Laser beam diagnostics for kilowatt power pulsed YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yi; Leong, Keng H.

1992-01-01

There is a growing need for high power YAG laser beam diagnostics with the recent introduction of such lasers in laser material processing. In this paper, we will describe the use of a commercially available laser beam analyzer (Prometec) to profile the laser beam from a 1600 W pulsed Nd:YAG laser that has a 1 mm fiber optic beam delivery system. The selection of laser pulse frequency and pulse width for the measurement is discussed. Laser beam propagation parameters by various optical components such as fibers and lenses can be determined from measurements using this device. The importance of such measurements will be discussed

Emission properties of diode laser bars during pulsed high-power operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hempel, Martin; Tomm, Jens W; Elsaesser, Thomas; Hennig, Petra

2011-01-01

High-power diode laser bars (cm-bars) are subjected to single pulse step tests carried out up to and beyond their ultimate limits of operation. Laser nearfields and thermal behaviour are monitored for pulse widths in the 10–100 µs range with streak- and thermo-cameras, respectively. Thresholds of catastrophic optical damage are determined, and their dependence on the length of the injected current pulses is explained qualitatively. This approach permits testing the hardness of facet coatings of cm-bars with or without consideration of accidental single pre-damaged emitter failure effects and thermal crosstalk between the emitters. This allows for the optimization of pulsed operation parameters, helps limiting sudden degradation and provides insight into the mechanisms governing the device emission behaviour at ultimate output powers. (fast track communication)

An ultra short pulse reconstruction software applied to the GEMINI high power laser system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galletti, Mario, E-mail: mario.gall22@gmail.com [INFN – LNF, Via Enrico Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Galimberti, Marco [Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom); Hooker, Chris [Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom); University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Chekhlov, Oleg; Tang, Yunxin [Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom); Bisesto, Fabrizio Giuseppe [INFN – LNF, Via Enrico Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Curcio, Alessandro [INFN – LNF, Via Enrico Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Sapienza – University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 2, 00185 Rome (Italy); Anania, Maria Pia [INFN – LNF, Via Enrico Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Giulietti, Danilo [Physics Department of the University and INFN, Pisa (Italy)

2016-09-01

The GRENOUILLE traces of Gemini pulses (15 J, 30 fs, PW, shot per 20 s) were acquired in the Gemini Target Area PetaWatt at the Central Laser Facility (CLF), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). A comparison between the characterizations of the laser pulse parameters made using two different types of algorithms: Video Frog and GRenouille/FrOG (GROG), was made. The temporal and spectral parameters came out to be in great agreement for the two kinds of algorithms. In this experimental campaign it has been showed how GROG, the developed algorithm, works as well as VideoFrog algorithm with the PetaWatt pulse class. - Highlights: • Integration of the diagnostic tool on high power laser. • Validation of the GROG algorithm in comparison to a well-known commercial available software. • Complete characterization of the GEMINI ultra-short high power laser pulse.

High energy HF pulsed lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patterson, E.L.; Gerber, R.A.

1976-01-01

Recent experiments show that pulsed HF lasers are capable of producing high energy with good efficiency. Preliminary experiments show that the laser radiation from the high-gain medium can be controlled with a low-power probe laser beam or with low-level feedback. These results indicate that the HF laser may have potential for second-generation laser fusion experiments

Transient magnetized plasma as an optical element for high power laser pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuhiko Nakanii

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Underdense plasma produced in gas jets by low intensity laser prepulses in the presence of a static magnetic field, B∼0.3  T, is shown experimentally to become an optical element allowing steering of tightly focused high power femtosecond laser pulses within several degrees along with essential enhancement of pulse’s focusability. Strong laser prepulses form a density ramp perpendicularly to magnetic field direction and, owing to the light refraction, main laser pulses propagate along the magnetic field even if it is tilted from the laser axis. Electrons generated in the laser pulse wake are well collimated and follow in the direction of the magnetic field; their characteristics are measured to be not sensitive to the tilt of magnetic field up to angles ±5°.

Industrial applications of high-average power high-peak power nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Paul M.; Ellwi, Samir

2009-02-01

Within the vast range of laser materials processing applications, every type of successful commercial laser has been driven by a major industrial process. For high average power, high peak power, nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG DPSS lasers, the enabling process is high speed surface engineering. This includes applications such as thin film patterning and selective coating removal in markets such as the flat panel displays (FPD), solar and automotive industries. Applications such as these tend to require working spots that have uniform intensity distribution using specific shapes and dimensions, so a range of innovative beam delivery systems have been developed that convert the gaussian beam shape produced by the laser into a range of rectangular and/or shaped spots, as required by demands of each project. In this paper the authors will discuss the key parameters of this type of laser and examine why they are important for high speed surface engineering projects, and how they affect the underlying laser-material interaction and the removal mechanism. Several case studies will be considered in the FPD and solar markets, exploring the close link between the application, the key laser characteristics and the beam delivery system that link these together.

The Application of Cryogenic Laser Physics to the Development of High Average Power Ultra-Short Pulse Lasers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David C. Brown

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrafast laser physics continues to advance at a rapid pace, driven primarily by the development of more powerful and sophisticated diode-pumping sources, the development of new laser materials, and new laser and amplification approaches such as optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification. The rapid development of high average power cryogenic laser sources seems likely to play a crucial role in realizing the long-sought goal of powerful ultrafast sources that offer concomitant high peak and average powers. In this paper, we review the optical, thermal, thermo-optic and laser parameters important to cryogenic laser technology, recently achieved laser and laser materials progress, the progression of cryogenic laser technology, discuss the importance of cryogenic laser technology in ultrafast laser science, and what advances are likely to be achieved in the near-future.

Pulsed Power for Solid-State Lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gagnon, W; Albrecht, G; Trenholme, J; Newton, M

2007-04-19

Beginning in the early 1970s, a number of research and development efforts were undertaken at U.S. National Laboratories with a goal of developing high power lasers whose characteristics were suitable for investigating the feasibility of laser-driven fusion. A number of different laser systems were developed and tested at ever larger scale in pursuit of the optimum driver for laser fusion experiments. Each of these systems had associated with it a unique pulsed power option. A considerable amount of original and innovative engineering was carried out in support of these options. Ultimately, the Solid-state Laser approach was selected as the optimum driver for the application. Following this, the Laser Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Rochester undertook aggressive efforts directed at developing the technology. In particular, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a series of laser systems beginning with the Cyclops laser and culminating in the present with the National Ignition Facility were developed and tested. As a result, a large amount of design information for solid-state laser pulsed power systems has been documented. Some of it is in the form of published papers, but most of it is buried in internal memoranda, engineering reports and LLNL annual reports. One of the goals of this book is to gather this information into a single useable format, such that it is easily accessed and understood by other engineers and physicists for use with future designs. It can also serve as a primer, which when seriously studied, makes the subsequent reading of original work and follow-up references considerably easier. While this book deals only with the solid-state laser pulsed power systems, in the bibliography we have included a representative cross section of papers and references from much of the very fine work carried out at other institutions in support of different laser approaches. Finally, in recent years, there has

High speed micromachining with high power UV laser

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Rajesh S.; Bovatsek, James M.

2013-03-01

Increasing demand for creating fine features with high accuracy in manufacturing of electronic mobile devices has fueled growth for lasers in manufacturing. High power, high repetition rate ultraviolet (UV) lasers provide an opportunity to implement a cost effective high quality, high throughput micromachining process in a 24/7 manufacturing environment. The energy available per pulse and the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of diode pumped solid state (DPSS) nanosecond UV lasers have increased steadily over the years. Efficient use of the available energy from a laser is important to generate accurate fine features at a high speed with high quality. To achieve maximum material removal and minimal thermal damage for any laser micromachining application, use of the optimal process parameters including energy density or fluence (J/cm2), pulse width, and repetition rate is important. In this study we present a new high power, high PRF QuasarR 355-40 laser from Spectra-Physics with TimeShiftTM technology for unique software adjustable pulse width, pulse splitting, and pulse shaping capabilities. The benefits of these features for micromachining include improved throughput and quality. Specific example and results of silicon scribing are described to demonstrate the processing benefits of the Quasar's available power, PRF, and TimeShift technology.

Plasma wakefields driven by an incoherent combination of laser pulses: a path towards high-average power laser-plasma accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C.B.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W.P.

2014-05-01

he wakefield generated in a plasma by incoherently combining a large number of low energy laser pulses (i.e.,without constraining the pulse phases) is studied analytically and by means of fully-self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations. The structure of the wakefield has been characterized and its amplitude compared with the amplitude of the wake generated by a single (coherent) laser pulse. We show that, in spite of the incoherent nature of the wakefield within the volume occupied by the laser pulses, behind this region the structure of the wakefield can be regular with an amplitude comparable or equal to that obtained from a single pulse with the same energy. Wake generation requires that the incoherent structure in the laser energy density produced by the combined pulses exists on a time scale short compared to the plasma period. Incoherent combination of multiple laser pulses may enable a technologically simpler path to high-repetition rate, high-average power laser-plasma accelerators and associated applications.

High-power pre-chirp managed amplification of femtosecond pulses at high repetition rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yang; Li, Wenxue; Zhao, Jian; Bai, Dongbi; Luo, Daping; Zeng, Heping

2015-01-01

Femtosecond pulses at 250 MHz repetition rate from a mode-locked fiber laser are amplified to high power in a pre-chirp managed amplifier. The experimental strategy offers a potential towards high-power ultrashort laser pulses at high repetition rates. By investigating the laser pulse evolution in the amplification processes, we show that self-similar evolution, finite gain bandwidth and mode instabilities determine pulse characteristics in different regimes. Further average power scaling is limited by the mode instabilities. Nevertheless, this laser system enables us to achieve sub-50 fs pulses with an average power of 93 W. (letter)

Design of high power solid-state pulsed laser resonators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narro, R.; Ponce, L.; Arronte, M.

2009-01-01

Methods and configurations for the design of high power solid-state pulsed laser resonators, operating in free running, are presented. For fundamental mode high power resonators, a method is proposed for the design of a resonator with joined stability zones. In the case of multimode resonators, two configurations are introduced for maximizing the laser overall efficiency due to the compensation of the astigmatism induced by the excitation. The first configuration consists in a triangular ring resonator. The results for this configuration are discussed theoretically, showing that it is possible to compensate the astigmatism of the thermal lens virtually in a 100%; however this is only possible for a specific pumping power. The second configuration proposes a dual-active medium resonator, rotated 90 degree one from the other around the optical axis, where each active medium acts as an astigmatic lens of the same dioptric power. The reliability of this configuration is corroborated experimentally using a Nd:YAG dual-active medium resonator. It is found that in the pumping power range where the astigmatism compensation is possible, the overall efficiency is constant, even when increasing the excitation power with the consequent increase of the thermal lens dioptric power. (Author)

Improving Reliability of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays Operating in Long Pulse Mode

Science.gov (United States)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Baker, Nathaniel R.

2006-01-01

Operating high power laser diode arrays in long pulse regime of about 1 msec, which is required for pumping 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers, greatly limits their useful lifetime. This paper describes performance of laser diode arrays operating in long pulse mode and presents experimental data of the active region temperature and pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling that are the primary cause of their premature failure and rapid degradation. This paper will then offer a viable approach for determining the optimum design and operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Design of pulsed laser diode drive power for ZY3(02) laser altimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Wen; Li, Mingshan; Meng, Peibei; Yan, Fanjiang; Li, Xu; Wang, Chunhui

2017-11-01

Solid laser pumped by semiconductor laser has the large value in the area of space laser technology, because of the advantages of high efficiency, small volume and long life. As the indispensable component of laser, laser power is also very important. Combined with ZY3(02) laser altimeter project, a high voltage(0-300V), high current(0-80A), long pulse width(0-230us) and high precision temperature semiconductor laser power is developed. IGBT is applied in the driving circuit as the switch to provide a current pulse for LD. The heating or cooling capacity of TEC is controlled by PID compensation circuit quickly adjusts the duty cycle of the UC1637 PWM signal, to realize the high accuracy controlling of LD working temperature. The tests in the external ambient temperature of 5°C, 20°C, 30°C show that the LD current pulse is stable and the stability of LD working temperature up to +/-0.1°C around the set point temperature, which ensure the highly stable operation of DPL.

A UV pre-ionized dual-wavelength short-pulse high-power CO{sub 2} laser facility for laser particle acceleration research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ebrahim, N A; Mouris, J F; Davis, R W

1994-12-01

In this report we describe the Chalk River dual-wavelength, short-pulse, single-mode, high-power CO{sub 2} laser facility for research in laser particle acceleration and CANDU materials modifications. The facility is designed and built around UV-preionized transversely-excited atmospheric-pressure (TEA) Lumonics CO{sub 2} laser discharge modules. Peak focussed power densities of up to 2 x 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} in 500 ps pulses have been obtained. (author). 10 refs., 9 figs.

Pulse forming networks for fast pumping of high power electron-beam-controlled CO2 lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riepe, K.B.

1975-01-01

The transverse electric discharge is a widely used technique for pumping CO 2 lasers at high pressures for the generation, simply and efficiently, of very high power laser pulses. The development of the electron-beam-controlled discharge has allowed the application of the transverse discharge to large aperture, very high energy systems. LASL is now in the process of assembly and checkout of a CO 2 laser which is designed to generate a one nanosecond pulse containing 10 kilojoules, for use in laser fusion experiments. The front end of this laser consists of a set of preamplifiers and a mode locked oscillator with electro-optic single pulse switchout. The final amplifier stage consists of four parallel modules, each one consisting of a two-sided electron gun, and two 35 x 35 x 200 cm gas pumping regions operating at a pressure of 1800 torr with a 3/ 1 / 4 /1 (He/N 2 /CO 2 ) laser mix. (auth)

High power all solid state VUV lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Shen-jin; Cui, Da-fu; Zhang, Feng-feng; Xu, Zhi; Wang, Zhi-min; Yang, Feng; Zong, Nan; Tu, Wei; Chen, Ying; Xu, Hong-yan; Xu, Feng-liang; Peng, Qin-jun; Wang, Xiao-yang; Chen, Chuang-tian; Xu, Zu-yan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Polarization and pulse repetition rate adjustable ps 177.3 nm laser was developed. • Wavelength tunable ns, ps and fs VUV lasers were developed. • High power ns 177.3 nm laser with narrow linewidth was investigated. - Abstract: We report the investigation on the high power all solid state vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) lasers by means of nonlinear frequency conversion with KBe 2 BO 3 F 2 (KBBF) nonlinear crystal. Several all solid state VUV lasers have developed in our group, including polarization and pulse repetition rate adjustable picosecond 177.3 nm VUV laser, wavelength tunable nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond VUV lasers, high power ns 177.3 nm laser with narrow linewidth. The VUV lasers have impact, accurate and precise advantage

Generation of Ultra-high Intensity Laser Pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisch, N.J.; Malkin, V.M.

2003-01-01

Mainly due to the method of chirped pulse amplification, laser intensities have grown remarkably during recent years. However, the attaining of very much higher powers is limited by the material properties of gratings. These limitations might be overcome through the use of plasma, which is an ideal medium for processing very high power and very high total energy. A plasma can be irradiated by a long pump laser pulse, carrying significant energy, which is then quickly depleted in the plasma by a short counterpropagating pulse. This counterpropagating wave effect has already been employed in Raman amplifiers using gases or plasmas at low laser power. Of particular interest here are the new effects which enter in high power regimes. These new effects can be employed so that one high-energy optical system can be used like a flashlamp in what amounts to pumping the plasma, and a second low-power optical system can be used to extract quickly the energy from the plasma and focus it precisely. The combined system can be very compact. Thus, focused intensities more than 10 25 W/cm 2 can be contemplated using existing optical elements. These intensities are several orders of magnitude higher than what is currently available through chirped pump amplifiers

High-energy, short-pulse, carbon-dioxide lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenstermacher, C.A.

1979-01-01

Lasers for fusion application represent a special class of short-pulse generators; not only must they generate extremely short temporal pulses of high quality, but they must do this at ultra-high powers and satisfy other stringent requirements by this application. This paper presents the status of the research and development of carbon-dioxide laser systems at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, vis-a-vis the fusion requirements

Research on laser detonation pulse circuit with low-power based on super capacitor

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hao-yu; Hong, Jin; He, Aifeng; Jing, Bo; Cao, Chun-qiang; Ma, Yue; Chu, En-yi; Hu, Ya-dong

2018-03-01

According to the demand of laser initiating device miniaturization and low power consumption of weapon system, research on the low power pulse laser detonation circuit with super capacitor. Established a dynamic model of laser output based on super capacitance storage capacity, discharge voltage and programmable output pulse width. The output performance of the super capacitor under different energy storage capacity and discharge voltage is obtained by simulation. The experimental test system was set up, and the laser diode of low power pulsed laser detonation circuit was tested and the laser output waveform of laser diode in different energy storage capacity and discharge voltage was collected. Experiments show that low power pulse laser detonation based on super capacitor energy storage circuit discharge with high efficiency, good transient performance, for a low power consumption requirement, for laser detonation system and low power consumption and provide reference light miniaturization of engineering practice.

Pulsed power for angular multiplexed laser fusion drivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eninger, J.E.

1983-01-01

The feasibility of using rare gas-halide lasers, in particular the KrF laser, as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers has been assessed. These lasers are scalable to the required high energy (approx. =1-5 MJ) in a short pulse (approx. =10 ns) by optical angular multiplexing, and integration of the output from approx. =100 kJ laser amplifier subsystems. The e-beam current density (approx. =50A/cm 2 ) and voltage (approx. =800 kV) required for these power amplifiers lead to an e-beam impedance of approx. =0.2Ω for approx. =300 ns pump time. This impedance level requires modularization of the large area e-gun, a) to achieve a diode inductance consistent with fast current risetime, b) to circumvent dielectric breakdown constraints in the pulse forming lines, and c) to reduce the requirement for guide magnetic fields. Pulsed power systems requirements, design concepts, scalability, tradeoffs, and performance projections are discussed in this paper

High beam quality and high energy short-pulse laser with MOPA

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Quanwei; Pang, Yu; Jiang, JianFeng; Tan, Liang; Cui, Lingling; Wei, Bin; Sun, Yinhong; Tang, Chun

2018-03-01

A high energy, high beam quality short-pulse diode-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser with two amplifier stages is demonstrated. The two-rod birefringence compensation was used as beam quality controlling methods, which presents a short-pulse energy of 40 mJ with a beam quality value of M2 = 1.2 at a repetition rate of 400Hz. The MOPA system delivers a short-pulse energy of 712.5 mJ with a pulse width of 12.4 ns.The method of spherical aberration compensation is improved the beam quality, a M2 factor of 2.3 and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 27.7% is obtained at the maximum laser out power.The laser obtained 1.4J out energy with polarization integration.

Stretchers and compressors for ultra-high power laser systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yakovlev, I V [Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Novgorod (Russian Federation)

2014-05-30

This review is concerned with pulse stretchers and compressors as key components of ultra-high power laser facilities that take advantage of chirped-pulse amplification. The potentialities, characteristics, configurations and methods for the matching and alignment of these devices are examined, with particular attention to the history of the optics of ultra-short, ultra-intense pulses before and after 1985, when the chirped-pulse amplification method was proposed, which drastically changed the view of the feasibility of creating ultra-high power laser sources. The review is intended primarily for young scientists and experts who begin to address the amplification and compression of chirped pulses, experts in laser optics and all who are interested in scientific achievements in the field of ultra-high power laser systems. (review)

Solid state pump lasers with high power and high repetition rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oba, Masaki; Kato, Masaaki; Arisawa, Takashi

1995-01-01

We built a laser diode pumped solid state green laser (LDPSSGL) rated at high repetition rate. Two laser heads are placed in one cavity with a rotator in between to design to avoid thermal lensing and thermal birefringence effect. Although average green laser power higher than 10 W was obtained at 1 kHz repetition rate with pulse width of 20-30 nsec, the beam quality was so much deteriorated that energy efficiency was as low as 2 %. Learning from this experience that high power oscillator causes a lot of thermal distortion not only in the laser rod but also in the Q-switch device, we proceeded to built a oscillator/amplifier system. A low power oscillator has a slab type crystal in the cavity. As a result spatial distribution of laser power was extremely improved. As we expect that the high repetition rate solid state laser should be CW operated Q-switch type laser from the view point of lifetime of diode lasers, a conventional arc lamp pumped CW Q-switch green YAG laser of which the repetition rate is changeable from 1 kHz to 5 kHz and the pulse width is 250-570 nsec was also tested to obtain pumping characteristics of a dye laser as a function of power, pulse width etc., and dye laser pulse width of 100-130 nsec were obtained. (author)

High power laser exciter accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, T.H.

1975-01-01

Recent developments in untriggered oil and water switching now permit the construction of compact, high energy density pulsed power sources for laser excitation. These accelerators, developed principally for electron beam fusion studies, appear adaptable to laser excitation and will provide electron beams of 10 13 to 10 14 W in the next several years. The accelerators proposed for e-beam fusion essentially concentrate the available power from the outside edge of a disk into the central region where the electron beam is formed. One of the main problem areas, that of power flow at the vacuum diode insulator, is greatly alleviated by the multiplicity of electron beams that are allowable for laser excitation. A proposal is made whereby the disk-shaped pulsed power sections are stacked vertically to form a series of radially flowing electron beams to excite the laser gas volume. (auth)

Interaction of a high-power laser pulse with supercritical-density porous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gus'kov, Sergei Yu; Rozanov, Vladislav B; Caruso, A; Strangio, C

2000-01-01

The properties of a nonequilibrium plasma produced by high-power laser pulses with intensities I L ∼ 10 14 -10 15 W cm -2 irradiating plane targets made of a porous material are investigated. The mean density of matter in targets was substantially higher than the critical plasma density corresponding to a plasma resonance. The density of porous material was ρ a ∼ 1 - 20 mg cm -3 , whereas the critical density at the wavelength of incident radiation was ρ cr ∼ 3 mg cm -3 . An anomalously high absorption (no less than 80%) of laser radiation inside a target was observed. Within the first 3 - 4 ns of interaction, the plasma flow through the irradiated target surface in the direction opposite of the direction of the laser beam was noticeably suppressed. Only about 5% of absorbed laser energy was transformed into the energy of particles in this flow during the laser pulse. Absorbed energy was stored as the internal plasma energy at this stage (the greenhouse effect). Then, this energy was transformed, similar to a strong explosion, into the energy of a powerful hydrodynamic flow of matter surrounding the absorption region. The specific features of the formation and evolution of a nonequilibrium laser-produced plasma in porous media are theoretically analysed. This study allows the results of experiments to be explained. In particular, we investigated absorption of laser radiation in the bulk of a target, volume evaporation of porous material, the expansion of a laser-produced plasma inside the pores, stochastic collisions of plasma flows, and hydrothermal energy dissipation. These processes give rise to long-lived oscillations of plasma density and lead to the formation of an internal region where laser radiation is absorbed. (invited paper)

A copper bromide vapour laser with a high pulse repetition rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiyanov, D V; Evtushenko, Gennadii S; Sukhanov, V B; Fedorov, V F

2002-01-01

The results of an experimental study of a copper bromide vapour laser with a discharge-channel diameter above 2.5 cm and a high pump-pulse repetition rate are presented. A TGU1-1000/25 high-power tacitron used as a switch made it possible to obtain for the first time a fairly high output radiation power for pump-pulse repetition rates exceeding 200 kHz. At a maximum pump-pulse repetition rate of 250 kHz achieved in a laser tube 2.6 cm in diameter and 76 cm long, the output power was 1.5 W. The output powers of 3 and 10.5 W were reached for pump-pulse repetition rates of 200 and 100 kHz, respectively. These characteristics were obtained without circulating a buffer gas and (or) low-concentration active impurities through the active volume. (active media. lasers)

Developing a Methodology for Elaborating a Pulsed Optical Safety Area for High Power Laser Diodes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Yankov, Plamen

2006-01-01

The laser diodes are efficient sources of optical radiation. The maximum optical peak power depends on the pulse duration of the driving current pulse - reducing the pulse duration the safety peak power is increased...

Transient Plasma Photonic Crystals for High-Power Lasers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann, G; Spatschek, K H

2016-06-03

A new type of transient photonic crystals for high-power lasers is presented. The crystal is produced by counterpropagating laser beams in plasma. Trapped electrons and electrically forced ions generate a strong density grating. The lifetime of the transient photonic crystal is determined by the ballistic motion of ions. The robustness of the photonic crystal allows one to manipulate high-intensity laser pulses. The scheme of the crystal is analyzed here by 1D Vlasov simulations. Reflection or transmission of high-power laser pulses are predicted by particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that a transient plasma photonic crystal may act as a tunable mirror for intense laser pulses. Generalizations to 2D and 3D configurations are possible.

