scientific laboratories to pump dye lasers, as well as to generate higher harmonics to reach the vacuum-ultraviolet range.

They are particularly significant in applications such as metrology and systems alignment. They are important tools in monitoring pollution and ozone concentrations in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Excimer lasers emitting in the deep ultraviolet region currently dominate the lithography industryserving to draw patterns, marks, and trade codes on ceramics, glass, plastic, and metal. Krypton- and argon-fluoride (KrF and ArF) lasers used in far-UV microlithography facilitates chip design, generating circuit features smaller than 0.18 mm.

4.7.2. Nitrogen Laser The nitrogen laser emits radiation at 337 nm, and its active medium is gaseous nitrogen. The gas is confined within a pressure vessel, usually at a total pressure between 101 Pa and 2700 Pa. The nitrogen laser generates pulses of duration between 300 ps (at atmospheric pressure) and 10 ns (at 2700 Pa). The repetition rate changes from 1 to 100 Hz. Low-repetition-rate lasers use a configuration of sealed-off devices, and high-repetition-rate lasers employ a flowing version. The pulse energy changes from microjoules to 10 millijoules. For many years, nitrogen lasers were used to pump dye lasers and as sources for many other applications requiring UV radiation. It is well suited to UV laser-induced fluorescence applications in clinical, pharmaceutical, environmental, and process-control work.

4.8. DIODE LASERS In the lasers discussed so far the laser emission is a result of quantum transitions between electronic, vibrational, or rotational levels. The diode lasers are based on a slightly different principle of operation, although the basic idea of population inversion must be kept. Diode lasers use the phenomena which occur in semiconductors. This is a reason why we need to summarize some basic physics related to semiconductors.

4.8.1. Intrinsic Semiconductors. Doped Semiconductors. n-p Junction Every material has characteristic properties relating to electric current conductivity. Three main classes can be distinguished: a) metals, b) semiconductors, c) insulators. Atoms in a solid are packed into a dense crystalline arrangement, and electronenergy levels are no longer narrow discrete lines. They are significantly broadened, owing to interactions with the condensed environment. However, there are fundamental differences in the energy gaps in metals, semiconductors, and insulators (Fig. 4.22). Let us take the example of the metal, sodium (11Na), with the electronic structure: (1s)2(2s)2(2p)6(3s)1. The outer electron level, 3s, is broadened considerably like the

4.8.

Diode Lasers
(a) Sodium (b) Silicon

91

Energy

Energy

3p 3s

3p 3s

Interatomic distance

Interatomic distance

Fig. 4.22

Energy level diagrams for metals and semiconductors.

first upper-lying electron level 3p, which is unoccupied for the isolated atom. This results in overlapping between the neighboring levels (Fig. 4.22a) and the electron can be found either in the 3s or 3p levels. This area of overlapping levels is called, the conduction band, because the electrons occupying 3s or 3p orbitals are common for all the atoms and can wander freely through the solid from one atom to another. In semiconductors, e.g., in silicon 14Si: (1s)2(2s)2(2p)6(3s)2(3p)2 the outer electron levels are also broadened in a dense crystalline matrix but they do not overlap (Fig. 4.22b). The 3s and 3p orbitals broaden into two distinct bands separated by the energy gap E. We say that the four electrons (originally two from 3s and two from 3p) occupying 3s (or more precisely, an sp3 orbital) are in the valence band, while the level 3p (conduction band) remains empty. A material, in which the energy gap E becomes very large is called an insulator. In insulators the energy gap E is of the order of 3 eV or more, which indicates that the collision energy as well as another forms of thermal energy of molecules are insufficient to transport an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. In semiconductors the energy gap E is much smaller (1 eV for silicon), allowing a fraction of the electrons to jump to the conduction band at room temperature. At absolute-zero temperature, semiconductors become insulators. In a quantum detector, such as a photomultiplier, electrons must escape out of a metal to be detected. An electron trapped in a metal can escape if it gains a minimum energy equal to the work function, W, which is typically of the order of 45 eV. Electrons in semiconductors do not need to escape to make the semiconductor a photodetector. To become a photodetector, it is sufficient for the photons irradiating a semiconductor to deliver an energy required to transport electrons from the valence band to the conduction band (Fig. 4.23). When photons irradiate a semiconductor there is a transfer of electrons from the valence band to the conduction band, leaving a hole (a positive charge) in the valence band. The greater is the light, the more electrons jump the gap, and the material becomes more conductive the. Under these conditions a current will flow that is proportional to the intensity of the incident radiation. Such a photodiode is said to operate as a photoconductive detector. Such a photodetector is also called a photoresistor, as it is based on the conductivity growth and resistance drop in a

92
h R + + V0

4.

