List of laser types
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This is a list of laser types, their operational wavelengths, and their applications. Many thousands of kinds of laser are known, but most of them are not used beyond specialised research.
Contents
Gas lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helium-neon gas laser | 632.8 nm (543.5 nm, 593.9 nm, 611.8 nm, 1.1523 μm, 1.52 μm, 3.3913 μm) | Electrical discharge | Interferometry, holography, spectroscopy, barcode scanning, alignment, optical demonstrations. |
| Argon ion gas laser | 488.0 nm, 514.5 nm, (351 nm, 465.8 nm, 472.7 nm, 528.7 nm) | Electrical discharge | Retinal phototherapy (for diabetes), lithography, pumping other lasers. |
| Krypton ion gas laser | 416 nm, 530.9 nm, 568.2 nm, 647.1 nm, 676.4 nm, 752.5 nm, 799.3 nm | Electrical discharge | Scientific research, mixed with argon to create "white-light" lasers, light shows. |
| Xenon ion gas laser | Many lines throughout visible spectrum extending into the UV and IR. | Electrical discharge | Scientific research. |
| Nitrogen gas laser | 337.1 nm | Electrical discharge | Pumping of dye lasers, measuring air pollution, scientific research. Nitrogen lasers can operate superradiantly (without a resonator cavity). Amateur laser construction. |
| Hydrogen fluoride chemical laser | 2.7 to 2.9 μm for (Hydrogen fluoride) 3.6 to 4.2 μm for (Deuterium fluoride) | Chemical reaction in a burning jet of ethylene and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) | Used in research for laser weaponry by the U.S. DOD, operated in continuous wave mode, can have power in the megawatt range. |
| Deuterium fluoride laser | 3800 nm | chemical reaction | |
| Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL) | 1.315 μm | Chemical reaction in a jet of singlet delta oxygen and iodine | Laser weaponry, scientific and materials research, laser used in the U.S. military's Airborne laser, operated in continuous wave mode, can have power in the megawatt range. |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas laser | 10.6 μm, (9.4 μm) | Transverse (high power) or longitudinal (low power) electrical discharge | Material processing (cutting, welding, etc.), surgery. |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) gas laser | 2.6 to 4 μm, 4.8 to 8.3 μm | Electrical discharge | Material processing (engraving, welding, etc.), photoacoustic spectroscopy. |
| Excimer chemical lasers | 193 nm (ArF), 248 nm (KrF), 308 nm (XeCl), 353 nm (XeF) | Excimer recombination via electrical discharge | Ultraviolet lithography for semiconductor manufacturing, laser surgery, LASIK. |
Dye lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dye lasers | 390-435 nm (stilbene), 460-515 nm (coumarin 102), 570-640 nm (rhodamine 6G), many others | Other laser, flashlamp | Research, spectroscopy, birthmark removal, isotope separation. The tuning range of the laser depends on which dye is used. |
Metal-vapor lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helium-cadmium (HeCd) metal-vapor laser | 440 nm, 325 nm | Electrical discharge in metal vapor mixed with helium buffer gas. | Printing and typesetting applications, fluorescence excitation examination (ie. in U.S. paper currency printing), scientific research. |
| Helium-mercury (HeHg) metal-vapor laser | 567 nm, 615 nm | Electrical discharge in metal vapor mixed with helium buffer gas. | Rare, scientific research, amateur laser construction. |
| Helium-Selenium (HeSe) metal-vapor laser | up to 24 wavelengths between red and UV | Electrical discharge in metal vapor mixed with helium buffer gas. | Rare, scientific research, amateur laser construction. |
| Copper vapor laser | 510.6 nm, 578.2 nm | Electrical discharge | Dermatological uses, high speed photography, pump for dye lasers. |
| Gold vapor laser | 627 nm | Electrical discharge | Rare, dermatological and photodynamic therapy uses. |
Solid-state lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby solid-state laser | 694.3 nm | Flashlamp | Holography, tattoo removal. The first type of visible light laser invented; May 1960. |
| Neodymium YAG (Nd:YAG) solid-state laser | 1.064 μm, (1.32 μm) | Flashlamp, laser diode | Material processing, rangefinding, laser target designation, surgery, research, pumping other lasers (combined with frequency doubling to produce a green 532nm beam). One of the commonest high power lasers. Usually pulsed (down to fractions of a nanosecond) |
| Erbium YAG (Er:YAG) solid-state laser | 2.94 μm | Flashlamp, laser diode | Periodontal scaling, Dentistry |
| Neodymium YLF (Nd:YLF) solid-state laser | 1.047 and 1.053 μm | Flashlamp, laser diode | Mostly used for pulsed pumping of certain types of pulsed Ti:sapphire lasers, combined with frequency doubling. |
| Neodymium doped YVO4 (Nd:YVO) solid-state laser | 1.064 μm | laser diode | Mostly used for continuous pumping of mode-locked Ti:sapphire lasers, in combination with frequency doubling. |
| Nd:YCa4O(BO3)3 or simply Nd:YCOB | ~1.060 μm (~530 nm at second harmonic) | laser diode | Nd:YCOB is a so called "self-frequency doubling" or SFD laser material which is both capable of lasing and which has nonlinear characteristics suitable for second harmonic generation. Such materials have the potential to simplify the design of high brightness green lasers. |