Pulse power technology application to lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prestwich, K.R.

1975-01-01

Recent developments of intense relativistic electron beam accelerators and the associated pulse power technology are reviewed. The design of specific accelerators for gas laser excitation sources is discussed. A 3 MV, 800 kA, 24 ns electron beam accelerator under development for the electron beam fusion program is described along with the low jitter multichannel oil-dielectric rail switches developed for this application. This technology leads to the design of a 20 kJ, short pulse accelerator optimized gas laser excitation with radially converging electron beams. Other gas laser research requirements have led to the development of an accelerator that will produce a 0.5 MV, 20 kJ, 1 μs electron beam pulse. (auth)

Performance study of highly efficient 520 W average power long pulse ceramic Nd:YAG rod laser

Science.gov (United States)

Choubey, Ambar; Vishwakarma, S. C.; Ali, Sabir; Jain, R. K.; Upadhyaya, B. N.; Oak, S. M.

2013-10-01

We report the performance study of a 2% atomic doped ceramic Nd:YAG rod for long pulse laser operation in the millisecond regime with pulse duration in the range of 0.5-20 ms. A maximum average output power of 520 W with 180 J maximum pulse energy has been achieved with a slope efficiency of 5.4% using a dual rod configuration, which is the highest for typical lamp pumped ceramic Nd:YAG lasers. The laser output characteristics of the ceramic Nd:YAG rod were revealed to be nearly equivalent or superior to those of high-quality single crystal Nd:YAG rod. The laser pump chamber and resonator were designed and optimized to achieve a high efficiency and good beam quality with a beam parameter product of 16 mm mrad (M2˜47). The laser output beam was efficiently coupled through a 400 μm core diameter optical fiber with 90% overall transmission efficiency. This ceramic Nd:YAG laser will be useful for various material processing applications in industry.

High average power solid state laser power conditioning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinkraus, R.F.

1987-01-01

The power conditioning system for the High Average Power Laser program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is described. The system has been operational for two years. It is high voltage, high power, fault protected, and solid state. The power conditioning system drives flashlamps that pump solid state lasers. Flashlamps are driven by silicon control rectifier (SCR) switched, resonant charged, (LC) discharge pulse forming networks (PFNs). The system uses fiber optics for control and diagnostics. Energy and thermal diagnostics are monitored by computers

Long-pulse applications of pulse-forming lines for high-power linac application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoeberling, R.F.; Tallerico, P.J.

1981-01-01

The ever present demands for high efficiency in the RF power stations for particle accelerators have caused increased interest in longer RF pulses (ten's of microseconds) for linacs such as the Pion Generator for Medical Irradiation (PIGMI) and Free Electron Laser (FEL). For either RF power station, a fundamental decision is whether to use a modulating anode/hard-tube driver or pulsed cathode/line-type pulser configuration. The choices in the extremes of low power for very long pulses or for very-high-power, short pulses are, respectively, a modulated anode/hard tube modulator and pulsed cathode/pulse forming line. However, the demarcation between these two extremes is not clearcut. The criteria (cost, flexibility performance, reliability, efficiency) that resulted in the RF station definition of these two specific systems will be described

Short-pulse optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification for the generation of high-power few-cycle pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Major, Zs.; Osterhoff, J.; Hoerlein, R.; Karsch, S.; Fuoloep, J.A.; Krausz, F.; Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Muenchen

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. In the quest for a way to generate ultrashort, high-power, few-cycle laser pulses the discovery of optical parametric amplification (OPA) has opened up to the path towards a completely new regime, well beyond that of conventional laser amplification technology. The main advantage of this parametric amplification process is that it allows for an extremely broad amplification bandwidth compared to any known laser amplifier medium. When combined with the chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) principle (i.e. OPCPA), on one hand pulses of just 10 fs duration and 8 mJ pulse energy have been demonstrated. On the other hand, pulse energies of up to 30 J were also achieved on a different OPCPA system; the pulse duration in this case, however, was 100 fs. In order to combine ultrashort pulse durations (i.e. pulses in the few-cycle regime) with high pulse energies (i.e. in the Joule range) we propose tu pump on OPCPA chain with TW-scale short pulses (100 fs - 1 ps instead of > 100 ps of previous OPCPA systems) delivered by a conventional CPA system. This approach inherently improves the conditions for generating high-power ultrashort pulses using OPCPA in the following ways. Firstly, the short pump pulse duration reduces the necessary stretching factor for the seed pulse, thereby increasing stretching and compression fidelity. Secondly, also due to the shortened pump pulse duration, a much higher contrast is achieved. Finally, the significantly increased pump power makes the use of thinner OPCPA crystals possible, which implies an even broader amplification bandwidth, thereby allowing for even shorter pulses. We carried out theoretical investigations to show the feasibility of such a set-up. Alongside these studies we will also present preliminary experimental results of an OPCPA system pumped by the output of our Ti:Sapphire ATLAS laser, currently delivering 350 mJ in 43 fs. An insight into the planned scaling of this technique to petawatt

The high-power iodine laser

Science.gov (United States)

Brederlow, G.; Fill, E.; Witte, K. J.

The book provides a description of the present state of the art concerning the iodine laser, giving particular attention to the design and operation of pulsed high-power iodine lasers. The basic features of the laser are examined, taking into account aspects of spontaneous emission lifetime, hyperfine structure, line broadening and line shifts, stimulated emission cross sections, the influence of magnetic fields, sublevel relaxation, the photodissociation of alkyl iodides, flashlamp technology, excitation in a direct discharge, chemical excitation, and questions regarding the chemical kinetics of the photodissociation iodine laser. The principles of high-power operation are considered along with aspects of beam quality and losses, the design and layout of an iodine laser system, the scalability and prospects of the iodine laser, and the design of the single-beam Asterix III laser.

A plasma microlens for ultrashort high power lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Katzir, Yiftach; Eisenmann, Shmuel; Ferber, Yair; Zigler, Arie; Hubbard, Richard F.

2009-07-01

We present a technique for generation of miniature plasma lens system that can be used for focusing and collimating a high intensity femtosecond laser pulse. The plasma lens was created by a nanosecond laser, which ablated a capillary entrance. The spatial configuration of the ablated plasma focused a high intensity femtosecond laser pulse. This configuration offers versatility in the plasma lens small f-number for extremely tight focusing of high power lasers with no damage threshold restrictions of regular optical components.

A plasma microlens for ultrashort high power lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katzir, Yiftach; Eisenmann, Shmuel; Ferber, Yair; Zigler, Arie; Hubbard, Richard F.

2009-01-01

We present a technique for generation of miniature plasma lens system that can be used for focusing and collimating a high intensity femtosecond laser pulse. The plasma lens was created by a nanosecond laser, which ablated a capillary entrance. The spatial configuration of the ablated plasma focused a high intensity femtosecond laser pulse. This configuration offers versatility in the plasma lens small f-number for extremely tight focusing of high power lasers with no damage threshold restrictions of regular optical components.

Hollow fiber optics with improved durability for high-peak-power pulses of Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuura, Yuji; Tsuchiuchi, Akio; Noguchi, Hiroshi; Miyagi, Mitsunobu

2007-03-10

To improve the damage threshold of hollow optical waveguides for transmitting Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulses, we optimize the metallization processes for the inner coating of fibers. For silver-coated hollow fiber as the base, second, and third Nd:YAG lasers, drying silver films at a moderate temperature and with inert gas flow is found to be effective. By using this drying process, the resistance to high-peak-power optical pulse radiation is drastically improved for fibers fabricated with and without the sensitizing process. The maximum peak power transmitted in the fiber is greater than 20 MW. To improve the energy threshold of aluminum-coated hollow fibers for the fourth and fifth harmonics of Nd:YAG lasers, a thin silver film is added between the aluminum film and the glass substrate to increase adhesion of the aluminum coating. By using this primer layer, the power threshold improves to 3 MW for the fourth harmonics of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser light.

High-power terahertz optical pulse generation with a dual-wavelength harmonically mode-locked Yb:YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang, W Z; Chang, M T; Su, K W; Huang, K F; Chen, Y F

2013-01-01

We report on high-power terahertz optical pulse generation with a dual-wavelength harmonically mode-locked Yb:YAG laser. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror is developed to achieve synchronously mode-locked operation at two spectral bands centered at 1031.67 and 1049.42 nm with a pulse duration of 1.54 ps and a pulse repetition rate of 80.3 GHz. With a diamond heat spreader to improve the heat removal efficiency, the average output power can be up to 1.1 W at an absorbed pump power of 5.18 W. The autocorrelation traces reveal that the mode-locked pulse is modulated with a beat frequency of 4.92 THz and displays a modulation depth to be greater than 80%. (paper)

Energy of a shock wave generated in different metals under irradiation by a high-power laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gus'kov, S. Yu.; Kasperczuk, A.; Pisarczyk, T.; Borodziuk, S.; Ullschmied, J.; Krousky, E.; Masek, K.; Pfeifer, M.; Skala, J.; Pisarczyk, P.

2007-01-01

The energies of a shock wave generated in different metals under irradiation by a high-power laser beam were determined experimentally. The experiments were performed with the use of targets prepared from a number of metals, such as aluminum, copper, silver and lead (which belong to different periods of the periodic table) under irradiation by pulses of the first and third harmonics of the PALS iodine laser at a radiation intensity of approximately 10 14 W/cm 2 . It was found that, for heavy metals, like for light solid materials, the fraction of laser radiation energy converted into the energy of a shock wave under irradiation by a laser pulse of the third harmonic considerably (by a factor of 2-3) exceeds the fraction of laser radiation energy converted under irradiation by a laser pulse of the first harmonic. The influence of radiation processes on the efficiency of conversion of the laser energy into the energy of the shock wave was analyzed

High-power noise-like pulse generation using a 1.56-µm all-fiber laser system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Shian; Hwang, Sheng-Kwang; Liu, Jia-Ming

2015-07-13

We demonstrated an all-fiber, high-power noise-like pulse laser system at the 1.56-µm wavelength. A low-power noise-like pulse train generated by a ring oscillator was amplified using a two-stage amplifier, where the performance of the second-stage amplifier determined the final output power level. The optical intensity in the second-stage amplifier was managed well to avoid not only the excessive spectral broadening induced by nonlinearities but also any damage to the device. On the other hand, the power conversion efficiency of the amplifier was optimized through proper control of its pump wavelength. The pump wavelength determines the pump absorption and therefore the power conversion efficiency of the gain fiber. Through this approach, the average power of the noise-like pulse train was amplified considerably to an output of 13.1 W, resulting in a power conversion efficiency of 36.1% and a pulse energy of 0.85 µJ. To the best of our knowledge, these amplified pulses have the highest average power and pulse energy for noise-like pulses in the 1.56-µm wavelength region. As a result, the net gain in the cascaded amplifier reached 30 dB. With peak and pedestal widths of 168 fs and 61.3 ps, respectively, for the amplified pulses, the pedestal-to-peak intensity ratio of the autocorrelation trace remains at the value of 0.5 required for truly noise-like pulses.

Moderate high power 1 to 20μs and kHz Ho:YAG thin disk laser pulses for laser lithotripsy

Science.gov (United States)

Renz, Günther

2015-02-01

An acousto-optically or self-oscillation pulsed thin disk Ho:YAG laser system at 2.1 μm with an average power in the 10 W range will be presented for laser lithotripsy. In the case of cw operation the thin disk Ho:YAG is either pumped with InP diode stacks or with a thulium fiber laser which leads to a laser output power of 20 W at an optical-to-optical efficiency of 30%. For the gain switched mode of operation a modulated Tm-fiber laser is used to produce self-oscillation pulses. A favored pulse lengths for uric acid stone ablation is known to be at a few μs pulse duration which can be delivered by the thin disk laser technology. In the state of the art laser lithotripter, stone material is typically ablated with 250 to 750 μs pulses at 5 to 10 Hz and with pulse energies up to a few Joule. The ablation mechanism is performed in this case by vaporization into stone dust and fragmentation. With the thin disk laser technology, 1 to 20 μs-laser pulses with a repetition rate of a few kHz and with pulse energies in the mJ-range are available. The ablation mechanism is in this case due to a local heating of the stone material with a decomposition of the crystalline structure into calcium carbonate powder which can be handled by the human body. As a joint process to this thermal effect, imploding water vapor bubbles between the fiber end and the stone material produce sporadic shock waves which help clear out the stone dust and biological material.

Ultra-short pulse, ultra-high intensity laser improvement techniques for laser-driven quantum beam science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiriyama, Hiromitsu; Kando, Masaki

2014-01-01

Recent development activities of the Quantum Beam Research Team in JAEA are reported. The downsized, petawatt and femtosecond pulse laser is described at first. The process of the system development and utilization effort of so-called J-KAREN is explained with its time and space control system. For high contrast, OPCPA (Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification) preamplifier is adopted by using the titanium-sapphire laser system in which only the seed light pulses can be amplified. In addition, high contrast is obtained by adopting the high energy seed light to the amplifier. The system configuration of J-KAREN laser is illustrated. Typical spectra with and without OPCPA, as well as the spectra with OPCPA adjustment and without one are shown. The result of the recompressed pulses is shown in which the pulse width of 29.5 femtoseconds is close to the theoretical limit. Considering the throughput of the pulse compressor is 64 percent it is possible to generate high power laser beam of about 600 terawatts. In the supplementary budget of 2012, it has been approved to cope with the aging or obsoleteness of the system and at the same time to further sophisticate the laser using system. The upgraded laser system is named as J-KAREN-P in which the repetition rate is improved and another booster amplifier is added to increase the power. The system configuration of J-KAREN-P after the upgrading is illustrated. (S. Funahashi)

Experimental platform for investigations of high-intensity laser plasma interactions in the magnetic field of a pulsed power generator

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, V. V.; Maximov, A. V.; Swanson, K. J.; Wong, N. L.; Sarkisov, G. S.; Wiewior, P. P.; Astanovitskiy, A. L.; Covington, A. M.

2018-03-01

An experimental platform for the studying of high-intensity laser plasma interactions in strong magnetic fields has been developed based on the 1 MA Zebra pulsed power generator coupled with the 50-TW Leopard laser. The Zebra generator produces 100-300 T longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields with different types of loads. The Leopard laser creates plasma at an intensity of 1019 W/cm2 in the magnetic field of coil loads. Focusing and targeting systems are integrated in the vacuum chamber of the pulsed power generator and protected from the plasma debris and strong mechanical shock. The first experiments with plasma at laser intensity >2 × 1018 W/cm2 demonstrated collimation of the laser produced plasma in the axial magnetic field strength >100 T.

High-power femtosecond pulse generation in a passively mode-locked Nd:SrLaAlO4 laser

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shan-De; Dong, Lu-Lu; Zheng, Li-He; Berkowski, Marek; Su, Liang-Bi; Ren, Ting-Qi; Peng, Yan-Dong; Hou, Jia; Zhang, Bai-Tao; He, Jing-Liang

2016-07-01

A high optical quality Nd:SrLaAlO4 (Nd:SLA) crystal was grown using the Czochralski method and showed broad fluorescence spectrum with a full width at half maximum value of 34 nm, which is beneficial for generating femtosecond laser pulses. A stable diode-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Nd:SLA laser with 458 fs pulse duration was achieved for the first time at a central wavelength of 1077.9 nm. The average output power of the continuous-wave mode-locked laser was 520 mW and the repetition rate was 78.5 MHz.

Pulsed power supplies for laser flashlamps. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bird, W.L. Jr.; Driga, M.D.; Mayhall, D.J.T.; Brennan, M.

1978-10-01

A preliminary engineering design of a compensated pulse alternator for driving laser flashlamps is presented. The work performed by the Center for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin also includes the optimization and revision of the prototype design for a compensated pulse alternator power supply for the NOVA laser system at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory

High-power picosecond pulse delivery through hollow core photonic band gap fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Johansen, Mette Marie; Lyngsø, Jens Kristian

2015-01-01

We demonstrated robust and bend insensitive fiber delivery of high power pulsed laser with diffraction limited beam quality for two different kind of hollow core photonic band gap fibers......We demonstrated robust and bend insensitive fiber delivery of high power pulsed laser with diffraction limited beam quality for two different kind of hollow core photonic band gap fibers...

Interaction of Repetitively Pulsed High Energy Laser Radiation With Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Hugenschmidt, Manfred

1986-10-01

The paper is concerned with laser target interaction processes involving new methods of improving the overall energy balance. As expected theoretically, this can be achieved with high repetition rate pulsed lasers even for initially highly reflecting materials, such as metals. Experiments were performed by using a pulsed CO2 laser at mean powers up to 2 kW and repetition rates up to 100 Hz. The rates of temperature rise of aluminium for example were thereby increased by lore than a factor of 3 as compared to cw-radiation of comparable power density. Similar improvements were found for the overall absorptivities that were increased by this method by more than an order of magnitude.

Forward voltage short-pulse technique for measuring high power laser array junction temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Meadows, Byron L. (Inventor); Amzajerdian, Frazin (Inventor); Barnes, Bruce W. (Inventor); Baker, Nathaniel R. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

The present invention relates to a method of measuring the temperature of the P-N junction within the light-emitting region of a quasi-continuous-wave or pulsed semiconductor laser diode device. A series of relatively short and low current monitor pulses are applied to the laser diode in the period between the main drive current pulses necessary to cause the semiconductor to lase. At the sufficiently low current level of the monitor pulses, the laser diode device does not lase and behaves similar to an electronic diode. The voltage across the laser diode resulting from each of these low current monitor pulses is measured with a high degree of precision. The junction temperature is then determined from the measured junction voltage using their known linear relationship.

Self-guiding of high-intensity laser pulses for laser wake field acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umstader, D.; Liu, X.

1992-01-01

A means of self-guiding an ultrashort and high-intensity laser pulse is demonstrated both experimentally and numerically. Its relevance to the laser wake field accelerator concept is discussed. Self-focusing and multiple foci formation are observed when a high peak power (P>100 GW), 1 μm, subpicosecond laser is focused onto various gases (air or hydrogen). It appears to result from the combined effects of self-focusing by the gas, and de-focusing both by diffraction and the plasma formed in the central high-intensity region. Quasi-stationary computer simulations show the same multiple foci behavior as the experiments. The results suggest much larger nonlinear electronic susceptibilities of a gas near or undergoing ionization in the high field of the laser pulse. Although self-guiding of a laser beam by this mechanism appears to significantly extend its high-intensity focal region, small-scale self-focusing due to beam non-uniformity is currently a limitation

Overview on the high power excimer laser technology

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jingru

2013-05-01

High power excimer laser has essential applications in the fields of high energy density physics, inertial fusion energy and industry owing to its advantages such as short wavelength, high gain, wide bandwidth, energy scalable and repetition operating ability. This overview is aimed at an introduction and evaluation of enormous endeavor of the international high power excimer laser community in the last 30 years. The main technologies of high power excimer laser are reviewed, which include the pumping source technology, angular multiplexing and pulse compressing, beam-smoothing and homogenous irradiation, high efficiency and repetitive operation et al. A high power XeCl laser system developed in NINT of China is described in detail.

Optical engineering for high power laser applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novaro, M.

1993-01-01

Laser facilities for Inertial Confinement Fusion (I.C.F.) experiments require laser and X ray optics able to withstand short pulse conditions. After a brief recall of high power laser system arrangements and of the characteristics of their optics, the authors will present some X ray optical developments

Pulsed power magnet technology for laser particle acceleration and laser plasma physics - a survey of developments at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kroll, Florian; Joost, Martin [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany); TU Dresden (Germany); Burris-Mog, Trevor; Herrmannsdoerfer, Thomas; Kraft, Stephan; Masood, Umar; Schlenvoigt, Hans-Peter; Sobiella, Manfred; Wustmann, Bernd; Zherlitsyn, Sergei; Cowan, Thomas; Schramm, Ulrich [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)

2013-07-01

Since the mid-1950s, pulsed high-field magnets have become a common, versatile research tool with application mostly in solid state physics and material research. Recently developed pulsed power magnet technology, specifically designed to meet the demands of laser acceleration and laser plasma experiments, open up new research opportunities: We present a pulsed air core solenoid (up to 20 T) for effective collection and focusing of laser accelerated particles. It could function as a crucial part of a compact, laser-based ion source (pursued by the LIGHT collaboration) or of beam guidance systems. Furthermore, the poster shows a split pair coil, utterly compact and with optical access in between the coil pairs and on axis, to study laser-driven plasma expansion under high magnetic fields (30 T). To power such devices, portable capacitor-based pulse generators have been developed at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. We present first results of the functional testing of our third-generation pulse generator. Looking forward, we outline a concept for a medical gantry based on pulsed high field beam optics.

Frequency conversion of high-intensity, femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, P S

1997-06-01

Almost since the invention of the laser, frequency conversion of optical pulses via non- linear processes has been an area of active interest. However, third harmonic generation using ~(~1 (THG) in solids is an area that has not received much attention because of ma- terial damage limits. Recently, the short, high-intensity pulses possible with chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser systems allow the use of intensities on the order of 1 TW/cm2 in thin solids without damage. As a light source to examine single-crystal THG in solids and other high field inter- actions, the design and construction of a Ti:sapphire-based CPA laser system capable of ultimately producing peak powers of 100 TW is presented. Of special interest is a novel, all-reflective pulse stretcher design which can stretch a pulse temporally by a factor of 20,000. The stretcher design can also compensate for the added material dispersion due to propagation through the amplifier chain and produce transform-limited 45 fs pulses upon compression. A series of laser-pumped amplifiers brings the peak power up to the terawatt level at 10 Hz, and the design calls for additional amplifiers to bring the power level to the 100 TW level for single shot operation. The theory for frequency conversion of these short pulses is presented, focusing on conversion to the third harmonic in single crystals of BBO, KD*P, and d-LAP (deuterated I-arginine phosphate). Conversion efficiencies of up to 6% are obtained with 500 fs pulses at 1053 nm in a 3 mm thick BBO crystal at 200 GW/cm 2. Contributions to this process by unphasematched, cascaded second harmonic generation and sum frequency generation are shown to be very significant. The angular relationship between the two orders is used to measure the tensor elements of C = xt3)/4 with Crs = -1.8 x 1O-23 m2/V2 and .15Cri + .54Crs = 4.0 x 1O-23 m2/V2. Conversion efficiency in d-LAP is about 20% that in BBO and conversion efficiency in KD*P is 1% that of BBO. It is calculated

A Front End for Multipetawatt Lasers Based on a High-Energy, High-Average-Power Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnoud, V.

2004-01-01

We report on a high-energy, high-average-power optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier developed as the front end for the OMEGA EP laser. The amplifier provides a gain larger than 109 in two stages leading to a total energy of 400 mJ with a pump-to-signal conversion efficiency higher than 25%

Ultrashort pulse laser technology laser sources and applications

CERN Document Server

Schrempel, Frank; Dausinger, Friedrich

2016-01-01

Ultrashort laser pulses with durations in the femtosecond range up to a few picoseconds provide a unique method for precise materials processing or medical applications. Paired with the recent developments in ultrashort pulse lasers, this technology is finding its way into various application fields. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the principles and applications of ultrashort pulse lasers, especially applied to medicine and production technology. Recent advances in laser technology are discussed in detail. This covers the development of reliable and cheap low power laser sources as well as high average power ultrashort pulse lasers for large scale manufacturing. The fundamentals of laser-matter-interaction as well as processing strategies and the required system technology are discussed for these laser sources with respect to precise materials processing. Finally, different applications within medicine, measurement technology or materials processing are highlighted.

High power laser research and development at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soures, J.M.; McCrory, R.L.; Cerqua, K.A.

1986-01-01

As part of its research mission - to investigate the interaction of intense radiation with matter - the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) of the University of Rochester is developing a number of high-peak power and high-average-power laser systems. In this paper we highlight some of the LLE work on solid-state laser research, development and applications. Specifically, we discuss the performance and operating characteristics of Omega, a twenty-four beam, 4000 Joule, Nd:glass laser system which is frequently tripled using the polarization mismatch scheme. We also discuss progress in efforts to develop high-average-power solid-state laser systems with active-mirror and slab geometries and to implement liquid-crystal devices in high-power Nd:glass lasers. Finally we present results from a program to develop a compact, ultrahigh-peak-power solid-state laser using the concept of frequency chirped pulse amplification

The disintegration and vaporization of plastic targets irradiated by high-power laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greig, J.R.; Pechacek, R.E.

