What are the discerning properties that distinguish them; determining their different characteristics?
In other words, I'm trying to do a compare / contrast:
- What do they have in common?
- How are they different?
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1\$\begingroup\$ What's your application out of which this question arises? \$\endgroup\$– jonkCommented Jan 16, 2017 at 0:40
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2\$\begingroup\$ @jonk What do you mean, exactly? I was doing some casual research regarding light, photons, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Then I started reading about lasers. The topic fascinates me; I'm really just trying to satisfy my own innate curiosity. Does that answer your question? I feel like it's probably not quite the response you were looking for. \$\endgroup\$– voicesCommented Jan 16, 2017 at 9:22
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1\$\begingroup\$ It's a lot easier to answer a question when there is a context. It's very difficult to write an Encyclopedia on the topic when there is no context and only general curiousity. One I might attempt. The other I wouldn't. \$\endgroup\$– jonkCommented Jan 16, 2017 at 12:52
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4 Answers
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Laser diodes use an optical resonant cavity which when injected with light above the "Lasing threshold" generates orders of magnitude more light than injected by the high Q resonance. A integrated PD detects the output so that it must be regulated to avoid out of control heat rise. A thick metal case is essential to dissipate the heat and higher power.
Natural effects of high Q emission of photons include coherence of the light with low jitter, whereas LEDs are low Q vibrations of band-gap vibrations resulting in incoherent phonon emissions of light.
Lasers are currently about 30% efficient whereas LEDs are currently up to 70% efficient.
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\$\begingroup\$ Why the significantly lower efficiency? I would imagine part of it is due to a certain amount of loss with each reflection, and that with so many reflections, it keeps multiplying. But I'd rather know than guess. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 22:47
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1\$\begingroup\$ Ask Voltage Spike, he can explain it better. I know that bulk Rs causes heat losses Pd=I^2*ESR which increase with current and above some threshold LED's lumens/watt is maximum and then declines with rising current. @MicroservicesOnDDD \$\endgroup\$– D.A.S.Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 13:21
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1\$\begingroup\$ Thank you, @VoltageSpike, for your Excellent answer! \$\endgroup\$ Commented Oct 3 at 18:20
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1\$\begingroup\$ I agree the details of his answer are interesting. The important difference that protects the LASER is that the lasing has a low negative incremental resistance nonlinear behaviour due the NTC unlike the +ve Rs of the diode which has low NTC like regular diodes, so it is critical to include the PD optical current feedback to prevent burnout in milliseconds if otherwise unregulated. This regulates the optical power better than a current limiter. \$\endgroup\$– D.A.S.Commented Oct 3 at 21:44
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1\$\begingroup\$ I tried to find corroboration to my experience with -ve incremental resistance and knowing laser controllers tend to ramp up slow while specs are based on a 25'C heatsink for lumen/mA, I conclude the sharp current slope with a NTC operating at much higher Tj and much lower MTBF than 50kh that the fig 7 here shows an irregular slope near/before max rated power. The lag/lead loop compensation may have amplified this behavior I saw. newport.com.cn/medias/sys_master/images/images/hc9/hd1/… \$\endgroup\$– D.A.S.Commented Oct 4 at 22:09
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The biggest difference? A population inversion. Second difference? Mirrors.
LED's emit light from recombination of holes and electrons across a P-N junction:
Source: Warwick
Lasers emit light from exciting a population of particles to an excited state, which then causes emission of a photon:
Mirrors also help to maintain the excitation of a population inversion. The gain of the lasing is increased with mirrors, photons are more likely to hit an excited atom causing the emission process to begin again.
Source: Olympus
So what about a laser diode? Simply a diode with mirrors (and some other atomical arrangements to keep the emission on a narrower bandwidth)
Source: Laser diode working applications
answered Feb 8, 2018 at 5:59
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Just to add something to already good other answers:
Think Laser diode as a pure, high power non-modulated sinewave radio transmitter with nearly ideal one direction antenna, only its wavelength is small compared to radios.
Normal colored led must be (in the same analoque) considered to be a huge bunch of much lower power radio transmitters with wide beam antennas and having all slightly different frequencies and fluctuating output powers - no possiblity to use in anything that needs exactly pure sinewave and only one and well defined propagation direction is allowed.
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Lazed light is different from normal light. The photons emitted from a laser have temporal and spatial coherence, meaning that they are all traveling in the same direction with the same phase, which is why it shows up so focused.
LEDs, while monochromatic (emitting a single wavelength of light) do not have temporal or spatial coherence -- the photos are not phase aligned and are not all traveling in the same direction. You can put some kind of plastic optics to route the light somewhat where you want it, but it is not lazed.
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3\$\begingroup\$ not all laser diodes are "focused", some have pretty large divergence angles, depending on the technology aproach \$\endgroup\$– NazarCommented Jan 18, 2017 at 18:19