Types of Lasers

There are many types of lasers available for research, medical, industrial and commercial uses. The major types of lasers are: Gas lasers use a gas as the active medium. Common gas lasers are HeNe, CO2, N2, ion, and excimer. Solid state lasers, such as Nd:YAG, Nd:glass, and ruby, use crystal doped with heavy muti-electron atoms as the active media. Tunable dye lasers use a dye in a liquid active medium. Diode lasers use semiconductor materials as the active media.