1977-01-01

We have studied the disintegration of polyethylene and polystyrene targets irradiated by 100-J 40-nsec Nd/glass laser pulses. At power densities of approximately-less-than10 12 W/cm 2 relatively massive targets (6 x 10 -5 to 5 x 10 -4 cm 3 ) are totally disintegrated to produce finely divided target material and un-ionized vapor. Both the size of the target and the presence or absence of a laser prepulse strongly influence the proportions of finely divided target material and un-ionized vapor, especially within the first few microseconds after peak laser power. This disintegration is always preceded by the emission of a hot fully ionized plasma, but only 1% of the target material is contained in the hot plasma. Typically, (1--3) x 10 19 atoms of un-ionized vapor are released as a slowly expanding (vapprox.10 5 cm/sec) cold dense gas cloud (n/sub o/>10 19 cm -3 ) surrounding the initial target position. This cloud of target material has subsequently been heated by absorption of a 300-J 100-nsec CO 2 laser pulse to produce an approximately fully ionized plasma

8. High power laser and ignition facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayramian, A.J.; Beach, R.J.; Bibeau, C.

2002-01-01

This document gives a review of the various high power laser projects and ignition facilities in the world: the Mercury laser system and Electra (Usa), the krypton fluoride (KrF) laser and the HALNA (high average power laser for nuclear-fusion application) project (Japan), the Shenguang series, the Xingguang facility and the TIL (technical integration line) facility (China), the Vulcan peta-watt interaction facility (UK), the Megajoule project and its feasibility phase: the LIL (laser integration line) facility (France), the Asterix IV/PALS high power laser facility (Czech Republic), and the Phelix project (Germany). In Japan the 100 TW Petawatt Module Laser, constructed in 1997, is being upgraded to the world biggest peta-watt laser. Experiments have been performed with single-pulse large aperture e-beam-pumped Garpun (Russia) and with high-current-density El-1 KrF laser installation (Russia) to investigate Al-Be foil transmittance and stability to multiple e-beam irradiations. An article is dedicated to a comparison of debris shield impacts for 2 experiments at NIF (national ignition facility). (A.C.)

Cold cathode electron guns in the LASL high power short-pulse CO2 laser program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singer, S.; Ladish, J.S.; Nutter, M.J.

1975-01-01

The Electron Beam Controlled Discharge CO 2 Laser is now firmly established as the only high power short pulse laser amplifier that has been demonstrated to have scaling capabilities to large apertures and energies much greater than 100 J. These devices require a beam of energetic electrons to control the gas discharge that produces the required population inversion. Until recently, the electron source was usually a thermionic emitter, even for rather large lasers, whose heater requirements dwarfed the pulsed energies associated with the transient operation of the laser. With the advent of reliable cold-cathode electron guns, the operation of these lasers has been greatly simplified. At LASL, there are four electron beam controlled laser systems which are in operation, under construction, or in design: the 1 kJ system, now operational; the 2.5 kJ system; the 10 kJ system; and the 100 kJ system. Only the first uses thermionic-emitter electron guns; the remainder use or will use cold cathode sources. The operation of the 200 x 35 cm 2 two sided cold cathode electron gun used in the 2.5 kJ laser system and to be used in the 10 kJ laser is described

Improving Reliability of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays for Pumping Solid State Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Baggott, Renee S.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2005-01-01

Most Lidar applications rely on moderate to high power solid state lasers to generate the required transmitted pulses. However, the reliability of solid state lasers, which can operate autonomously over long periods, is constrained by their laser diode pump arrays. Thermal cycling of the active regions is considered the primary reason for rapid degradation of the quasi-CW high power laser diode arrays, and the excessive temperature rise is the leading suspect in premature failure. The thermal issues of laser diode arrays are even more drastic for 2-micron solid state lasers which require considerably longer pump pulses compared to the more commonly used pump arrays for 1-micron lasers. This paper describes several advanced packaging techniques being employed for more efficient heat removal from the active regions of the laser diode bars. Experimental results for several high power laser diode array devices will be reported and their performance when operated at long pulsewidths of about 1msec will be described.

Laser plasma generation of hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon thin films on Zr-2.5Nb CANDU pressure tube materials and silicon wafers with a pulsed high-power CO2 laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebrahim, N.A.; Mouris, J.F.; Hoffmann, C.R.J.; Davis, R.W.

1995-06-01

We report the first experiments on the laser plasma deposition of hydrogen-free, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on Zr-2.5Nb CANDU pressure-tube materials and silicon substrates, using the short-pulse, high-power, CO 2 laser in the High-Power Laser Laboratory at Chalk River Laboratories. The films were (AFM). The thin films show the characteristic signature of DLC films in the Raman spectra obtained using a krypton-ion (Kr + ) laser. The Vickers ultra-low-load microhardness tests show hardness of the coated surface of approximately 7000 Kg force mm -2 , which is consistent with the hardness associated with DLC films. AFM examination of the film morphology shows diamond-like crystals distributed throughout the film, with film thicknesses of up to 0.5 μm generated with 50 laser pulses. With significantly more laser pulses, it is expected that very uniform diamond-like films would be produced. These experiments suggest that it should be possible to deposit hydrogen-free, diamond-like films of relevance to nuclear reactor components with a high-power and high-repetition-rate laser facility. (author). 7 refs., 2 tabs., 15 figs

Layout of NALM fiber laser with adjustable peak power of generated pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Smirnov, Sergey; Kobtsev, Sergey; Ivanenko, Alexey; Kokhanovskiy, Alexey; Kemmer, Anna; Gervaziev, Mikhail

2017-05-01

The Letter proposes a new layout of a passively mode-locked fiber laser based on a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM) with two stretches of active fiber and two independently controlled pump modules. In contrast with conventional NALM configurations using a single piece of active fiber that yields virtually constant peak power, the proposed novel laser features larger than a factor of 2 adjustment range of peak power of generated pulses. The proposed layout also provides independent adjustment of duration and peak power of generated pulses as well as power-independent control of generated pulse spectral width impossible in NALM lasers with a single piece of active fiber.

High-power ultrashort fiber laser for solar cells micromachining

Science.gov (United States)

Lecourt, J.-B.; Duterte, C.; Liegeois, F.; Lekime, D.; Hernandez, Y.; Giannone, D.

2012-02-01

We report on a high-power ultra-short fiber laser for thin film solar cells micromachining. The laser is based on Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) scheme. The pulses are stretched to hundreds of picoseconds prior to amplification and can be compressed down to picosecond at high energy. The repetition rate is adjustable from 100 kHz to 1 MHz and the optical average output power is close to 13 W (before compression). The whole setup is fully fibred, except the compressor achieved with bulk gratings, resulting on a compact and reliable solution for cold ablation.

Study and development of 22 kW peak power fiber coupled short pulse Nd:YAG laser for cleaning applications

Science.gov (United States)

Choubey, Ambar; Vishwakarma, S. C.; Vachhani, D. M.; Singh, Ravindra; Misra, Pushkar; Jain, R. K.; Arya, R.; Upadhyaya, B. N.; Oak, S. M.

2014-11-01

Free running short pulse Nd:YAG laser of microsecond pulse duration and high peak power has a unique capability to ablate material from the surface without heat propagation into the bulk. Applications of short pulse Nd:YAG lasers include cleaning and restoration of marble, stones, and a variety of metals for conservation. A study on the development of high peak power short pulses from Nd:YAG laser along with its cleaning and conservation applications has been performed. A pulse energy of 1.25 J with 55 μs pulse duration and a maximum peak power of 22 kW has been achieved. Laser beam has an M2 value of ~28 and a pulse-to-pulse stability of ±2.5%. A lower value of M2 means a better beam quality of the laser in multimode operation. A top hat spatial profile of the laser beam was achieved at the exit end of 200 μm core diameter optical fiber, which is desirable for uniform cleaning. This laser system has been evaluated for efficient cleaning of surface contaminations on marble, zircaloy, and inconel materials for conservation with cleaning efficiency as high as 98%. Laser's cleaning quality and efficiency have been analysed by using a microscope, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) measurements.

Advanced laser architectures for high power eyesafe illuminators

Science.gov (United States)

Baranova, N.; Pati, B.; Stebbins, K.; Bystryak, I.; Rayno, M.; Ezzo, K.; DePriest, C.

2018-02-01

Q-Peak has demonstrated a novel pulsed eyesafe laser architecture operating with >50 mJ pulse energies at Pulse Repetition Frequencies (PRFs) as high as 320 Hz. The design leverages an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) and Optical Parametric Amplifier (OPA) geometry, which provides the unique capability for high power in a comparatively compact package, while also offering the potential for additional eyesafe power scaling. The laser consists of a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Q-switched front-end seed laser to produce pulse-widths around 10 ns at 1.06-μm, which is then followed by a pair of Multi-Pass Amplifier (MPA) architectures (comprised of side-pumped, multi-pass Nd:YAG slabs with a compact diode-pump-array imaging system), and finally involving two sequential nonlinear optical conversion architectures for transfer into the eyesafe regime. The initial seed beam is first amplified through the MPA, and then split into parallel optical paths. An OPO provides effective nonlinear conversion on one optical path, while a second MPA further amplifies the 1.06-μm beam for use in pumping an OPA on the second optical path. These paths are then recombined prior to seeding the OPA. Each nonlinear conversion subsystem utilizes Potassium Titanyl Arsenate (KTA) for effective nonlinear conversion with lower risk to optical damage. This laser architecture efficiently produces pulse energies of >50 mJ in the eyesafe band at PRFs as high as 320 Hz, and has been designed to fit within a volume of 4,500 in3 (0.074 m3 ). We will discuss theoretical and experimental details of the nonlinear optical system for achieving higher eyesafe powers.

Coherent stacking of picosecond laser pulses in a high-Q optical cavity for accelerator applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Androsov, V.P.; Karnaukhov, I.M.; Telegin, Yu.N.

2007-01-01

We have performed the harmonic analysis of the steady-state coherent pulse-stacking process in a high-Q Fabry-Perot cavity. The expression for the stacked pulse shape is obtained as a function of both the laser cavity and pulse-stacking cavity parameters. We have also estimated the pulse power gains attainable in the laser-optical system of NESTOR storage ring, which is under development at Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology. It is shown that high power gains (∼10 4 ) can be, in principle, achieved in a cavity, formed with low-absorption, high reflectivity (R ∼ 0.9999) mirrors, if the laser cavity length will differ exactly by half wavelength from the pulse-stacking cavity length. It implies development of the sophisticated frequency stabilization loop for maintaining the cavity length constant within a sub-nanometer range. At the same time, power gains of ∼10 3 can be obtained with medium reflectivity mirrors (R ∼ 0.999) at considerably lower cost

High power pulsed sources based on fiber amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Canat, Guillaume; Jaouën, Yves; Mollier, Jean-Claude; Bouzinac, Jean-Pierre; Cariou, Jean-Pierre

2017-11-01

Cladding-pumped rare-earth-doped fiber laser technologies are currently among the best sources for high power applications. Theses extremely compact and robust sources appoint them as good candidate for aeronautical and space applications. The double-clad (DC) fiber converts the poor beamquality of high-power large-area pump diodes from the 1st cladding to laser light at another wavelength guided in an active single-mode core. High-power coherent MOPA (Master Oscillator Power Amplifier) sources (several 10W CW or several 100W in pulsed regime) will soon be achieved. Unfortunately it also brings nonlinear effects which quickly impairs output signal distortions. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and optical parametric amplification (OPA) have been shown to be strong limitations. Based on amplifier modeling and experiments we discuss the performances of these sources.

Investigation on repetition rate and pulse duration influences on ablation efficiency of metals using a high average power Yb-doped ultrafast laser

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lopez J.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Ultrafast lasers provide an outstanding processing quality but their main drawback is the low removal rate per pulse compared to longer pulses. This limitation could be overcome by increasing both average power and repetition rate. In this paper, we report on the influence of high repetition rate and pulse duration on both ablation efficiency and processing quality on metals. All trials have been performed with a single tunable ultrafast laser (350 fs to 10ps.

Particle-in-cell simulations of high energy electron production by intense laser pulses in underdense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susumu, Kato; Eisuke, Miura; Kazuyoshi, Koyama; Mitsumori, Tanimoto; Masahiro, Adachi

2004-01-01

The propagation of intense laser pulses and the generation of high energy electrons from underdense plasmas are investigated using two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. When the ratio of the laser power to the critical power of relativistic self-focusing gets the optimal value, the laser pulse propagates in a steady way and electrons have maximum energies. (author)

Particle-in-cell simulations of high energy electron production by intense laser pulses in underdense plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Susumu, Kato; Eisuke, Miura; Kazuyoshi, Koyama [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Mitsumori, Tanimoto [Meisei Univ., Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Hino, Tokyo (Japan); Masahiro, Adachi [Hiroshima Univ., Graduate school of Advanced Science of Matter, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima (Japan)

2004-07-01

The propagation of intense laser pulses and the generation of high energy electrons from underdense plasmas are investigated using two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. When the ratio of the laser power to the critical power of relativistic self-focusing gets the optimal value, the laser pulse propagates in a steady way and electrons have maximum energies. (author)

High power electron beam accelerators for gas laser excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.G.; Martin, T.H.; Halbleib, J.A.

1976-06-01

A preliminary parameter investigation has been used to determine a possible design of a high-power, relativistic electron beam, transversely excited laser. Based on considerations of present and developing pulsed power technology, broad area diode physics and projected laser requirements, an exciter is proposed consisting of a Marx generator, pulse shaping transmission lines, radially converging ring diodes and a laser chamber. The accelerator should be able to deliver approximately 20 kJ of electron energy at 1 MeV to the 10 4 cm 2 cylindrical surface of a laser chamber 1 m long and 0.3 m in diameter in 24 ns with very small azimuthal asymmetry and uniform radial deposition

High-power test of S-band klystron for long-pulse operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morii, Y.; Oshita, E.; Abe, S.; Keishi, T.; Tomimasu, T.; Ohkubo, Y.; Yoshinao, M.; Yonezawa, H.

1994-01-01

FELI(Free Electron Laser Research Institute, Inc.) is constructing a free electron laser facility covering from 20μm (infra red region) to 0.35μm (ultra violet region), using an S-band linac. The linac is commissioning now. An RF system of the linac for FELs is required of long pulse duration and high stability. S-band klystrons (TOSHIBA E3729) of the FELI linac are operated in three pulse operation modes (pulse width and peak RF power; 24μs-24MW, 12.5μs-34MW, 0.5μs-70MW). The S-band klystron and its modulator were combined to test their performance. The high power test results of the S-band klystron are summarized in this paper. (author)

Hollow-core fibers for high power pulse delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Lyngsø, Jens K.; Jakobsen, Christian

2016-01-01

We investigate hollow-core fibers for fiber delivery of high power ultrashort laser pulses. We use numerical techniques to design an anti-resonant hollow-core fiber having one layer of non-touching tubes to determine which structures offer the best optical properties for the delivery of high power...... picosecond pulses. A novel fiber with 7 tubes and a core of 30 mu m was fabricated and it is here described and characterized, showing remarkable low loss, low bend loss, and good mode quality. Its optical properties are compared to both a 10 mu m and a 18 mu m core diameter photonic band gap hollow......-core fiber. The three fibers are characterized experimentally for the delivery of 22 picosecond pulses at 1032nm. We demonstrate flexible, diffraction limited beam delivery with output average powers in excess of 70W. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America...

Power dependent filamentation of a femtosecond laser pulse in air by focusing with an axicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Xiaodong; Zeng, Tao; Liu, Weiwei; Gao, Hui; Zhang, Siwen

2015-01-01

In the present work, femtosecond laser filament generation by focusing the laser pulse with an axicon in air is studied at different input laser powers both experimentally and numerically. It is found that the length of the filament increases almost linearly with the input laser power. Moreover, the laser intensity inside the filament starts to saturate at a power much higher than the critical power of self-focusing for a Gaussian beam. We have also observed the laser pulse self-compression during nonlinear propagation. The shortest pulse duration could be obtained at the center of the effective focal region produced by the axicon. (paper)

An optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier for seeding high repetition rate free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Höppner, H; Hage, A; Tanikawa, T; Schulz, M; Faatz, B; Riedel, R; Prandolini, M J; Teubner, U; Tavella, F

2015-01-01

High repetition rate free-electron lasers (FEL), producing highly intense extreme ultraviolet and x-ray pulses, require new high power tunable femtosecond lasers for FEL seeding and FEL pump-probe experiments. A tunable, 112 W (burst mode) optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) is demonstrated with center frequencies ranging from 720–900 nm, pulse energies up to 1.12 mJ and a pulse duration of 30 fs at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. Since the power scalability of this OPCPA is limited by the OPCPA-pump amplifier, we also demonstrate a 6.7–13.7 kW (burst mode) thin-disk OPCPA-pump amplifier, increasing the possible OPCPA output power to many hundreds of watts. Furthermore, third and fourth harmonic generation experiments are performed and the results are used to simulate a seeded FEL with high-gain harmonic generation. (paper)

High repetition rate tunable femtosecond pulses and broadband amplification from fiber laser pumped parametric amplifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, T V; Schmidt, O; Bruchmann, C; Limpert, J; Aguergaray, C; Cormier, E; Tünnermann, A

2006-05-29

We report on the generation of high energy femtosecond pulses at 1 MHz repetition rate from a fiber laser pumped optical parametric amplifier (OPA). Nonlinear bandwidth enhancement in fibers provides the intrinsically synchronized signal for the parametric amplifier. We demonstrate large tunability extending from 700 nm to 1500 nm of femtosecond pulses with pulse energies as high as 1.2 muJ when the OPA is seeded by a supercontinuum generated in a photonic crystal fiber. Broadband amplification over more than 85 nm is achieved at a fixed wavelength. Subsequent compression in a prism sequence resulted in 46 fs pulses. With an average power of 0.5 W these pulses have a peak-power above 10 MW. In particular, the average power and pulse energy scalability of both involved concepts, the fiber laser and the parametric amplifier, will enable easy up-scaling to higher powers.

Use of pre-pulse in laser spot welding of materials with high optical reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Mys, Ihor; Geiger, Manfred

2003-11-01

Laser micro welding has become a standard manufacturing technique, particularly in industry sectors, such as automotive and aerospace electronics or medical devices, where the requirements for strength, miniaturization and temperature resistance are constantly rising. So far the use of laser micro welding is limited due to the fluctuation of the quality of the welded joints, because the welding results for material with high optical reflection and thermal conductivity, such as copper and copper alloys, depend very strongly on the condition of the material surface. This paper presents investigations on the use of a laser pre-pulse in spot welding of electronic materials with Nd:YAG laser. In order to achieve reproducible joining results two strategies are followed-up. The first one utilizes a reflection-based process control for measuring the reflection during the short pre-pulse. The intensity of the reflected light is used to calculate an appropriated welding pulse power, which corresponds to the measured relative absorption. Adjustment of laser parameters according to the condition of the surface is done in real time before laser main pulse. A second possibility for the stabilization of copper welding is the employment of a short and powerful laser pre-pulse before laser main pulse. This pre-pulse affects the workpiece surface and creates more reproducible absorption conditions for the main pulse, independent from the initial situation on material surface.

Highly efficient repetitively pulsed electric-discharge industrial CO2 laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osipov, V V; Ivanov, M G; Lisenkov, V V; Platonov, V V

2002-01-01

The results of investigations aimed at the development of a repetitively pulsed CO 2 laser with an active medium volume of 1000 cm 3 pumped by a combined discharge are generalised. It is shown that, at pump pulse durations of 200-500 μs the optimal characteristics are achieved at active-medium pressures of 60-100 Torr. In this case, the laser efficiency at the initial stage of its operation can reach 22% and; if the energy dissipated in the region of the cathode potential drop is neglected, the efficiency is 28%. After emission of 3x10 5 pulses, the laser efficiency falls to 12%. It has been found that adding CO with a relative concentration [CO]/[CO 2 ] ∼0.75 increases the input and output power by almost 50%. The lasing efficiency is then 10%-12%, and the service life of the laser is by more than 10 6 pulses with a power decrease of no more than 10%. Adding hydrogen up to a concentration [H 2 ]/[CO 2 ] ∼10 leads to an increase in the energy supplied to the gas due to a decrease in the rate of ionisation processes. However, the optimal ratio is [H 2 ]/[CO 2 ] ∼ 1, at which the output power increases by 15%. In a long-term operating mode, the laser power is 1 kW at a peak power of 10 kW and an efficiency of 12%. (lasers)

Laser Ablation of Biological Tissue Using Pulsed CO2 Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashishin, Yuichi; Sano, Shu; Nakayama, Takeyoshi

2010-01-01

Laser scalpels are currently used as a form of laser treatment. However, their ablation mechanism has not been clarified because laser excision of biological tissue occurs over a short time scale. Biological tissue ablation generates sound (laser-induced sound). This study seeks to clarify the ablation mechanism. The state of the gelatin ablation was determined using a high-speed video camera and the power reduction of a He-Ne laser beam. The aim of this study was to clarify the laser ablation mechanism by observing laser excision using the high-speed video camera and monitoring the power reduction of the He-Ne laser beam. We simulated laser excision of a biological tissue by irradiating gelatin (10 wt%) with radiation from a pulsed CO 2 laser (wavelength: 10.6 μm; pulse width: 80 ns). In addition, a microphone was used to measure the laser-induced sound. The first pulse caused ablation particles to be emitted in all directions; these particles were subsequently damped so that they formed a mushroom cloud. Furthermore, water was initially evaporated by laser irradiation and then tissue was ejected.

Measurement of electromagnetic pulses generated during interactions of high power lasers with solid targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Marco, M.; Krása, J.; Margarone, D.; Giuffrida, L.; Vrana, R.; Velyhan, A.; Korn, G.; Weber, S.; Cikhardt, J.; Pfeifer, M.; Krouský, E.; Ullschmied, J.; Ahmed, H.; Borghesi, M.; Kar, S.; Limpouch, J.; Velardi, L.; Side, D. Delle; Nassisi, V.

2016-01-01

A target irradiated with a high power laser pulse, blows off a large amount of charge and as a consequence the target itself becomes a generator of electromagnetic pulses (EMP) owing to high return current flowing to the ground through the target holder. The first measurement of the magnetic field induced by the neutralizing current reaching a value of a few kA was performed with the use of an inductive target probe at the PALS Laser Facility (Cikhardt et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85 (2014) 103507). A full description of EMP generation should contain information on the spatial distribution and temporal variation of the electromagnetic field inside and outside of the interaction chamber. For this reason, we consider the interaction chamber as a resonant cavity in which different modes of EMP oscillate for hundreds of nanoseconds, until the EMP is transmitted outside through the glass windows and EM waves are attenuated. Since the experimental determination of the electromagnetic field distribution is limited by the number of employed antennas, a mapping of the electromagnetic field has to be integrated with numerical simulations. Thus, this work reports on a detailed numerical mapping of the electromagnetic field inside the interaction chamber at the PALS Laser Facility (covering a frequency spectrum from 100 MHz to 3 GHz) using the commercial code COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2. Moreover we carried out a comparison of the EMP generated in the parallelepiped-like interaction chamber used in the Vulcan Petawatt Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, against that produced in the spherical interaction chamber of PALS.

Possible applications of powerful pulsed CO2-Lasers in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nastoyashchii, A.F.; Morozov, I.N.; Hassanein, A.

1998-01-01

Applications of powerful pulsed CO 2 -lasers for injection of fuel tablets or creation of a protective screen from the vapor of light elements to protect against the destruction of plasma-facing components are discussed, and the corresponding laser parameters are determined. The possibility of using CO 2 -lasers in modelling the phenomena of powerful and energetic plasma fluxes interaction with a wall, as in the case of a plasma disruption, is considered. (author)

High-power pulsed and CW diode-pumped mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Larry R.; Hays, A. D.; Kaz, Alex; Kasinski, Jeff; Burnham, R. L.

1991-01-01

The operation of both pulsed and CW diode-pumped mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers are presented. The pulsed laser produced 1.0 mJ with pulsewidths of 90 psec at 20 Hz. The CW pumped laser produced 6 W output at 1.064 microns and 3 W output at 532 nm.

High-power fiber lasers for photocathode electron injectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi Zhao

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Many new applications for electron accelerators require high-brightness, high-average power beams, and most rely on photocathode-based electron injectors as a source of electrons. To achieve such a photoinjector, one requires both a high-power laser system to produce the high average current beam, and also a system at reduced repetition rate for electron beam diagnostics to verify high beam brightness. Here we report on two fiber laser systems designed to meet these specific needs, at 50 MHz and 1.3 GHz repetition rate, together with pulse pickers, second harmonic generation, spatiotemporal beam shaping, intensity feedback, and laser beam transport. The performance and flexibility of these laser systems have allowed us to demonstrate electron beam with both low emittance and high average current for the Cornell energy recovery linac.

