Laser Engineering

ME60321
A.K. Nath
Lecture No.-10

2. Excitation or Pump Source to produce population inversion in lasing medium.
* Optical Pump ( Flash Lamp, Other Laser) : Solid State & Fiber Lasers
* Electrical discharge (DC, AC, RF, Pulsed) : Gas Lasers
* Current injection : Diode Lasers
Types of a laser:
1.Active medium
* Solid: Nd:YAG,
Optical Fiber

* Liquid: Dye Laser

* Gas: He-Ne, CO
2
,
Excimer Ar+ ion

* Semiconductor
Diodes
3. Optical Resonator formed by a pair of parallel mirrors, one ~100% reflecting and
other partial reflecting. They provide feedback into the active medium and
facilitates laser beam to build up. Laser beam comes out through the partial
reflecting mirror.
Laser Processing Setup


Laser Processing Setup
* Laser system
* Beam Transport system &
Beam Delivery System
* Workstation
Lasers used in Manufacturing: Lasers those can provide high CW or
average laser power required for material processing

* He-Ne Laser for alignment, pointer, metrological applications
* CO
2
Laser
* Solid State Laser : Nd:YAG Laser- Flash Lamp or Diode Laser Pumped
* Diode Laser
* Fiber Laser
* Excimer Lasers
*Ultrafast Laser: Ti-sapphire Laser
DC Electric Discharge in Gases
Positive space charge
DC Electric Discharge Characteristics:
Normal glow discharge is utilized in most gas laser operations
This has either Zero or Negative discharge impedance characteristic, i.e. current increases without
increase of discharge voltage or with decrease of voltage due to gas heating
A ballast resistance R
B
must be used for stabilizing current:
V
c
= V
d
+ I.R
B
In glow mode, current ( electron) density emitted from cathode surface is constant, & this depends on
cathode material, gas pressure & mixture Cathode of sufficient surface area used for normal glow
In discharge tubes of typical diameter in 3-10 mm range and low gas pressures in 5-100 Torr, the
dominating electron loss process is diffusion to tube wall and this process tends to stabilize the discharge
against any perturbation in electron density from its steady sate value.
In extended electrode large volume discharge, where walls are at
large distance, diffusion cant control the stability of discharge.
Discharge tends to become unstable- arc formation

Ballast Resistance
R
B
V
d
V
c
Glow to Arc Transition
RF Discharge
RF (Radio Frequency): Frequency > 100 kHz

During half cycle time ( < 5 s) electrons cant go from
cathode to anode, but only oscillate

RF Source
e
-
RF Source
Oscillating electrons acquire energy from RF
field and cause excitation and ionization forming a
uniform glow discharge.

Electrodes simply provide electric field and does
not play role in contributing electrons to maintain
discharge, unlike in DC case.

External electrodes can be used

RF discharge has + ve discharge impedance
characteristic, i.e. increase of current require
increase in discharge voltage More stable than
DC discharge

Uniform discharge can be maintained in
extended electrode volume.
RF Source
He-Ne Laser
Wavelength : Several line in Infrared and Visible, Most common = 632.8nm (Red)
Typical Power : 0.5-50mW
Laser Medium : Mixture of He & Ne ( 5-10:1); Total Gas Pressure, p ~5Torr
p( Total pressure) x d ( Discharge Tube Diameter) ~ 4Torr x mm
Excitation: DC Electrical Discharge, Mechanism: Resonant Energy Transfer

Applications:
* Holography,
* Scanning,
* Measurement, *
Optical fiber
communication, etc
Metastable
States
Efficiency <1%
Small signal gain,
0

2

Laser action at 3391nm is prevented by optical resonator mirrors having high loss at
3391 nm wavelength ( Dielectric coated mirrors)
Decay through collision with wall
Notice large surface area of cathode compared to Anode!

Electrons are emitted from cathode to maintain steady state current.

