gas lasers (helium and helium-neon, HeNe, are the most common gas lasers) have a primary output of visible red light. CO2 lasers emit energy in the far-infrared, and are used for cutting hard materials. Excimer lasers (the name is derived from the terms excited and dimers) use reactive gases, such as chlorine and fluorine, mixed with inert gases such as argon, krypton or xenon. When electrically stimulated, a pseudo molecule (dimer) is produced. When lased, the dimer produces light in the ultraviolet range. Dye lasers use complex organic dyes, such as rhodamine 6G, in liquid solution or suspension as lasing media. They are tunable over a broad range of wavelengths. Semiconductor lasers, sometimes called diode lasers, are not solid-state lasers. These electronic devices are generally very small and use low power. They may be built into larger arrays, such as the writing source in some laser printers or CD players.

DESIGN
A laser consists of a gain medium inside a highly reflective optical cavity, as well as means to supply energy to the gain medium. The gain medium is a material with properties that allow it to amplify light by stimulated emission.

In its simplest form, a cavity consists of two mirrors arranged such that light bounces back and forth, each time passing through the gain medium. Typically one of the two mirrors, the output coupler, is partially transparent. The output laser beam is emitted through this mirror

Principal components: 1. Gain medium 2. Laser pumping energy 3. High reflector 4. Output coupler 5. Laser beam

WORKING OF A LASER
The LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a triumph of modern optics. By exploiting a quantum mechanical effect called stimulated emission, lasers generate a coherent, nearly monochromatic beam of photons. Non-laser light sources typically generate incoherent, unfocused beams of light at a variety of wavelengths, prohibiting certain applications.

To create a laser, two components are necessary a gain medium and a resonant optical cavity. For a gain medium, certain crystals, glasses, gasses, semiconductors and even dyed liquids may be used. The gain medium is stimulated by an energy pump source such as an electrical current or another laser. The medium absorbs the energy, exciting the states of the particles in the medium. After a certain threshold, called population inversion, is achieved, shining light through the medium causes more stimulated emission, or release of energy, than absorption.

A resonant optical cavity is a specially sized chamber with a mirror at one end and a semisilvered mirror at the other. The two reflective surfaces cause light trapped inside to reflect back and forth through the gain medium, acquiring greater energy with each pass. When this effect levels off, the gain is said to be saturated and the light becomes true laser light. Different gain mediums give rise to lasers of different wavelengths.

Modes of operation

Continuous wave operation

Pulsed operation

Q-switching

Mode locking

Pulsed pumping

Two varieties of laser are continuous and pulse. The continuous laser is more useful for most applications, but the energy in a pulse laser can be very large. The degree to which the beam diverges over time varies inversely with proportion to its diameter. Small beams diverge rapidly,

while larger ones remain coherent. In a Q-switched laser, the population inversion (usually produced in the same way as CONTINUOUS WAVE(CW) operation) is allowed to build up by making the cavity conditions unfavourable for lasing.Then, when the pump energy stored in the laser medium is at the desired level, the cavity conditions is adjusted (electro- or acoustooptically) to favourable conditions, releasing the pulse. This results in release of high peak powers as the average power of the laser (were it running in CW mode) is packed into a shorter time frame.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LASERS
Laser light has three unique characteristics, that make it different than "ordinary" light. It is: 1.Monochromatic: Monochromatic means that it consists of one single color or wavelength. Even through some lasers can generate more than one wavelength, the light is extremely pure and consists of a very narrow spectral range. 2.Directional: Directional means that the beam is well collimated (very parallel) and travels over long distances with very little spread. 3.Coherent:Coherent means that all the individual waves of light are moving precisely together through time and space, i.e. they are in phase.

APPLICATIONS BARCODE SCANNERS

Supermarket scanners typically use helium-neon lasers to scan the universal barcodes to identify products. The laser beam bounces off a rotating mirror and scans the code, sending a modulated beam to a light detector and then to a computer which has the product information stored. Semiconductor lasers can also be used for this purpose.

