Lasing without population inversion has been experimentally observed in a system with three-level rubidium atoms inside an optical ring cavity. The gain and lasing peaks can be controlled by the pumping power and atomic density.
We study propagation effects on lasing without population inversion in a Doppler-broadened V -type three-level system. In particular, we focus our analysis on frequency up-conversion lasing without inversion in atomic rubidium. In an atomic beam configuration, we show that it is possible to increase notably the probe gain per single pass through the active medium by detuning driving and probe fields out of one-photon resonance but maintaining the two-photon resonance condition. In a vapour cell configuration, we show that due to propagation effects the probe gain per single pass depends strongly on the driving field intensity at the entrance of the active medium. In fact, for appropriate parameter values, it is possible to reach values of the probe gain per single pass of around 40%. For this last case, we have considered the feedback of a ring laser cavity.
Summary form only given. We study a model for an incoherently pumped laser operating with a Doppler-broadened three-level system placed in a doubly resonant cavity and producing two laser fields, one of them without population inversion. Each laser field couples to only one of the transitions of the three-level medium. We have studied our model for parameters appropriate to two real atomic systems (i) a cascade scheme in atomic /sup 138/Ba looking for lasing with (without) inversion at /spl lambda//sub /spl beta//=554 nm (/spl lambda//sub /spl alpha//=821 nm), and (ii) a V-scheme in atomic /sup 85/Rb with ordinary lasing at /spl lambda//sub /spl alpha//=780 nm and lasing without inversion (LWI) at /spl lambda//sub /spl alpha//=4216 nm. These two cases are qualitatively different in that two-photon processes are responsible for inversionless gain in case (i) while LWI in case (ii) arises from one-photon processes. Moreover, the frequency up-conversion ratio is R=0.67 for the case of /sup 138/Ba and it is R=1.88 for the case of /sup 85/Rb. In spite of the fact that the frequencies of the two laser fields are relatively different, our results show that dual-wavelength lasing extends up to Doppler broadening values typical for optical transitions of atoms in a vapor cell. In case (i) /spl alpha/-lasing occurs without two-photon inversion only for approximately the lower half of the domain of Doppler-broadening values. However, in case (ii) one has LWI in all the domains. Some considerations for a practical realization of the dual-wavelength inversionless-conventional laser are discussed.
We report a likely observation of cw lasing without inversion in a gas of hot rubidium atoms in an optical cavity under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The medium is pumped coherently and resonantly by a single ``coupling'' beam which also produces EIT in the lasing transition. The steady-state intensity exhibits thresholds as a function of the atomic density and the strength of the coupling beam. A theoretical model for an effective three-level lambda system indicates that gain without inversion is possible in this system if the two ground states are coupled by depolarizing collisions, and if the decay branching ratios meet certain conditions.