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The laser.
The laser is a source of monochromatic coherent light with high directivity of the light beam. The word "laser" is composed of the first letters of the phrase, meaning "light amplification by stimulated emission." Indeed, the main physical process that determines the effect of the laser - it stimulated emission of radiation. It occurs in the interaction of photons with the excited atom with an exact coincidence of the photon energy of the excitation energy of the atom (or molecule).
As a result of this interaction, the excited atom moves in an unexcited state, and the excess energy is emitted in the form of a new photon with exactly the same energy, the direction of propagation and polarization, as in the primary photon. Thus, a consequence of this process is the presence of the two is absolutely identical photons. With further interaction of photons with the excited atoms, similar to the first atom, it may be a "chain reaction" of reproduction of identical photons, "flying" exactly in the same direction that will lead to a focused light beam. For the occurrence of an avalanche of identical photons need an environment in which the excited atoms would be greater than unexcited, because the interaction of photons with unexcited atoms would occur photon absorption. This environment is called a medium with inverted population of energy levels. So, apart from the stimulated emission of photons by excited atoms occur as a spontaneous process, the spontaneous emission of photons in the transition of the excited atoms in an unexcited state, and the absorption of photons by atoms of transition from the unexcited to the excited state. These three processes that accompany the transitions of atoms in the excited state and back, were postulated by Albert Einstein in 1916
If the number of excited atoms is large and there is a population inversion of levels (in the upper excited state of atoms is greater than the lower, unexcited), the first photon, born as a result of spontaneous emission, will increasingly growing avalanche of identical appearance to him of the photons. There will be a strengthening of the spontaneous emission. In order for a medium with population inversion can be used to generate a laser beam, i.e., directional beam of high mono chromaticity need to "remove" a population inversion with the primary photons that already have the same orientation of the radiation and the same energy, which coincides with the energy of this transition in an atom. In this case, we will have a laser power of light.
There is, however, another option of a laser beam associated with the use of the feedback system. Born spontaneously photons, the direction of propagation which are not perpendicular to the mirror, will create an avalanche of photons beyond the environment.
Ruby crystal is a crystal of aluminum oxide with a small addition of chromium. When you add the chromium atoms become transparent crystals of ruby pink and absorb radiation in two bands near ultraviolet spectral region. Total ruby crystal absorbed about 15% of the light flash lamps. When light is absorbed by ions which are spread perpendicular to the plane mirror, create avalanches, many times worse in the medium due to multiple reflections from the mirrors. If one of the mirrors will have a small passage, then it will go directed photon flux perpendicular to the plane mirrors. When properly selected passage mirrors, fine tuning them with respect to each other and relative to the longitudinal axis of the medium with inverted population feedback can be so effective that the emission of a "side" will be completely negligible compared to the radiation emitted through the mirror. In practice, it really can be done. This feedback circuit is called an optical resonator, and it is this type of resonator used in most existing lasers. |