The electrons of gain media are doped with ions
Lasers use photon (light particles) to produce beam of lights which are nothing but excited electrons falling back on their original energy levels. The most common type of laser today for industrial use is solid state laser. Laser or Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation is used in a many industries. Lasers are everywhere: in industries specifically it revolves around cutting, welding, drilling, marking, communications through optical fibers, scanners, plastic welding and many others. When a source is excited by a pump light particles or photon is emitted when an excited electron falls from higher energy state to lower energy state, these photons are harnessed in the tubes and concentrated for the laser beam. This beam travels through a medium known as gain medium or lasing medium. Solid State Laser or SSL are lasers which use sold state gain media as opposed to using gases.
The electrons of gain media are doped with ions. The gain media is suspended in a solid matrix such as ruby laser. Doping is usually done with rare earth metals or transition metals. These are different from semi conductor lasers. The output of a SSL ranges from few mill watts to many kilowatts. The pumps used in SSL are flash lamps or arc lamps. These are very cheap and can provide high powers. But these pumps have their own set of problems of low efficiency, low life, and strong heating. That’s why laser diodes are very common for use with SSL. These are also known as DPSS or diode pumped solid state lasers. Microchip laser are the lasers which consist of thin sold state gain material kept between two flat dielectric mirrors. The pump used in this type of laser is diode laser. The thickness of the gain media used in this is very important.
A single mode emissions possible if the gain media is thin. These lasers are now used in micro dissection, biohazard detection, MALDI and other places. Nanosecond laser are optical pulses with pulse durations in nanoseconds i.e. the laser beam being emitted has function of nanoseconds. These are generated through generators. Through Q switching higher pulse energies are delivered. But, gain switched lasers give lower energies. The different energies result in different peak powers. These are rising in popularity because of flexibility in use and lower cost of production. They are used in military setups, industries, medical, and scientific. Industrial uses for nanosecond laser are semiconductor processing, solar cell manufacturing, and laser marking. Increasing use of nanosecond lasers in retinal therapies has made this the choice for medical professionals.