Current density emitted per unit area at cathode is constant, for a given
cathode material, gas mixture and pressure. Therefore large area cathode

No such limit for electron collection at anode!

Notice discharge tube- capillary, i.e. narrow diameter
Maintaining pxd constant, smaller diameter preferred to have faster decay
of lower level population through collisions on tube wall and effective heat
transfer
1. Why low power?
Small pxd product, ~ 4Torr x mm
Low total gas pressure
2. Though Ne is lasing atoms,
Why Ne pressure < < He pressure ?
In Gas Discharge: Ionization & Excitation by electrons
Average Electron Energy E
e
Electric field,
Type of Gases &
Pressure
f ( E/p), Gas Mixture
Ne has many energy levels lower than He excitation levels,
therefore in Ne rich gas mixture Av. E
e
is less than optimum
required for Ionization & Excitation of He levels.
Therefore, Ne partial pressure is much less than He pressure
He Ne
k
1
k
2
k
3
e
-
-Excitation
3. Typical Laser power 0.5-50mW
Why cant power be increased by increasing
discharge current?
* Population Inversion reduces beyond an
optimum discharge current, I
opt
due to super
elastic collision Reduction in Laser Power

Upper
Level
Lower
Level
Discharge Current I
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

I
opt
Super elastic collision:
e
-
+H He + e
-
(Hi K.E.)
dN
3
/dt = k
1
.N
e
.N
He
k
2
.N
e
.N
3
k.N
3
.N
Ne
dN
2
/dt = k.N
3
.N
Ne
- N
2
/t
2
dN1/dt = k
3
,N
e
.Nn
Ne
N
1
/t
1
In steady state
N
2
= [k.N
Ne
.t
2
.k
1
. N
He
] / [k
2
+ k.N
Ne
/N
e
]
And, N
1
= k
3
N
e
.N
Ne
.t
1

While N
2
tends to saturate with increased N
e
,
N
1
increases linearly.


N
2
N
1
t
2
t
1
k
3
k
2
k
1
N
He
N
e
Electron density
k
N
Ne
N
3
Carbon Dioxide Laser

Laser Medium : Mixture of CO
2
, N
2
& He
Laser Wavelength : 9.6-10.6 micron (Infrared) (Tunable)
Mode of Operation : Continuous Wave (CW)& Pulsed
Excitation Method : Electrical Discharge: DC, RF, Pulsed
Efficiency : 10-15%
Laser Power : CW- A Few Watts to Tens of kW
Pulsed-
Rep. Rate : Single pulse - 100kHz
Av. Power : kW
Pulse duration : ms- s
Pulse Energy : 1-10s Joules
Types of CO
2
Laser : Conventional Diffusion Cooled Laser
Extended Electrode Dif. Cooled Laser
Hi-power Fast Axial Flow Laser
Hi-power Transverse Flow Laser

Relevant Energy Levels of CO
2
Laser
Atoms have only electronic energy levels: Transitions in Visible & UV spectra

Molecules have Rotational : Long IR
Vibrational : Mid IR
Electronic Energy Levels : Visible & UV
CO
2
is a linear molecule
Laser Transitions: Between vibrational- vibrational transition in Electronic
Ground state

CO
2
Laser Excitation
Conventional Diffusion Cooled CO
2
Laser
e - Accelerated in Electric Discharge,
Electrons gain energy. e
(Hi K.E.) + N
2
N
2
* + e (Low K E)
N
2
* + CO
2
N
2
+ CO
2
*
CO
2
* CO
2
+ Laser Photon
CO
2 N
2
Lasing
+e
+He
ULL
LLL
N
2
*
E
R
P.S.
Laser
Beam
Water Jacket Discharge
Tube
Laser Power = 50W/ m in Diffusion
cooled laser, Limited by Gas Heating
CO
2
:N
2
:He=1:2:8, p.d= ~20mbar-cm
I = 30mA, V= 10-12kV/m,
Slow Gas Flow / Sealed-off, Life = 10,000s hrs
Gold
coated
Mirror
ZnSe Partial
Reflector
Fig 1. CO2 Laser System Using
The Gas-Flow Discharge Principle

