Physics 2113

Jonathan Dowling

Optics and Laser

Optics
 Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and
properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the
construction of instruments that use or detect it

Light has both particulate and wavelike characteristics

– Photon - a quantum unit of light
hc
E  h 

E  energy of a photon
  wavelength of radiation

  frequency of radiation
h  Planck’ s constant (6.62 x 10 34 J  s)
c  speed of light in a vacuum (3.00 x 108 m/s)
Refraction
 The change in direction of a wave (light) passing from one
medium to an other medium.
 Transmitted light distorts electron clouds.
electron
no cloud
transmitted transmitted
+ + distorts
light light

 The velocity of light in a material is lower than in a vacuum.

c (velocity of light in vacuum)
n = index of refraction 
v (velocity of light in medium)
-- Adding large ions (e.g., lead) to glass
decreases the speed of light in the glass. Material n
-- Light can be “bent” as it passes through a Typical glasses ca. 1.5 -1.7
transparent prism Plastics 1.3 -1.6
PbO (Litharge) 2.67
Diamond 2.41
Selected values from Table 21.1,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
Total Internal Reflectance
n1 sin2
n2 < n1 
2 n2 sin 1
n2 φ1 = incident angle
n1 φ2 = refracted angle
 φc = critical angle
c φc exists when φ2 = 90°
1 For φ1 > φc light is internally
reflected

 Fiber optic cables are clad in low n material so that light will experience total

internal reflectance and not escape from the optical fiber.
Example: Diamond in air
 What is the critical angle c for light passing from diamond (n1 =
2.41) into air (n2 = 1)?

• Solution: At the critical angle, 1  c

and 2 90
n1 sin 2
Rearranging the equation 
n2 sin 1

n2 n2
sin 1  sin c  sin(90) 
n1 n1

Substitution gives
1
sin c  c  24.5
2.41
Huygens’ Principle
 Every point on a propagating wavefront serves as the source of
spherical wavelets, such that the wavelets at sometime later is the
envelope of these wavelets.
 If a propagating wave has a particular frequency and speed, the
secondary wavelets have that same frequency and speed.

“Isotropic”
Diffraction

 Diffraction – Bending of light into the shadow region

 Grimaldi - 17th Century observation of diffraction
a
 Diffraction vs. Refraction?
Superposition of waves

Constructive Destructive
Interference Interference
Conditions for Interference

To observe interference in light waves, the

following two conditions must be met:
1) The sources must be coherent
 They must maintain a constant phase with respect to
each other

2) The sources should be monochromatic

 Monochromatic means they have a single wavelength
Young’s Experiment
 Young (1800) set up an experiment to
demonstrate the wave nature of light.

 A monochromatic beam of light is incident

on a single slit S0. This acts as a source of
wavefronts onto two slits S1 and S2.

 The coherent waves interfere with each

other forming a pattern of light and dark
bands on a screen some distance from the
two slits.
Young’s Experiment
Maxima occur when:

S2 m  2   r1  r2  m
m  1

d m0 sin  
m  1
d
S1 m  2   dsin   m
maxima

Minima occur when:

 1
s   r1  r2   m   
r2  2
S2

y
d  1
S1 r1   d sin    m   
s  a  2
  r1  r2
Resulting Interference Pattern

 The light from the two slits

forms a visible pattern on a
screen
 The pattern consists of a series
of bright and dark parallel
bands called fringes
 Constructive interference
occurs where a bright fringe
occurs
 Destructive interference results
in a dark fringe
Geometry of Young’s two slit experiment
 The triangle S1S2Q means that: S1Q = d sinθ
 If the screen is at a distance R which is much larger than the separation d of the
two slits (R could be a few metres and d a few millimetres) then r1 and r2 are
nearly parallel to each other and q is small:

If R  d  r2  r1  d sin 
 y  R tan   R sin  if  is small
d sin  = r2- r1
S1
Q Intensity
d  
 r2
S2
y
r1
P

R
 Constructive interference: bright fringes

r2  r1  d sin  m  m 

ym  R sin  m  R  m , m  0,1,2,
d
Destructive interference: dark fringes

 1
r2  r1  d sin    m   
 2
 1
ym  R sin  m  R m   , m  0,1,2,
 2d
Example 35-1:
In a two slit interference experiment, the slits are 0.20 mm apart, and the screen at a
distance of 1.0 m. The third bright fringe (not counting the central bright fringe) is
displaced by 7.5 mm. Find the wavelength of light used.

