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    Reghunaath A A
    The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave laser constructed in 1961. It operates using a gain medium of a helium-neon gas mixture in a glass tube, which is pumped by a high voltage power supply. The laser light produced is in the visible red spectrum at 632.8 nm. It has applications in scientific instruments, manufacturing, and alignment due to its stability, low cost, and visible light output.

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    Lasers PDF

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    Reghunaath A A
    47 views24 pages
    The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave laser constructed in 1961. It operates using a gain medium of a helium-neon gas mixture in a glass tube, which is pumped by a high voltage power supply. The laser light produced is in the visible red spectrum at 632.8 nm. It has applications in scientific instruments, manufacturing, and alignment due to its stability, low cost, and visible light output.

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    The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave laser constructed in 1961. It operates using a gain medium of a helium-neon gas mixture in a glass tube, which is pumped by a high voltage power supply. The laser light produced is in the visible red spectrum at 632.8 nm. It has applications in scientific instruments, manufacturing, and alignment due to its stability, low cost, and visible light output.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    47 views24 pages

    Lasers PDF

    Uploaded by

    Reghunaath A A
    The helium-neon laser was the first continuous wave laser constructed in 1961. It operates using a gain medium of a helium-neon gas mixture in a glass tube, which is pumped by a high voltage power supply. The laser light produced is in the visible red spectrum at 632.8 nm. It has applications in scientific instruments, manufacturing, and alignment due to its stability, low cost, and visible light output.

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    of 24

    HELIUM-NEON LASERS

    A.A.REGHUNAATH : 18BCE0227
    A.V.ABHISHEK ARJUN : 18BCE0232
    ARJUN.S : 18BCE0236
    HELIUM NEON LASERS
    • A helium–neon laser or HeNe laser, is a type of gas
    laser, the first of it's kind.

    • Its's gain medium consists of a mixture of 85% helium


    and 15% neon inside of a small electrical discharge.

    • The best-known and most widely used HeNe laser


    operates at a wavelength of 632.8 nm, in the red part of
    the visible spectrum.
    HISTORY
    • The helium-neon laser was the first
    continuous wave (CW) laser ever constructed.

    • It was built in 1961 by Ali Javan, Bennett, and


    Herriott at Bell Telephone Laboratories.
    HELIUM-NEON LASER
    COMPONENTS

    The helium-neon laser consists of three essential


    components:

    • Pump source (high voltage power supply)

    • Gain medium (laser glass tube or discharge glass


    tube)

    • Resonating cavity
    HIGH VOLTAGE POWER
    SUPPLY (PUMP SOURCE)
    • In order to produce the laser beam, it is essential to
    achieve population inversion.

    • In order to achieve population inversion, we need to


    supply energy to the gain medium or active medium.

    • In helium-neon lasers, a high voltage DC power supply is


    used as the pump source. A high voltage DC supplies
    electric current through the gas mixture of helium and
    neon.
    GAIN MEDIUM
    (DISCHARGE GLASS TUBE
    )
    • The gain medium of a helium-neon laser is made
    up of the mixture of helium and neon gas
    contained in a glass tube at low pressure. The
    partial pressure of helium is 1 mbar whereas that
    of neon is 0.1 mbar.

    • In order to achieve population inversion, we


    need to excite primarily the lower energy state
    electrons of the helium atoms.
    Resonating cavity
    • The glass tube (containing a mixture of helium and neon
    gas) is placed between two parallel mirrors. These two
    mirrors are silvered or optically coated.

    • Each mirror is silvered differently. The left side mirror is


    partially silvered and is known as output coupler whereas
    the right side mirror is fully silvered and is known as the
    high reflector or fully reflecting mirror.

    • The fully silvered mirror will completely reflect the light


    whereas the partially silvered mirror will reflect most part
    of the light but allows some part of the light to produce the
    laser beam.
    Working
    • He gas mixture in helium-neon laser is mostly comprised of helium
    atoms. Therefore, helium atoms absorb most of the energy supplied
    by the high voltage DC.

