properties of laser gain media (original) (raw)
Author: the photonics expert (RP)
Category: 
laser devices and laser physics
- properties of laser gain media
Related: laser gain media
DOI: 10.61835/tz1 Cite the article: BibTex BibLaTex plain textHTML Link to this page! LinkedIn
Content quality and neutrality are maintained according to our editorial policy.
Laser gain media have a range of properties, for which we provide an overview in this article:
| Property | Symbol | Units | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| transition cross-sections | ($\sigma_\textrm{abs}(\lambda)$), ($\sigma_\textrm{em}(\lambda)$) | m2 | material parameters for quantifying the rates of absorption and emission events |
| upper-state lifetime | ($\tau_2$) | s | the lifetime of the population in the upper laser level |
| saturation fluence | ($F_\textrm{sat}(\lambda)$) | J/m2 | a measure of the optical pulse fluence required for achieving significant saturation |
| saturation intensity | ($I_\textrm{sat}(\lambda)$) | W/m2 | a measure of the optical intensity required for achieving significant saturation |
| doping density | ($N_\textrm{dop}$) | m–3 | the density of laser-active ions |
| pump absorption coefficient | ($\alpha(\lambda)$) | cm–1 | the absorption coefficient for pump light, dependent on doping density and absorption cross-section |
| radiative lifetime | ($\tau_\textrm{rad}$) | s | the lifetime of an electronic state in the (hypothetical) situation where only radiative processes depopulate that level |
The article on laser gain media discusses such properties in more detail.
Questions and Comments from Users
Here you can submit questions and comments. As far as they get accepted by the author, they will appear above this paragraph together with the author’s answer. The author will decide on acceptance based on certain criteria. Essentially, the issue must be of sufficiently broad interest.
Please do not enter personal data here. (See also our privacy declaration.) If you wish to receive personal feedback or consultancy from the author, please contact him, e.g. via e-mail.
By submitting the information, you give your consent to the potential publication of your inputs on our website according to our rules. (If you later retract your consent, we will delete those inputs.) As your inputs are first reviewed by the author, they may be published with some delay.