Physics 464 (ECE 464 ), Laser Physics I

Mondays and Wednesdays, 14:00 to 15:15 pm, PAIS Room 1160

Fall 2026

 

Instructor

Jean-Claude Diels

Physics & Astronomy room PAIS 2236, phone 277 4026

CHTM, room 114A, phone 272 7830 email: jcdiels@unm.edu

 

Teaching Assistant

Yinmiao Wang

yinmiao@unm.edu

 

 

Reference material

Lecture content, followed by a link to the powerpoint file, and homework assignments will be posted on my personal Web site dielslab.unm.edu/courses.

References will be made to textbooks and articles, when appropriate. I follow the notations of the book “Ultrafast Phenomena” of which a link can be found before the first lecture.

Other reference material:

 

• Lasers: the Power and Precision of Light.  Wiley-VCH" (2011)   J.-C.~Diels and Ladan Arissian,  Elementary introduction, no equations.
• LASERS, by Anthony E. Siegman, University Press  --the "bible" of laser optics, to consult when designing a laser
• Laser electronics, J.Y Verdeyen, Prentice Hall classical textbook cherished by my colleagues
• Solid state laser engineering, W. Koechner, Springer verlag
• Photonics, Saleh

 

Assignments

Homework problems will be assigned on a regular base, due generally on Wednesdays. They will count for 40% of the final grade.

Some problems will be treated in class.

Exams Two midterm and one final (format to be decided); 60% of grade total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book "Ultrafast Phenomena"

 

INTRODUCTION

Putting Laser Light in Context

1. Light is just one example of wave .    August 17

There are:

• Water waves
• Plasma waves
• Acoustic wave
• Light waves
• Gravitational waves

A wave propagate for huge distances, while each particle responsible for the wave motion stays at the same average position, just inducing the motion of the next particle.

In most cases, the wave starts from a local oscillation, and propagates radially from there, like rings produced by a duck paddling on a pond.

In the case of light, it is the electric field produced by a charge oscillating up and down that starts off the wave.

• Wave propagation equation (first order) Retarded frame
• Sine waves and “rogue waves”
• water waves, acoustic waves, gravitational waves and light waves Wave propagation equation
• Wave propagation equation: second order to first order - slowly varying envelope approximation

[Verdeyen Chapter 1]

[Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena Section 1.2]

 1   Link to powerpoint file (Lecture 1.ppt)

2. Notations   August 19

POLARIZATION AS ELECTRON RESPONSE

Light-matter interaction: the light field moves the electron.  The field of the moving electrons adds to the applied light field.

Free electron versus bound electron.  Plasma frequency and Drude model.

 [Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena Section 3.1, 3.2]

8  Link to powerpoint file (9-10-multiphoton_vs_tunnel_bound_vs_free_electron.ppt)

A good lecture on harmonic oscillator cav be found in:
web.ics.purdue.edu/~nowack/geos557/lecture3a-dir/lecture3a.htm
Electron oscillator applied to the description of polarization:
Pedrotti page 535-539 (chapter 25).
Born and Wolf: pages 95-99 (7th edition)
It is shown in the class that the same equations applies to plasma.

9  Link to powerpoint file (9-15-free_electron)

LIGHT-MATTER  INTERACTION

From semi-classical to classical

References:

• Ultrafast Phenomena: Section 3.3.4
• Verdeyen Chapter 14 

Interaction of light with two-level systems Coherent propagation effects; Adiabatic following,self-induced transparency, zero-area pulse propagation, photon echoes.

From Bloch's equations to rate equations approximation to linear polarization (Ultrafast Phenomena Section 3.4).

10  Link to powerpoint file (2-level systems.ppt)

11  Wrap-up 2 levels (Sept-22-wrap-up 2 levels)

• Parameters of rate equations how they are connected.
• Maxwell’s equations versus Einstein coefficients  (Einstein coefficient are treated in Verdeyen Chapter 7)
• Defying reciprocity in optics
• Power broadening, homogeneous broadening inhomogeneous broadening   (Broadenings are treated in Verdeyen Chapter 8)
• Creating an inversion with rate equations
• Saturation, self saturation, mutual saturation
• Design amplifiers

12  link to powerpoint file (line broadening_rate_equations_9-22.ppt)

13  link to powerpoint file (blackbody-Einstein-Sep29.ppt)

14  link to pdf file {broadening.pdf)
 

GAUSSIAN BEAMS

Best reference: the original paper of Kogelnik and Li 1966.

Verdeyen: Gaussian beams Ch3 --  ABCD matrices Ch2

15  Link to powerpoint file (Introduction to Gaussian beams.ppt)

16  Link to powerpoint file (Gaussian_beams2 - October 6.ppt)

17  Link to powerpoint file (Gaussian3_ABCD matrices.ppt)

Ultrafast Phenomena, Sections 1.6 and 1.7                                18     Link to powerpoint file (Gaussian4-spacetime.ppt)

19  Link to powerpoint file (Gaussian4-Stability versus equilibrium.ppt)

20  Link to powerpoint file (Gaussian6-recap-HeNe-Oct-13.PPT)

21  Link to powerpoint file (October 15-HeNe-mode-locking.ppt

Intermezzo: Laser gyro as a quantum two level system

22  Link to powerpoint file (October 20_Laser as a quantum system.ppt)

Other Lasers: solid state, homogeneous broadening, mode-locking

23  Link to powerpoint file (Other lasers.ppt)

Review for mid-term

24  Link to powerpoint file (Review -October_27.ppt)

 

25  Link to powerpoint file (Review October 29.ppt)

26  Link to powerpoint file (Review 3 - Nov. 3.ppt)
 

 

RESONATORS

Some detailed derivations, Fabry-Perot and microreso0nators, FIELD transmission and reflection transfer functions, Fabry-Perot with gain, Gires Tournois

The Etalon

Reviewing key points of the Fabry-Perot

Fabry-Perot.ppt

Fabry-Perot II

Lab tour.ppt

PROJECT

 

HOMEWORKS

Homework 1