    • When the power is switched on, a high voltage of about 10 kV is


    applied across the gas mixture. This power is enough to excite the
    electrons in the gas mixture. The electrons produced in the process of
    discharge are accelerated between the electrodes (cathode and anode)
    through the gas mixture.

    • In the process of flowing through the gas, the energetic electrons


    transfer some of their energy to the helium atoms in the gas. As a
    result, the lower energy state electrons of the helium atoms gain
    enough energy and jumps into the excited states or metastable states.
    Let us assume that these metastable states are F3 and F5.
    Working
    • Unlike the solid, a gas can move or flow between the electrodes. Hence, when the excited electrons of the
    helium atoms collide with the lower energy state electrons of the neon atoms, they transfer their energy to the
    neon atoms. As a result, the lower energy state electrons of the neon atoms gain enough energy from the helium
    atoms and jumps into the higher energy states or metastable states (E3 and E5) whereas the excited electrons of
    the helium atoms will fall into the ground state. Thus, helium atoms help neon atoms in achieving population
    inversion.

    • Likewise, millions of ground state electrons of neon atoms are excited to the metastable states. The metastable
    states have the longer lifetime. Therefore, a large number of electrons will remain in the metastable states and
    hence population inversion is achieved.

    • After some period, the metastable states electrons (E3 and E5) of the neon atoms will spontaneously fall into the
    next lower energy states (E2 and E4) by releasing photons or red light. This is called spontaneous emission.

    • The neon excited electrons continue on to the ground state through radiative and nonradiative transitions. It is
    important for the continuous wave (CW) operation.

    • The light or photons emitted from the neon atoms will moves back and forth between two mirrors until it
    stimulates other excited electrons of the neon atoms and causes them to emit light. Thus, optical gain is
    achieved. This process of photon emission is called stimulated emission of radiation.

    • The light or photons emitted due to stimulated emission will escape through the partially reflecting mirror or
    output coupler to produce laser light.
    WORKING
    Advantages Disadvantages

    Helium-neon laser emits laser


    light in the visible portion of the Low efficiency
    spectrum.

    High stability Low gain

    Helium-neon lasers are


    Low cost
    limited to low power tasks
    Operates without damage at
    higher temperatures
    Advantages Disadvantages
    He-Ne laser has very good coherence
    property.

    He-Ne laser tube has very small


    length approximately from 10 to
    100cm and has a life time of upto High voltage requirement.
    20,000 hours.

    Construction of He-Ne laser is also Escaping of gas from the


    not very complex.
    discharge tube.
    They are safe compared to other
    types of lasers.
    Application of
    Helium-Neon lasers
    • He-Ne lasers has been produced in large
    quantities since many years

    • Helium-neon lasers are used in various


    industries.

    • Helium-neon lasers are used in scientific


    instruments.

    • Helium-neon lasers are used in school and


    college laboratories.
    Application of
    Helium-Neon lasers
    • He-Ne lasers are used in super market billing counters to read bar
    codes and QR codes.

    • He-Ne lasers can be use as an alignment tool.

    • It is also used in scopes of guns.


    CO2 LASER
    CO2 LASERS

    • The carbon dioxide laser (CO2 laser) was one


    of the earliest gas lasers to be developed.

    • Carbon dioxide lasers are the highest-power


    continuous wave lasers that are currently
    available.

    • They are also quite efficient: the ratio of


    output power to pump power can be as large
    as 20%.

    • The CO2 laser produces a beam of infrared


    light with the principal wavelength bands
    centering on 9.4 and 10.6 micrometers (μm).
    History

    • It was invented by Kumar Patel of Bell Labs in


    1964

    • It is still one of the most useful laser.

