Dopants in Transparent Crystals, Ceramics, and Glasses for Solid-State Lasers
– Dopants like chromium, neodymium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and other metals are added to transparent crystals, ceramics, or glasses to create the active medium for solid-state lasers.
– Dopant atoms in the crystal lattice create a population inversion, which is necessary for stimulated emission in lasers.
– Natural rubies contain chromium dopants, giving them their red color and enabling them to function as lasers.
– Synthetic crystals like neodymium YAG contain dopant atoms such as neodymium or erbium that carry out the lasing process.
Dopants in Lasing Media
– Dopants in transparent crystals, ceramics, or glasses create a population inversion necessary for laser operation.
– Dopants like chromium, neodymium, erbium, thulium, and ytterbium enable the stimulated emission of photons in lasers.
– Ruby, a natural crystal of aluminium oxide, contains chromium dopants that produce a population inversion and act as a laser.
– Synthetic crystals like neodymium YAG are doped with neodymium or erbium to achieve lasing action.
– Active centers in optically-transparent hosts maintain excitation for milliseconds, providing laser action.
Dopants in Phosphors and Scintillators
– Dopants, known as activators in the context of phosphors and scintillators, enhance the luminescence process.
– Dopants are used to improve the light-emitting properties of phosphors and scintillators.
Dopants in Semiconductors
– Doping, the addition of dopants to semiconductors, shifts the Fermi levels within the material.
– Dopants result in predominantly negative (n-type) or positive (p-type) charge carriers in semiconductors.
– Doped semiconductors are called extrinsic semiconductors.
– Dopants can be introduced into semiconductors through various techniques such as solid sources, gases, and ion implantation.
– The presence of dopants alters the electrical properties of semiconductors, enabling the creation of transistors and diodes.
Other Applications of Dopants
– Dopants are responsible for the color of some gemstones.
– Ruby gets its red color from chromium dopants, while sapphires can be doped with various elements to produce different colors.
Additional Information:
– Erbium-doped laser crystals are used in laser scalpels for medical surgery.
– Rare-earth elements like europium and neodymium are dopants in glasses used for lasers.
– Holmium-doped and neodymium yttrium aluminium garnets (YAGs) are used as active laser media in some laser scalpels.
– The list of semiconductor materials provides additional information on different types of semiconductors. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopant
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A dopant (also called a doping agent) is a small amount of a substance added to a material to alter its physical properties, such as electrical or optical properties. The amount of dopant is typically very low compared to the material being doped.
When doped into crystalline substances, the dopant's atoms get incorporated into the crystal lattice of the substance. The crystalline materials are frequently either crystals of a semiconductor such as silicon and germanium for use in solid-state electronics, or transparent crystals for use in the production of various laser types; however, in some cases of the latter, noncrystalline substances such as glass can also be doped with impurities.
In solid-state electronics using the proper types and amounts of dopants in semiconductors is what produces the p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors that are essential for making transistors and diodes.