| Neodymium Glass (Nd:Glass) solid-state laser | ~1.062 μm (Silicate glasses), ~1.054 μm (Phosphate glasses) | Flashlamp, laser diode | Used in extremely high power (Terawatt scale), high energy (Megajoules) multiple beam systems for inertial confinement fusion. Nd:Glass lasers are usually frequency tripled to the third harmonic at 351 nm in laser fusion devices. |
| Titanium sapphire (Ti:sapphire) solid-state laser | 650-1100 nm | Other laser | Spectroscopy, LIDAR, research. This material is often used in highly-tunable mode-locked infrared lasers to produce ultrashort pulses and in amplifier lasers to produce ultrashort and ultra-intense pulses. |
| Thulium YAG (Tm:YAG) solid-state laser | 2.0 μm | Laser diode | LIDAR. |
| Ytterbium YAG (Yb:YAG) solid-state laser | 1.03 μm | Laser diode, flashlamp | Optical refrigeration, materials processing, ultrashort pulse research, multiphoton microscopy, LIDAR. |
| Ytterbium doped glass laser (rod, plate/chip, and fiber) | 1. μm | Laser diode. | Fiber version is capable of producing several-kilowatt continuous power, having ~70-80% optical-to-optical and ~25% electrical-to-optical efficiency. Material processing: cutting, welding, marking; nonlinear fiber optics: broadband fiber-nonlinearity based sources, pump for fiber Raman lasers; distributed Raman amplification pump for telecommunications. |
| Holmium YAG (Ho:YAG) solid-state laser | 2.1 μm | Laser diode | Tissue ablation, kidney stone removal, dentistry. |
| Cerium doped lithium strontium(or calcium) aluminum fluoride (Ce:LiSAF, Ce:LiCAF) | ~280 to 316 nm | Frequency quadrupled Nd:YAG laser pumped, excimer laser pumped, copper vapor laser pumped. | Remote atmospheric sensing, LIDAR, optics research. |
| Promethium 147 doped phosphate glass (147Pm+3:Glass) solid-state laser | 933 nm, 1098 nm | ?? | Laser material is radioactive. Once demonstrated in use at LLNL in 1987, room temperature 4 level lasing in 147Pm doped into a lead-indium-phosphate glass étalon. |
| Chromium doped Chrysoberyl (Alexandrite) solid-state laser | Typically tuned in the range of 700 to 820 nm | Flashlamp, laser diode, mercury arc (for CW mode operation) | Dermatological uses, LIDAR, laser machining. |
| Erbium doped and Erbium-Ytterbium codoped glass lasers | 1.53-1.56 μm | Laser diode | These are made in rod, plate/chip, and optical fiber form. Erbium doped fibers are commonly used as optical amplifiers for telecommunications. |
| Trivalent Uranium doped calcium fluoride (U:CaF2) solid-state laser | 2.5 μm | Flashlamp | First 4-level solid state laser (November 1960) developed by Peter Sorokin and Mirek Stevenson at IBM research labs, second laser invented overall (after Maiman's ruby laser), liquid helium cooled, unused today. [link] |
| Divalent Samarium doped calcium fluoride (Sm:CaF2) solid-state laser | 708.5 nm | Flashlamp | Also invented by Peter Sorokin and Mirek Stevenson at IBM research labs, early 1961. Liquid helium cooled, unused today. [link] |
Semiconductor lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semiconductor laser diode | Depends on device material: 0.4 μm (GaN) or 0.63-1.55 μm (AlGaAs) or 3-20 μm (lead salt) | Electrical current | Telecommunications, holography, laser pointers, printing, weapons, machining, welding, pump sources for other lasers. The 780 nm AlGaAs laser diode, used in compact disc players, is the commonest type of laser in the world. |
| Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) | 850 - 1500 nm, depending on material | Electrical current | Telecommunications |
| Quantum cascade laser | Mid-infrared to far-infrared. | Electrical current | Research |
Other types of lasers
| Laser gain medium and type | Operation wavelength(s) | Pump source | Applications and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free electron laser | there exist free electron lasers over a broad wavelength range (about 100 nm - several mm); a single free electron laser may be tunable over a certain wavelength range | relativistic electron beam | atmospheric research, material science, medical applications. |
| "Nickel-like" Samarium laser | X-rays at 7.3 nm wavelength | Lasing in ultra-hot samarium plasma formed by double pulse terawatt scale irradiation fluences created by [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory's] Nd:glass VULCAN laser. [link] | First demonstration of efficient "saturated" operation of a sub-10 nm X-ray laser, possible applications in high resolution microscopy and holography, operation is close to the "water window" at 2.2 to 4.4 nm where observation of DNA structure and the action of viruses and drugs on cells can be examined. |
| Raman laser, uses inelastic stimulated Raman scattering in a nonlinear media, mostly fiber, for amplification | 1-2 μm for fiber version | Other laser, mostly Yb-glass fiber lasers | Complete 1-2 μm wavelength coverage; disitributed optical signal amplification for telecommunications; optical solitons generation and amplification |
| Nuclear pumped laser | See gas lasers | Nuclear fission | Research |
See also
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