Although basic laser technology was invented in 1960, the laser has undergone great development ever since.
Originally the laser used sapphire crystals and was not very powerful.
Over time, many types of lasers were developed using different materials that produce laser light.
However, whether they are sapphire lasers, gas lasers, liquid lasers or semiconductor lasers, the basic principle is the same: the catalytic emission produced by a photon that faces an atom in the excited state and forces it to emit another photon with the same frequency in the same direction. These two photons drive more photons and catalytic emission occurs.
Semiconductors that are at the heart of new lasers have made possible tools such as Compact disc (CD).
The former diode laser produced light by sending current through the gallium arsenide (GaAs).
Recent Developments in Laser Technology
Scientists have recently found lasers using gallium arsenide with thin layers of gallium aluminum arsenide creating an area called the quantum wells between layers.
In this region, the electrons are tightly packed so that the device uses less energy to emit light.
The quantum well laser is highly effective in converting electricity into light, thus generating less heat. This, in turn, can operate battery-powered drive systems.
In communication systems, it can double the number of long-distance calls that can be connected to a single fiber.
A monochromatic laser light, for example, a red laser beam has only red light; it is very coherent, that is, the light from a laser is very directional; this can travel over great distances without spreading.
The high brightness of the laser is the result of spatial cohesion.
Importance of Laser Technology
Laser technology is very important in the modern world because it is used in many fields, most notably measurement, where it is used to give high accuracy results in measuring small and large distances.
Laser technology is also used for the purposes of generating heat in industrial cutting processes.
The medical field uses it in surgical procedures. The laser is used effectively in the treatment of gallbladder and kidney stones.
The laser light intensity at focus is too high and the material response becomes non-linear.
The laser produces short pulses of light and it is possible to obtain nanosecond electric pulses (nsEPs) from several lasers.
By using the mode-locking technique, it can display the width of shorter pulses - for a few hundred femtoseconds.