Continuous wave power scaling in high power broad area quantum cascade lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Suttinger, M.; Leshin, J.; Go, R.; Figueiredo, P.; Shu, H.; Lyakh, A.

2018-02-01

Experimental and model results for high power broad area quantum cascade lasers are presented. Continuous wave power scaling from 1.62 W to 2.34 W has been experimentally demonstrated for 3.15 mm-long, high reflection-coated 5.6 μm quantum cascade lasers with 15 stage active region for active region width increased from 10 μm to 20 μm. A semi-empirical model for broad area devices operating in continuous wave mode is presented. The model uses measured pulsed transparency current, injection efficiency, waveguide losses, and differential gain as input parameters. It also takes into account active region self-heating and sub-linearity of pulsed power vs current laser characteristic. The model predicts that an 11% improvement in maximum CW power and increased wall plug efficiency can be achieved from 3.15 mm x 25 μm devices with 21 stages of the same design but half doping in the active region. For a 16-stage design with a reduced stage thickness of 300Å, pulsed roll-over current density of 6 kA/cm2 , and InGaAs waveguide layers; optical power increase of 41% is projected. Finally, the model projects that power level can be increased to 4.5 W from 3.15 mm × 31 μm devices with the baseline configuration with T0 increased from 140 K for the present design to 250 K.

Latest development of high-power fiber lasers in SPI

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Stephen; Zervas, Mikhail N.; Appleyard, Andrew; Durkin, Michael K.; Horley, Ray; Varnham, Malcolm P.; Nilsson, Johan; Jeong, Yoonchan

2004-06-01

High Power Fiber Lasers (HPFLs) and High Power Fiber Amplifiers (HPFAs) promise a number of benefits in terms of their high optical efficiency, degree of integration, beam quality, reliability, spatial compactness and thermal management. These benefits are driving the rapid adoption of HPFLs in an increasingly wide range of applications and power levels ranging from a few Watts, in for example analytical applications, to high-power >1kW materials processing (machining and welding) applications. This paper describes SPI"s innovative technologies, HPFL products and their performance capabilities. The paper highlights key aspects of the design basis and provides an overview of the applications space in both the industrial and aerospace domains. Single-fiber CW lasers delivering 1kW output power at 1080nm have been demonstrated and are being commercialized for aerospace and industrial applications with wall-plug efficiencies in the range 20 to 25%, and with beam parameter products in the range 0.5 to 100 mm.mrad (corresponding to M2 = 1.5 to 300) tailored to application requirements. At power levels in the 1 - 200 W range, SPI"s proprietary cladding-pumping technology, GTWaveTM, has been employed to produce completely fiber-integrated systems using single-emitter broad-stripe multimode pump diodes. This modular construction enables an agile and flexible approach to the configuration of a range of fiber laser / amplifier systems for operation in the 1080nm and 1550nm wavelength ranges. Reliability modeling is applied to determine Systems martins such that performance specifications are robustly met throughout the designed product lifetime. An extensive Qualification and Reliability-proving programme is underway to qualify the technology building blocks that are utilized for the fiber laser cavity, pump modules, pump-driver systems and thermo-mechanical management. In addition to the CW products, pulsed fiber lasers with pulse energies exceeding 1mJ with peak pulse

Proton beam transport experiments with pulsed high-field magnets at the Dresden laser acceleration source Draco

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kroll, Florian; Schramm, Ulrich [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany); Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden (Germany); Kraft, Stephan; Metzkes, Josefine; Schlenvoigt, Hans-Peter; Zeil, Karl [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany)

2016-07-01

Compact laser-driven ion accelerators are a potential alternative to large and expensive conventional accelerators. High-power short-pulse lasers, impinging on e.g. thin metal foils, enable multi-MeV ion acceleration on μm length and fs to ps time scale. The generated ion bunches (typically protons) show unique beam properties, like ultra-high pulse dose. Nevertheless, laser accelerators still require substantial development in reliable beam generation and transport. Recently developed pulsed magnets meet the demands of laser acceleration and open up new research opportunities: We present a pulsed solenoid for effective collection and focusing of laser-accelerated protons that acts as link between fundamental research and application. The solenoid is powered by a capacitor-based pulse generator and can reach a maximum magnetic field of 20 T. It was installed in the target chamber of the Draco laser at HZDR. The transported beam was detected by means of radiochromic film, scintillator and Thomson parabola spectrometer. We present the characterization of the solenoid with regard to future application in radiobiological irradiation studies. Furthermore, a detailed comparison to previous experiments with a similar magnet at the PHELIX laser at GSI, Darmstadt is provided.

Pulse repetition frequency effects in a high average power x-ray preionized excimer laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, B.; Forestier, B.; Delaporte, P.; Canarelli, P.

1989-01-01

Experimental study of waves damping in a high repetition rate excimer laser is undertaken. Excitation of laser active medium in a subsonic loop is achieved by means of a classical discharge, through transfer capacitors. The discharge stability is controlled by a wire ion plasma (w.i.p.) X-rays gun. The strong acoustic waves induced by the active medium excitation may lead to a decrease, at high PRF, of the energy per pulse. First results of the influence of a damping of induced density perturbations between two successive pulses are presented

CO2 laser pulse shortening by laser ablation of a metal target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donnelly, T.; Mazoyer, M.; Lynch, A.; O'Sullivan, G.; O'Reilly, F.; Dunne, P.; Cummins, T.

2012-01-01

A repeatable and flexible technique for pulse shortening of laser pulses has been applied to transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO 2 laser pulses. The technique involves focusing the laser output onto a highly reflective metal target so that plasma is formed, which then operates as a shutter due to strong laser absorption and scattering. Precise control of the focused laser intensity allows for timing of the shutter so that different temporal portions of the pulse can be reflected from the target surface before plasma formation occurs. This type of shutter enables one to reduce the pulse duration down to ∼2 ns and to remove the low power, long duration tails that are present in TEA CO 2 pulses. The transmitted energy is reduced as the pulse duration is decreased but the reflected power is ∼10 MW for all pulse durations. A simple laser heating model verifies that the pulse shortening depends directly on the plasma formation time, which in turn is dependent on the applied laser intensity. It is envisaged that this plasma shutter will be used as a tool for pulse shaping in the search for laser pulse conditions to optimize conversion efficiency from laser energy to useable extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation for EUV source development.

Influence of dispersion stretching of ultrashort UV laser pulse on the critical power for self-focusing

Science.gov (United States)

Ionin, A. A.; Mokrousova, D. V.; Piterimov, D. A.; Seleznev, L. V.; Sinitsyn, D. V.; Sunchugasheva, E. S.

2018-04-01

The critical power for self-focusing in air for ultrashort ultraviolet laser pulses, stretched due to dispersion from 90 to 730 fs, was experimentally measured. It was shown that the pulse duration enhancement due to its propagation in condensed media leads to an almost linear decrease in the critical power for self-focusing. It was also observed that when the pulse peak power exceeds the critical one, the maximum of linear plasma distribution along the ultraviolet laser filament does not shift in the direction opposite to the laser pulse propagation, as observed for infrared laser filaments, but remains at the geometrical focus.

Narrow linewidth picosecond UV pulsed laser with mega-watt peak power.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chunning; Deibele, Craig; Liu, Yun

2013-04-08

We demonstrate a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) burst mode laser system that generates 66 ps/402.5 MHz pulses with mega-watt peak power at 355 nm. The seed laser consists of a single frequency fiber laser (linewidth laser is operating in a 5-μs/10-Hz macropulse mode. The laser output has a transform-limited spectrum with a very narrow linewidth of individual longitudinal modes. The immediate application of the laser system is the laser-assisted hydrogen ion beam stripping for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).

Efficient, High-Power Mid-Infrared Laser for National Securityand Scientific Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiani, Leily S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-11-02

The LLNL fiber laser group developed a unique short-wave-infrared, high-pulse energy, highaverage- power fiber based laser. This unique laser source has been used in combination with a nonlinear frequency converter to generate wavelengths, useful for remote sensing and other applications in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR). Sources with high average power and high efficiency in this MWIR wavelength region are not yet available with the size, weight, and power requirements or energy efficiency necessary for future deployment. The LLNL developed Fiber Laser Pulsed Source (FiLPS) design was adapted to Erbium doped silica fibers for 1.55 μm pumping of Cadmium Silicon Phosphide (CSP). We have demonstrated, for the first time optical parametric amplification of 2.4 μm light via difference frequency generation using CSP with an Erbium doped fiber source. In addition, for efficiency comparison purposes, we also demonstrated direct optical parametric generation (OPG) as well as optical parametric oscillation (OPO).

Efficient high-peak-power and high-repetition-rate eye-safe laser using an intracavity KTP OPO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, J; Jiao, Z X; Wang, B; He, G Y

2015-01-01

An efficient high-peak-power and high-repetition-rate intracavity KTP optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 laser is demonstrated. We achieved 1.5 W output power of 1.5 μm at 10 kHz repetition rate with the pulse duration of 6 ns. The maximum peak power of 25 kW and the maximum pulse energy of 150 μJ have been obtained. The maximum conversion efficiency of 9.5% is achieved with respect to a laser diode power of 10.5 W. (paper)

Type-I cascaded quadratic soliton compression in lithium niobate: Compressing femtosecond pulses from high-power fiber lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Morten; Wise, Frank W.

2010-01-01

The output pulses of a commercial high-power femtosecond fiber laser or amplifier are typically around 300–500 fs with wavelengths of approximately 1030 nm and tens of microjoules of pulse energy. Here, we present a numerical study of cascaded quadratic soliton compression of such pulses in LiNbO3....... However, the strong group-velocity dispersion implies that the pulses can achieve moderate compression to durations of less than 130 fs in available crystal lengths. Most of the pulse energy is conserved because the compression is moderate. The effects of diffraction and spatial walk-off are addressed......, and in particular the latter could become an issue when compressing such long crystals (around 10 cm long). We finally show that the second harmonic contains a short pulse locked to the pump and a long multi-picosecond red-shifted detrimental component. The latter is caused by the nonlocal effects...

High-power CW and long-pulse lasers in the green wavelength regime for copper welding

Science.gov (United States)

Pricking, Sebastian; Huber, Rudolf; Klausmann, Konrad; Kaiser, Elke; Stolzenburg, Christian; Killi, Alexander

2016-03-01

We report on industrial high-power lasers in the green wavelength regime. By means of a thin disk oscillator and a resonator-internal nonlinear crystal for second harmonic generation we are able to extract up to 8 kW pulse power in the few-millisecond range at a wavelength of 515 nm with a duty cycle of 10%. Careful shaping and stabilization of the polarization and spectral properties leads to a high optical-to-optical efficiency larger than 55%. The beam parameter product is designed and measured to be below 5 mm·mrad which allows the transport by a fiber with a 100 μm core diameter. The fiber and beam guidance optics are adapted to the green wavelength, enabling low transmission losses and stable operation. Application tests show that this laser is perfectly suited for copper welding due to the superior absorption of the green wavelength compared to IR, which allows us to produce weld spots with an unprecedented reproducibility in diameter and welding depth. With an optimized set of parameters we could achieve a splatter-free welding process of copper, which is crucial for welding electronic components. Furthermore, the surface condition does not influence the welding process when the green wavelength is used, which allows to skip any expensive preprocessing steps like tin-coating. With minor changes we could operate the laser in cw mode and achieved up to 1.7 kW of cw power at 515 nm with a beam parameter product of 2.5 mm·mrad. These parameters make the laser perfectly suitable for additional applications such as selective laser melting of copper.

Soft apertures to shape high-power laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukishova, S.G.; Pashinin, P.P.; Batygov, S.K.; Terentiev, B.M.

1989-01-01

Soft or apodized apertures with smooth decreasing from center to edges transmission profiles are used in laser physics for beam shaping. This paper gives the results of the studies of four types of these units for UV, visible and IR lasers. They are made of glasses or crystals with the use of one of the following technologies: absorption induced by ionizing radiation; photodestruction of color centers or photooxidation of impurities ions; additive coloration; frustrated total internal reflection. The special feature of such apertures is their high optical damage resistance under the irradiation of single-pulse laser radiation. They are approximately 3-50 mm in diameter by the methods of making them give the possibility to create near-Gaussian and flat-top beams with dimensions less than 1 mm and larger than 200 mm. The results of using them in high-power single-pulse lasers are presented. Damage thresholds of these apertures in such types of lasers have been defined

Highly efficient actively Q-switched Yb:LGGG laser generating 3.26 mJ of pulse energy

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanbin; Zhang, Jian; Zhao, Ruwei; Zhang, Baitao; He, Jingliang; Jia, Zhitai; Tao, Xutang

2018-05-01

An efficient acousto-optic Q-switched laser operation of Yb:(LuxGd1-x)3Ga5O12 (x = 0.062) (Yb:LGGG) crystal is demonstrated, producing stable pulses with repetition rate ranging from 1 to 20 kHz. Under the absorbed pump power of 8.75 W, the maximum average output power of 3.26 W is obtained at the pulse repletion rate of 1 kHz, corresponding to the slope efficiency as high as 52%. The pulse width of 14.5 ns is achieved with the pulse energy and peak power of 3.26 mJ and 225 kW, respectively. It indicates great potential of Yb:LGGG crystal for generating pulsed lasers.

Pulsed high-power beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reginato, L.L.; Birx, D.L.

1988-01-01

The marriage of induction linac technology with nonlinear magnetic modulators has produced some unique capabilities. It is now possible to produce short-pulse electron beams with average currents measured in amperes, at gradients approaching 1-MeV/m, and with power efficiencies exceeding 50%. This paper reports on a 70-MeV, 3-kA induction accelerator (ETA II) constructed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that incorporates the pulse technology concepts that have evolved over the past several years. The ETA II is a linear induction accelerator and provides a test facility for demonstration of the high-average-power components and high-brightness sources used in such accelerators. The pulse drive of the accelerator is based on state-of-the-art magnetic pulse compressors with very high peak-power capability, repetition rates exceeding 1 kHz, and excellent reliability

Parametric performance predictions for high-power pulsed electric CO lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Center, R.E.; Caledonia, G.E.

1975-01-01

A kinetic model of the pulsed electrical CO laser is used to survey the time-dependent laser performance on parameters such as gas mixture, initial translational temperature, and discharge pulse length for both multiline and selected-line operation. Predictions are presented for the total output efficiency, spectral distributions of the stimulated transitions, energy partitioning in the vibrational and translational modes, and the translational temperature history in CO-N 2 mixtures. A brief description of the kinetic model is included. Simple scaling relationships are presented which can be used to scale the results to other densities in the pressure-broadened regime

High Average Power Fiber Laser for Satellite Communications, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Very high average power lasers with high electrical-top-optical (E-O) efficiency, which also support pulse position modulation (PPM) formats in the MHz-data rate...

Study of ultra-high gradient wakefield excitation by intense ultrashort laser pulses in plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaki, Hideyuki

2002-12-01

We investigate a mechanism of nonlinear phenomena in laser-plasma interaction, a laser wakefield excited by intense laser pulses, and the possibility of generating an intense bright electron source by an intense laser pulse. We need to understand and further employ some of these phenomena for our purposes. We measure self-focusing, filamentation, and the anomalous blueshift of the laser pulse. The ionization of gas with the self-focusing causes a broad continuous spectrum with blueshift. The normal blueshift depends on the laser intensity and the plasma density. We, however, have found different phenomenon. The laser spectrum shifts to fixed wavelength independent of the laser power and gas pressure above some critical power. We call the phenomenon 'anomalous blueshift'. The results are explained by the formation of filaments. An intense laser pulse can excite a laser wakefield in plasma. The coherent wakefield excited by 2 TW, 50 fs laser pulses in a gas-jet plasma around 10 18 cm -3 is measured with a time-resolved frequency domain interferometer (FDI). The density distribution of the helium gas is measured with a time-resolved Mach-Zehnder interferometer to search for the optimum laser focus position and timing in the gas-jet. The results show an accelerating wakefield excitation of 20 GeV/m with good coherency, which is useful for ultrahigh gradient particle acceleration in a compact system. This is the first time-resolved measurement of laser wakefield excitation in a gas-jet plasma. The experimental results are compared with a Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation. The pump-probe interferometer system of FDI and the anomalous blueshift will be modified to the optical injection system as a relativistic electron beam injector. In 1D PIC simulation we obtain the results of high quality intense electron beam acceleration. These results illuminate the possibility of a high energy and a high quality electron beam acceleration. (author)

Possible applications of powerful pulsed CO2-lasers in tokamak reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nastoyashchii, A.F.; Morozov, I.N.; Hassanein, A.

1998-01-01

Applications of powerful pulsed CO 2 -lasers for injection of fuel tablets or creation of a protective screen from the vapor of light elements to protect against the destruction of plasma-facing components are discussed, and the corresponding laser parameters are determined. The possibility of using CO 2 -lasers in modeling the phenomena of powerful and energetic plasma fluxes interaction with a wall, as in the case of a plasma disruption, is considered

High SBS-Threshold Er/Yb Co-Doped Phosphate Glass Fiber Amplifiers for High Power, Sub-us Pulsed, Narrow Linewidth, All Fiber-Based Laser Transmitter, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — In Phase I, NP Photonics has achieved 1.2 kW peak power for 105 ns fiber laser pulses, and successfully demonstrated the feasibility to produce monolithic high SBS...

Repetitively pulsed, high energy KrF lasers for inertial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, M.C.; Sethian, J.D.; Giuliani, J.L.; Lehmberg, R.; Kepple, P.; Wolford, M.F.; Hegeler, F.; Friedman, M.; Jones, T.C.; Swanekamp, S.B.; Weidenheimer, D.; Rose, D.

2004-01-01

Krypton fluoride (KrF) lasers produce highly uniform beams at 248 nm, allow the capability of 'zooming' the spot size to follow an imploding pellet, naturally assume a modular architecture and have been developed into a pulsed-power- based industrial technology that readily scales to a fusion power plant sized system. There are two main challenges for the fusion power plant application: to develop a system with an overall efficiency of greater than 6% (based on target gains of 100) and to achieve a durability of greater than 3 x 10 8 shots (two years at 5 Hz). These two issues are being addressed with the Electra (700 J, 5 Hz) and Nike (3000 J, single shot) KrF lasers at the Naval Research Laboratory. Based on recent advances in pulsed power, electron beam generation and transport, hibachi (foil support structure) design and KrF physics, wall plug efficiencies of greater than 7% should be achievable. Moreover, recent experiments show that it may be possible to realize long lived electron beam diodes using ceramic honeycomb cathodes and anode foils that are convectively cooled by periodically deflecting the laser gas. This paper is a summary of the progress in the development of the critical KrF technologies for laser fusion energy. (author)

Tomographic Particle Image Velocimetry using Pulsed, High Power LED Volume Illumination

OpenAIRE

Buchmann, N. A.; Willert, C.; Soria, J.

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the use of high-power light emitting diode (LED) illumination in Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) as an alternative to traditional laser-based illumination. The solid-state LED devices can provide averaged radiant power in excess of 10W and by operating the LEDs with short current pulses, considerably higher than in continuous operation, light pulses of sufficient energy suitable for imaging micron-sized particles can be generated. The feasibility of this LED-based ill...

Calculation of mass transfer in the remote cutting of metals by radiation of a high-power repetitively pulsed CO2 laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladush, G G; Rodionov, N B

2002-01-01

The mechanism of remote cutting of steel plates by radiation of a high-power repetitively pulsed CO 2 laser is theoretically studied. The models of melt removal by the gravity force and the recoil pressure of material vapour are proposed and the sufficient conditions for the initiation of cutting are determined. A numerical model of a thermally thin plate was employed to describe the cutting for large focal spots. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

Double nanosecond pulses generation in ytterbium fiber laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veiko, V. P.; Samokhvalov, A. A., E-mail: samokhvalov.itmo@gmail.com; Yakovlev, E. B.; Zhitenev, I. Yu.; Kliushin, A. N. [Saint-Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Kronverksky Pr. 49, Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation); Lednev, V. N. [Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Str., 38, Moscow (Russian Federation); National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Leninskyave., 4, Moscow (Russian Federation); Pershin, S. M. [Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Str., 38, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-06-15

Double pulse generation mode for nanosecond ytterbium fiber laser was developed. Two sequential 60-200 ns laser pulses with variable delay between them were generated by acousto-optic modulator opening with continuous diode pumping. A custom radio frequency generator was developed to produce two sequential “opening” radio pulses with a delay of 0.2–1 μs. It was demonstrated that double pulse generation did not decrease the average laser power while providing the control over the laser pulse power profile. Surprisingly, a greater peak power in the double pulse mode was observed for the second laser pulse. Laser crater studies and plasma emission measurements revealed an improved efficiency of laser ablation in the double pulse mode.

Pulsed high-peak-power and single-frequency fibre laser design for LIDAR aircraft safety application

Science.gov (United States)

Liégeois, Flavien; Vercambre, Clément; Hernandez, Yves; Salhi, Mohamed; Giannone, Domenico

2006-09-01

Laser wind velocimeters work by monitoring the Doppler shift induced on the backscattered light by aerosols that are present in the air. Recently there has been a growing interest in the scientific community for developing systems operating at wavelengths near 1.5 μm and based on all-fibre lasers configuration. In this paper, we propose a new all-fibre laser source that is suitable for Doppler velocimetry in aircraft safety applications. The all-fibre laser has been specifically conceived for aircraft safety application. Our prototype has a conveniently narrow linewidth (9 kHz) and is modulated and amplified through an all fibre Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) configuration. According to the measurements, we performed the final characteristics of the laser consist in a maximum peak power of 2.7 kW and an energy of 27 μJ energy per pulses of 10 ns at 30 kHz repetition rate. The only limiting factor of these performances is the Stimulated Brillouin Scattering.

Storage of laser pulses in a Fabry-Perot optical cavity for high flux x-ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takezawa, K.; Honda, Y.; Sasao, N.; Araki, S.; Higashi, Y.; Taniguchi, T.; Urakawa, J.; Nomura, M.; Sakai, H.

2004-01-01

We have a plan to produce a high flux x-ray for medical use by using a Fabry-Perot optical cavity in which the lower pulses from a mode-locked laser are stored and enhanced. In this plan, the X-ray is produced from the Compton scattering of electrons in a storage ring with the laser light in the optical cavity. In order to increase X-ray flux, high power laser light is necessary. We show the enhancement of the laser power from the model locked laser with a Fabry-Perot optical cavity. (author)

High average power, diode pumped petawatt laser systems: a new generation of lasers enabling precision science and commercial applications

Science.gov (United States)

Haefner, C. L.; Bayramian, A.; Betts, S.; Bopp, R.; Buck, S.; Cupal, J.; Drouin, M.; Erlandson, A.; Horáček, J.; Horner, J.; Jarboe, J.; Kasl, K.; Kim, D.; Koh, E.; Koubíková, L.; Maranville, W.; Marshall, C.; Mason, D.; Menapace, J.; Miller, P.; Mazurek, P.; Naylon, A.; Novák, J.; Peceli, D.; Rosso, P.; Schaffers, K.; Sistrunk, E.; Smith, D.; Spinka, T.; Stanley, J.; Steele, R.; Stolz, C.; Suratwala, T.; Telford, S.; Thoma, J.; VanBlarcom, D.; Weiss, J.; Wegner, P.

2017-05-01

Large laser systems that deliver optical pulses with peak powers exceeding one Petawatt (PW) have been constructed at dozens of research facilities worldwide and have fostered research in High-Energy-Density (HED) Science, High-Field and nonlinear physics [1]. Furthermore, the high intensities exceeding 1018W/cm2 allow for efficiently driving secondary sources that inherit some of the properties of the laser pulse, e.g. pulse duration, spatial and/or divergence characteristics. In the intervening decades since that first PW laser, single-shot proof-of-principle experiments have been successful in demonstrating new high-intensity laser-matter interactions and subsequent secondary particle and photon sources. These secondary sources include generation and acceleration of charged-particle (electron, proton, ion) and neutron beams, and x-ray and gamma-ray sources, generation of radioisotopes for positron emission tomography (PET), targeted cancer therapy, medical imaging, and the transmutation of radioactive waste [2, 3]. Each of these promising applications requires lasers with peak power of hundreds of terawatt (TW) to petawatt (PW) and with average power of tens to hundreds of kW to achieve the required secondary source flux.

