Fundamentals of Laser Dynamics

Abstract

The thesis presents the modeling and simulation of three types of lasers namely; Semiconductor laser, Solid state laser and CO2 laser. The rate equations were derived and simulated to examine the dynamic behaviour of the three types of lasers under investigation. The result shows that the Semiconductor laser has the longest latency period, highest intensity spikes and takes a longer time to come to relaxation oscillation (RO) while the CO2 laser has the shortest latency time, the lowest intensity spikes and takes a shorter time to come to relaxation oscillation (RO). The solid state laser lies between the semiconductor laser and the CO2 laser. It was also observed from the results that as the pump power A increases the latency time decreases, the intensity increases and it takes a shorter time for the laser to come to relaxation oscillation.