A laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, is a device that produces an intense beam of coherent, monochromatic and highly collimated light. Its operation rests on stimulated emission, in which an excited atom or molecule, prompted by an incident photon, releases a second photon…
A laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, is a device that produces an intense beam of coherent, monochromatic and highly collimated light. Its operation rests on stimulated emission, in which an excited atom or molecule, prompted by an incident photon, releases a second photon of identical wavelength, phase and direction. Sustaining this process requires a population inversion within a gain medium, achieved by optical or electrical pumping, together with an optical resonator that confines and amplifies the light between mirrors. Lasers are classified by gain medium (solid-state, gas, semiconductor, dye) and by output regime, ranging from continuous-wave beams to ultrashort pulsed sources operating in the nanosecond to femtosecond domain, which concentrate energy in extremely brief bursts. These properties make lasers central to many fields. In medicine and surgery they enable precise tissue cutting and ablation, refractive and cataract procedures, and dental and dermatological treatment, while lower-intensity exposure underpins photobiomodulation, also termed low-level laser therapy, used to modulate inflammation, promote healing and relieve pain. In materials science lasers drive cutting, welding, surface treatment and thin-film deposition, reflecting their versatility across biomedical, industrial and research applications.
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