HEAT TREATMENT

Heat treatments for hardening or annealing have been long practiced in metallurgy. But lasers offer some new possibilities for selective heat treatments of metal parts. For example, lasers can provide localized heat treatments such as the hardening of the surfaces of automobile camshafts. These shafts are manufactured to high precision, and if the entire camshaft is heat treated, some warping will inevitably occur. But the working surfaces of the cams can be heated quickly with a carbon dioxide laser and hardened without appreciably affecting the remainder of the shaft, preserving the precision of manufacture.

LASERS IN COMMUNICATION

Fiber optic cables are a major mode of communication partly because multiple signals can be sent with high quality and low loss by light propagating along the fibers. The light signals can be modulated with the information to be sent by either light emitting diodes or lasers. The lasers have significant advantages because they are more nearly monochromatic and this allows the pulse shape to be maintained better over long distances. If a better pulse shape can be maintained, then the communication can be sent at higher rates without overlap of the pulses. Ohanian quotes a factor of 10 advantage for the laser modulators.

Telephone fiber drivers may be solid state lasers the size of a grain of sand and consume a power of only half a milliwatt. Yet they can sent 50 million pulses per second into an attached telephone fiber and encode over 600 simultaneous telephone conversations (Ohanian).

LASERS IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY

Laser cutters are credited with keeping the U.S. garment industry competitive in the world market. Computer controlled laser garment cutters can be programmed to cut out 400 size 6 and then 700 size 9 garments - and that might involve just a few cuts. The programmed cutter can cut dozens to hundreds of thicknesses of cloth, and can cut out every piece of the garment in a single run.

The usefulness of the laser for such cutting operations comes from the fact that the beam is highly collimated and can be further focused to a microscopic dot of extremely high energy density for cutting.

SURVEYING AND RANGING

Helium-neon and semiconductor lasers have become standard parts of the field surveyor's equipment. A fast laser pulse is sent to a corner reflector at the point to be measured and the time of reflection is measured to get the distance.

Some such surveying is long distance! The Apollo 11 and Apollo 14 astronauts put corner reflectors on the surface of the Moon for determination of the Earth-Moon distance. A powerful laser pulse from the MacDonald Observatory in Texas had spread to about a 3 km radius by the time it got to the Moon, but the reflection was strong enough to be detected. We now know the range from the Moon to Texas within about 15 cm, a nine significant digit measurement. A pulsed ruby laser was used for this measurement.

WELDING AND CUTTING

The highly collimated beam of a laser can be further focused to a microscopic dot of extremely high energy density for welding and cutting.

The automobile industry makes extensive use of carbon dioxide lasers with powers up to several kilowatts for computer controlled welding on auto assembly lines.

Garmire points out an interesting application of CO2 lasers to the welding of stainless steel handles on copper cooking pots. A nearly impossible task for conventional welding because of the great difference in thermal conductivities between stainless steel and copper, it is done so quickly by the laser that the thermal conductivities are irrelevant.

MEDICAL USES OF LASERS

The highly collimated beam of a laser can be further focused to a microscopic dot of extremely high energy density. This makes it useful as a cutting and cauterizing instrument. Lasers are used for photocoagulation of the retina to halt retinal hemorrhaging and for the tacking of retinal tears. Higher power lasers are used after cataract surgery if the supportive membrane surrounding the implanted lens becomes milky. Photodisruption of the membrane often can cause it to draw back like a shade, almost instantly restoring vision. A focused laser can act as an extremely sharp scalpel for delicate surgery, cauterizing as it cuts. ("Cauterizing" refers to long-standing medical practices of using a hot instrument or a high frequency electrical probe to singe the tissue around an incision, sealing off tiny blood vessels to stop bleeding.) The cauterizing action is particularly important for surgical procedures in blood-rich tissue such as the liver.