Third fringe: m=3, R=1.0 m, d=0.2 mm, R>>d

 ym  d
ym  R  m    
d Rm
7.5  103  0.2  103 9
 500  10 m  500nm
1.0  3
Another possibility: m= -3  ym= -7.5 mm

 7.5  103  0.2  103

  500  109 m  500nm
1.0  ( 3)
Example: Light from a source containing 2 wavelengths of 567 nm and 486 nm
illuminates a double slit arrangement with d=1.0 mm and R=1.50 m. At what
distance from the central fringe on the screen will a bright fringe from one
interference pattern coincide with the bright fringe from the other interference
pattern.

Bright fringes:

ym  R  m  ym (  486nm)  ym1 (  567nm)
d
486  109 567  109
 Rm  R  (m  1)
d d
 m(486  109 )  (m  1)(567  109 )
567  109
m 9
7
(567  486)  10
7  1.5  486  109 3
 ym  R  m 3
 5.103  10 m  5.103mm
1.0  10
Light Interactions with Solids
• Incident light is reflected, absorbed, scattered, and/or
transmitted: I0  IT  IA  IR  IS

Reflected: IR Absorbed: IA
Transmitted: IT

Incident: I0
Scattered: IS

• Optical classification of materials:

Transparent Adapted from Fig. 21.10, Callister 6e.
Translucent (Fig. 21.10 is by J. Telford, with
specimen preparation by P.A.
Opaque Lessing.)

single polycrystalline polycrystalline

crystal dense porous
Light Absorption
 Absorption is a condition in which something takes in another substance.
Light absorption is a process by which light is absorbed and converted
into energy.
The amount of light absorbed by a material is calculated using Beer’s
Law


 
IT I 0e
 = absorption coefficient, cm-1
 = sample thickness, cm
I 0 = incident light intensity
IT = transmitted light intensity

Rearranging and taking the natural log of both sides of the equation leads to
 IT 
ln    
 I 0 
Diffraction Grating
 A diffraction grating consists of a large number of equally spaced
narrow slits or lines. A transmission grating has slits, while a reflection
grating has lines that reflect light.
 The more lines or slits there are, the narrower the peaks.
Diffraction Grating
The maxima of the diffraction pattern are defined
by
Polarization

 Light is polarized when its electric fields

oscillate in a single plane, rather than in any
direction perpendicular to the direction of
propagation.

 Polarized light will not be transmitted through a polarized film

whose axis is perpendicular to the polarization direction.
Polarization
When light passes through a polarizer, only the component
parallel to the polarization axis is transmitted. If the incoming
light is plane-polarized, the outgoing intensity is:
Polarization
This means that if initially unpolarized light passes through
crossed polarizers, no light will get through the second one.
Luminescence
 Luminescence – reemission of light by a material
– Material absorbs light at one frequency and reemits it at another
(lower) frequency.
– Trapped (donor/acceptor) states introduced by impurities/defects

Conduction band  If residence time in trapped state is

relatively long (> 10-8 s)
-- phosphorescence

 For short residence times (< 10-8 s)

trapped Eemission -- fluorescence
Eg states
Example: Toys that glow in the dark.
activator
level Charge toys by exposing them to light.
Reemission of light over time—
phosphorescence
Valence band
Photoluminescence
Hg atom

UV light

electrode electrode

 Arc between electrodes excites electrons in mercury atoms in the lamp

to higher energy levels.
 As electron falls back into their ground states, UV light is emitted
(e.g., suntan lamp).
 Inside surface of tube lined with material that absorbs UV and reemits
visible light
- For example, Ca10F2P6O24 with 20% of F - replaced by Cl -
 Adjust color by doping with metal cations
 Sb3+ blue
 Mn2+ orange-red
The LASER
• The laser generates light waves that are in phase (coherent)
and that travel parallel to one another

– LASER
• Light
• Amplification by
• Stimulated
• Emission of
• Radiation

• Operation of laser involves a population inversion of energy

states process
Population Inversion
 More electrons in excited energy states than in ground states

Fig. 21.14, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Types of Laser
 Gas Laser: He-Ne, Argon ion and CO2
 Solid state Laser : Ruby, Nd:YAG, Nd:glass
 Semiconductor Laser
 Tunable dye Laser
Ruby Laser
 First laser to be operated successfully
 Lasing medium: Matrix of Aluminum oxide doped with
chromium ions
 Energy levels of the chromium ions take part in lasing action
 A three level laser system
Working:
Ruby is pumped optically by an intense flash lamp
This causes Chromium ions to be excited by absorption of
Radiation around 0.55 µm and 0.40µm
Operation of the Ruby Laser (cont.)
 Stimulated Emission
– The generation of one photon by
the decay transition of an electron,
induces the emission of other
photons that are all in phase with
one another.
– This cascading effect produces an
intense burst of coherent light.

