LASERS AND OPTOELECTRONICS: Fundamentals, Devices and Applications -- Contents -- Preface -- Part I: Laser Fundamentals -- 1 Laser Basics -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Laser Operation -- 1.3 Rules of Quantum Mechanics -- 1.4 Absorption, Spontaneous Emission and Stimulated Emission -- 1.5 Population Inversion -- 1.5.1 Producing Population Inversion -- 1.6 Two-, Three- and Four-Level Laser Systems -- 1.6.1 Two-Level Laser System -- 1.6.2 Three-Level Laser System -- 1.6.3 Four-Level Laser System -- 1.6.4 Energy Level Structures of Practical Lasers -- 1.7 Gain of Laser Medium -- 1.8 Laser Resonator -- 1.9 Longitudinal and Transverse Modes -- 1.10 Types of Laser Resonators -- 1.11 Pumping Mechanisms -- 1.11.1 Optical Pumping -- 1.11.2 Electrical Pumping -- 1.11.3 Other Methods of Pumping -- 1.12 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 2 Laser Characteristics -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Laser Characteristics -- 2.2.1 Monochromaticity -- 2.2.1.1 Line-broadening Mechanisms -- 2.2.2 Coherence -- 2.2.2.1 Temporal Coherence -- 2.2.2.2 Spatial Coherence -- 2.2.3 Directionality -- 2.3 Important Laser Parameters -- 2.3.1 Wavelength -- 2.3.2 CW Power -- 2.3.3 Peak Power -- 2.3.4 Average Power -- 2.3.5 Pulse Energy -- 2.3.6 Repetition Rate -- 2.3.7 Pulse Width -- 2.3.8 Duty Cycle -- 2.3.9 Rise and Fall Times -- 2.3.10 Irradiance -- 2.3.11 Radiance -- 2.3.12 Beam Divergence -- 2.3.13 Spot Size -- 2.3.14 M2 Value -- 2.3.15 Wall-plug Efficiency -- 2.4 Measurement of Laser Parameters -- 2.4.1 Measurement of Power, Energy and Repetition Rate -- 2.4.1.1 Choosing the Appropriate Sensor -- 2.4.1.2 Choosing the Appropriate Meter -- 2.4.2 Measurement of Spot Size -- 2.4.3 Measurement of Divergence -- 2.4.4 Measurement of M2 Value -- 2.4.5 Measurement of Line Width -- 2.5 Laser Beam Diagnostic Equipment -- 2.5.1 Wavelength Meter.

2.5.2 Laser Spectrum Analyzer -- 2.5.3 Laser Beam Profiler -- 2.5.4 Beam Propagation Analyzer -- 2.6 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- Part II: Types of Lasers -- 3 Solid-state Lasers -- 3.1 Introduction: Types of Lasers -- 3.2 Importance of Host Material -- 3.2.1 Lasing Species -- 3.3 Operational Modes -- 3.3.1 CW Output -- 3.3.2 Free-running Output -- 3.3.3 Q-switched Output -- 3.3.4 Cavity-dumped Output -- 3.3.5 Mode-locked Output -- 3.4 Ruby Lasers -- 3.5 Neodymium-doped Lasers -- 3.5.1 Nd:YAG Lasers -- 3.5.2 Nd:YLF Lasers -- 3.5.3 Nd:YVO4 Lasers -- 3.5.4 Nd:Cr:GSGG Lasers -- 3.5.5 Nd:Glass Lasers -- 3.6 Erbium-doped Lasers -- 3.6.1 Er:YAG Laser -- 3.6.2 Er:Glass Laser -- 3.7 Vibronic Lasers -- 3.7.1 Alexandrite Laser -- 3.7.2 Titanium-sapphire Laser -- 3.8 Colour Centre Lasers -- 3.9 Fibre Lasers -- 3.9.1 Basic Fibre Laser -- 3.9.2 Fibre Lasers versus Bulk Solid-state Lasers -- 3.9.3 Operational Regimes -- 3.9.4 Photonic Crystal Fibre Lasers -- 3.9.4.1 Guiding Mechanisms in PCF -- 3.9.4.2 Subclasses of PCFs -- 3.9.4.3 PCF Lasers -- 3.9.5 Applications -- 3.10 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 4 Gas Lasers -- 4.1 Introduction to Gas Lasers -- 4.1.1 The Active Media -- 4.1.2 Inter-level Transitions -- 4.1.3 Pumping Mechanism -- 4.2 Helium-neon Lasers -- 4.3 Carbon Dioxide Lasers -- 4.4 Metal Vapour Lasers -- 4.4.1 Helium-cadmium Laser -- 4.4.2 Copper Vapour and Gold Vapour Lasers -- 4.5 Rare Gas Ion Lasers -- 4.6 Excimer Lasers -- 4.7 Chemical Lasers -- 4.7.1 Hydrogen Fluoride/Deuterium Fluoride (HF/DF) Lasers -- 4.7.2 Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) -- 4.7.3 All Gas-Phase Iodine Laser (AGIL) -- 4.8 Carbon Dioxide Gas Dynamic Lasers -- 4.9 Dye Laser -- 4.9.1 Active Medium -- 4.9.2 Pump Mechanisms -- 4.9.3 Wavelength Selection.