Generation of plasma X-ray sources via high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Baguckis, Artūras; Plukis, Artūras; Reklaitis, Jonas; Remeikis, Vidmantas; Giniūnas, Linas; Vengris, Mikas

2017-12-01

In this study, we present the development and characterization of Cu plasma X-ray source driven by 20 W average power high repetition rate femtosecond laser in ambient atmosphere environment. The peak Cu- Kα photon flux of 2.3 × 109 photons/s into full solid angle is demonstrated (with a process conversion efficiency of 10-7), using pulses with peak intensity of 4.65 × 1014 W/cm2. Such Cu- Kα flux is significantly larger than others found in comparable experiments, performed in air environment. The effects of resonance plasma absorption process, when optimized, are shown to increase measured flux by the factor of 2-3. The relationship between X-ray photon flux and plasma-driving pulse repetition rate is quasi-linear, suggesting that fluxes could further be increased to 1010 photons/s using even higher average powers of driving radiation. These results suggest that to fully utilize the potential of high repetition rate laser sources, novel target material delivery systems (for example, jet-based ones) are required. On the other hand, this study demonstrates that high energy lasers currently used for plasma X-ray sources can be conveniently and efficiently replaced by high average power and repetition rate laser radiation, as a way to increase the brightness of the generated X-rays.

Repetitive pulsed power technology for inertial-confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prestwich, K.R.; Buttram, M.T.

1983-01-01

The pulsed power requirements for inertial-confinement fusion reactors are defined for ion-beam and laser drivers. Several megajoule beams with 100's of terrawatt peak powers must be delivered to the reactor chamber 1 to 10 times per second. Ion-beam drivers are relatively efficient requiring less energy storage in the pulsed-power system but more time compression in the power flow chain than gas lasers. These high peak powers imply very large numbers of components for conventional pulse-power systems. A new design that significantly reduces the number of components is presented

Efficient high-power narrow-linewidth all-fibred linearly polarized ytterbium laser source

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, Anthony; Liégeois, Flavien; Hernandez, Yves; Giannone, Domenico

2012-06-01

We report on experimental results on a high power, all-fibred, linearly polarized, mode-locked laser at 1.03 μm. The laser generates pulses of 40 ps wide at a repetition rate of 52 MHz, exhibiting 12 kW peak power. Dispersion in optical fibres is controlled to obtain both high power and narrow spectral linewidth. The average output power reached is 25 W with a spectral linewidth of 380 pm and a near diffraction limit beam (M2 < 1.2). This laser is an ideal candidate for applications like IR spectroscopy, where high peak power and narrow linewidth are required for subsequent wavelength conversion.

A high pulsed power supply system designed for pulsed high magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Kefu; Wang Shaorong; Zhong Heqing; Xu Yan; Pan Yuan

2008-01-01

This paper introduces the design of high pulsed power supply system for producing pulsed high magnetic field up to 70 T. This system consists of 58 sets of 55 μF of capacitor bank which provides 1.0 MJ energy storage. A set of vacuum closing switch is chosen as main switch for energy discharge into magnetic coil. A crowbar circuit with high power diodes in series with resistor is used to absorb the redundant energy and adjust pulse width. The resistance of magnetic coil changing with current is deduced by energy balance equations. A capacitor-charging power supply using a series-resonant, constant on-time variable frequency control, and zero-current switching charges the capacitor bank in one minute time with high efficiency. The pulsed power supply provides adjustable current and pulse width with 30 kA peak and 30 ms maximum. The primary experiments demonstrate the system reliability. This work provides an engineering guidance for future development of pulsed high magnetic field. (authors)

Quantum energy duplication using super high output pulse laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugisaki, Kiwamu; Koyama, Kazuyoshi; Tanimoto, Mitsumori; Saito, Naoaki

2000-01-01

This study aims at elucidation on phenomena induced by strong electric field of super high output ultra short laser pulse to carry out development of basic technology required for promotion of a study on generation of high energy particle and photon using them, in order to contribute to application of super high output ultra short laser pulse and high energy plasma formed by it. In 1998 fiscal year of the last fiscal year in this study, by intending to increase the output by narrowing pulse width of the super high output laser, some basic experiments such as verification due to experiment on relativity theoretical self-convergence, generation of high energy particles, and so forth were carried out to establish a forecasting on future application. And, by conducting plasma generation experiment, self-guide and high energy particle formation experiment in plasma of super high intensity laser pulse important for its applications, and so forth, various technologies constituting foundation of future developments were developed, and more results could be obtained than those at proposal of this study. (G.K.)

High-power repetitively pulsed CO{sub 2} laser with mechanical Q-switching and its application to studies in aerodynamic installations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malov, Aleksei N; Orishich, Anatolii M; Shulyat' ev, Viktor B [S.A. Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2011-11-30

A new method for organising the repetitively pulsed regime of CO{sub 2} laser oscillation at the expense of a self-filtering resonator and two concave cylindrical mirrors with equal curvature in the intracavity modulator is considered. The studies of the energy and temporal characteristics of the laser radiation show that the constructed laser has high efficiency close to that of a cw laser. The mean and pulse power of 4.5 and 200 kW, respectively, are obtained. For a wide range of gas-dynamic characteristics the possibility of the optical breakdown in the supersonic wide-aperture air flow is demonstrated. The coefficient of absorption of laser radiation in optical breakdown plasma in a supersonic air flow is investigated and its value amounting to 60% is obtained. For the first time it is found that the threshold density of air, corresponding to the efficiency jump, is equal to 1.8 - 2 kg m{sup -3} and independent of the Mach number M = 1.7 - 3.7. (lasers)

Pulsed power drivers for ICF and high energy density physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez, J.J.; Matzen, M.K.; McDaniel, D.H.

1995-01-01

Nanosecond Pulsed Power Science and Technology has its origins in the 1960s and over the past decade has matured into a flexible and robust discipline capable of addressing key physics issues of importance to ICF and high Energy Density Physics. The major leverage provided by pulsed power is its ability to generate and deliver high energy and high power at low cost and high efficiency. A low-cost, high-efficiency driver is important because of the very large capital investment required for multi-megajoule ignition-class systems. High efficiency is of additional importance for a commercially viable inertial fusion energy option. Nanosecond pulsed power has been aggressively and successfully developed at Sandia over the past twenty years. This effort has led to the development of unique multi-purpose facilities supported by highly capable diagnostic, calculational and analytic capabilities. The Sandia Particle-beam Fusion Program has evolved as part of an integrated national ICF Program. It applies the low-cost, high-efficiency leverage provided by nanosecond pulsed power systems to the longer-term goals of the national program, i.e., the Laboratory Microfusion Facility and Inertial Fusion Energy. A separate effort has led to the application of nanosecond pulsed power to the generation of intense, high-energy laboratory x-ray sources for application to x-ray laser and radiation effects science research. Saturn is the most powerful of these sources to date. It generates ∼500 kilojoules of x-rays from a magnetically driven implosion (Z-pinch). This paper describes results of x-ray physics experiments performed on Saturn, plans for a new Z-pinch drive capability for PBFA-II, and a design concept for the proposed ∼15 MJ Jupiter facility. The opportunities for ICF-relevant research using these facilities will also be discussed

Laser ablation of UHMWPE-polyethylene by 438 nm high energy pulsed laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrisi, L.; Gammino, S.; Mezzasalma, A.M.; Visco, A.M.; Badziak, J.; Parys, P.; Wolowski, J.; Woryna, E.; Krasa, J.; Laska, L.; Pfeifer, M.; Rohlena, K.; Boody, F.P

2004-04-15

Pulsed laser ablation of ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) is investigated at Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) Laboratory. The high ablation yield as a function of laser energy is presented at 438 nm laser wavelength. The mechanisms of the polymer ablation are studied on the base of ''in situ'' analysis, such as mass quadrupole spectrometry and time-of-flight measurements, and ''ex situ'' analysis, such as SEM investigations and Raman spectroscopy. Results show that the laser irradiation induces a strong polymer dehydrogenation and molecular emission due to different C{sub x}H{sub y} groups having high kinetic energy and high charge state. At a laser pulse energy of 150 J the H{sup +}, C{sup n+} ions (n=1 to 6) are emitted from the plasma with velocities of the order of 10{sup 8} cm/s, while the C{sub x}H{sub y} groups and the carbon clusters, detected up to C{sub 16}, have a velocity about one or two order magnitude lower. The laser ablation process produces a deep crater in the polymer, which depth depends on the laser pulse energy and it is of the order of 500 {mu}m. The crater volume increases with the laser pulse energy. Results demonstrated that the laser radiation modifies the polymer chains because dehydrogenated material and carbon-like structures are detected in the crater walls and in the bottom of the crater, respectively. A comparison of the experimental results with the data available in literature is presented and discussed.

High Power Q-Switched Dual-End-Pumped Ho:YAG Laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao-Ming, Duan; Ying-Jie, Shen; Tong-Yu, Dai; Bao-Quan, Yao; Wang Yue-Zhu, E-mail: xmduan@hit.edu.cn [National Key Laboratory of Tunable Laser Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2012-09-15

We report the high power acousto-optically Q-switched operation of a dual-end-pumped Ho:YAG laser at room temperature. For the Q-swithched mode, a maximum pulse energy of 2.4 mJ and a minimum pulse width of 23 ns at the repetition rate of 10 kHz are achieved, resulting in a peak power of 104.3 kW. The beam quality factor of M{sup 2} {approx} 1.5, which is demonstrated by a knife-edge method. In addition, the Ho:YAG laser is employed as a pumping source of ZGP optical parametric oscillator, and its total average output power is 13.2 W at 3.9 {mu}m and 4.4 {mu}m with a slope efficiency of 68.4%.

Interaction of ultra-high intensity laser pulse with a mass limited targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreev, A.A.; Platonov, K.Yu.; Limpouch, J.; Psikal, J.; Kawata, S.

2006-01-01

and ions. When MLT is irradiated by ultra-high power laser pulse, the resulting plasma is strongly accelerated forward by the laser-induced ponderomotive force and its front side significantly compressed into a high density shock layer. The electrons in the shock layer are heated, and the plasma bunch then expands as a rocket. Thus, the forward acceleration of the high density region continues even after the laser pulse. The ion kinetic energy in this region can exceed tens of MeV at approximately solid density. For laser intensities above Coulomb threshold the efficiency of laser energy conversion into ion energy increases and the regime of direct plasma acceleration by light pressure may be reached. Since the plasma bunch is moving forward during the reflection, red-shift of the reflected light is observed. Twice higher maximum fast ion energy was found for droplet target compared to the standard thin foil target. In simulations of MLT including two different ion sorts, the observed maximum in the light ion distribution is caused by their additional acceleration in the electrostatic field of heavy ions. Parameters of this pike are determined by laser intensity and by the ion concentration ratio.

Interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with high-Z solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhidkov, A.; Sasaki, Akira; Utsumi, Takayuki; Fukumoto, Ichirou; Tajima, Toshiki; Yoshida, Masatake; Kondo, Kenichi

2000-01-01

A plasma irradiated by an intense very short pulse laser can be an ultimate high brightness source of incoherent inner-shell X-ray emission of 1-30 keV. The recently developed 100 TW, 20 fs laser facility in JAERI can make considerable enhancement here. To show this a hybrid model combining hydrodynamics and collisional particle-in-cell simulations is applied. Effect of laser prepulse on the interaction of an intense s-polarized femtosecond, ∼20/40 fs, laser pulse with high-Z solid targets is studied. A new absorption mechanism originating from the interaction of the laser pulse with plasma waves excited by the relativistic component of the Lorentz force is found to increase the absorption rate over 30% even for a very short laser pulse. The obtained hot electron temperature exceeds 0.5-1 MeV at optimal conditions for absorption. Results of the simulation for lower laser pulse intensities are in good agreement with the experimental measurements of the hot electron energy distribution. (author)

Ultra-short pulse delivery at high average power with low-loss hollow core fibers coupled to TRUMPF's TruMicro laser platforms for industrial applications

Science.gov (United States)

Baumbach, S.; Pricking, S.; Overbuschmann, J.; Nutsch, S.; Kleinbauer, J.; Gebs, R.; Tan, C.; Scelle, R.; Kahmann, M.; Budnicki, A.; Sutter, D. H.; Killi, A.

2017-02-01

Multi-megawatt ultrafast laser systems at micrometer wavelength are commonly used for material processing applications, including ablation, cutting and drilling of various materials or cleaving of display glass with excellent quality. There is a need for flexible and efficient beam guidance, avoiding free space propagation of light between the laser head and the processing unit. Solid core step index fibers are only feasible for delivering laser pulses with peak powers in the kW-regime due to the optical damage threshold in bulk silica. In contrast, hollow core fibers are capable of guiding ultra-short laser pulses with orders of magnitude higher peak powers. This is possible since a micro-structured cladding confines the light within the hollow core and therefore minimizes the spatial overlap between silica and the electro-magnetic field. We report on recent results of single-mode ultra-short pulse delivery over several meters in a lowloss hollow core fiber packaged with industrial connectors. TRUMPF's ultrafast TruMicro laser platforms equipped with advanced temperature control and precisely engineered opto-mechanical components provide excellent position and pointing stability. They are thus perfectly suited for passive coupling of ultra-short laser pulses into hollow core fibers. Neither active beam launching components nor beam trackers are necessary for a reliable beam delivery in a space and cost saving packaging. Long term tests with weeks of stable operation, excellent beam quality and an overall transmission efficiency of above 85 percent even at high average power confirm the reliability for industrial applications.

The influence of laser pulse waveform on laser-TIG hybrid welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Gang; Luo, Zhimin

2011-01-01

By dividing laser pulse duration into two parts, three kinds of laser waveforms are designed, including a high power density pulse (HPDP) laser in a short duration set at the beginning of the laser waveform. This paper aims to find out the laser pulse waveform and idiographic critical values of HPDP, which can affect the magnesium penetration in laser-tungsten inert gas (TIG) hybrid welding. Results show that when the laser pulse duration of HPDP is not more than 0.4 ms, the welding penetration values of lasers with HPDP are larger than otherwise. Also, the welding penetration values of laser with HPDP have increased by up to 26.1%. It has been found that with HPDP, the laser can form the keyhole more easily because the interaction between laser and the plate is changed, when the TIG arc preheats the plate. Besides, the laser with high power density and short duration strikes on the plates so heavily that the corresponding background power can penetrate into the bottom of the keyhole and maintain the keyhole open, which facilitates the final welding penetration.

2 µm high-power dissipative soliton resonance in a compact σ-shaped Tm-doped double-clad fiber laser

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Tuanjie; Li, Weiwei; Ruan, Qiujun; Wang, Kaijie; Chen, Nan; Luo, Zhengqian

2018-05-01

We report direct generation of a high-power, large-energy dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) in a 2 µm Tm-doped double-clad fiber laser. A compact σ-shaped cavity is formed by a fiber Bragg grating and a 10/90 fiber loop mirror (FLM). The 10/90 FLM is not only used as an output mirror, but also acts as a nonlinear optical loop mirror for initiating mode locking. The mode-locked laser can deliver high-power, nanosecond DSR pulses at 2005.9 nm. We further perform a comparison study of the effect of the FLM’s loop length on the mode-locking threshold, peak power, pulse energy, and optical spectrum of the DSR pulses. We achieve a maximum average output power as high as 1.4 W, a maximum pulse energy of 353 nJ, and a maximum peak power of 84 W. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest power for 2 µm DSR pulses obtained in a mode-locked fiber laser.

Power scaling of ultrafast mid-IR source enabled by high-power fiber laser technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Gengji

2017-11-15

Ultrafast laser sources with high repetition-rate (>10 MHz) and tunable in the mid-infrared (IR) wavelength range of 7-18 μm hold promise for many important spectroscopy applications. Currently, these ultrafast mid- to longwavelength-IR sources can most easily be achieved via difference-frequency generation (DFG) between a pump beam and a signal beam. However, current ultrafast mid- to longwavelength-IR sources feature a low average power, which limits their applications. In this thesis, we propose and demonstrate a novel approach to power scaling of DFG-based ultrafast mid-IR laser sources. The essence of this novel approach is the generation of a high-energy signal beam. Both the pump beam and the signal beam are derived from a home-built Yb-fiber laser system that emits 165-fs pulses centered at 1035 nm with 30-MHz repetition rate and 14.5-W average power (corresponding to 483-nJ pulse energy). We employ fiber-optic self-phase modulation (SPM) to broaden the laser spectrum and generate isolated spectral lobes. Filtering the rightmost spectral lobe leads to femtosecond pulses with >10 nJ pulse energy. Tunable between 1.1-1.2 μm, this SPM-enabled ultrafast source exhibits ∝100 times higher pulse energy than can be obtained from Raman soliton sources in this wavelength range. We use this SPM-enabled source as the signal beam and part of the Yb-fiber laser output as the pump beam. By performing DFG in GaSe crystals, we demonstrate that power scaling of a DFG-based mid-IR source can be efficiently achieved by increasing the signal energy. The resulting mid-IR source is tunable from 7.4 μm to 16.8 μm. Up to 5.04-mW mid-IR pulses centered at 11 μm are achieved. The corresponding pulse energy is 167 pJ, representing nearly one order of magnitude improvement compared with other reported DFG-based mid-IR sources at this wavelength. Despite of low pulse energy, Raman soliton sources have become a popular choice as the signal source. We carry out a detailed study on

Power scaling of ultrafast mid-IR source enabled by high-power fiber laser technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Gengji

2017-11-01

Ultrafast laser sources with high repetition-rate (>10 MHz) and tunable in the mid-infrared (IR) wavelength range of 7-18 μm hold promise for many important spectroscopy applications. Currently, these ultrafast mid- to longwavelength-IR sources can most easily be achieved via difference-frequency generation (DFG) between a pump beam and a signal beam. However, current ultrafast mid- to longwavelength-IR sources feature a low average power, which limits their applications. In this thesis, we propose and demonstrate a novel approach to power scaling of DFG-based ultrafast mid-IR laser sources. The essence of this novel approach is the generation of a high-energy signal beam. Both the pump beam and the signal beam are derived from a home-built Yb-fiber laser system that emits 165-fs pulses centered at 1035 nm with 30-MHz repetition rate and 14.5-W average power (corresponding to 483-nJ pulse energy). We employ fiber-optic self-phase modulation (SPM) to broaden the laser spectrum and generate isolated spectral lobes. Filtering the rightmost spectral lobe leads to femtosecond pulses with >10 nJ pulse energy. Tunable between 1.1-1.2 μm, this SPM-enabled ultrafast source exhibits ∝100 times higher pulse energy than can be obtained from Raman soliton sources in this wavelength range. We use this SPM-enabled source as the signal beam and part of the Yb-fiber laser output as the pump beam. By performing DFG in GaSe crystals, we demonstrate that power scaling of a DFG-based mid-IR source can be efficiently achieved by increasing the signal energy. The resulting mid-IR source is tunable from 7.4 μm to 16.8 μm. Up to 5.04-mW mid-IR pulses centered at 11 μm are achieved. The corresponding pulse energy is 167 pJ, representing nearly one order of magnitude improvement compared with other reported DFG-based mid-IR sources at this wavelength. Despite of low pulse energy, Raman soliton sources have become a popular choice as the signal source. We carry out a detailed study on

Pulse-power circuit diagnostics for the Nova laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christie, D.J.; Dallum, G.E.; Gritton, D.G.; Merritt, B.T.; Whitham, K.; Berkbigler, L.W.

1982-01-01

The Nova laser will have a large pulse power system for driving laser amplifiers, incorporating approximately 1600 flashlamp circuits. An automated system has been designed for diagnosing the condition of these flashlamp circuits. It records digitized circuit current waveforms and detects current excursions above a given threshold. In addition, it is able to fire flashlamps at a low energy to ascertain the health of the system. Data from this system can be ploted for inspection by the operator, analyzed by the computer system and archived for future reference

High pulse energy sub-nanosecond Tm-doped fiber laser

Science.gov (United States)

Cserteg, Andras; Guillemet, Sebastien; Hernandez, Yves; Giannone, Domenico

2012-02-01

We report a core pumped thulium-doped fiber amplifier that generates 1.4 μJ pulses at 1980 nm with a repetition rate of 3.6 MHz preserving the original spectral bandwidth of the oscillator. The amplifier chain is seeded by a passively modelocked fiber laser with 5 mW output power and the pulses are stretched to 800 picoseconds. The amplifier is core pumped by a single mode erbium fiber laser. The slope efficiency is 35%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of sub nanosecond pulses with energies higher than 1 μJ coming out of a thulium-doped fiber amplifier.

Single-pass, efficient type-I phase-matched frequency doubling of high-power ultrashort-pulse Yb-fiber laser using LiB_3O_5

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Mukesh Kumar; Kumar, Samir; Das, Ritwick

2016-05-01

We report 48 % efficient single-pass second harmonic generation of high-power ultrashort-pulse ({≈ }250 fs) Yb-fiber laser by utilizing type-I phase matching in LiB_3O_5 (LBO) crystal. The choice of LBO among other borate crystals for high-power frequency doubling is essentially motivated by large thermal conductivity, low birefringence and weak group velocity dispersion. By optimally focussing the beam in a 4-mm-long LBO crystal, we have generated about 2.3 W of average power at 532 nm using 4.8 W of available pump power at 1064 nm. The ultrashort green pulses were found out to be near-transform limited sech^2 pulses with a pulse width of Δ τ ≈ 150 fs and being delivered at 78 MHz repetition rate. Due to appreciably low spatial walk-off angle for LBO ({≈ }0.4°), we obtain M^2beam which signifies marginal distortion in comparison with the pump beam (M^2<1.15). We also discuss the impact of third-order optical nonlinearity of the LBO crystal on the generated ultrashort SH pulses.

Sub-100 fs high average power directly blue-diode-laser-pumped Ti:sapphire oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrbacher, Andreas; Markovic, Vesna; Pallmann, Wolfgang; Resan, Bojan

2016-03-01

Ti:sapphire oscillators are a proven technology to generate sub-100 fs (even sub-10 fs) pulses in the near infrared and are widely used in many high impact scientific fields. However, the need for a bulky, expensive and complex pump source, typically a frequency-doubled multi-watt neodymium or optically pumped semiconductor laser, represents the main obstacle to more widespread use. The recent development of blue diodes emitting over 1 W has opened up the possibility of directly diode-laser-pumped Ti:sapphire oscillators. Beside the lower cost and footprint, a direct diode pumping provides better reliability, higher efficiency and better pointing stability to name a few. The challenges that it poses are lower absorption of Ti:sapphire at available diode wavelengths and lower brightness compared to typical green pump lasers. For practical applications such as bio-medicine and nano-structuring, output powers in excess of 100 mW and sub-100 fs pulses are required. In this paper, we demonstrate a high average power directly blue-diode-laser-pumped Ti:sapphire oscillator without active cooling. The SESAM modelocking ensures reliable self-starting and robust operation. We will present two configurations emitting 460 mW in 82 fs pulses and 350 mW in 65 fs pulses, both operating at 92 MHz. The maximum obtained pulse energy reaches 5 nJ. A double-sided pumping scheme with two high power blue diode lasers was used for the output power scaling. The cavity design and the experimental results will be discussed in more details.

Explosive vaporization induced by high-power CO2-laser target interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hugenschmidt, M.; Vollrath, K.

1976-01-01

The interactions of high-power laser pulses with targets such as metals or dielectric materials causes a series of optical, thermal, and mechanical processes. Thereby, heating, melting, and vaporization can take place in a short time. At power densities of about 10 7 to several 10 8 W/cm 2 this can even be produced explosively. As compared to continuous ablation, this type of interaction can remove greater masses from the bulk of material. The investigations are performed by using an electron-beam preionized CO 2 -laser acting on different target materials. The energy of the laser pulses is about 30 J, the pulse-half-widths of the long-tail pulses 4 to 6 μs. Optical measurements yield some information on threshold values for these processes, for the formation and expansion of plasmas, and for the ejection of material in form of greater particles. High speed photographic techniques include a rotating mirror- and an image converter camera. Starting from shock-wave theory, gas dynamic equations (in unidimensional approximation) allow for a quantitative determination of the specific internal energies and pressures in the case of optical detonation. (orig.) [de

Dynamics of the spectrum of a self-modulated powerful laser pulse in an underdense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreev, N.E.; Kirsanov, V.I.; Sakharov, A.S.

