Abstract
This chapter discusses the interaction of radiation with atoms and ions that weakly interact with surrounding species, such as atoms or ions in a gas phase or impurity ions in an ionic crystal. The somewhat more complicated case of radiation interacting with molecules or semiconductors is considered in Chap. 3. Since the topic of radiation interacting with matter is very wide, we limit our discussion to phenomena relevant to atoms and ions acting as active media. After an introduction to the theory of blackbody radiation, a milestone for the whole of modern physics, we consider the elementary processes of absorption, stimulated emission, spontaneous emission, and nonradiative decay. These are first considered under the simplifying assumptions of a dilute medium and low intensity. Situations involving high-beam intensity and a nondilute medium (leading to the phenomena of saturation and amplified spontaneous emission) are considered. A number of very important. although perhaps less general topics related to the photophysics of dye lasers, free-electron lasers, and x-ray lasers are briefly considered in Chaps. 9 and 10.
Keywords
Spontaneous Emission Cavity Mode Blackbody Radiation Nonradiative Decay Transition Cross SectionPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
- 1.R. Reiff, Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965), Chap. 9.Google Scholar
- 2.W. Heitler, Quantum Theory of Radiation, 3rd ed. ( Oxford University Press, London, 1953 ), Sec. II. 9.Google Scholar
- 3.H. A. Lorentz, Theory of Electrons, 2nd ed. ( Dover. New York. 1952 ), Chap. 3.Google Scholar
- 4.J. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory, 1st ed. ( McGraw-Hill, New York, 1941 ), pp. 431–38.Google Scholar
- 5.R. H. Pantell and H. E. Puthoff, Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics (Wiley, New York, 1964), Chap. 6.Google Scholar
- 6.W. Louisell, Radiation and Noise in Quantum Electronics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964), Chap. 6.Google Scholar
- 7.R. H. Pantell and H. E. Puthoff, Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics (Wiley, New York, 1964), pp. 40–41, 60, 62, and Appendix 4.Google Scholar
- 8.R. H. Pantell and H. E. Puthoff, Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics (Wiley, New York, 1964), Appendix 5.Google Scholar
- 9.A. Einstein, On the Quantum Theory of Radiation, Z. Phys. 18, 121 (1917).Google Scholar
- 10.W. Louisell, Radiation and Noise in Quantum Electronics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964), Chap. 5.Google Scholar
- 11.H. G. Kuhn, Atomic Spectra, 2nd ed. ( Longmans, Green, London, 1969 ), Chap. 7.Google Scholar
- 12.Radiationless Transitions (F. J. Fong, ed.) (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1976), Chap. 4.Google Scholar
- 13.C. K. Rhodes and A. Szoke, Gaseous Lasers: Atomic, Molecular, Ionic in Laser Handbook (F. T. Arecchi and E. O. Schultz-DuBois, eds.) (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1972), vol. 1, pp. 265–324.Google Scholar
- 14.J. B. Birks, Photophysics of Aromatic Molecules (Wiley—Interscience, New York, 1970), Sect. IL9.Google Scholar
- 15.D. L. Dexter, J Chem. Phys. 21, 836 (1953).ADSCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 16.J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics (Wiley, New York, 1975), Sect. 9. 2.Google Scholar
- 17.W. J. Miniscalco, Optical and Electronic Properties of Rare Earth Ions in Glasses in Rare-Earth-Doped Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers (M. J. F. Digonnet, ed.) (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1993), Chap. 2.Google Scholar
- 18.T. Holstein, Imprisonment of Resonant Radiation in Gases, Phys. Rev. 72, 1212 (1947).ADSMATHCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 19.R. Arrathoon, Helium—Neon Lasers and the Positive Column in Lasers (A. K. Levine and A. J. DeMaria, eds.) (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1976), Table 2.Google Scholar
- 20.M. H. Dunn and J. N. Ross, Argon Laser in Progress in Quantum Electronics,vol. 4 (J. H. Saunders and S. Stenholm, eds.) (Pergamon, Oxford, 1977), Table 2.Google Scholar
- 21.W. F. Krupke, M. D. Shinn, J. E. Marion, J. A. Caird, and S. E. Stokowski, Spectroscopic, Optical, and Thermomechanical Properties of Neodymium-and Chromium-Doped Gadolinium Scandium Gallium Garnet, J Opt. Soc. Am. B 3, 102 (1986).ADSGoogle Scholar
- 22.J. C. Walling, O. G. Peterson, J. P. Jennsen, R. C. Morris, and E. W. O’Dell, Tunable Alexandrite Lasers, IEEE J Quant. Elect. QE-16, 1302 (1980).Google Scholar
- 23.L. W. Casperson, Threshold Characteristics of Mirrorless Lasers, J Appl. Phys. 48, 256 (1977).ADSCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 24.O. Svelto, S. Taccheo, and C. Svelto, Analysis of Amplified Spontaneous Emission: Some Corrections to the Lyndford Formula, Optic. Comm. 149, 277–282 (1998).ADSCrossRefGoogle Scholar