Stimulated emission divided by the input intensity: Substituting this definition into the prior equation, we find the general gain equation: In the special case where the input signal is small compared to the saturation intensity, in other words, then the general gain equation gives the small signal gain as or which is identical to the small signal gain equation (see above). For large input signals, where the gain approaches unity and the general gain equation approaches a linear asymptote: .3 Laser Fundamentals, William T. Silfvast Stimulated emission Stimulated emission is the process by which an incoming photon of a specific frequency can
Stimulated emission Stimulated emission Stimulated emission is the process by which an incoming photon of a specific frequency can interact with an excited atomic electron (or other excited molecular state), causing it to drop to a lower energy level. The liberated energy transfers to the electromagnetic field, creating a new photon with a phase, frequency, polarization, and direction of travel that are all identical to the photons of the incident wave. This is in contrast to spontaneous emission, which occurs at random intervals without regard to the ambient electromagnetic field. The process is identical in form to atomic absorption in which the