Lasers have been used to make incisions half a micron wide, compared to about 80 microns for the diameter of a human hair.

LASER PRINTERS
The laser printer has in a few years become the dominant mode of printing in offices. It employs a semiconductor laser and the xerography principle. The laser is focused and scanned across a photoactive selenium coated drum where it produces a charge pattern which mirrors the material to be printed. This drum then holds the particles of the toner to transfer to paper which is rolled over the drum in the presence of heat. The typical laser for this application is the aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs) laser at 760 nm wavelength, just into the infrared. Safety

Warning symbol for lasers

Laser warning label Even the first laser was recognized as being potentially dangerous. Theodore Maiman characterized the first laser as having a power of one "Gillette" as it could burn through one Gillette razor blade. Today, it is accepted that even low-power lasers with only a few milliwatts of output power can be hazardous to human eyesight, when the beam from such a laser hits the eye directly or after reflection from a shiny surface. At wavelengths which the cornea and the lens can focus well, the coherence and low divergence of laser light means that it can be focused by the eye into an extremely small spot on the retina, resulting in localized burning and permanent damage in seconds or even less time. Lasers are usually labeled with a safety class number, which identifies how dangerous the laser is:

Class I/1 is inherently safe, usually because the light is contained in an enclosure, for example in CD players.

Class II/2 is safe during normal use; the blink reflex of the eye will prevent damage. Usually up to 1 mW power, for example laser pointers.

Class IIIa/3R lasers are usually up to 5 mW and involve a small risk of eye damage within the time of the blink reflex. Staring into such a beam for several seconds is likely to cause damage to a spot on the retina.

Class IIIb/3B can cause immediate eye damage upon exposure. Class IV/4 lasers can burn skin, and in some cases, even scattered light can cause eye and/or skin damage. Many industrial and scientific lasers are in this class.

The indicated powers are for visible-light, continuous-wave lasers. For pulsed lasers and invisible wavelengths, other power limits apply. People working with class 3B and class 4 lasers can protect their eyes with safety goggles which are designed to absorb light of a particular wavelength. Certain infrared lasers with wavelengths beyond about 1.4 micrometres are often referred to as being "eye-safe". This is because the intrinsic molecular vibrations of water molecules very strongly absorb light in this part of the spectrum, and thus a laser beam at these wavelengths is attenuated so completely as it passes through the eye's cornea that no light remains to be focused

by the lens onto the retina. The label "eye-safe" can be misleading, however, as it only applies to relatively low power continuous wave beams; any high power or Q-switched laser at these wavelengths can burn the cornea, causing severe eye damage. As weapons Laser beams are famously employed as weapon systems in science fiction, but actual laser weapons are only beginning to enter the market. The general idea of laser-beam weaponry is to hit a target with a train of brief pulses of light. The rapid evaporation and expansion of the surface causes shockwaves that damage the target. Lasers of all but the lowest powers can potentially be used as incapacitating weapons, through their ability to produce temporary or permanent vision loss in varying degrees when aimed at the eyes. The degree, character, and duration of vision impairment caused by eye exposure to laser light varies with the power of the laser, the wavelength(s), the collimation of the beam, the exact orientation of the beam, and the duration of exposure.

RECENT INNOVATIONS
Since the early period of laser history, laser research has produced a variety of improved and specialized laser types, optimized for different performance goals, including: new wavelength bands maximum average output power maximum peak output power minimum output pulse duration

maximum power efficiency maximum charging maximum firing minimum cost

and this research continues to this day. Lasing without maintaining the medium excited into a population inversion was discovered in 1992 in sodium gas and again in 1995 in rubidium gas by various international teams

EXAMPLE OF A MODERN DAY LASER USE:

A Laser Speed Measurement Device That Any Department Can Afford! With the introduction of the LTI 20/20 TruSpeed in 2007, Laser Technology Inc accomplished an engineering feat no other laser measurement manufacturer has done -- design a laser speed device that offered the accuracy and reliability that LTI is known for, yet be priced so even the smallest of departments could afford to use LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology.