Scaling of Output power in Diffusion CO
2
Laser
Laser Power Input Electrical Power
P
l
= q.p
in
.V




Waste Power Density = p
in
p
l

.c
p
.AT/ t
Diff
= p
in
(1-q)

P
l
= (q/(1-q) .c
p
.AT/ t
Diff
V
P
l
= (q/(1-q) ATtk.L
P
l
L

AT ~ 250
0
K ( Bottlenecking), q = 0.2, k =0.23W/m
0
k at 550
0
k
P
l
~ 60W/m


q= Efficiency
p
in
= Elec. Input Power Density
V= Active Volume =tr
2
.L

Waste Energy = .c
p
.AT
r = 2(k.t
Diff
)
1/2
t
Diff
= r
2
/4k = r
2
c
p
/4k
k(Thermal Diffusivity) =
k (Thermal Conductivity) /c
p

L
d
Cooling Time, t
Diff
Slow Flow Lasers
Slow Flow Diffusion Cooled Lasers
Gas flow is coaxial with discharge
Cooling of gas accomplished by thermal transfer to
walls of cavity via thermal diffusion
Discharge tube- water cooled
Low kW/meter (50 W/m) usually means relatively
long lasers, low powers (e.g. 1.0 kW)
Since cavity is long & cylindrical shape- good beam
quality
Good power stability (no gas turbulence in active
medium)
Long optical cavity: Alignment sensitive

Following Types of Industrial CO
2
Lasers are available:
1 Diffusion cooled folded laser: up to 1kW
2 Diffusion cooled rf discharge excited waveguide laser: up to500W
3 Diffusion cooled Extended Electrode rf excited laser: up to 4kW
4 Fast axial flow (Convective cooled) CO
2
Laser; up to 20kW
5 Transverse flow CO
2
Laser: up to 20kW
Laser Power ~ 1kW, *Alignment very sensitive
2. Wave guide CO
2
Laser
Discharge Tube Diameter ~ 3mm, Fresnel no. a
2
/.l < 1, Laser beam guided by tube
Relatively high gas pressure maintaining pxd = constant
RF excitation, Laser Power= 5 - 500W
1. Diffusion cooled folded laser: up to 1kW

3. Diffusion Cooled Extended Electrode CO
2
Laser

Laser Power Electrode Area Scaling = 5-10kW/m
2
RF
Excitation by R F Discharge (~100MHz)
Special Optical Resonator for Laser
Power Extraction:
Stable-Unstable Resonator
Laser Power: 300W- kW
Diffusion Cooling Effect ~60%
of a cylindrical tube.
Typical Laser power from a
diffusion cooled tube = 50W/m
Laser Power, P
l
=
0.6x {w/d} x l x50 (W/m)

Typically d ~ 3-5mm
A Electrode Area = w x l

P
l
= 30/5x10
-3
A (W/m
2
)

= 5-10kW/m
2
l
d
w
Convective Cooled CO
2
Lasers

Laser Power Gas Flow Velocity
Laser Power = q. p
in
. Discharge volume
= ( q / 1-q ). . C
P
.

AT/ t
con
. (L.d.w)
= ( q / 1-q ). . C
P
. AT. v.L.d
= 120. M* (g/s) Watts.
M* = Mass Flow Rate = .v.L.d
Gas Flow V
L
w
q- Electro-optic Efficiency
P
in
- Input Electric Power Density
- Laser Gas Density
C
P
Specific Heat
AT- Rise in Temperature
v Gas Flow Velocity
L- Discharge Length
d- Discharge Width
d
t
con
= w/v
Fast Axial Flow
Convective Cooled FAF CO
2
Lasers