 This is an example of a pulsed

laser

Fig. 21.15, Callister &

Rethwisch 8e.
30
Ruby lasers…..
 Chromium ions are excited to levels E1 and E2

 Excited ions decay non-radiatively to the level M

– upper lasing level

 M- metastable level with a lifetime of ~ 3ms

 Laser emission occurs between level M and

ground state G at an output wavelength of 0.6943
µm

 One of the important practical lasers

 Has long lifetime and narrow linewidth

 (Linewidth – width of the optical spectrum or

width of the power Spectral density )
Ruby lasers……
 Output lies in the visible region – where photographic
emulsions and Photodetectors are much more sensitive than
they are in infrared region
 Find applications in holography and laser ranging
He-Ne laser
 Laser medium is mixture of Helium and Neon gases in the ratio 10:1
 Medium excited by large electric discharge, flash pump or continuous
 high power pump
 In gas, atoms characterized by sharp energy levels compared to solids
 Actual lasing atoms are the Neon atoms

Pumping action:
Electric discharge is passed through the gas
Electrons are accelerated, collide with He and He atoms and excite them
to higher energy levels
He-Ne laser
 Helium atom accumulates at levels F2 and F3
 Levels E4 and E6 of neon atoms have almost same energy as F2
and F3
 Excited Helium ions collide with Neon atoms and excite them to
E4 and E6
 Transitions:
 Transition between E6 and E3 produce 6328 A line output
 From E3 to E2 spontaneous emission takes place – 6000 A
 E2 – metastable state – tends to collect atoms
 From E2 atoms relax back to ground level
The CO2 Laser
 Lasers discussed above – use transitions among various excited electronic states
of an atom or ion
 CO2 laser – uses transition between different vibrational states of CO2 molecule
 One of the earliest Gas lasers
 Highest power continuous wave laser currently available
 The filling gas within the discharge tube consists primarily of:
 Carbon dioxide
 Hydrogen
 Nitrogen
 Helium
 (proportions vary according to a specific laser)
The CO2 Laser
 Electron impact excites vibrational motion of the nitrogen.
 Collision energy transfer between the nitrogen and the CO2 molecule
 causes vibrational excitation of the carbon dioxide
 Excite with sufficient efficiency to lead to the desired population inversion
 necessary for laser operation.
 Laser transition occurs at 10.6µm
CO2 laser……

 CO2 laser possesses an extremely high efficiency

 Atomic quantum efficiency – Ratio of energy difference
 corresponding to the laser transition to the energy difference of
the pump transition
 Atomic quantum efficiency is very high for a CO2 laser
 Large portion of input power is converted into useful output
power
 Output power of several watts to several kilowatts can be
obtained
Continuous Wave Lasers

 Continuous wave (CW) lasers generate a continuous (rather than pulsed)

beam
 Materials for CW lasers include semiconductors (e.g., GaAs), gases (e.g.,
CO2), and yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG)
 Wavelengths for laser beams are within visible and infrared regions of the
spectrum
 Uses of CW lasers
1. Welding
2. Drilling
3. Cutting – laser carved wood, eye surgery
4. Surface treatment
5. Scribing – ceramics, etc.
6. Photolithography – Excimer laser

38
Semiconductor Laser Applications
 Apply strong forward bias across
semiconductor layers, metal, and
heat sink.
 Electron-hole pairs generated by
electrons that are excited across
band gap.
 Recombination of an electron-
hole pair generates
a photon of laser light

electron + hole  neutral + h

recombination ground state

photon of light
Fig. 21.17, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
Semiconductor Laser Applications
 Compact disk (CD) player
– Use red light
 High resolution DVD players
– Use blue light
– Blue light is a shorter wavelength than red light so it
produces higher storage density
 Communications using optical fibers
– Fibers often tuned to a specific frequency
 Banks of semiconductor lasers are used as flash lamps to
pump other lasers