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Physical Review A

Rate-equation approximations in high-gain lasers

Lee W. Casperson

Published Apr 1, 1997• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The rate-equation approximation is one of the most fundamental and universally employed simplifications in laser analyses. The accuracy and regions of applicability of this approximation are explored in comparisons with more rigorous semiclassical models. Higher-order rate-equation approximations are also developed, and these improved models can yield much better accuracy than conventional rate equations with little added complexity. The modified adiabatic elimination methods reported here would also be useful in reducing the mathematical models governing other physical systems.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.55.3073

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Cambridge University Press eBooks•Apr 29, 2010•0 citations
The rate-equation approximation is one of the most fundamental and universally employed simplifications in laser analyses. The accuracy and regions of applicability of this approximation are explored in comparisons with more rigorous semiclassical models. Higher-order rate-equation approximations are also developed, and these improved models can yield much better accuracy than conventional rate equations with little added complexity. The modified adiabatic elimination methods reported here would also be useful in reducing the mathematical models governing other physical systems.
We present here a fully quantum-mechanical treatment of the laser using a three-level atom model. The phase-space method employed is identical to that in a previous publication of ours [Phys. Rev. A 38, 4073 (1988)] and again results in a Fokker-Planck description of the laser without any approximations. The third level only provides extra deterministic terms and, if it is regarded as a further reservoir to the lasing levels, then the resultant stochastic equations have much improved stability. These equations are suitable for extensive theoretical analysis of both the laser and optical bistability, although in this paper we have concentrated on the adiabatically eliminated limit and calculated the leading noise terms in various regimes. However, we do use the technique of direct numerical simulation to solve exactly the full system of laser equations. The results display clearly many of the known laser characteristics.
A high-intensity single-mode gas laser is analyzed by several mathematical methods. Exact numerical results are best obtained by solving for the coefficients of a Fourier series solution by using a backward recurrence scheme or a successive convergents method for evaluating a continued fraction. Numerical integration techniques can also be used to convert the periodic boundary conditions to initial conditions and then solve the resulting initial-value problem. Direct analytic integration leads to exact solutions in terms of Bessel functions for the special case of zero detuning, equal decay rates, and neglecting of collision broadening. For general single-mode operation, an improved analytic approximation [the second recursion relation approximation (2RCRA)] is obtained by taking an additional term in the recursion relations for the Fourier coefficients. This approximation predicts the existence of one of the secondary resonances in graphs of the spatially averaged population inversion and quadrature polarization coefficient densities and matches the exact solution from the position of the first resonance and outward independent of the intensity. The 2RCRA also matches the exact detuning curve except at small detunings. The first-order ("rate equation") approximation, by comparison, does not predict any secondary resonances and does not match the exact solution at higher intensities. A physical interpretation for the appearance of the secondary resonances is presented in terms of multiphoton interactions and a prediction for the positions of the resonances for the special case discussed above is obtained. As predicted by Greenstein the exact detuning curves show quantitatively that the Lamb dip decreases and disappears as the intensity increases for high excitations.
The adiabatic elimination principle [91, 92] is universal in the area of nonlinear dissipative dynamical systems, and its importance arises from the fact that it allows one to reduce the number of the equations which govern the dynamics of the system. We introduce it at this stage in the book in order to be able to describe the optical pumping mechanisms which can be exerted to attain population inversion. However, this principle will be applied repeatedly in the following chapters for other purposes. In the first subsection we describe the principle in general, while the following subsections concern the issue of optical pumping. We show first that it is not possible to obtain population inversion between the two levels of the lasing transition if the pump involves only these two levels. Next we illustrate the three-level pumping scheme and the four-level pumping scheme. We demonstrate that, by adiabatically eliminating the probabilities of the additional energy levels, one arrives at an equation identical to Eq. (4.12), which, for appropriate ranges of values of the parameters involved in the pumping, allows one to obtain population inversion. General formulation of the principle In a dissipative dynamical system the dynamical variables undergo relaxation processes associated with suitable rate constants such as, for example, the rate γ ⊥ for the normalized atomic polarization P and the rate γ ∥ for the normalized population difference D . The inverses of these rates provide the time scales which characterize the evolution of each variable. Therefore we can distinguish a set of fast variables , which evolve over short time scales and are therefore characterized by large relaxation rates, and a set of slow variables , which display small relaxation rates. A remarkable simplification in the analysis of dynamical systems is obtained by using the technique of adiabatic elimination of fast variables, which Haken considered as a basis for the discipline which he formulated and called Synergetics [91, 92].
We reconsider the problem of the adiabatic elimination of selected dynamical variables in the description of nonlinear systems, with a special emphasis on the identification of suitable criteria for the global validity of this procedure. The problem is analyzed in detail using as a guideline the one-mode homogeneously broadened laser model, with an injected signal and an arbitrary population difference for added flexibility. We propose five conditions for the global validity of the adiabatic limit, after consideration not only of the relative size of the time scales involved, but also of the magnitude of all parameters, of the physical variables, and of their fluctuations. The adiabatic elimination is formulated in the context of the dressed-mode description, leading to a generalization of the procedure adopted in earlier studies of multimode absorptive bistability. In addition, we establish a rigorous link between the adiabatic-elimination procedure and the multiple-time-scale approach to dynamic systems. The scaling behavior of the variables, of the eigenvalues of the linearized equations, and of the dressed-mode amplitudes and eigenvectors with respect to the smallness parameter of the problem is studied in detail. The relevance of what we shall define as "normal" and "anomalous" scaling in the text to the applicability of the adiabatic-elimination process is clarified. We also develop an alternative adiabatic-elimination scheme for the special case where all the rate constants of the system have the same order of magnitude, but another smallness parameter can be identified. From our analysis, it should be clear that our main conclusions are model independent, and not at all restricted to the specific features of the dynamical system selected as a test case for our discussion.
Modeling lasers may be realized with different levels of sophistication. Rigorously it requires a full quantum treatment but many laser dynamical properties may be captured by semiclassical or even purely classical approaches. In this book we deliberately chose the simplest point of view, i.e. purely classical equations, and try to extract analytically as much information as possible. The basic framework of our approach is provided by the rate equations . In their simplest version, they apply to an idealized active system consisting of only two energy levels coupled to a reservoir. They were introduced as soon as the laser was discovered to explain (regular or irregular, damped or undamped) intensity spikes commonly seen with solid state lasers (for a historical review, see the introduction in). These rate equations are discussed and sometimes derived from a semiclassical theory in textbooks on lasers. They capture the essential features of the response of a single-mode laser and they may be modified to account for specific effects such as the modulation of a parameter or optical feedback. The most basic processes involved in laser operation are schematically represented in Figure 1.1. N 1 and N 2 denote the number of atoms in the ground and excited levels, respectively. The process of light–matter interaction is restricted to stimulated emission and absorption.