Ruby laser

Diagram of the first ruby laser. A - Positive lead. B - Mirror coating. C - Xenon flashtube. D - Negative lead. E - Laser beam. F - Pumping cavity. G - Ruby rod. H - Trigger wire.

A ruby laser is a solid-state laser that uses a synthetic ruby crystal as its gain medium. The first working laser was a ruby laser made by Theodore H. "Ted" Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories on May 16, 1960.[1][2]

Ruby lasers produce pulses of coherent visible light at a wavelength of 694.3 nm, which is a deep red color. Typical ruby laser pulse lengths are on the order of a millisecond.

  1. ^ Maiman, T.H. (1960) "Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby". Nature, 187 4736, pp. 493–494.
  2. ^ "Laser inventor Maiman dies; tribute to be held on anniversary of first laser". Laser Focus World. 2007-05-09. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-14.