Lézerközeg

Lézerközeg, often translated as "laser medium" or "gain medium," refers to the essential material within a laser that amplifies light through stimulated emission. This medium is responsible for generating the coherent and monochromatic beam characteristic of laser light. The lézerközeg can exist in various states: solid, liquid, or gas. In solid-state lasers, common examples include crystals like ruby (chromium-doped aluminum oxide) or neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG). Gas lasers utilize mixtures of gases, such as helium-neon (HeNe) or carbon dioxide (CO2), as their lézerközeg. Liquid lasers employ organic dyes dissolved in a solvent, offering tunability in their output wavelength.

The fundamental principle involves exciting the atoms or molecules within the lézerközeg to a higher energy state, a process called pumping. When a photon with the correct energy interacts with an excited atom, it stimulates the atom to emit an identical photon, leading to amplification. This amplified light then bounces between mirrors, passing through the lézerközeg multiple times, further increasing its intensity. The choice of lézerközeg dictates the laser's operating wavelength, power output, and other properties. Without a suitable lézerközeg, stimulated emission and thus laser action cannot occur.