Lasers

Fig. 4.23

Scheme of a photodetector.

semiconductor. When an external voltage, V0 is applied, electrons begin to move in one direction (opposite to the applied field), while electron holes travel along the applied field. The electron flux produces a current, I, with intensity proportional to the intensity of the incident light. If a resistor R is placed in series with the circuit (Fig. 4.23), the current will generate a voltage drop, U IR, across the resistor. Photons irradiating a semiconductor can induce a current flow for considerably lower photon energies than one can get in photomultipliers where the photon energy has to be at least equal to the work-function for electrons from the cathode. The phenomena occurring in semiconductors permit one to construct photodetectors with detectivity covering the near-infrared and infrared regions. For example, the energy gap, E, between the valence band and the conduction band in silicon is 1.11 eV, which corresponds to a wavelength of 1.13 mm (10000 cm 1); in germanium it is 0.66 eV ( 6000 cm 1), and in GaAs, 1.42 eV. The exceptionally small gap, E 0:17 eV (7.3 mm), for InSb (indium antimonide) allows this semiconductor to be applied as an infrared detector. The semiconductors discussed above are called intrinsic semiconductors, in contrast to extrinsic semiconductors which will now be discussed. When a silicon matrix, 14Si-((1s)2(2s)2(2p)6(3s)2(3p)2) is doped with phosphorus 15P-atoms ((1s)2(2s)2(2p)6(3s)2(3p)3)whose electrons in the 3s (Ed) state have approximately the same energy as the silicons electrons in the conduction band 3p, the phosphorus electron (donor) can easily jump to the conduction band of the silicon (acceptor) (Fig. 4.24b). The semiconductors that are doped in such a way gain additional excess electrons, and they are called semiconductors of the n-type. On the other hand, if a silicon matrix is doped with aluminum atoms 13Al ((1s)2(2s)2(2p)6(3s)2(3p)1), which have the electron energy (Ea) close to the energy of the silicon valence band 3s, the
(a) Conduction band Electron E Valence band + Hole + (b) E Ed + (c) E Ea

Fig. 4.24 Scheme of intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors: (a) intrinsic semiconductor, (b) extrinsic semiconductor of n-type, (c) extrinsic semiconductor of p-type.

4.8.

Diode Lasers
E p + + + n

93

Fig. 4.25

p-n junction.

electrons from the silicon jump to the level Ea of aluminum, leaving a hole in the silicons valence band (Fig. 4.24c). Semiconductors that are doped in such a way are called semiconductors of p-type. If n-type and p-type semiconductors are brought together to form a p-n junction, holes migrate from the p-region to the n-region, and conduction electrons move in the opposite direction. As a result of this migration, an area in the direct neighborhood of the junction becomes depleted of mobile charge carriers (Fig. 4.25), with an excess of negative charges on one side and an excess of positive charges on the other side of the semiconductor. Consequently, such a charge distribution induces an internal electric field, E, directed towards the p-region. This internal field prevents further migration of charges across the junction. The p-n junction is called the photodiode. When the p-n junction is irradiated, new electron-hole pairs are generated, which are moved by the internal field E. The holes move towards the area p, and electrons towards the area n, causing a decrease in the internal voltage potential. When a voltmeter is connected to the junction, it will measure a voltage proportional to the intensity of the radiation incident on the junction (Fig. 4.26a). In an open circuit a photodiode performs as a photovoltaic detector. Another situation is shown in Fig. 4.26b, where the p- and n-regions are connected by a closed external circuit. Under these conditions, a current will flow that is proportional to the intensity of the incident radiation. Such a photodiode works as a photoconductive detector. The detection on the junction can be improved by an external voltage-supply. When a negative terminal of the external voltage source becomes connected to the n region, and the positive one to the p region, the p-n junction is said to be forward biased. This means that the charge carriersboth holes from the area p, and electrons from the area nflow towards the junction under the external field Eex (Fig. 4.27). The external field Eex is directed just opposite to the internal field E. The semiconductor lasers, which will be discussed in the next chapter use the forward-biased junction. On the other hand, when the negative terminal of the
(a) (b)

h V h n p + + n p + + +

Fig. 4.26

Photodiode types: (a) photovoltaic detector, (b) photoconductive detector.