1997-01-01

The evolution of the spectrum of a powerful laser pulse during its self-modulation in an underdense plasma is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that, in the early stages of the self-modulation instability, the linear theory gives a qualitatively correct description of the dynamics of the pulse spectrum in most cases. Depending on the parameters of the laser pulse and of the plasma, this spectrum contains either Stocks satellites (downshifted from the fundamental frequency to a value equal to the plasma frequency), or both Stocks and anti-Stocks satellites of the fundamental frequency. When the three-dimensional mechanism for the instability is dominant and the pulse power is close to the critical power for relativistic self-focusing, the numerical calculations show that the intensity of the blue satellite exceeds the intensity of the red one. This specific feature of the spectrum, which does not arise when the instability is one-dimensional, cannot be explained in terms of the linear para-axial theory, and can be used to identify the three-dimensional mechanism for the instability in experiments on the self-modulation of powerful laser pulses. It is shown that the transition to the nonlinear stage of the instability is accompanied by the occurrence of cascades (at frequencies separated from the laser carrier frequency by intervals equal to an integer number of plasma frequencies) in the spectrum of the laser pulse

Development of high power lasers and their applications for nuclear engineering in IHI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanazawa, H.; Uehara, M.; Mori, M.; Taniu, Y.; Yamaguchi, S.; Harashina, H.

1995-01-01

High power laser technologies developed in IHI are summarized. A discharge-excited CO laser of 3 kW and an arc lamp pumped cw YAG laser of 3 kW with a flexible optical fiber delivery have been developed for material processing use. An ablation processing using a high intensity pulse laser has also been investigated. (author)

Laser accelerated protons captured and transported by a pulse power solenoid

OpenAIRE

Burris-Mog, T.; Harres, K.; Zielbauer, B.; Bagnoud, V.; Herrmannsdoerfer, T.; Roth, M.; Cowan, T. E.; Nürnberg, F.; Busold, S.; Bussmann, M.; Deppert, O.; Hoffmeister, G.; Joost, M.; Sobiella, M.; Tauschwitz, A.

2011-01-01

Using a pulse power solenoid, we demonstrate efficient capture of laser accelerated proton beams and the ability to control their large divergence angles and broad energy range. Simulations using measured data for the input parameters give inference into the phase-space and transport efficiencies of the captured proton beams. We conclude with results from a feasibility study of a pulse power compact achromatic gantry concept. Using a scaled target normal sheath acceleration spectrum, we prese...

Development of laser diode-pumped high average power solid-state laser for the pumping of Ti:sapphire CPA system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maruyama, Yoichiro; Tei, Kazuyoku; Kato, Masaaki; Niwa, Yoshito; Harayama, Sayaka; Oba, Masaki; Matoba, Tohru; Arisawa, Takashi; Takuma, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

Laser diode pumped all solid state, high repetition frequency (PRF) and high energy Nd:YAG laser using zigzag slab crystals has been developed for the pumping source of Ti:sapphire CPA system. The pumping laser installs two main amplifiers which compose ring type amplifier configuration. The maximum amplification gain of the amplifier system is 140 and the condition of saturated amplification is achieved with this high gain. The average power of fundamental laser radiation is 250 W at the PRF of 200 Hz and the pulse duration is around 20 ns. The average power of second harmonic is 105 W at the PRF of 170 Hz and the pulse duration is about 16 ns. The beam profile of the second harmonic is near top hat and will be suitable for the pumping of Ti:sapphire laser crystal. The wall plug efficiency of the laser is 2.0 %. (author)

Generation and amplification of nanaosecond duration multiline hf laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Getzinger, R.L.; Ware, K.D.; Carpenter, J.P.

1976-01-01

High-power, fast-rising pulses of hydrogen fluoride laser energy suitable for laser-fusion target interaction experiments can in principle be generated by directing an electro-optically shuttered oscillator pulse through one or more electron-beam driven amplifiers. A three-stage HF master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) configuration was constructed and tested using SF 6 -C 2 H 6 in which an E-O generated 4-ns-FWHM pulse was amplified in an electron-beam-excited third stage and subsequently isolated with a Brewster angle splitter. Independent experiments in which a 100-ns-FWHM pilot pulse interacted with the power amplifier demonstrated for the first time complete extraction of the available laser energy. These two results provide strong evidence that with upgrading to H 2 -F 2 , it should be possible to obtain nanosecond duration pulses with power levels sufficient for meaningful laser fusion target coupling experiments

The Multidisk Diode-Pumped High Power Yb:YAG Laser Amplifier of High-Intensity Laser System with 1 kHz Repetition Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Kuptsov, G. V.; Petrov, V. V.; Petrov, V. A.; Laptev, A. V.; Kirpichnikov, A. V.; Pestryakov, E. V.

2018-04-01

The source of instabilities in the multidisk diode-pumped high power Yb:YAG laser amplifier with cryogenic closed-loop cooling in the laser amplification channel of the high-intensity laser system with 1 kHz repetition rate was determined. Dissected copper mounts were designed and used to suppress instabilities and to achieve repeatability of the system. The equilibrium temperature dependency of the active elements on average power was measured. The seed laser for the multidisk amplifier was numerically simulated and designed to allow one to increase pulses output energy after the amplifier up to 500 mJ.

Generation of 25-TW Femtosecond Laser Pulses at 515 nm with Extremely High Temporal Contrast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Hornung

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We report on the frequency doubling of femtosecond laser pulses at 1030 nm center wavelength generated from the fully diode-pumped laser system POLARIS. The newly generated pulses at a center wavelength of 515 nm have a pulse energy of 3 J with a pulse duration of 120 fs. On the basis of initially ultra-high contrast seed pulses we expect a temporal intensity contrast better 10 17 200 ps before the peak of the main pulse. We analyzed the temporal intensity contrast from milliseconds to femtoseconds with a dynamic range covering more than 20 orders of magnitude. The pulses were focussed with a f/2-focussing parabola resulting in a peak intensity exceeding 10 20 W / cm 2 . The peak power and intensity are to the best of our knowledge the highest values for 515 nm-laser-pulses achieved so far.

High-power 355 nm ultraviolet lasers operating at ultrahigh repetition rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, H; Liu, Q; Yan, P; Gong, M

2013-01-01

In this letter, we demonstrate a novel 355 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser operating at ultrahigh repetition rate from 300 kHz to 1 MHz. The hybrid fiber-MOPA–bulk amplifiers based IR source exhibits a high average power of 105 W with near-diffraction-limited beam quality, narrow linewidth and high polarization extinction ratio. Two-cascaded LBO crystals are employed for high efficiency frequency tripling, and a maximum 43.7 W of average UV power is achieved at 400 kHz, corresponding to a conversion efficiency as high as 41.6%. The pulse duration of the UV pulse can be tuned from 5 to 10 ns with good pulse peak stability (better than 2.2% (RMS)). (letter)

Investigation of a high power UV pre-ionized tea CO2 laser for making purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Shiw Jin; Low Kum Seng

1988-01-01

A simple, high-power TEA CO 2 laser using profiled electrodes with capacitatively-coupled side-arcs to provide preionization is described. The output pulse energy, beam size and beam divergence of this laser is measured as well as the voltage across the two laser electrodes. The effect of various operating parameters on the output pulse energy and efficiency of this laser are also described. The laser, with a maximum output energy of 4 J per pulse, has been used successfully to mark plastic surfaces such as plastic Ic components. (author)

Prospects of the high power iodine laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hohla, K.; Brederlow, G.; Fill, E.; Volk, R.; Witte, K.J.

1976-09-01

The characteristic properties of the iodine laser (gaseous laser substance, photolytic pump mechanism, variable stimulated emission cross-section) made it possible in a relatively short time to generate ns pulses in the kJ range. The Asterix II and III iodine laser systems at IPP are working successfully, and the question arises what prospects are afforded for further iodine laser development. What are the problems that have to be clarified in order to build 10 or 100 kJ systems for laser fusion experiments. According to our experience these can be classified as follows: 1) Short pulse generation and contrast ratio, 2) pulse shaping in a high-gain laser and amplification in the coherent time range, 3) non-linear properties at high intensities, 4) scalable pumping schemes and chemical processes. (orig./WL) [de

Advancements of ultra-high peak power laser diode arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, D.; Thiagarajan, P.; Goings, J.; Caliva, B.; Smith, S.; Walker, R.

2018-02-01

Enhancements of laser diode epitaxy in conjunction with process and packaging improvements have led to the availability of 1cm bars capable of over 500W peak power at near-infrared wavelengths (770nm to 1100nm). Advances in cooler design allow for multi-bar stacks with bar-to-bar pitches as low as 350μm and a scalable package architecture enabled a single diode assembly with total peak powers of over 1MegaWatt of peak power. With the addition of micro-optics, overall array brightness greater than 10kW/cm2 was achieved. Performance metrics of barbased diode lasers specifically engineered for high peak power and high brightness at wavelengths and pulse conditions commonly used to pump a variety of fiber and solid-state materials are presented.

Closed cycle high-repetition-rate pulsed HF laser

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Michael R.; Morris, A. V.; Gorton, Eric K.

1997-04-01

The design and performance of a closed cycle high repetition rate HF laser is described. A short pulse, glow discharge is formed in a 10 SF6:1 H2 gas mixture at a total pressure of approximately 110 torr within a 15 by 0.5 by 0.5 cm3 volume. Transverse, recirculated gas flow adequate to enable repetitive operation up to 3 kHz is imposed by a centrifugal fan. The fan also forces the gas through a scrubber cell to eliminate ground state HF from the gas stream. An automated gas make-up system replenishes spent gas removed by the scrubber. Typical mean laser output powers up to 3 W can be maintained for extended periods of operation.

Cascaded quadratic soliton compression of high-power femtosecond fiber lasers in Lithium Niobate crystals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Morten; Moses, Jeffrey; Wise, Frank W.

2008-01-01

The output of a high-power femtosecond fiber laser is typically 300 fs with a wavelength around $\\lambda=1030-1060$ nm. Our numerical simulations show that cascaded quadratic soliton compression in bulk LiNbO$_3$ can compress such pulses to below 100 fs.......The output of a high-power femtosecond fiber laser is typically 300 fs with a wavelength around $\\lambda=1030-1060$ nm. Our numerical simulations show that cascaded quadratic soliton compression in bulk LiNbO$_3$ can compress such pulses to below 100 fs....

Er,Cr:YSGG Laser Energy Delivery: Pulse and Power Effects on Enamel Surface and Erosive Resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Renan Mota; de Souza, Vinicius Matsuzaki; Esteves, Camila Machado; de Oliveira Lima-Arsati, Ynara Bosco; Cassoni, Alessandra; Rodrigues, José Augusto; Brugnera Junior, Aldo

2017-11-01

High power lasers have been suggested as a useful tool for dental caries and erosion prevention due to the increase of enamel acid resistance. to evaluate the effect of Er,Cr:YSGG (erbium,chromium:yttrium, scandium, gallium, garnet) laser irradiation pulse frequency and power on enamel surface and acid erosion resistance. By combining pulse frequency (5-75 Hz) and power settings (0.10-1.00 W), 20 irradiated groups and one nonirradiated control group were tested. A total of 63 bovine enamel blocks (n = 3/group) were prepared for surface hardness and roughness evaluation, performed in three phases: baseline, after irradiation, and after erosive challenge. Enamel blocks were irradiated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser with MZ8 tip (iPlus; Waterlase, Biolase, CA) for 30 sec according to experimental group and submitted. Erosive challenge consisted of four cycles alternating immersion in 0.01 M HCl (5 mL/mm 2 ; 2 min; at 37°C) and immersion in artificial saliva for 3 h. Analysis of variance (three-way ANOVA), Tukey's test, and Pearson correlation were performed for the statistical analysis (p hardness. After erosive challenge, 5 and 75 W groups showed increase in surface hardness; 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 W groups showed minor alterations in surface roughness. the irradiation of Er,Cr:YSGG laser with different parameters of power and pulse frequency settings may alter enamel surface and erosive resistance differently. Pulse frequency of 30 Hz and power of 0.50 W was considered the best parameter to prevent enamel acid erosion.

High power all-solid-state fourth harmonic generation of 266 nm at the pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Q; Yan, X P; Fu, X; Gong, M; Wang, D S

2009-01-01

14.8 W UV laser at 266 nm was reported with the extra cavity frequency quartered configuration. The fundamental frequency IR source is a high-power high-beam-quality acoustic-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 master-oscillator-power-amplifier laser. The type-I phase-matched LBO and type-I phase-matched BBO crystals were used as the extra-cavity frequency doubled and quartered crystal respectively. 14.8 W UV laser of 266 nm was obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz with the conversion efficiency of 18.3% from green to UV, and the pulse duration of the UV laser was 10 ns corresponding to the pulse peak power of 14.8 kW. At 150 kHz, 11.5 W power output was obtained. The highest peak power of 21 kW was also achieved at 80 kHz with the average output power of 14.5 W

Iron plasma generation using a Nd:YAG laser pulse of several hundred picoseconds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamura, Jun, E-mail: jtamura@post.j-parc.jp [J-PARC Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Kumaki, Masafumi [Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Kondo, Kotaro [Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550 (Japan); Kanesue, Takeshi; Okamura, Masahiro [Collider-Accelerator Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (United States)

2016-02-15

We investigated the high intensity plasma generated by using a Nd:YAG laser to apply a laser-produced plasma to the direct plasma injection scheme. The capability of the source to generate high charge state ions strongly depends on the power density of the laser irradiation. Therefore, we focused on using a higher power laser with several hundred picoseconds of pulse width. The iron target was irradiated with the pulsed laser, and the ion current of the laser-produced iron plasma was measured using a Faraday cup and the charge state distribution was investigated using an electrostatic ion analyzer. We found that higher charge state iron ions (up to Fe{sup 21+}) were obtained using a laser pulse of several hundred picoseconds in comparison to those obtained using a laser pulse of several nanoseconds (up to Fe{sup 19+}). We also found that when the laser irradiation area was relatively large, the laser power was absorbed mainly by the contamination on the target surface.

Development of long life pulse power supply for copper vapor laser. Do joki laser yo chojumyo reiki dengen no kaihatsu. ; Saidai shutsuryoku unten oyobi laser hasshin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujii, T.; Goto, N.; Nemoto, K. (Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan))

1990-04-01

Long life pulse power supply for Cu vapor laser was developed. This is composed of the pulse generation circuit and the pulse compression circuit. Current pulse of 10 mu second pulse width is generated in the pulse generating circuit by switching electric charge on the condensor charged through GTO (gate turn off) thyristors. The pulse compression circuit makes the current pulse fast to 300ms utilizing the difference of inductance at the saturation and the unsaturation on the circuit which uses a reactor having saturable property using a ferromagnetic substance for the core as the magnetic switch. The operation was carried out at the GTO generasting full power. Co base amorphous alloy of low loss was used for the core of saturable inductor and the circuit efficiency of 77% could be obtained by suppressing the heat generation in core even at 4,000Hz operation. The full output power of 8.2kW was possible which corresponds to 100W class laser oscillation. Repeated Cu vapor laser oscillation of 30W succeeded at the condition of 4,000Hz and power supply output of 5.9kW. 7 refs., 21 figs., 8 tabs.

Environmental and industrial applications of pulsed power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neau, E.L.

1993-01-01

The technology base formed by the development of high peak power simulators, laser drivers, free electron lasers (FEL's), and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) drivers from the early 60's through the late 80's is being extended to high average power short-pulse machines with the capabilities of performing new roles in environmental cleanup applications and in supporting new types of industrial manufacturing processes. Some of these processes will require very high average beam power levels of hundreds of kilowatts to perhaps megawatts. In this paper we briefly discuss new technology capabilities and then concentrate on specific application areas that may benefit from the high specific energies and high average powers attainable with short-pulse machines

Laser ablation: Laser parameters: Frequency, pulse length, power, and beam charter play significant roles with regard to sampling complex samples for ICP/MS analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, M.R.; Alexander, M.L.; Hartman, J.S.; Koppenaal, D.W.

1996-01-01

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is used to investigate the influence of laser parameters with regard to sampling complex matrices ranging from relatively homogenous glasses to multi-phase sludge/slurry materials including radioactive Hanford tank waste. The resulting plume composition caused by the pulsed laser is evaluated as a function of wavelength, pulse energy, pulse length, focus, and beam power profiles. The author's studies indicate that these parameters play varying and often synergistic roles regarding quantitative results. (In a companion paper, particle transport and size distribution studies are presented.) The work described here will illustrate other laser parameters such as focusing and consequently power density and beam power profiles which are shown to influence precision and accuracy. Representative sampling by the LA approach is largely dependent on the sample's optical properties as well as laser parameters. Experimental results indicate that optimal laser parameters; short wavelength (UV), relatively low power (300 mJ), low-to-sub ns pulse lengths, and laser beams with reasonable power distributions (i.e., Gaussian or top-hat beam profiles) provide superior precision and accuracy. Remote LA-ICP/MS analyses of radioactive sludges are used to illustrate these optimal conditions laser ablation sampling

The efficiency of photovoltaic cells exposed to pulsed laser light

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, R. A.; Landis, G. A.; Jenkins, P.

1993-01-01

Future space missions may use laser power beaming systems with a free electron laser (FEL) to transmit light to a photovoltaic array receiver. To investigate the efficiency of solar cells with pulsed laser light, several types of GaAs, Si, CuInSe2, and GaSb cells were tested with the simulated pulse format of the induction and radio frequency (RF) FEL. The induction pulse format was simulated with an 800-watt average power copper vapor laser and the RF format with a frequency-doubled mode-locked Nd:YAG laser. Averaged current vs bias voltage measurements for each cell were taken at various optical power levels and the efficiency measured at the maximum power point. Experimental results show that the conversion efficiency for the cells tested is highly dependent on cell minority carrier lifetime, the width and frequency of the pulses, load impedance, and the average incident power. Three main effects were found to decrease the efficiency of solar cells exposed to simulated FEL illumination: cell series resistance, LC 'ringing', and output inductance. Improvements in efficiency were achieved by modifying the frequency response of the cell to match the spectral energy content of the laser pulse with external passive components.

A high power gain switched diode laser oscillator and amplifier for the CEBAF polarized electron injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poelker, M.; Hansknecht, J.

1996-01-01

The photocathode in the polarized electron source at Jefferson Lab is illuminated with pulsed laser light from a gain switched diode laser and diode optical amplifier. Laser pulse repetition rates up to 2,000 MHz, optical pulsewidths between 31 and 123 ps, and average power > 100 mW are demonstrated. The laser system is highly reliable and completely remotely controlled

High power industrial picosecond laser from IR to UV

Science.gov (United States)

Saby, Julien; Sangla, Damien; Pierrot, Simonette; Deslandes, Pierre; Salin, François

2013-02-01

Many industrial applications such as glass cutting, ceramic micro-machining or photovoltaic processes require high average and high peak power Picosecond pulses. The main limitation for the expansion of the picosecond market is the cost of high power picosecond laser sources, which is due to the complexity of the architecture used for picosecond pulse amplification, and the difficulty to keep an excellent beam quality at high average power. Amplification with fibers is a good technology to achieve high power in picosecond regime but, because of its tight confinement over long distances, light undergoes dramatic non linearities while propagating in fibers. One way to avoid strong non linearities is to increase fiber's mode area. Nineteen missing holes fibers offering core diameter larger than 80μm have been used over the past few years [1-3] but it has been shown that mode instabilities occur at approximately 100W average output power in these fibers [4]. Recently a new fiber design has been introduced, in which HOMs are delocalized from the core to the clad, preventing from HOMs amplification [5]. In these so-called Large Pitch Fibers, threshold for mode instabilities is increased to 294W offering robust single-mode operation below this power level [6]. We have demonstrated a high power-high efficiency industrial picosecond source using single-mode Large Pitch rod-type fibers doped with Ytterbium. Large Pitch Rod type fibers can offer a unique combination of single-mode output with a very large mode area from 40 μm up to 100μm and very high gain. This enables to directly amplify a low power-low energy Mode Locked Fiber laser with a simple amplification architecture, achieving very high power together with singlemode output independent of power level or repetition rate.

Pulsed CO laser for isotope separation of uranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baranov, Igor Y.; Koptev, Andrey V. [Rocket-Space Technics Department, Baltic State Technical University, 1, 1st Krasnoarmeyskaya st.,St. Petersburg, 190005 (Russian Federation)

2012-07-30

This article proposes a technical solution for using a CO laser facility for the industrial separation of uranium used in the production of fuel for nuclear power plants, employing a method of laser isotope separation of uranium with condensation repression in a free jet. The laser operation with nanosecond pulse irradiation can provide an acceptable efficiency in the separating unit and a high efficiency of the laser with the wavelength of 5.3 {mu}m. In the present work we also introduce a calculation model and define the parameters of a mode-locked CO laser with a RF discharge in the supersonic stream. The average pulsed CO laser power of 3 kW is sufficient for efficient industrial isotope separation of uranium in one stage.

Laser power sources and laser technology for accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowenthal, D.

1986-01-01

The requirements on laser power sources for advanced accelerator concepts are formidable. These requirements are driven by the need to deliver 5 TeV particles at luminosities of 10/sup 33/ - 10/sup 34/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/. Given that optical power can be transferred efficiently to the particles these accelerator parameters translate into single pulse laser output energies of several kilojoules and rep rates of 1-10 kHz. The average laser output power is then 10-20 MW. Larger average powers will be needed if efficient transfer proves not to be possible. A laser plant of this magnitude underscores the importance of high wall plug efficiency and reasonable cost in $/Watt. The interface between the laser output pulse format and the accelerator structure is another area that drives the laser requirements. Laser accelerators break up into two general architectures depending on the strength of the laser coupling. For strong coupling mechanisms, the architecture requires many ''small'' lasers powering the accelerator in a staged arrangement. For the weak coupling mechanisms, the architecture must feature a single large laser system whose power must be transported along the entire accelerator length. Both of these arrangements have demanding optical constraints in terms of phase matching sequential stages, beam combining arrays of laser outputs and optimizing coupling of laser power in a single accelerating stage

Over 8 W high peak power UV laser with a high power Q-switched Nd:YVO4 oscillator and the compact extra-cavity sum-frequency mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, X P; Liu, Q; Gong, M; Wang, D S; Fu, X

2009-01-01

A 8.2 W UV laser was reported with the compact extra-cavity sum-frequency mixing. The IR fundamental frequency source was a high power and high beam quality Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 oscillator. 38 W fundamental frequency laser at 1064 nm was obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 450 kHz with the beam quality factors of M 2 x = 1.27, M 2 y = 1.21. The type I and type II phase-matched LBO crystals were used as the extra-cavity frequency doubling and mixing crystals respectively. At 38 kHz, 8.2 W UV laser at 355 nm was achieved with the pulse duration of 8 ns corresponding to the pulse peak power as high as 27 kW, and the optical-optical conversion efficiency from IR to UV was 25.6%. The output characteristics of the IR and the harmonic generations varying with the pulse repetition rate were also investigated detailedly

Nonlinear High-Energy Pulse Propagation in Graded-Index Multimode Optical Fibers for Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-23

power kW at nm in a C-GIMF segment in the lowest order mode ; this pulse can be ob- tained from a typical titanium –sapphire mode-locked laser . A much...single- andmulticore double- clad and PCF lasers . He was a Senior Research Scientist at Corning Inc. from 2005 to 2008. He is currently an Assistant...High-Energy Pulse Propagation in Graded-Index Multimode Optical Fibers for Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER FA9550-12-1

High intensive short laser pulse interaction with submicron clusters media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faenov, A. Ya

2008-01-01

The interaction of short intense laser pulses with structured targets, such as clusters, exhibits unique features, stemming from the enhanced absorption of the incident laser light compared to solid targets. Due to the increased absorption, these targets are heated significantly, leading to enhanced emission of x rays in the keV range and generation of electrons and multiple charged ions with kinetic energies from tens of keV to tens of MeV. Possible applications of these targets can be an electron/ion source for a table top accelerator, a neutron source for a material damage study, or an x ray source for microscopy or lithography. The overview of recent results, obtained by the high intensive short laser pulse interaction with different submicron clusters media will be presented. High resolution K and L shell spectra of plasma generated by superintense laser irradiation of micron sized Ar, Kr and Xe clusters have been measured with intensity 10"17"-10"19"W/cm"2"and a pulse duration of 30-1000fs. It is found that hot electrons produced by high contrast laser pulses allow the isochoric heating of clusters and shift the ion balance toward the higher charge states, which enhances both the X ray line yield and the ion kinetic energy. Irradiation of clusters, produced from such gas mixture, by a fs Ti:Sa laser pulses allows to enhance the soft X ray radiation of Heβ(665.7eV)and Lyα(653.7eV)of Oxygen in 2-8 times compare with the case of using as targets pure CO"2"or N"2"O clusters and reach values 2.8x10"10"(∼3μJ)and 2.7x10"10"(∼2.9μJ)ph/(sr·pulse), respectively. Nanostructure conventional soft X ray images of 100nm thick Mo and Zr foils in a wide field of view (cm"2"scale)with high spatial resolution (700nm)are obtained using the LiF crystals as soft X ray imaging detectors. When the target used for the ion acceleration studies consists of solid density clusters embedded into the background gas, its irradiation by high intensity laser light makes the target

Investigation of micro-plasma in physiological saline produced by a high-power YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Jian; Ni Xiaowu; He Anzhi

1994-01-01

Micro-plasma and shock waves in the physiological saline produced by a Q-switched pulse YAG laser with nearby optical breakdown threshold energy are investigated by using optical shadowing exploring method, and a series of optical shadow graphs of micro-plasma and shock waves versus the incident laser energy and the delay time are obtained. Influence of mechanical action of shock waves for the high-power pulse laser on the ophthalmic treatment is discussed

Holographic wavefront characterization of a frequency-tripled high-peak-power neodymium:glass laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kessler, T.J.

