Accession Number:
ADA528762
Title:
Low-Quantum-Defect Solid State Lasers: 2-, 3-, or 4-Level
Descriptive Note:
Journal article
Corporate Author:
ARMY RESEARCH LAB ADELPHI MD SENSORS AND ELECTRON DEVICES DIRECTORATE
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
2010-08-01
Pagination or Media Count:
10.0
Abstract:
The concept of three-level- and four-level-lasers was used early on to explain why it was easier to make the Nd3 ion lase than the Cr2 ion. Almost 50 years later, work on solid-state lasers has recently led to a quantitative definition of the concept. The new level parameters lambda0 and lambda1 defined here will provide an improved basis for comparing Nd3, Cr2, and other ions, e.g. Er3, Yb3, Ho3, and Tm3. lambda0 and lambda1 assign to a system of discrete energy levels a number, with a physical basis, that varies continuously between 2 and 4, in the same way that the Hausdorff and Renyi definitions yield non-integer dimensions for fractals. Together with the cross section, lifetime, etc., they help in the design of a laser by providing a basis for choosing the operating temperature, pump wave-length, and laser wavelength.
Subject Categories:
- Lasers and Masers
- Optics
- Solid State Physics