LTI 20/20 TruSpeed Like all LTI laser speed measurement devices, the TruSpeed series have pinpoint targeting, which enables officers to effectively distinguish the speed and direction of a single vehicle in multi-lane traffic - a major advantage over radar technology.

Our exclusive Accuracy Validation software ensures all speed measurements are correct, and provides unbeatable credibility and support in the courtroom.

With its split-second speed-reading capabilities, the TruSpeed gives the advantage to the officers as violators get zero reaction time and renders detectors, both radar and lidar, completely useless.

How the TruSpeed Measures Up:

Pinpoints vehicles in multilane traffic Impervious to lidar and radar detectors Offers LTI courtroom credibility with Accuracy Validation Costs less than most lasers and is priced closer to handheld radars

LASERS AT NASA LANGLEY

Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have been researching and developing lasers for remote sensing (monitoring and measuring) of Earth's atmosphere since the technology was in its infancy. In recent years, they have incorporated lasers into atmospheric studies as part of

NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program. The goal of this long-term global research is to study the interaction of all the environmental components -- air, water, land, life -- that make up the Earth system. NASA Langley's work in the development of laser technology has naturally found application in medicine and manufacturing. NASA Langley engineers were instrumental in the development of the diode pump laser which is currently state of the art because of its efficiency, reliability and long life. In response to an industrial need for such a laser, NASA Langley teamed with others to take the diode semi-conductor from being a lab curiosity to a product which industry has since commercialized. NASA Langley also contributed greatly to the development of a more efficient laser for special medical applications, such as incisions and arterial repairs.

THE FUTURE
LASE and LITE collected data on a wide range of phenomena, from aerosols in the upper atmosphere to cloud droplets, pollutants, and Earth's protective layer of ozone. Future lidar instruments will be tailored to specific purposes. NASA Langley engineers are currently building lasers with different characteristics for remote sensing needs. These lasers are very specialized, one-of-a-kind instruments which often require uncommon wavelengths and unusual pulse or light burst formats. They must be able to survive the rigors of launch and the harsh space environment and operate reliably for long periods. NASA Langley's goal is to have a laser operating unattended in space for five years, or an equivalent of five billion pulses. NASA Langley scientists have already tested a laser's ability to pulse that number of times. The next step is to have it do so in space.

In 1994 the LITE instrument flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. An international team of scientists at over 50 locations around the world helped collect data to confirm the measurements taken from space. NASA Langley engineers are designing a laser to measure wind velocity.

WHY WE NEED TO SEE

We all need to care about our atmosphere. It affects all of us. It affects our weather. It affects the ozone which protects us by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation. NASA Langley engineers continue to develop more sophisticated lasers to measure atmospheric water content. These instruments would provide information for longer-term rain forecasts which could improve the allocation of already scarce water resources. Laser technology is also being developed for potential future missions to measure ozone and other greenhouse gases which are main contributors to global warming and cooling. It is important to understand more about these atmospheric constituents in order to understand and respond to global climate changes. NASA Langley is helping the U.S. in a joint project with Canada to develop spaceborne laser missions to learn more about atmospheric ozone. This international effort comes after satellite data has recorded ozone depletion near both of the Earth's polar regions. An advanced lidar system called ORACLE (Ozone Research with Advanced Cooperative Lidar Experiments) will provide key information needed for

understanding global change, atmospheric, chemistry, ozone depletion, meteorology and other environmental issues. NASA Langley will join with other NASA centers to develop laser remote sensing instruments for possible future moon, Mars and other planetary exploration.

REFERENCES
1.http://www.photonics.com/Webinar.aspx?WebinarID=9 2.http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/optmod/lascon.html 3.http://www.researchinformation.info/features/octnov05/octnov05laserapplications.html 4.http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/LaserTech.html