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Courses » Laser Fundamentals and Applications

Laser Fundamentals and Applications

About the course

A Laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. Because of its extremely high degree of monochromaticity, coherence, directionality, polarization, and power, etc., laser radiation or light has been widely used in high resolution spectroscopy and imaging, chemistry, optical communications, biomedicine, defense industries, etc. This course is intended for students who need to understand the basic principles of how lasers work and their main properties. This course provides the students a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of lasers: their unique properties, their operations and their applications. It will equip the students with the knowledge of how a coherent light is generated and amplified, the techniques behind different lasers’ design, and applications of lasers in spectroscopy, chemistry, medicine, biology, military and other areas. 

Intended Audience
Senior UG and PG students

Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of quantum mechanics and optics would be helpful

Industries that will recognize this course
NA

1504 students have enrolled already!!

Course instructor



Dr. Manabendra Chandra is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur. His area of specialization is experimental physical chemistry.

Course layout


Week 1: 

Introduction; Importance: why laser?, unique properties of lasers; Brief  history of laser development ; Laser basics


Week 2: 

Concept of stimulated emission; Einstein’s coefficients; Population inversion; Amplification of stimulated emission; Laser instrumentation fundamentals: Cavity, resonator and pumping processes; Gain medium


Week 3: 

Coherent radiation, standing waves and modes; The kinetics of laser emission; Rate equations; Threshold conditions; Pulsed and continuous wave laser emission; Various pulsing techniques: cavity dumping, Q-switching and mode-locking

Week 4: 

Transitions, lifetimes and linewidths: Three level laser, Four-level laser, emission linewidth; Properties of laser light:  monochromaticity, spatial and temporal coherence, intensity, beam-width Similarity transforms, 

Week 5: 

Laser sources; different types of lasers; Laser instrumentation details


Week 6: 

Applications of lasers in spectroscopy, chemistry, biology, medical sciences and other fields


Week 7: 

Applications of lasers in spectroscopy, chemistry, biology, medical sciences and other fields

Week 8: 

Applications of lasers in spectroscopy, chemistry, biology, medical sciences and other fields Summary of the course



Suggested Reading
  • Laser Fundamentals by William T. Silfvast; Second Edition, Cambridge.
  • Laser Physics by P. W. Milonni and J. H. Eberly; Wiley.
  • Lasers in Chemistry by David L. Andrews; Third Edition; Springer
CERTIFICATION EXAM :
  • The exam is optional for a fee.
  • Date of Exam: March 31st 2019 (Sunday).
  • Time of Exam: Morning session 9am to 2 noon; Afternoon session: 2pm to 5pm
  • Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
  • The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published.
CERTIFICATION:

  • Final score will be calculated as : 25% assignment score + 75% final exam score
  • 25% assignment score is calculated as 25% of average of  Best 6 out of 8 assignments
  • E-Certificate will be given to those who register and write the exam and score greater than or equal to 40% final score. Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kanpur. It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.