4.10 Free-electron Lasers -- 4.11 X-Ray Lasers -- 4.12 Summary -- Review Questions -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 5 Semiconductor Lasers -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Operational Basics -- 5.3 Semiconductor Laser Materials -- 5.4 Types of Semiconductor Lasers -- 5.4.1 Homojunction and Heterojunction Lasers -- 5.4.2 Quantum Well Diode Lasers -- 5.4.3 Distributed-feedback (DFB) Lasers -- 5.4.4 Vertical-cavity Surface-emitting Laser (VCSEL) -- 5.4.5 Vertical External-cavity Surface-emitting Lasers (VECSEL) -- 5.4.6 External-cavity Semiconductor Diode Lasers -- 5.4.7 Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers -- 5.4.8 Quantum Cascade Lasers -- 5.4.9 Lead Salt Lasers -- 5.5 Characteristic Parameters -- 5.5.1 Threshold Current -- 5.5.2 Slope Efficiency -- 5.5.3 Beam Divergence -- 5.5.4 Line Width -- 5.5.5 Beam Polarization -- 5.6 Gain- and Index-guided Diode Lasers -- 5.7 Handling Semiconductor Diode Lasers -- 5.8 Semiconductor Diode Lasers: Application Areas -- 5.8.1 Directed Energy -- 5.8.2 Coherence -- 5.8.3 Monochromaticity -- 5.9 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- Part III: Laser Electronics and Optoelectronics -- 6 Building Blocks of Laser Electronics -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Linear Power Supplies -- 6.2.1 Constituents of a Linear Power Supply -- 6.2.2 Rectifier Circuits -- 6.2.3 Filters -- 6.2.4 Linear Regulators -- 6.2.4.1 Emitter-follower Regulator -- 6.2.4.2 Series-pass Regulator -- 6.2.4.3 Shunt Regulator -- 6.2.4.4 Linear IC Voltage Regulators -- 6.3 Switched-mode Power Supplies -- 6.3.1 Linear versus Switched-mode Power Supplies -- 6.3.2 Different Types of Switched-mode Power Supplies -- 6.3.2.1 Flyback Converters -- 6.3.2.2 Forward Converter -- 6.3.2.3 Push-pull Converter -- 6.3.2.4 Switching Regulators -- 6.3.2.5 Three-terminal Switching Regulators.

