Page 22 - Handbook of Lasers

Section 1
SOLID STATE LASERS

1.0 Introduction
Solid state lasers include lasers based on paramagnetic ions, organic dye molecules, and
color centers in crystalline or amorphous hosts. Semiconductor lasers are included in this
section because they are a solid state device, although the nature of the active center—
recombination of electrons and holes—is different from the dopants or defect centers used in
other lasers in this category. Conjugated polymer lasers, solid-state excimer lasers, and fiber
Raman, Brillouin, and soliton lasers are also covered in this section.

Reported ranges of output wavelengths for the various types of solid state lasers are
shown in Figure 1.1. The differences in the ranges of spectral coverage arise in part from the
dependence on host properties, in particular the range of transparency and the rate of non-
radiative decay due to multiphonon processes.

0.17 mm 7.2 mm
Paramagnetic ions (crystal)
0.38 mm 4.0 mm
Paramagnetic ions ( glass)

0.38 mm 0.87 mm
Organic dyes

0.36 mm 5.0 mm
Color centers

Semiconductors
0.33 mm 360 mm

0.1 1.0 10 100
Wavelength ( m m)
Figure 1.1 Reported ranges of output wavelengths for various types of solid state lasers.

Further Reading
Cheo, P. K., Ed., Handbook of Solid-State Lasers, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York (1989).

Koechner, W., Solid-State Laser Engineering (fourth edition), Springer Verlag, Berlin
(1996).

Powell, R. C., Physics of Solid State Laser Materials, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1997).

Powell, R. C., Ed., Selected Papers on Solid State Lasers, SPIE Milestone Series,
Vol. MS31, SPIE Optical Engineering Press, Bellingham, WA (1991).

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