Laser Physics

LASER PHYSICS PETER W. MILONNI JOSEPH H. EBERLY LASER PHYSICS LASER PHYSICS PETER W. MILONNI JOSEPH H. EBERLY Copyright # 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley. com/go/permission. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Milonni, Peter W. Laser physics / Peter W. Milonni, Joseph H. Eberly p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-38771-9 (cloth) 1. Lasers. 2. Nonlinear optics. 3. Physical optics. I. Eberly, J. H., 1935- II. Title. QC688.M55 2008 621.360 6—dc22 2008026771 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To our wives, Mei-Li and Shirley CONTENTS Preface xiii 1 Introduction to Laser Operation 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1 Introduction, 1 Lasers and Laser Light, 3 Light in Cavities, 8 Light Emission and Absorption in Quantum Theory, 10 Einstein Theory of Light–Matter Interactions, 11 Summary, 14 2 Atoms, Molecules, and Solids 17 2.1 Introduction, 17 2.2 Electron Energy Levels in Atoms, 17 2.3 Molecular Vibrations, 26 2.4 Molecular Rotations, 31 2.5 Example: Carbon Dioxide,