Gas Lasers
- Page ID
- 74679
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- Examples of gas lasers include helium-neon (HeNe), nitrogen and argon-ion
- The gain medium in these lasers is a gas-filled tube
- Excitation of gas molecules is achieved by the passage of an electric current or discharge through the gas
- In a HeNe laser, an electric discharge excites He atoms to excited levels. Collisions between He and Ne atoms transfer energy and produce excited Ne atoms. Lasing occurs when Ne atoms attain a population inversion.
- The lasing transition in a HeNe laser procudes light at 632.8 nm.
Simplified energy level diagram showing HeNe laser transitions.