1984-01-01

Near-field amplitude and phase distributions from a high-peak-power, frequency converted Nd:glass laser (lambda = 351 nm) have been holographically recorded on silver-halide emulsions. Conventionally, the absence of a suitable reference beam forces one to use some type of shearing interferometry to obtain phasefront information, while the near-field and far-field distributions are recorded as intensity profiles. In this study, a spatially filtered, locally generated reference beam was created to holographically store the complex amplitude distribution of the pulsed laser beam, while reconstruction of the original wavefront was achieved with a continuous-wave laser. Reconstructed near-field and quasi-far-field intensity distributions closely resembled those obtained from conventional techniques, and accurate phasefront reconstruction was achieved. Furthermore, several two-beam interferometric techniques, not practicable with a high-peak-power laser, have been successfully implemented on a continuous-wave reconstruction of the pulsed laser beam. 46 refs., 40 figs., 1 tab

Laser accelerated protons captured and transported by a pulse power solenoid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Burris-Mog

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Using a pulse power solenoid, we demonstrate efficient capture of laser accelerated proton beams and the ability to control their large divergence angles and broad energy range. Simulations using measured data for the input parameters give inference into the phase-space and transport efficiencies of the captured proton beams. We conclude with results from a feasibility study of a pulse power compact achromatic gantry concept. Using a scaled target normal sheath acceleration spectrum, we present simulation results of the available spectrum after transport through the gantry.

Pulsed laser illumination of photovoltaic cells

Science.gov (United States)

Yater, Jane A.; Lowe, Roland A.; Jenkins, Phillip P.; Landis, Geoffrey A.

1995-01-01

In future space missions, free electron lasers (FEL) may be used to illuminate photovoltaic receivers to provide remote power. Both the radio-frequency (RF) and induction FEL produce pulsed rather than continuous output. In this work we investigate cell response to pulsed laser light which simulates the RF FEL format. The results indicate that if the pulse repetition is high, cell efficiencies are only slightly reduced compared to constant illumination at the same wavelength. The frequency response of the cells is weak, with both voltage and current outputs essentially dc in nature. Comparison with previous experiments indicates that the RF FEL pulse format yields more efficient photovoltaic conversion than does an induction FEL format.

Pulsed Laser Cladding of Ni Based Powder

Science.gov (United States)

Pascu, A.; Stanciu, E. M.; Croitoru, C.; Roata, I. C.; Tierean, M. H.

2017-06-01

The aim of this paper is to optimize the operational parameters and quality of one step Metco Inconel 718 atomized powder laser cladded tracks, deposited on AISI 316 stainless steel substrate by means of a 1064 nm high power pulsed laser, together with a Precitec cladding head manipulated by a CLOOS 7 axes robot. The optimization of parameters and cladding quality has been assessed through Taguchi interaction matrix and graphical output. The study demonstrates that very good cladded layers with low dilution and increased mechanical proprieties could be fabricated using low laser energy density by involving a pulsed laser.

High Power 1443.5 nm Laser with Nd:YAG Single Crystal Fiber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Han Rao

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A high-power eye-safe 1443.5 nm laser was demonstrated with an Nd:YAG single crystal fiber (SCF as the gain medium. For continuous wave (CW operation, a maximum output power of 13.3 W was obtained under an absorbed pump power of 95.0 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 14.0%. For acousto-optically (AO Q-switched regime, an output power of 1.95 W was obtained at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF of 10 kHz. The pulse duration was 69.5 ns. The pulse energy and peak power were calculated to be 195 µJ and 2.81 kW, respectively.

Flashlamp pumped Ti-sapphire laser for ytterbium glass chirped pulse amplification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, Akihiko; Ohzu, Akira; Sugiyama, Akira [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; and others

1998-03-01

A flashlamp pumped Ti:sapphire laser is designed for ytterbium glass chirped pulse amplification. A high quality Ti:sapphire rod and a high energy long pulse discharging power supply are key components. The primary step is to produce the output power of 10 J per pulse at 920 nm. (author)

Non-Fourier conduction model with thermal source term of ultra short high power pulsed laser ablation and temperature evolvement before melting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Duanming; Li, Li; Li Zhihua; Guan Li; Tan Xinyu

2005-01-01

A non-Fourier conduction model with heat source term is presented to study the target temperature evolvement when the target is radiated by high power (the laser intensity is above 10 9 w/cm 2 ) and ultra short (the pulse width is less than 150 ps) pulsed laser. By Laplace transform, the analytical expression of the space- and time-dependence of temperature is derived. Then as an example of aluminum target, the target temperature evolvement is simulated. Compared with the results of Fourier conduction model and non-Fourier model without heat source term, it is found that the effect of non-Fourier conduction is notable and the heat source plays an important role during non-Fourier conduction which makes surface temperature ascending quickly with time. Meanwhile, the corresponding physical mechanism is analyzed theoretically

INTERACTION OF LASER RADIATION WITH MATTER. LASER PLASMA: Calculation of mass transfer in the remote cutting of metals by radiation of a high-power repetitively pulsed CO2 laser

Science.gov (United States)

Gladush, G. G.; Rodionov, N. B.

2002-01-01

The mechanism of remote cutting of steel plates by radiation of a high-power repetitively pulsed CO2 laser is theoretically studied. The models of melt removal by the gravity force and the recoil pressure of material vapour are proposed and the sufficient conditions for the initiation of cutting are determined. A numerical model of a thermally thin plate was employed to describe the cutting for large focal spots.

The chirped-pulse inverse free-electron laser: A high-gradient vacuum laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartemann, F.V.; Landahl, E.C.; Troha, A.L.; Van Meter, J.R.; Baldis, H.A.; Freeman, R.R.; Luhmann, N.C. Jr.; Song, L.; Kerman, A.K.; Yu, D.U.

1999-01-01

The inverse free-electron laser (IFEL) interaction is studied theoretically and computationally in the case where the drive laser intensity approaches the relativistic regime, and the pulse duration is only a few optical cycles long. The IFEL concept has been demonstrated as a viable vacuum laser acceleration process; it is shown here that by using an ultrashort, ultrahigh-intensity drive laser pulse, the IFEL interaction bandwidth and accelerating gradient are increased considerably, thus yielding large energy gains. Using a chirped pulse and negative dispersion focusing optics allows one to take further advantage of the laser optical bandwidth and produce a chromatic line focus maximizing the gradient. The combination of these novel ideas results in a compact vacuum laser accelerator capable of accelerating picosecond electron bunches with a high gradient (GeV/m) and very low energy spread. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

Numerical study on increasing mass flow ratio by energy deposition of high frequency pulsed laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Diankai; Hong Yanji; Li Qian

2013-01-01

The mass flow ratio (MFR) of air breathing ramjet inlet would be decreased, when the Mach number is lower than the designed value. High frequency pulsed laser energy was deposited upstream of the cowl lip to reflect the stream so as to increase the MFR. When the Mach number of the flow was 5.0, and the static pressure and temperature of the flow were 2 551.6 Pa and 116.7 K, respectively, two-dimensional non-stationary compressible RANS equations were solved with upwind format to study the mechanisms of increasing MFR by high frequency pulsed laser energy deposition. The laser deposition frequency was 100 kHz and the average power was 500 W. The crossing point of the first forebody oblique shock and extension line of cowl lip was selected as the expected point. Then the deposition position was optimized by searching near the expected point. The results indicate that with the optimization of laser energy deposition position, the MFR would be increased from 63% to 97%. The potential value of increasing MFR by high frequency pulsed laser energy deposition was proved. The method for selection of the energy deposition position was also presented. (authors)

Powerful lasers for thermonuclear fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basov, N.; Krokhin, O.; Sklizkov, G.; Fedotov, S.

1977-01-01

The parameters are discussed of the radiation of powerful lasers (internal energy of the plasma determined by the volume, density and temperature of the plasma, duration of the heating pulse, focusing of the laser pulse energy in a small volume of matter, radiation contrast) for attaining an effective thermonuclear fusion at minimum microexplosion energy. A survey is given of the methods of shaping laser pulses with limit parameters, and the principle of the construction of powerful laser systems is described. The general diagram and parameters are given of the Delfin thermonuclear apparatus and a diagram is presented of the focusing system of high luminosity for spherical plasma heating using spherical mirrors. A diagram is presented of the vacuum chamber and of the complex diagnostic apparatus for determining the basic parameters of thermonuclear plasma in the Delfin apparatus. The prospects are indicated of the further development of thermonuclear laser apparatus with neodymium and CO 2 lasers. (B.S.)

Short pulse mid-infrared amplifier for high average power

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, LR

2006-09-01

Full Text Available High pressure CO2 lasers are good candidates for amplifying picosecond mid infrared pulses. High pressure CO2 lasers are notorious for being unreliable and difficult to operate. In this paper a high pressure CO2 laser is presented based on well...

Self-organization of high intensity laser pulses propagating in gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koga, James

2001-01-01

In recent years the development of high intensity short pulse lasers has opened up wide fields of science which had previously been difficult to study. Recent experiments of short pulse lasers propagating in air have shown that these laser pulses can propagate over very long distances (up to 12 km) with little or no distortion of the pulse. Here we present a model of this propagation using a modified version of the self-organized criticality model developed for sandpiles by Bak, Tang, and Weisenfeld. The additions to the sandpile model include the formation of plasma which acts as a threshold diffusion term and self-focusing by the nonlinear index of refraction which acts as a continuous inverse diffusion. Results of this simple model indicate that a strongly self-focusing laser pulse shows self-organized critical behavior. (author)

Formation of nanosecond SBS-compressed pulses for pumping an ultra-high power parametric amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Kuz’min, A. A.; Kulagin, O. V.; Rodchenkov, V. I.

2018-04-01

Compression of pulsed Nd : glass laser radiation under stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in perfluorooctane is investigated. Compression of 16-ns pulses at a beam diameter of 30 mm is implemented. The maximum compression coefficient is 28 in the optimal range of laser pulse energies from 2 to 4 J. The Stokes pulse power exceeds that of the initial laser pulse by a factor of about 11.5. The Stokes pulse jitter (fluctuations of the Stokes pulse exit time from the compressor) is studied. The rms spread of these fluctuations is found to be 0.85 ns.

Novel short-pulse laser diode source for high-resolution 3D flash lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Canal, Celine; Laugustin, Arnaud; Kohl, Andreas; Rabot, Olivier

2017-06-01

Imaging based on laser illumination is present in various fields of applications such as medicine, security, defense, civil engineering and in the automotive sector. In this last domain, research and development to bring autonomous vehicles on the roads has been intensified the recent years. Among the various technologies currently studied, automotive lidars are a fast-growing one due to their accuracy to detect a wide range of objects at distances up to a few hundreds of meters in various weather conditions. First commercialized devices for ADAS were laser scanners. Since then, new architectures have recently appeared such as solid-state lidar and flash lidar that offer a higher compactness, robustness and a cost reduction. Flash lidars are based on time-of-flight measurements, with the particularity that they do not require beam scanners because only one short laser pulse with a large divergence is used to enlighten the whole scene. Depth of encountered objects can then be recovered from measurement of echoed light at once, hence enabling real-time 3D mapping of the environment. This paper will bring into the picture a cutting edge laser diode source that can deliver millijoule pulses as short as 12 ns, which makes them highly suitable for integration in flash lidars. They provide a 100-kW peak power highly divergent beam in a footprint of 4x5 cm2 (including both the laser diode and driver) and with a 30-% electrical-to-optical efficiency, making them suitable for integration in environments in which compactness and power consumption are a priority. Their emission in the range of 800-1000 nm is considered to be eye safe when taking into account the high divergence of the output beam. An overview of architecture of these state-of-the-art pulsed laser diode sources will be given together with some solutions for their integration in 3D mapping systems. Future work leads will be discussed for miniaturization of the laser diode and drastic cost reduction.

Near and long term pulse power requirements for laser driven inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gagnon, W.L.

1979-01-01

At the Lawrence Livermore Laboraory, major emphasis has been placed upon the development of large, ND:glass laser systems in order to address the basic physics issues associated with light driven fusion targets. A parallel program is directed toward the development of lasers which exhibit higher efficiencies and shorter wavelengths and are thus more suitable as drivers for fusion power plants. This paper discusses the pulse power technology which has been developed to meet the near and far term needs of the laser fusion program at Livermore

1-MHz high power femtosecond Yb-doped fiber chirped-pulse amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhong-Qi; Yang, Pei-Long; Teng, Hao; Zhu, Jiang-Feng; Wei, Zhi-Yi

2018-01-01

A practical femtosecond polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber amplifier enabling 153 fs transform-limited pulse duration with 32 μJ pulse energy at 1 MHz repetition rate corresponding to a peak power of 0.21 GW is demonstrated. The laser system based on chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) technique is seeded by a dispersion managed, nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) mode-locked oscillator with spectrum bandwidth of 31 nm at 1040 nm and amplified by three fiber pre-amplifying stages and a rod type fiber main amplifying stage. The laser works with beam quality of M2 of 1.3 and power stability of 0.63% (root mean square, RMS) over 24 hours will be stable sources for industrial micromachining, medical therapy and scientific research.

Reliable high-power diode lasers: thermo-mechanical fatigue aspects

Science.gov (United States)

Klumel, Genady; Gridish, Yaakov; Szafranek, Igor; Karni, Yoram

2006-02-01

High power water-cooled diode lasers are finding increasing demand in biomedical, cosmetic and industrial applications, where repetitive cw (continuous wave) and pulsed cw operation modes are required. When operating in such modes, the lasers experience numerous complete thermal cycles between "cold" heat sink temperature and the "hot" temperature typical of thermally equilibrated cw operation. It is clearly demonstrated that the main failure mechanism directly linked to repetitive cw operation is thermo-mechanical fatigue of the solder joints adjacent to the laser bars, especially when "soft" solders are used. Analyses of the bonding interfaces were carried out using scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that intermetallic compounds, formed already during the bonding process, lead to the solders fatigue both on the p- and n-side of the laser bar. Fatigue failure of solder joints in repetitive cw operation reduces useful lifetime of the stacks to hundreds hours, in comparison with more than 10,000 hours lifetime typically demonstrated in commonly adopted non-stop cw reliability testing programs. It is shown, that proper selection of package materials and solders, careful design of fatigue sensitive parts and burn-in screening in the hard pulse operation mode allow considerable increase of lifetime and reliability, without compromising the device efficiency, optical power density and compactness.

Fragments and debris generation using a high power pulsed electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassany, Bruno; Courchinoux, Roger; Bertron, Isabelle; Malaise, Frederic; Hebert, David

2002-01-01

The high power Laser Megajoule (LMJ) will be constructed at CEA/DAM/CESTA near Bordeaux, in the south west part of France. Among the problems encountered in the LMJ experimental chamber, there is the impact of the debris produced after a laser shot on the silica optical windows. The production of debris as well as the behavior of optical materials under their influence can be simulated and studied with a pulsed electron beam. We present in this paper the first experimental results obtained by this original technique

Latest advances in high brightness disk lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Vincent; Gottwald, Tina; Stolzenburg, Christian; Schad, Sven-Silvius; Killi, Alexander; Ryba, Tracey

2015-02-01

In the last decade diode pumped solid state lasers have become an important tool for many industrial materials processing applications. They combine ease of operation with efficiency, robustness and low cost. This paper will give insight in latest progress in disk laser technology ranging from kW-class CW-Lasers over frequency converted lasers to ultra-short pulsed lasers. The disk laser enables high beam quality at high average power and at high peak power at the same time. The power from a single disk was scaled from 1 kW around the year 2000 up to more than 10 kW nowadays. Recently was demonstrated more than 4 kW of average power from a single disk close to fundamental mode beam quality (M²=1.38). Coupling of multiple disks in a common resonator results in even higher power. As an example we show 20 kW extracted from two disks of a common resonator. The disk also reduces optical nonlinearities making it ideally suited for short and ultrashort pulsed lasers. In a joint project between TRUMPF and IFSW Stuttgart more than 1.3 kW of average power at ps pulse duration and exceptionally good beam quality was recently demonstrated. The extremely low saturated gain makes the disk laser ideal for internal frequency conversion. We show >1 kW average power and >6 kW peak power in multi ms pulsed regime from an internally frequency doubled disk laser emitting at 515 nm (green). Also external frequency conversion can be done efficiently with ns pulses. >500 W of average UV power was demonstrated.

All solid state pulsed power system for water discharge

OpenAIRE

Sakugawa, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Yamamoto, Kunihiro; Kiyan, Tsuyoshi; Namihira, Takao; Katsuki, Sunao; Akiyama, Hidenori; サクガワ, タカシ; ヤマグチ, タカヒロ; ヤマモト, クニヒロ; キヤン, ツヨシ; ナミヒラ, タカオ; カツキ, スナオ; アキヤマ, ヒデノリ; 佐久川, 貴志

2005-01-01

Pulsed power has been used to produce non-thermal plasmas in gases that generate a high electric field at the tip of streamer discharges, where high energy electrons, free radicals, and ozone are produced. Recently, all solid state pulsed power generators, which are operated with high repetition rate, long lifetime and high reliability, have been developed for industrial applications, such as high repetition rate pulsed gas lasers, high energy density plasma (EUV sources) and water discharges...

High power CO2 lasers and their applications in nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nath, A.K.

2002-01-01

Carbon dioxide laser is one of the most popular lasers in industry for material processing applications. It has very high power capability and high efficiency, can be operated in continuous wave (CW), modulated and pulsed modes, and has relatively low cost. Due to these characteristics high power CO 2 lasers are being used worldwide in different industries for a wide variety of materials processing operations. In nuclear industry, CO 2 laser has made its way in many applications. Some of the tasks performed by multikilowatt CO 2 laser are cutting operations necessary to remove unprocessible hardware from reactor fuel assemblies, sealing/fixing/removing radioactive contaminations onto/from concrete surfaces and surface modification of engineering components for improved surface mechanical and metallurgical characteristics. We have developed various models of CW CO 2 lasers of power up to 12 kW and a high repetitive rate TEA (Transversely Excited Atmospheric pressure) CO 2 laser of 500 W average power operating at 500 Hz repetition rates. We have carried many materials processing applications of direct relevance to DAE. Recent work includes laser welding of end plug PFBR fuel tubes, martensitic stainless steel and titanium alloy, surface cladding of turbine blades made of Ni-super alloy with stellite 694, fabrication on graded material of stainless steel and stellite, and laser scabbling, drilling and cutting of concrete which have potential application in decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. A brief overview of these indigenous developments will be presented. (author)

Advances in high-power, Ultrashort pulse DPSSL technologies at HiLASE

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Smrž, Martin; Novák, Ondřej; Mužík, Jiří; Turčičová, Hana; Chyla, Michal; Nagisetty, Siva S.; Vyvlečka, Michal; Roškot, Lukáš; Miura, Taisuke; Černohorská, Jitka; Sikocinski, Pawel; Chen, Liyuan; Huynh, Jaroslav; Severová, Patricie; Pranovich, Alina; Endo, Akira; Mocek, Tomáš

2017-01-01

Roč. 7, č. 10 (2017), s. 1-12, č. článku 1016. ISSN 2076-3417 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LO1602; GA ČR GA16-12960S; GA MŠk LM2015086; GA TA ČR(CZ) TG02010056 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 739573 Grant - others:OP VVV - HiLASE-CoE(XE) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_006/0000674 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : diode-pumped solid- state lasers (DPSSL) * high average power lasers * higher harmonic generation * Yb:YAG * mid-infrared radiation * thin-disk laser * picosecond pulses Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 1.679, year: 2016

Pulse Compression Techniques for Laser Generated Ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Anastasi, R. F.; Madaras, E. I.

1999-01-01

Laser generated ultrasound for nondestructive evaluation has an optical power density limit due to rapid high heating that causes material damage. This damage threshold limits the generated ultrasound amplitude, which impacts nondestructive evaluation inspection capability. To increase ultrasound signal levels and improve the ultrasound signal-to-noise ratio without exceeding laser power limitations, it is possible to use pulse compression techniques. The approach illustrated here uses a 150mW laser-diode modulated with a pseudo-random sequence and signal correlation. Results demonstrate the successful generation of ultrasonic bulk waves in aluminum and graphite-epoxy composite materials using a modulated low-power laser diode and illustrate ultrasound bandwidth control.

Nova pulse power system description and status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holloway, R.W.; Whitham, K.; Merritt, B.T.; Gritton, D.G.; Oicles, J.A.

1981-01-01

The Nova laser system is designed to produce critical data in the nation's inertial confinement fusion effort. It is the world's largest peak power laser and presents various unique pulse power problems. In this paper, pulse power systems for this laser are described, the evolutionary points from prior systems are pointed out, and the current status of the hardware is given

Thermal Investigation of Interaction between High-power CW-laser Radiation and a Water-jet

Science.gov (United States)

Brecher, Christian; Janssen, Henning; Eckert, Markus; Schmidt, Florian

The technology of a water guided laser beam has been industrially established for micro machining. Pulsed laser radiation is guided via a water jet (diameter: 25-250 μm) using total internal reflection. Due to the cylindrical jet shape the depth of field increases to above 50 mm, enabling parallel kerfs compared to conventional laser systems. However higher material thicknesses and macro geometries cannot be machined economically viable due to low average laser powers. Fraunhofer IPT has successfully combined a high-power continuous-wave (CW) fiber laser (6 kW) and water jet technology. The main challenge of guiding high-power laser radiation in water is the energy transferred to the jet by absorption, decreasing its stability. A model of laser water interaction in the water jet has been developed and validated experimentally. Based on the results an upscaling of system technology to 30 kW is discussed, enabling a high potential in cutting challenging materials at high qualities and high speeds.

Picosecond pulses from wavelength-swept continuous-wave Fourier domain mode-locked lasers.

Science.gov (United States)

Eigenwillig, Christoph M; Wieser, Wolfgang; Todor, Sebastian; Biedermann, Benjamin R; Klein, Thomas; Jirauschek, Christian; Huber, Robert

2013-01-01

Ultrafast lasers have a crucial function in many fields of science; however, up to now, high-energy pulses directly from compact, efficient and low-power semiconductor lasers are not available. Therefore, we introduce a new approach based on temporal compression of the continuous-wave, wavelength-swept output of Fourier domain mode-locked lasers, where a narrowband optical filter is tuned synchronously to the round-trip time of light in a kilometre-long laser cavity. So far, these rapidly swept lasers enabled orders-of-magnitude speed increase in optical coherence tomography. Here we report on the generation of ~60-70 ps pulses at 390 kHz repetition rate. As energy is stored optically in the long-fibre delay line and not as population inversion in the laser-gain medium, high-energy pulses can now be generated directly from a low-power, compact semiconductor-based oscillator. Our theory predicts subpicosecond pulses with this new technique in the future.

Low jitter and high power all-active mode-locked lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yvind, Kresten; Larsson, David; Christiansen, Lotte Jin

2003-01-01

A novel epitaxial design leading to low loss and low gain saturation improves the properties of 40 GHz mode-locked lasers. We obtain 2.8 ps nearly chirp free pulses with 228 fs jitter and fiber-coupled power of 7 mW.......A novel epitaxial design leading to low loss and low gain saturation improves the properties of 40 GHz mode-locked lasers. We obtain 2.8 ps nearly chirp free pulses with 228 fs jitter and fiber-coupled power of 7 mW....

Pulsed power supply for Nova Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacon, J.L.; Kajs, J.P.; Walls, A.; Weldon, W.F.; Zowarka, R.C.

