What is laser radiation?

Laser is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation" and relates to the way of radiation generation.

The laser is a relatively recent invention. It was for the first time realized in 1960 with a synthetic ruby crystal. In order to produce a laser beam a laser medium has to be energized by an external energy source (referred to as "pumping").

Many materials as e.g. solids, semiconductors, dyes or gases are used as a laser medium. Laser beams have many remarkable properties and therefore have found applications in many fields.

Laser radiation has several remarkable properties:

• Very high monochromaticity
• Coherence (the waves are both temporally and spatially "in phase"), i.e. they oscillate - metaphorically speaking - in parallel in the same beat)
• Strong beam bundling
• High radiation density