Book chapter
Lévy Fluctuations of Intensity in Random Lasers
Lévy Statistics and Spin Glass Behavior in Random Lasers, pp.77-104
Jenny Stanford Publishing, 1
2023
DOI: 10.1201/9781003336181-4
Abstract
Random lasers are unique optical devices that aim to obtain laser-like emission upon exploiting the structural randomness of the amplifying medium. In a way, they are antipodal to conventional lasers, which rely on sophisticated engineering to obtain highly coherent emissions. A conventional laser essentially relies on three components, namely, a gain medium that provides the necessary amplification upon excitation, an energy pump that excites the gain medium to create a population inversion, and a high-finesse resonator, which assists in increasing the interaction time of the light with the inverted medium. The resonator, in its commonest form, is effectively a combination of two mirrors facing each other, which creates a standing wave pattern for select wavelengths of light determined by the condition 2 Lcav = mnrefλ, where Lcav is the cavity length, m is the mode order, and nref is the intracavity refractive index. These light waves are longest-lived inside the resonator, and experience maximal gain. A random laser is achieved by replacing the mirrors with alternative sources of feedback that have inherent randomness. For instance, an ensemble of small particles can create the necessary randomness, which can act as a feedback mechanism. A light wave undergoes multiple scattering in this ensemble, and after every scattering event, its propagation length within the amplifying medium increases. Thus, the random scattering acts as a path extender to the light, somewhat akin to what the mirrors in the conventional laser achieve. Naturally, the degree of feedback is determined by the strength of the disorder in the system.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Lévy Fluctuations of Intensity in Random Lasers
- Creators
- Sushi MujumdarRavitej Uppu
- Contributors
- Anderson S. L. Gomes (Editor)André L. Moura (Editor)Cid B. de Araújo (Editor)Ernesto P. Raposo (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Lévy Statistics and Spin Glass Behavior in Random Lasers, pp.77-104
- Edition
- 1
- Publisher
- Jenny Stanford Publishing
- DOI
- 10.1201/9781003336181-4
- Alternative title
- Introduction
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2023
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984442006102771
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