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Definition: lasers emitting visible light
The term visible lasers is used to denote lasers emitting visible light, or sometimes laser devices generating visible light via nonlinear frequency conversion.
Lasers with Direct Visible Emission
Laser which directly emit visible light constitute a minority – most lasers emit in the infrared spectral region. Some examples for solid-state lasers emitting visible light are:
- Various laser diodes can emit visible light. Examples are GaInP or AlGaInP-based red laser diodes, and GaN-based blue-emitting diodes.
- The first demonstrated laser was a ruby laser emitting at 694.3 nm.
- Titanium-sapphire lasers emit mostly in the infrared, but can be tuned down to roughly 650 nm.
- Gallium nitride laser diodes emit around 400-480 nm.
- There are various upconversion lasers, including both bulk and fiber lasers, with visible light emission.
There are also various gas lasers emitting visible light:
- Helium-neon lasers can emit on various visible wavelengths, including the well-known 632.8 nm red wavelength but also in the green (543.5 nm), yellow (594.1 nm) and orange (604.6 nm, 611.9 nm) spectral region.
- Helium-cadmium lasers (→ gas lasers) emit in the blue at 441.6 nm.
- Argon ion lasers emit mostly at 514.5 nm and 488 nm, but also at 465.8 nm, 472.7 nm, and 528.7 nm.
- Krypton ion lasers emit at various wavelengths throughout the visible spectrum, in particular at 647.1 nm and 530.9 nm.
- Copper vapor lasers (→ gas lasers) emit at 510.6 nm or 578.2 nm.
Finally, various dye lasers have broad emission ranges throughout the visible spectral region.
See also the articles on red, green and blue lasers.
Visible Laser Systems Based on Nonlinear Frequency Conversion
Various methods allow the generation of visible light in laser diodes via nonlinear frequency conversion:
- The most frequently used approach particularly for green and blue emission is frequency doubling either intracavity or in an external nonlinear crystal. This can be applied to traditional solid-state bulk lasers as well as to VECSELs. Most common are green-emitting laser sources based on frequency-doubled 1064-nm neodymium lasers.
- Sum frequency generation in a nonlinear crystal can generate visible light. For example, sum frequency mixing of a 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser and a 1.5-μm fiber laser leads to red light.
- A Raman laser can be pumped with the intracavity light of a regular laser. This is most often done with solid-state bulk lasers, which may be Q-switched or continuous-wave, and often intracavity frequency doubled.
- For broadband visible radiation, there are laser sources involving supercontinuum generation.
See also: red lasers, green lasers, blue lasers, nonlinear frequency conversion, intracavity frequency doubling, Raman lasers, supercontinuum generation, white light sources
Categories: lasers, nonlinear optics
