Bonded neodymium applications

In Figure 20.19 we sketch the operation of the neodymium-YAG laser. The laser medium is a crystal of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium ions. This laser has the advantage over the ruby laser that the laser action occurs between two excited states, and the population inversion is consequently easier to maintain. The Nd-YAG laser is widely used in science and technology. One major application is to pump the so-called dye lasers in which the medium is intensely colored dye molecules (usually with conjugated double bonds) dissolved in... 

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