Modifying Lasers

Level: Introductory Length: 3 hours Format: Online Intended Audience: Intended for engineers who want to increase their knowledge of laser technology and technicians working with lasers, viewers should have a basic understanding of scientific principles and elementary algebra. Description: Lasers are becoming increasingly important in our high-technology environment. Many technicians and engineers who sell, install, operate, and maintain them have limited training in the field of electro-optics. The result can be less efficient usage of these important tools. This 5-part series presents the fundamental operating principles of lasers in an intuitive, non-mathematical manner. Part 4 of the series addresses how lasers can be modified by covering such topics as: Q-switching, cavity dumping, mode locking, laser bandwidth, along with an introduction to nonlinear optics. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - explain the relationship between power, energy and time - calculate the average and peak power of a laser - describe the operation of acousto-optic, electro-optic, and passive Q-switches - describe cavity dumping and explain why it's a variation of Q-switching - describe what modelocking is and explain why it generates shorter pulses than Q-switching - discuss the common techniques of reducing laser bandwidth - discuss nonlinear effects including mixing, optical parametric oscillation, harmonic generation, and upconversion - describe what phasematching is, and why it's essential in nonlinear optics Instructor(s): Breck Hitz served for 20 years as the executive director of LEOMA-the Laser and Electro-Optics Manufacturers' Association-and organized much of the U.S. laser industry's political activities during that period. He is the current chairman of the ISO Laser Standards Committee, and has represented the U.S. laser industry at export-control negotiation at both COCOM (Paris) and Wassenaar (Vienna). During the past 25 years, he has presented the course to literally thousands of engineers, scientists, technicians, and business people. He holds Bachelor and Master degrees in physics from the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Massachusetts, respectively. SPIE online courses are on-demand and self-paced, with access for one year. For more information visit: spie.org/education/online-courses