2010: a laser odyssey
DESCRIPTION
2010: A Laser Odyssey. Short presentation about lasers by the Université Laval OSA and SPIE Student Chapters. In science fiction, lasers are powerful weapons. In everyday life, lasers have many uses. Laser hair removal Laser pointers CD/DVD players Barcode readers Micro-fabrication - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
2010: A Laser Odyssey
Short presentation about lasers
by the Université Laval OSA and SPIE Student Chapters
In science fiction, lasers are powerful weapons
In everyday life, lasers have many uses
• Laser hair removal
• Laser pointers
• CD/DVD players
• Barcode readers
• Micro-fabrication
• Medical treatments
What is light composed of?
• Light can be seen as photonsof many colors
What is light composed of?
• Light can also be seen as wavesof different lengths
In nature, there are different kinds of waves
• Water waves • Sound waves• Light waves (electromagnetic
waves)
Most of the light waves are invisible
LASER
LASER is an acronym
ightmplification by thetimulatedmission ofadiation
A laser emits photons of the same color, travelling in the same direction
Directional and monochromatic light
A laser has three parts
The gain medium
The pumping system
The resonant cavity
Lasers consist of a gain medium, a resonant cavity and a pumping system
Gain mediumMaterial in which photons are produced
Pumping systemSystem that provoques the emission of radiation
Resonant cavity (2 mirrors)Cavity in which the light rays bounce back and forth and are amplified
There are many different kinds of gain media
Crystal Gas Optical fiber
The gain medium, in which the light rays are produced, could be:
=
• a flash• another laser• electricity
Pumping can be done in different ways
The resonant cavity consists of two mirrors
One mirror reflects all light
And all this happens at the speed of light:1 080 000 000 km/h!
The other one reflects partially
The mirrors are placed at each end of the gain
medium
May 16th, 2010: 50th anniversary of the invention of thefirst laser by Theodore
Maiman
First laser: Ruby laser built by Maiman
Maiman and the 1st working laser
Publicity photo
Thank you for your attention!
Please contact us if you have any questions
www.repol.copl.ulaval.ca