What Are The Main Types Of Lasers?

Lasers are part of our everyday lives and are used for different purposes. For example, doctors perform surgery with them, while manufacturers use them to clean and mark material. Laser light is also used to eliminate tattoos or in concerts.

A laser is a device that emits light in the form of a laser beam. Laser beams are different from light beams, and a laser consists of the following things;

  • Resonator- uses mirrors to amplify the optical gain surrounding the medium. Resonators include bulk mirrors and coated facets.
  • Gain medium- transmits light of a specific wavelength when lit.

The most common lasers are green hene lasers and solid-state lasers. Below we discuss the main types of lasers.

  • Gas Lasers

Gas lasers send electric currents via gas to produce light via population inversion. The most common gas lasers are; krypton lasers, argon lasers, and excimer lasers.

These lasers have a wide application variety like spectroscopy, holography, and laser surgery.

  • Fiber Laser

A fiber laser is a unique laser type in its category. The gain medium is combined with a special earth element in fiber lasers. The fiber laser stands out from the rest due to its light guiding components.

These components include a straighter laser beam that makes it more precise. Fiber lasers have many uses like metal processing, laser cleaning, and processing medicine.

  • Solid-State Lasers

These laser types use glasses or crystals combined with a unique earth element. These elements can either be erbium, neodymium, or thulium.

The ruby laser is the most common solid-state laser because it was the first to be constructed. The Nd: YAG laser is also popular in most processing applications. Solid-state lasers are used in LIDAR technology and other medical applications like hair and tattoo removal.

  • Liquid Lasers

Liquid lasers use organic dye turned into the liquid state as the primary medium. Liquid lasers are also known as dye lasers and are applied in isotope separation, birthmark removal, and spectroscopy. The main advantage of dye lasers is generating a variety of wavelengths, and this makes them a good option as tunable lasers.

Lasers are tuned to specific atomic resonances when separating isotopes. They are then converted to particular isotopes that contain an electric field, leading to isotope separation.

  • Semiconductor Lasers

Laser diodes are also called diode lasers, and they resemble standard diodes because they have a positively-negatively charged junction. The main difference is that laser diodes entail a layer at the junction consisting of materials that support emission.

Laser diodes are utilized as energy sources to support other lasers. These lasers are also called diode-pumped lasers and are arrayed to produce more energy. Laser diodes are popular and are used as barcode readers and laser scanners, among others.

Benefits of Hene Lasers

Below are the benefits of hene lasers;

  • Have a stable wavelength
  • They are cheap
  • Have a high coherence length.

Final Thoughts  

Lasers are standard in today’s world, thanks to their numerous uses. The above article has discussed the top laser types, including hene lasers, and you can reach out for more information.