Fast Axial Flow CO
2
Laser
Flow Velocity = 100 - 300m/s
Laser Power ~ 1kW/m
DC, RF Excitation
Excellent Beam Quality,
1- 5 kW Laser Commercially
Available
Special Roots / Turbo Blower
P.S.
Gas Blower
Convective Cooled TF CO
2
Lasers
Transverse Flow CO
2
Laser
Easy to Scale up
Gas flow transverse to optic axis and electric
discharge
Flow Velocity ~ 50- 100m/s
Laser Power ~5kW/m
1-20kW Commercially Available
Favours Multimode Laser Beam
Excitation: DC (+ Some Auxiliary Discharge),
AC, RF
P.S.
Parameters Diffusion-
Cooled
Conventional
Diffusion-
Cooled
Slab
Convective-
Cooled Axial
Flow
Convective-
Cooled
Transverse
Flow
Power 10- 500W 4kW 10kW 45kW
Beam
Quality
Good Very Good
with
Special
Optical
resonator
Lower order
mode
Good
Highly Multi-
mode
Fair
Gas System Sealed -off Sealed -off

Flowing Flowing

Excitation Direct Current,
Radio Frequency
RF DC, RF DC, AC, RF
Size Small Compact Large Larger
Transversely Excited Atmospheric pressure (TEA) CO
2
Laser
Since the spontaneous emission life time of the upper laser
(001) is very long, ~ 5 s, large population can be stored in
this level and very high laser power can be obtained.
High population build up needs high gas pressure
Therefore, Atmospheric pressure CO
2
laser developed.
Since high pressure gas discharge tends to become unstable
and convert into arc, it is usually operated in pulse mode
with discharge pulse duration shorter than the arc-formation
time.
Excitation is done by Transverse Electric Field
Advantage: -
Lower discharge voltage
Lower discharge impedance
Shorter discharge pulse duration



D
.
C
.

S
U
P
P
L
Y

Cp
Cpre
L
Cm
S
DISCHARGE PHOTOGRAPH
Electrical Circuit of Transversely Excited High Pressure (TEA CO
2
)
Charging
loop
Discharge path
S-Switch : Thyratron
UV-Preionized
Pulsed Discharge
Preionized Electron
density ~10
6-7
/cc for
uniform glow
discharge at high gas
pressure
Typical TEA CO
2
Laser Characteristics

Laser gas pressure : 1 Atmosphere
Laser gas mixture : CO
2
:N
2
:He=1:1:3 to 8
Discharge electric field : 10-15 kV/cm
Laser pulse duration : 1-5 s
Laser pulse energy : 1-10 J per pulse
Laser repetition frequency : 1-1000 Hz

A typical TEA CO
2
Laser pulse
Time 1-5 s
Gas Dynamic CO
2
Laser
CO
2
+ He gas
Temperature T
1

~ 1000 K
Pressure ~10 At.
N
2
Population
density, N
N
1
Temperature T
2,
Pressure ~ 50-100 Torr
Populations in Thermal
Equilibrium at T
1
Populations in Thermal
Equilibrium at T
2
(T
1
>>T
2
)

N
1
decays much faster than N
2
,
Thus, Inversion created :N
2
> N
1
Distance along flow
Lower laser lifetime t
1
<< Upper laser lifetime t
2
50-100 kW laser power for a few seconds obtained.
Application: As Direct Laser Weapon in Defense
Exercise:
1. Why cant Watts of laser power be obtained in a He-Ne laser?
2. Explain the behaviour of laser power variation with discharge
current in a He-Ne laser and a diffusion cooled CO
2
laser.
3. What are the roles of He in He-Ne laser and that of N
2
and He
in CO
2
laser?
4. Show that the laser power in a diffusion cooled CO
2
laser scale
with discharge length only.
5. Show that the laser power in a convective cooled CO
2
laser
scale with gas mass flow rate.
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of fast axial flow
and transverse flow CO
2
lasers?
7. Describe the construction and operation of
i) Diffusion cooled CO
2
laser
ii) Fast axial flow CO
2
laser