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 frequency, phase, polarization, and direction of propagation as the incident photons. The photons involved are thus mutually coherent. When a population inversion (formula_6) is present, therefore, optical amplification of incident radiation will take place. Although energy generated by stimulated emission is always at the exact frequency of the field which has stimulated it, the above rate equation refers only to excitation at the particular optical frequency formula_9 corresponding to the energy of the transition. At frequencies offset from formula_9 the strength of stimulated (or spontaneous) emission will be decreased according to the so-called line shape. Considering only homogeneous broadening affecting