Final Exam Study Guide

As you know, the final will stress the material since the last exam.  Study that material in full detail reading and answering the questions on the web pages.

Earlier material on the final will come from the pages on Laser Theory and different laser types.  Specifically you should know how a laser works; its components; special properties of laser light; energy levels in atoms/molecules/energy bands in solids; 2, 3 and 4 level lasers; ideas on spontaneous/stimulated emission; metastable states; resonant cavity; pumps; lifetimes; population inversion; cw/pulsed lasers; example lasers for each type: gas, liquid, solid, semiconductor - know the basics of each - wavelengths, power levels, cw/pulsed, some applications of each type.  Also, you will need to remember some of the basic physics/optics ideas:  what are EM waves; interference, diffraction, refraction/reflection/total internal reflection.