6.3.3 Connecting Power Converters in Series -- 6.3.4 Connecting Power Converters in Parallel -- 6.4 Constant Current Sources -- 6.4.1 Junction Field-effect-transistor-based Constant Current Source -- 6.4.2 Transistor-based Constant Current Source -- 6.4.3 Opamp-controlled Constant Current Source -- 6.4.4 Constant Current Source Using Three-terminal Regulators -- 6.4.5 Current Mirror Configurations -- 6.4.5.1 Basic Current Mirror -- 6.4.5.2 Widlar Current Source -- 6.4.5.3 Wilson Current Source -- 6.5 Integrated-circuit Timer Circuits -- 6.5.1 Digital IC-based Timer Circuits -- 6.5.2 IC Timer-based Multivibrators -- 6.5.2.1 Astable Multivibrator Using Timer IC 555 -- 6.5.2.2 Monostable Multivibrator Using Timer IC 555 -- 6.6 Current-to-voltage Converter -- 6.7 Peak Detector -- 6.8 High-voltage Trigger Circuit -- 6.9 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 7 Solid-state Laser Electronics -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Spectrum of Laser Electronics -- 7.2.1 Solid-state Lasers -- 7.2.2 Semiconductor Diode Lasers -- 7.2.3 Gas Lasers -- 7.2.4 Testing and Evaluation of Lasers -- 7.2.5 Laser Sensor Systems -- 7.3 Electronics for Solid-state Lasers -- 7.4 Electronics for Pulsed Solid-state Lasers -- 7.4.1 Electronics for Q-switched Solid-state Lasers -- 7.4.2 Capacitor-charging Power Supply -- 7.4.3 Simmer Power Supply -- 7.4.4 Pseudo-simmer Mode -- 7.4.5 Pulse-forming Network -- 7.4.6 Flashlamp Trigger Circuit -- 7.5 Electronics for CW Solid-state Lasers -- 7.5.1 Arc Lamps -- 7.5.2 Electrical Characteristics -- 7.5.3 Arc Lamp Power Supply -- 7.5.4 Modulated CW and Quasi-CW Operation of Arc Lamp -- 7.6 Solid-state Laser Designators and Rangefinders -- 7.7 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 8 Gas Laser Electronics -- 8.1 Introduction.

8.2 Gas Discharge Characteristics -- 8.3 Gas Laser Power Supplies -- 8.4 Helium-Neon Laser Power Supply -- 8.4.1 Power Supply Design -- 8.4.2 Switched-mode Power Supply Configurations -- 8.4.3 Other Possible Configurations -- 8.4.4 Configurations for Special Applications -- 8.4.5 Ballast Resistance -- 8.5 Carbon Dioxide Laser Power Supplies -- 8.5.1 DC-excited CW CO2 Laser -- 8.5.2 DC-excited Pulsed CO2 Laser -- 8.5.3 RF-excited CO2 Lasers -- 8.6 Power Supplies for Metal Vapour Lasers -- 8.7 Power Supplies for Excimer Lasers -- 8.8 Power Supplies for Ion Lasers -- 8.9 Frequency Stabilization of Gas Lasers -- 8.9.1 Dither Stabilization -- 8.9.2 Stark-cell Stabilization -- 8.9.3 Optogalvanic Stabilization -- 8.9.4 Stabilization using Saturation Absorption Dip -- 8.10 Summary -- Review Questions -- Problems -- Self-evaluation Exercise -- Bibliography -- 9 Laser Diode Electronics -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Laser Diode Protection -- 9.2.1 Laser Diode Drive and Control -- 9.2.2 Interconnection Cables and Grounding -- 9.2.3 Transient Suppression -- 9.2.4 Electrostatic Discharge -- 9.3 Operational Modes -- 9.3.1 Constant-current Mode -- 9.3.2 Constant-power Mode -- 9.4 Laser Diode Driver Circuits -- 9.4.1 Basic Constant-current Source -- 9.4.2 Laser Diode Driver with Feedback Control -- 9.4.3 Laser Diode Driver with Modulation Input -- 9.4.4 Laser Diode Driver with Protection Features -- 9.4.5 Laser Diode Driver with Automatic Power Control -- 9.4.6 Quasi-CW Laser Diode Driver -- 9.5 Laser Diode Temperature Control -- 9.5.1 Thermoelectric Cooling Fundamentals -- 9.5.2 Thermoelectric Cooler: Performance Characteristics -- 9.5.3 TE Module Selection -- 9.5.4 Heat Sink Selection -- 9.5.5 Thermoelectric Cooler Drive and Control Circuits -- 9.5.5.1 Temperature Sensing Circuits -- 9.5.5.2 Error Amplifier -- 9.5.5.3 Error Signal Processor -- 9.5.5.4 Output Stage.

9.6 Summary.