关于激光技术的综述.docVIP

关于激光技术的综述 激光如今已无处不在，从超市收款机、CD播放器到眼科诊所，到处都可以发现它的身影。1954和1955年出版的《物理评论》首次对激光进行了介绍。激光由微波激射器发展而来，而微波激射器（maser——“microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”，受激辐射引起的微波放大的英文首字母缩写）的产生，正是基于爱因斯坦约40年前（1916年）极具先见的理论。然而，从理论到应用的道路绝非一帆风顺，科学家们融合了诸多学科的研究成果，才将这些理论上看来十分简单的装置真正展现在人们的眼前。 激光的最初中文名叫做“镭射”、“莱塞”，是它的英文名称LASER的音译，是取自英文Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation的各单词的头一个字母组成的缩写词。意思是“受激辐射的光放大”。激光的英文全名已完全表达了制造激光的主要过程。1964年按照我国著名科学家钱学森建议将“光受激发射”改称“激光”。 激光是20世纪以来，继原子能、计算机、半导体之后，人类的又一重大发明。它的原理早在 1916 年已被著名的物理学家爱因斯坦发现，但要直到 1958 年激光才被首次成功制造。激光是在有理论准备和生产实践迫切需要的背景下应运而生的，它一问世，就获得了异乎寻常的飞快发展，激光的发展不仅使古老的光学科学和光学技术获得了新生，而且导致整个一门新兴产业的出现。激光可使人们有效地利用前所未有的先进方法和手段，去获得空前的效益和成果，从而促进了生产力的发展。 【英文简述】 In physics, a laser is a device that emits light through a specific mechanism for which the term laser is an acronym: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. This is a combined quantum-mechanical and thermodynamical process discussed in more detail below. As a light source, a laser can have various properties, depending on the purpose for which it is designed. A typical laser emits light in a narrow, low divergence beam and with a well-defined wavelength (corresponding to a particular color if the laser is operating in the visible spectrum). This is in contrast to a light source such as the incandescent light bulb, which emits into a large solid angle and over a wide spectrum of wavelength. These properties can be summarized in the term coherence. A laser consists of a gain medium inside an optical cavity, with a means to supply energy to the gain medium. The gain medium is a material (gas, liquid, solid or free electrons) with appropriate optical properties. In its simplest form, a cavity consists of two mirrors arranged such that light bounces back and forth, each time passing through the gain medium. Typically, one of the two mirrors, the output coupler, is partially transparent. The output laser beam is emitted through this mirror. Light of a specific wavele