    • In 1970's Early surgical CO2 lasers were


    pioneered in the USA and in the USSR and used
    articulated arms for laser beam delivery to the
    target tissue
    Construction

    Carbon dioxide laser consists of a discharge tube having a diameter


    of 2.5cm and a length of about 5m. The discharge tube is filled with
    a mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and helium gases in the ratio
    of 1:2:3 with water vapors. Pressures maintained are about P (for
    He)= 7 Torr, P (for N2)= 1.2 Torr and P (for CO2 = 0.33 Torr).

    • Active medium and active centres

    • Pumping source

    • Optical resonator system


    • Active medium and active centers= The active medium
    is the CO2, N2 and He in the ratio of 1:2:3. The active
    centers are the carbon dioxide molecules because laser will
    be achieved due to these molecules.

    • Pumping source= Electric discharge method is used for


    pumping and achieving population inversion. In this
    method, electrons will collide with CO2 molecules and
    pump them to excited states.

    • The purpose of N2 is to help in excitation of CO2 molecules


    by colliding with CO2 molecules and transferring the energy
    to them. So N2 molecules increases the pumping efficiency.

    • Optical resonator system= All the gas mixtures is


    enclosed between a set of mirrors which forms the optical
    resonator system. One of mirrors is completely reflecting
    and the other is partially reflecting.
    Working
    • This laser is similar to that of HeNe laser,but here it is N2 insteadof
    helium

    • When an electric discharge occurs in the gas, the electrons collide with
    nitrogen molecules and they are raised to excited states. This process is
    represented by the equation

    • N2 + e* = N2* + e
    • Now N2 molecules in the excited state collide with CO2 atoms in ground
    state and excite to higher electronic, vibrational and rotational levels.

    • This process is represented by the equation N2* + CO2 = CO2* + N2


    • Since the excited level of nitrogen is very close to the E5 level of
    CO2 atom, population in E5 level increases.
    As soon as population inversion is reached, any of the
    spontaneously emitted photon will trigger laser action in the
    tube. There are two types of laser transition possible.

    1.Transition E5 to E4 :

    This will produce a laser beam of wavelength 10.6μm

    2.Transition E5 to E3

    This transition will produce a laser beam of wavelength 9.6


    μm. Normally 10.6μm transition is more intense than 9.6μm
    transition. The power output from this laser is 10kW.
    Applications
    • High power CO2 lasers are frequently used in industrial applications for
    cutting and welding, while lower power level lasers are used for
    engraving.

    • Carbon dioxide lasers have become useful in surgical procedures because


    water (which makes up most biological tissue) absorbs this frequency of
    light very well.

    • Because the atmosphere is quite transparent to infrared light, CO2 lasers


    are also used for military range finding using LIDAR techniques.

    • CO2 lasers are used in spectroscopy and the Silex process to enrich
    uranium.

    • The Soviet Polyus was designed to use a megawatt carbon-dioxide laser


    as an in-orbit weapon to destroy SDI satellites
    Disadvantages
    • Divergence of CO2 lasers approximately in all cases is greater than He-Ne
    and Argon laser.

    • Usually the divergence is ranges from 1 to 10 milli radians.

    • Beam width varies from 3mm to 100mm.

    • Some CO2 lasers have the disadvantage

    • of a short and thick optical cavity.

    • Cooling system requirement in some configurations also a disadvantage.

    • Its cost is comparatively high.

    • In TEA design of CO2 laser it is verydifficult to maintain ionization in the


    gas.
    Advantages
    • In CO2 laser high power levels are obtained ranges from few watts to 15000 watts.
    • The CO2 gas lasers are more versatile lasers.
    • The efficiency of CO2 gas lasers (1.e. 10% or higher) is best than He-Ne and argon
    lasers.

    • CO2 lasers have become the workhorse of the material processing industry because of
    their low cost (below $100 per watt).

    • In some cases its divergence is small but is not true always.


    • Pulsed output can be obtained from TEA CO2 lasers, making them more efficient
    • Long sealed-off lifetime of greater than 20,000 hours.
    • Wide variety of output waveformformats.
    • High absorption of its output wavelengths by many materials.

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