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Laser Principle

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Part of the book series: Graduate Texts in Physics ((GTP))

Abstract

A laser (=laser oscillator) is a self-excited oscillator. A self-excited oscillator starts oscillation by itself and maintains an oscillation. Laser radiation is generated by stimulated transitions in an active medium. The active medium is a gain medium — propagation of radiation in the active medium results in an increase of the energy density of the radiation. The active medium in a laser experiences feedback from radiation stored in a laser resonator. A portion of radiation coupled out from the resonator represents the useful radiation.

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Correspondence to Karl F. Renk .

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Renk, K.F. (2012). Laser Principle. In: Basics of Laser Physics. Graduate Texts in Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23565-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23565-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-23564-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-23565-8

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

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