Hippler L4 Flashcards
what is the idea that black body is based on?
an object in thermal equilibrium will emit as much energy as it absorbs. So good emitter and good absorber.
a perfecty absorber absorbs all electromagentic radiation and so appears black.
what is the realisation?
Have an enclosure with a small hole in one wall then there is little chance that the radiation is escaping and so is more of an absorber than emitter. Black body. Increase the temp then you get a faint red glow which becomes more intense upon heating. So in the cavity electromagnetic radiation.
what are the requirements for a 1D box?
Electric field must be zero at the walls.
Only wavelenghts that fit the length allowed (L = n *Wavelenth/ 2)
The modes must not be higher in frequency than the frequency of the radation.
is the energy of a standing wave limited?
Originally it was thought that for a standing wave there could be any energy and every oscillator has a mean energy of KT but it energy is limited to discrete values
.
does the total irradiance increase or decrease with Temp?
increases as I is proportional to T^4
what are the three primary processes that occur between matter and radiation
absorption
spontaneous emission
stimulated emission
what are the rate laws for the three primary processes?
B is Einstein coefficient for absorption and A is for emission
Remember units
how is the absorption at the cross section (sigma) related to Einstein coefficient?
only 1,2 absorption counts
Abs are weak as [M] assumed to be constant
when do you get population inversion?
When the population of the excited state is higher than the ground state
what are the two requirements for LASERS
- population inversion so the medium is not quenched
2. A meta stable excited state, no spontaneous emission
How is do two level laser systems work and give an example?
Emission when A returns to ground state
Iodide lasers - simple dissociation
What are the problems with two level laser systems?
They are not efficient, A is not meta stable. Transitions from ground state and vice versa are difficult so are slow
describe three level laser systems and give an example?
Ground state to an intermediate state. I to A and then A to ground state which is slow as it is not allowed. Since ground state to I is fast stimulated emission is only viable route down.
Ruby laser - pumps X - I at 690nm
what is the benefit of three level systems over 2 level systems?
Metastable excited state easier to reach
what are the problems with three level laser system?
population inversion needs to be greater in A than in X but at thermal equilbrium X is heavily populated
describe 4 level laser systems and give an example?
Ais not populated to start with.
X- I - A
is very fast so automatically have population inversion, then A`` - X is fast so population inversion condition is maintained
Carbon dioxide lasers - electrical discharge
What are the properties of lasers and how are they different to Black body radiation?
- Lasers have exponential growth
- Photons belong to one wavelength (BB photons have all wavelenghts)
- Only light travelling along an axis is amplified so therefore the laser has a direction and has low divergence. (BBR is divergent)
- all photons belong to 1 electromagnetic wave
What is the laser pulse?
If population inversion is achieved too quickly then laser action will use the excited state and then terminate itself - laser pulse
What is continuous wave laser?
Population inversion is achieved continuously, therefore have a continuous discharge
what are the requirements for high resolution spectroscopy?
Narrow and monochromatic bands
v small spectroscopic splitting line
How are small spectroscopic splitting lines achieved?
using a grating inside the resonator. The resonator only allows one frequency mode to travel in s straight line between the two mirrors, so that is amplified by reflection between to two mirrors
what happen if you coherently couple lots of resonator modes together
Get a large Δ and therefore small Δt, ultrashort laser pulse