Lecturer: Antoniangelo Agnesi  

Course name: Design of Industrial Lasers
Course code: 503275
Degree course: Ingegneria Elettronica
Disciplinary field of science: ING-INF/01
L'insegnamento è caratterizzante per: Ingegneria Elettronica
University credits: ECTS 6
Course website: http://www.unipv.it/fis/PLI/index.html

Specific course objectives

Laser operating principles are discussed in relation to specific laser systems and materials. The aim is to provide the student with the working knowledge to understand the most used laser systems and their tecnological evolution, as well as how to choose the most appropriate laser for a given application. In particular, the approach to solid-state laser design will be explained with some practical examples. Solid-state laser engineering involves today most of the professionals designing laser sources or optimizing specific industrial applications of lasers. Lastly, the main applications of industrial lasers are presented, as well as those of the rapidly emerging ultrafast laser family.

Course programme

Continuous-wave laser oscillators
4 levels and quasi 3 levels systems. Factors determining threshold and efficiency.

Optical resonators
Gaussian beams and ABCD techniques. Stable resonators. Beam quality. Unstable resonators.

Techniques for controlling the emission spectrum

Technologically most important lasers
Solid-state lasers. Fiber lasers. Semiconductor lasers, electrically and optically pumped. Other lasers of practical interest.

Nanosecond and sub-nanosecond pulsed operating regimes
Q-switching at low and high frequency. Gain-switching. Cavity dumping. Switching devices. Mode locking: techniques and devices. Stability condition for passive mode-locking. Propagation in dispersing media with Kerr nonlinearity. Technology of ultrafast lasers (ps/fs).

Techniques for measurement of ultrafast pulses

Example of design of a solid-state laser working in cw and in Q-switching mode

Pulsed and cw laser amplifiers

Solid-state sources with nonlinear frequency conversion: harmonic, parametric and Raman generation

Industrial applications of high power lasers: marking, cutting, soldering, drilling, trimming, surface processing

Industrial and biomedical applications of ultrafast lasers: micromachining, nonlinear microscopy

Course entry requirements

Electromagnetism, geometric and wave optics, basic notions of optical and optoelectronic components

Course structure and teaching

Lectures (hours/year in lecture theatre): 40
Practical class (hours/year in lecture theatre): 6
Practicals / Workshops (hours/year in lecture theatre): 1

Suggested reading materials

Lectures notes (A. Agnesi)
. Further readings: 
O. Svelto: Principles of Lasers, Springer, New York, 2010. Course web site: http://www.unipv.it/fis/PLI

Testing and exams

The oral test includes discussion of a laser project assignment. Date and time can be decided on mutual agreement.