1992-01-01

This report describes work carried out at the Center for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin (CEM-UT). A baseline design of the Nova Upgrade has been completed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The Nova Upgrade is an 18 beamline Nd: glass laser design utilizing fully relayed 4x4 30 cm aperture segmented optical components. The laser thus consists of 288 independent beamlets nominally producing 1.5 to 2.0 MJ of 0.35 μm light in a 3 to 5 ns pulse. The laser design is extremely flexible and will allow a wide range of pulses to irradiate ICF targets. This facility will demonstrate ignition/gain and the scientific feasibility of ICF for energy and defense applications. The pulsed power requirements for the Nova Upgrade are given. CEM-UT was contracted to study and develop a design for a homopolar generator/inductor (HPG/inductor) opening switch system which would satisfy the pulsed power supply requirements of the Nova Upgrade. The Nd:glass laser amplifiers used in the Nova Upgrade will be powered by light from xenon flashlamps. The pulsed power supply for the Nova Upgrade powers the xenon flashlamps. This design and study was for a power supply to drive flashlamps

Guiding of laser pulses in plasma waveguides created by linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulses

OpenAIRE

Lemos, N.; Cardoso, L.; Geada, J.; Figueira, G.; Albert, F.; Dias, J. M.

2018-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate that plasma waveguides produced with ultra-short laser pulses (sub-picosecond) in gas jets are capable of guiding high intensity laser pulses. This scheme has the unique ability of guiding a high-intensity laser pulse in a plasma waveguide created by the same laser system in the very simple and stable experimental setup. A hot plasma column was created by a femtosecond class laser that expands into an on-axis parabolic low density profile suitable to act as a wav...

Laser wakefield electron acceleration. A novel approach employing supersonic microjets and few-cycle laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, Karl

2011-01-01

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. This process, known as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), relies on strongly driven plasma waves for the generation of accelerating gradients in the vicinity of several 100 GV/m, a value four orders of magnitude larger than that attainable by conventional accelerators. This thesis demonstrates that laser pulses with an ultrashort duration of 8 fs and a peak power of 6 TW allow the production of electron energies up to 50 MeV via LWFA. The special properties of laser accelerated electron pulses, namely the ultrashort pulse duration, the high brilliance, and the high charge density, open up new possibilities in many applications of these electron beams. (orig.)

Inhibited-coupling HC-PCF based beam-delivery-system for high power green industrial lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Chafer, M.; Gorse, A.; Beaudou, B.; Lekiefs, Q.; Maurel, M.; Debord, B.; Gérôme, F.; Benabid, F.

2018-02-01

We report on an ultra-low loss Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber (HC-PCF) beam delivery system (GLO-GreenBDS) for high power ultra-short pulse lasers operating in the green spectral range (including 515 nm and 532 nm). The GLOBDS- Green combines ease-of-use, high laser-coupling efficiency, robustness and industrial compatible cabling. It comprises a pre-aligned laser-injection head, a sheath-cable protected HC-PCF and a modular fiber-output head. It enables fiber-core gas loading and evacuation in a hermetic fashion. A 5 m long GLO-BDS were demonstrated for a green short pulse laser with a transmission coefficient larger than 80%, and a laser output profile close to single-mode (M2 <1.3).

High-average-power diode-pumped Yb: YAG lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avizonis, P V; Beach, R; Bibeau, C M; Emanuel, M A; Harris, D G; Honea, E C; Monroe, R S; Payne, S A; Skidmore, J A; Sutton, S B

1999-01-01

A scaleable diode end-pumping technology for high-average-power slab and rod lasers has been under development for the past several years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This technology has particular application to high average power Yb:YAG lasers that utilize a rod configured gain element. Previously, this rod configured approach has achieved average output powers in a single 5 cm long by 2 mm diameter Yb:YAG rod of 430 W cw and 280 W q-switched. High beam quality (M(sup 2)= 2.4) q-switched operation has also been demonstrated at over 180 W of average output power. More recently, using a dual rod configuration consisting of two, 5 cm long by 2 mm diameter laser rods with birefringence compensation, we have achieved 1080 W of cw output with an M(sup 2) value of 13.5 at an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 27.5%. With the same dual rod laser operated in a q-switched mode, we have also demonstrated 532 W of average power with an M(sup 2) and lt; 2.5 at 17% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency. These q-switched results were obtained at a 10 kHz repetition rate and resulted in 77 nsec pulse durations. These improved levels of operational performance have been achieved as a result of technology advancements made in several areas that will be covered in this manuscript. These enhancements to our architecture include: (1) Hollow lens ducts that enable the use of advanced cavity architectures permitting birefringence compensation and the ability to run in large aperture-filling near-diffraction-limited modes. (2) Compound laser rods with flanged-nonabsorbing-endcaps fabricated by diffusion bonding. (3) Techniques for suppressing amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and parasitics in the polished barrel rods

High peak power Q-switched Er:YAG laser with two polarizers and its ablation performance for hard dental tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jingwei; Wang, Li; Wu, Xianyou; Cheng, Tingqing; Jiang, Haihe

2014-06-30

An electro-optically Q-switched high-energy Er:YAG laser with two polarizers is proposed. By using two Al(2)O(3) polarizing plates and a LiNbO(3) crystal with Brewster angle, the polarization efficiency is significantly improved. As a result, 226 mJ pulse energy with 62 ns pulse width is achieved at the repetition rate of 3 Hz, the corresponding peak power is 3.6 MW. To our knowledge, such a high peak power has not been reported in literature. With our designed laser, in-vitro teeth were irradiated under Q-switched and free-running modes. Results of a laser ablation experiment on hard dental tissue with the high-peak-power laser demonstrates that the Q-switched Er:YAG laser has higher ablation precision and less thermal damage than the free-running Er:YAG laser.

Optics assembly for high power laser tools

Science.gov (United States)

Fraze, Jason D.; Faircloth, Brian O.; Zediker, Mark S.

2016-06-07

There is provided a high power laser rotational optical assembly for use with, or in high power laser tools for performing high power laser operations. In particular, the optical assembly finds applications in performing high power laser operations on, and in, remote and difficult to access locations. The optical assembly has rotational seals and bearing configurations to avoid contamination of the laser beam path and optics.

Controlling Plasma Channels through Ultrashort Laser Pulse Filamentation

Science.gov (United States)

Ionin, Andrey; Seleznev, Leonid; Sunchugasheva, Elena

2013-09-01

A review of studies fulfilled at the Lebedev Institute in collaboration with the Moscow State University and Institute of Atmospheric Optics in Tomsk on influence of various characteristics of ultrashort laser pulse on plasma channels formed under its filamentation is presented. Filamentation of high-power laser pulses with wavefront controlled by a deformable mirror, with cross-sections spatially formed by various diaphragms and with different wavelengths was experimentally and numerically studied. An application of plasma channels formed due to filamentation of ultrashort laser pulse including a train of such pulses for triggering and guiding long electric discharges is discussed. The research was supported by RFBR Grants 11-02-12061-ofi-m and 11-02-01100, and EOARD Grant 097007 through ISTC Project 4073 P

Supercoherent phenomena in pulsed power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Rourke, R.C.

1983-01-01

This chapter proposes the formulation of programs of basic physics research to transform Pulsed Power Technology (PPT) to Pulsed Power Science and Technology (PPS and T) by formulating the laws of the quantized microscopic electromagnetic field; applying the microscopic electromagnetic field theory to the generation, propagation and deposition of pulses in nonlinear networks; learning more about the basic super coherent ''micro-structure'' in space and time of the many-photon states of pulsed laser beams; learning more about the basic super coherent ''micro-structure'' in space and time of the many-electronstates of pulsed electron and ion laser beams; and learning everything about the ''micro-picture'' of so-called ''dielectric breakdown'' and the associated absolute time delays. Promotes the idea that laser, electron and ion beams are similar kinds of pulses in the microscopic electromagnetic field. Presents expression for the microscopic electromagnetic field in order to show the role of supercoherence in PPS and T

Combining Raman and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy by double pulse lasing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lednev, Vasily N; Pershin, Sergey M; Sdvizhenskii, Pavel A; Grishin, Mikhail Ya; Fedorov, Alexander N; Bukin, Vladimir V; Oshurko, Vadim B; Shchegolikhin, Alexander N

2018-01-01

A new approach combining Raman spectrometry and laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) within a single laser event was suggested. A pulsed solid state Nd:YAG laser running in double pulse mode (two frequency-doubled sequential nanosecond laser pulses with dozens microseconds delay) was used to combine two spectrometry methods within a single instrument (Raman/LIBS spectrometer). First, a low-energy laser pulse (power density far below ablation threshold) was used for Raman measurements while a second powerful laser pulse created the plasma suitable for LIBS analysis. A short time delay between two successive pulses allows measuring LIBS and Raman spectra at different moments but within a single laser flash-lamp pumping. Principal advantages of the developed instrument include high quality Raman/LIBS spectra acquisition (due to optimal gating for Raman/LIBS independently) and absence of target thermal alteration during Raman measurements. A series of high quality Raman and LIBS spectra were acquired for inorganic salts (gypsum, anhydrite) as well as for pharmaceutical samples (acetylsalicylic acid). To the best of our knowledge, the quantitative analysis feasibility by combined Raman/LIBS instrument was demonstrated for the first time by calibration curves construction for acetylsalicylic acid (Raman) and copper (LIBS) in gypsum matrix. Combining ablation pulses and Raman measurements (LIBS/Raman measurements) within a single instrument makes it an efficient tool for identification of samples hidden by non-transparent covering or performing depth profiling analysis including remote sensing. Graphical abstract Combining Raman and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy by double pulse lasing.

Laser sources for polarized electron beams in cw and pulsed accelerators

CERN Document Server

Hatziefremidis, A; Fraser, D; Avramopoulos, H

1999-01-01

We report the characterization of a high power, high repetition rate, mode-locked laser system to be used in continuous wave and pulsed electron accelerators for the generation of polarized electron beams. The system comprises of an external cavity diode laser and a harmonically mode-locked Ti:Sapphire oscillator and it can provide up to 3.4 W average power, with a corresponding pulse energy exceeding 1 nJ at 2856 MHz repetition rate. The system is tunable between 770-785 and 815-835 nm with two sets of diodes for the external cavity diode laser. (author)

Experimental devices for the spatio-temporal characterization of femtosecond high-power laser chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallet, Valentin

2014-01-01

One of the advantages of high-power femtosecond lasers (TW-PW) is to obtain, at the focus of a focusing optic, very high intensities up to 10 22 W.cm -2 (i.e. an electric field of 2.7 PV.m -1 . Therefore, these lasers chains necessarily deliver beams with large diameter (up to 40 cm) and very short pulses (of the order of tens of femto-seconds). As a consequence, the spatial and temporal properties of the pulse are generally not independent. Such dependence, called spatial-temporal coupling has the effect of increasing the pulse duration and the size of the focal spot, which can lead to a significant reduction of the maximum intensity at the focus. Metrology devices commonly used on these high-power femtosecond lasers allow retrieving the spatial and temporal profiles of the pulse only in an independent manner. The aim of this thesis was to develop techniques for measuring spatio-temporal couplings in order to quantify their effect and correct them in order to obtain the maximum intensity at focus. First of all, we adapted an existing technique of spatio-temporal characterization to the measurement of TW lasers. To avoid the issues induced at the focus, such as those related to jittering, measurements were performed on the collimated beam. By adding a reference source to the original device, we managed to take into account the measurement artifacts due to thermal and mechanical variations affecting the interferometer. With this improvement, it was possible to reconstruct the complete spatio-temporal profile of the beam, particularly its wavefront. However, the limitations imposed by this technique led to the development of a new measurement device. Based on a cross-correlation, this technique consists of making the laser beam to interfere with a part of itself, small enough not to be spatio-temporally distorted. We have also implemented a variant of this device for a single-shot measurement along one transverse dimension of the pulse. Using these techniques, we

Micro-Welding of Copper Plate by Frequency Doubled Diode Pumped Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

Science.gov (United States)

Nakashiba, Shin-Ichi; Okamoto, Yasuhiro; Sakagawa, Tomokazu; Takai, Sunao; Okada, Akira

A pulsed laser of 532 nm wavelength with ms range pulse duration was newly developed by second harmonic generation of diode pumped pulsed Nd:YAG laser. High electro-optical conversion efficiency more than 13% could be achieved, and 1.5 kW peak power green laser pulse was put in optical fiber of 100 μm in diameter. In micro- welding of 1.0 mm thickness copper plate, a keyhole welding was successfully performed by 1.0 kW peak power at spot diameter less than 200 μm. The frequency doubled pulsed laser improved the processing efficiency of copper welding, and narrow and deep weld bead was stably obtained.

Pulsed inductive HF laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Razhev, A M; Kargapol' tsev, E S [Institute of Laser Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Churkin, D S; Demchuk, S V [Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2016-03-31

We report the results of experimentally investigated dependences of temporal, spectral and spatial characteristics of an inductive HF-laser generation on the pump conditions. Gas mixtures H{sub 2} – F{sub 2}(NF{sub 3} or SF6{sub 6}) and He(Ne) – H{sub 2} – F{sub 2}(NF{sub 3} or SF{sub 6}) were used as active media. The FWHM pulse duration reached 0.42 μs. This value corresponded to a pulsed power of 45 kW. For the first time, the emission spectrum of an inductive HF laser was investigated, which consisted of seven groups of bands with centres around the wavelengths of 2732, 2736, 2739, 2835, 2837, 2893 and 2913 nm. The cross section profile of the laser beam was a ring with a diameter of about 20 mm and width of about 5 mm. Parameters of laser operation in the repetitively pulsed regime were sufficiently stable. The amplitude instability of light pulses was no greater than 5% – 6%. (lasers)

High-repetition-rate short-pulse gas discharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulip, J; Seguin, H; Mace, P N

1979-09-01

A high-average-power short-pulse gas discharge is described. This consists of a volume-preionized transverse discharge of the type used in gas lasers driven by a Blumlein energy storage circuit. The Blumlein circuit is fabricated from coaxial cable, is pulse-charged from a high-repetition-rate Marx-bank generator, and is switched by a high-repetition-rate segmented rail gap. The operation of this discharge under conditions typical of rare-gas halide lasers is described. A maximum of 900 pps was obtained, giving a power flow into the discharge of 30 kW.

Widely-duration-tunable nanosecond pulse Nd:YVO4 laser based on double Pockels cells

Science.gov (United States)

He, Li-Jiao; Liu, Ke; Bo, Yong; Wang, Xiao-Jun; Yang, Jing; Liu, Zhao; Zong, Qing-Shuang; Peng, Qin-Jun; Cui, Da-Fu; Xu, Zu-Yan

2018-05-01

The development of duration-tunable pulse lasers with constant output power is important for scientific research and materials processing. We present a widely-duration-tunable nanosecond (ns) pulse Nd:YVO4 laser based on double Pockels cells (PCs), i.e. inserting an extra PC into a conventional electro-optic Q-switched cavity dumped laser resonator. Under the absorbed pump power of 24.9 W, the pulse duration is adjustable from 31.9 ns to 5.9 ns by changing the amplitude of the high voltage on the inserted PC from 1100 V to 4400 V at the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz. The corresponding average output power is almost entirely maintained in the range of 3.5–4.1 W. This represents more than three times increase in pulse duration tunable regime and average power compared to previously reported results for duration-tunable ns lasers. The laser beam quality factor was measured to be M 2  <  1.18.

Explosive Nucleosynthesis Study Using Laser Driven γ-ray Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takehito Hayakawa

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We propose nuclear experiments using γ-ray pulses provided from high field plasma generated by high peak power laser. These γ-ray pulses have the excellent features of extremely short pulse, high intensity, and continuous energy distribution. These features are suitable for the study of explosive nucleosyntheses in novae and supernovae, such as the γ process and ν process. We discuss how to generate suitable γ-ray pulses and the nuclear astrophysics involved.

Few-cycle high energy mid-infrared pulse from Ho:YLF laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murari, Krishna

2017-04-01

Over the past decade, development of high-energy ultrafast laser sources has led to important breakthroughs in attoscience and strong-field physics study in atoms and molecules. Coherent pulse synthesis of few-cycle high-energy laser pulse is a promising tool to generate isolated attosecond pulses via high harmonics generation (HHG). An effective way to extend the HHG cut-off energy to higher values is making use of long mid-infrared (MIR) driver wavelength, as the ponderomotive potential scales quadratically with wavelength. If properly scaled in energy to multi-mJ level and few-cycle duration, such pulses provide a direct path to intriguing attoscience experiments in gases and solids, which even permit the realization of bright coherent table-top HHG sources in the water-window and keV X-ray region. However, the generation of high-intensity long-wavelength MIR pulses has always remained challenging, in particular starting from high-energy picosecond 2-μm laser driver, that is suitable for further energy scaling of the MIR pulses to multi-mJ energies by utilizing optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs). In this thesis, a front-end source for such MIR OPA is presented. In particular, a novel and robust strong-field few-cycle 2-μm laser driver directly from picosecond Ho:YLF laser and utilizing Kagome fiber based compression is presented. We achieved: a 70-fold compression of 140-μJ, 3.3-ps pulses from Ho:YLF amplifier to 48 fs with 11 μJ energy. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates a straightforward path towards generation of few-cycle MIR pulses and we believe that in the future the ultrafast community will benefit from this enabling technology. The results are summarized in mainly four parts: The first part is focused on the development of a 2-μm, high-energy laser source as the front-end. Comparison of available technology in general and promising gain media at MIR wavelength are discussed. Starting from the basics of an OPA, the design criteria

Few-cycle high energy mid-infrared pulse from Ho:YLF laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murari, Krishna

2017-04-15

Over the past decade, development of high-energy ultrafast laser sources has led to important breakthroughs in attoscience and strong-field physics study in atoms and molecules. Coherent pulse synthesis of few-cycle high-energy laser pulse is a promising tool to generate isolated attosecond pulses via high harmonics generation (HHG). An effective way to extend the HHG cut-off energy to higher values is making use of long mid-infrared (MIR) driver wavelength, as the ponderomotive potential scales quadratically with wavelength. If properly scaled in energy to multi-mJ level and few-cycle duration, such pulses provide a direct path to intriguing attoscience experiments in gases and solids, which even permit the realization of bright coherent table-top HHG sources in the water-window and keV X-ray region. However, the generation of high-intensity long-wavelength MIR pulses has always remained challenging, in particular starting from high-energy picosecond 2-μm laser driver, that is suitable for further energy scaling of the MIR pulses to multi-mJ energies by utilizing optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs). In this thesis, a front-end source for such MIR OPA is presented. In particular, a novel and robust strong-field few-cycle 2-μm laser driver directly from picosecond Ho:YLF laser and utilizing Kagome fiber based compression is presented. We achieved: a 70-fold compression of 140-μJ, 3.3-ps pulses from Ho:YLF amplifier to 48 fs with 11 μJ energy. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates a straightforward path towards generation of few-cycle MIR pulses and we believe that in the future the ultrafast community will benefit from this enabling technology. The results are summarized in mainly four parts: The first part is focused on the development of a 2-μm, high-energy laser source as the front-end. Comparison of available technology in general and promising gain media at MIR wavelength are discussed. Starting from the basics of an OPA, the design criteria

Pulsed CH3OH terahertz laser radiation pumped by 9P(36) CO2 lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiu Zhixian; Zuo Duluo; Miao Liang; Cheng Zuhai

2011-01-01

An efficient pulsed CH 3 OH terahertz (THz) laser pumped by a TEA CO 2 laser was investigated experimentally. A simple terahertz cavity and a TEA CO 2 laser for the optically pumped THz radiation were studied experimentally. To improve THz laser energy and photon conversion efficiency, two different TEA CO 2 lasers were developed to pump CH 3 OH. When CH 3 OH was pumped by the 9P(36) line with different powers of the CO 2 laser, the generation of terahertz radiation with energy as high as 0.307mJ and 23.75mJ were obtained, respectively. The corresponding photon conversion efficiencies were 0.29% and 2.4%. The photon conversion efficiency increases by a factor of about 8. Meanwhile, higher peak power of pump laser effectively improves the photon conversion efficiency. And the optimum THz laser pressure increases with narrower pulse width of pump laser because of increasing absorptive gases molecules of CH 3 OH with higher peak power of pump laser.

APPLICATION OF PULSE-PERIODICAL MODE FOR IMPROVEMENT OF LASER TREATMENT EFFICIENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Apollonov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to estimate an application of pulse-periodical mode for improvement of laser treatment efficiency. Laser technologies have been widely used in the processes of material treatment with the purpose to provide them the required surface properties and also for high accuracy cutting of sheet materials. Application of complex treatment is of great interest and especially when it is used for worn-out surfaces with formation of a coating by gas-flame laying of powder mixture of specific composition and subsequent laser fusion.Increase of laser unit capacity is very important task for higher efficiency of laser technology application in mechanical engineering. Nowadays technological processes using lasers with high average power (more than 100 W have been applying only sources that are working in two modes, namely: continuous and pulse- periodical (P-P with pulse repetition rate from some units to several hundred hertz and pulse duration within dozens to hundreds of microseconds and even within milliseconds. On the other hand, in some cases shielding effect of plasma cloud formed during laser alloying, cladding or welding reduces the efficiency of laser treatment up to 50 % depending on plasma composition and laser beam length. High frequency P-P laser systems with high average power working in mode of Q-factor modulation allow to realize principally other mechanism of irradiation interaction with materials that is an ablation. In this case it is possible to provide local energy release both in space and time.The performed analysis has revealed that P-P mode of laser operation for a majority of treatment processes is much better and more efficient from energetic point of view in comparison with the continuous mode. On the basis of the developments it is possible to make a conclusion that there is a possibility to create laser systems working in high frequency P-P mode with high average power above hundreds watt.

Measurement of high-power microwave pulse under intense ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. KALI-1000 pulse power system has been used to generate single pulse nanosecond duration high-power microwaves (HPM) from a virtual cathode oscillator. (VIRCATOR) device. HPM power measurements were carried out using a transmitting– receiving system in the presence of intense high frequency (a few ...

Computational and experimental progress on laser-activated gas avalanche switches for broadband, high-power electromagnetic pulse generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayhall, D.J.; Yee, J.H.; Villa, F.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the gas avalanche switch, a high-voltage, picosecond-speed switch, which has been proposed. The basic switch consists of pulse-charged electrodes, immersed in a high-pressure gas. An avalanche discharge is induced in the gas between the electrodes by ionization from a picosecond-scale laser pulse. The avalanching electrons move toward the anode, causing the applied voltage to collapse in picoseconds. This voltage collapse, if rapid enough, generates electromagnetic waves. A two-dimensional (2D), finite difference computer code solves Maxwell's equations for transverse magnetic modes for rectilinear electrodes between parallel plate conductors, along with electron conservation equations for continuity, momentum, and energy. Collision frequencies for ionization and momentum and energy transfer to neutral molecules are assumed to scale linearly with neutral pressure. Electrode charging and laser-driven electron deposition are assumed to be instantaneous. Code calculations are done for a pulse generator geometry, consisting of an 0.7 mm wide by 0.8 mm high, beveled, rectangular center electrode between grounded parallel plates at 2 mm spacing in air

Preliminary design of experiment high power density laser beam interaction with plasmas and development of a cold cathode electron beam laser amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosavi, R.K.; Kohanzadeh, Y.; Taherzadeh, M.; Vaziri, A.

1976-01-01

This experiment is designed to produce plasma by carbon dioxide pulsed laser, to measure plasma parameters and to study the interaction of the produced plasma with intense laser beams. The objectives of this experiment are the following: 1. To set up a TEA CO 2 laser oscillator and a cold cathode electron beam laser amplifier together as a system, to produce high energy optical pulses of short duration. 2. To achieve laser intensities of 10 11 watt/cm 2 or more at solid targets of polyethylene (C 2 H 4 )n, lithium hydride (LiH), and lithium deuteride in order to produce high temperature plasmas. 3. To design and develop diagnostic methods for studies of laser-induced plasmas. 4. To develop a high power CO 2 laser amplifier for the purpose of upgrading the optical energy delivered to the targets

Amplified spontaneous emission and thermal management on a high average-power diode-pumped solid-state laser - the Lucia laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albach, D.

2010-01-01

The development of the laser triggered the birth of numerous fields in both scientific and industrial domains. High intensity laser pulses are a unique tool for light/matter interaction studies and applications. However, current flash-pumped glass-based systems are inherently limited in repetition-rate and efficiency. Development within recent years in the field of semiconductor lasers and gain media drew special attention to a new class of lasers, the so-called Diode Pumped Solid State Laser (DPSSL). DPSSLs are highly efficient lasers and are candidates of choice for compact, high average-power systems required for industrial applications but also as high-power pump sources for ultra-high intense lasers. The work described in this thesis takes place in the context of the 1 kilowatt average-power DPSSL program Lucia, currently under construction at the 'Laboratoire d'Utilisation des Laser Intenses' (LULI) at the Ecole Polytechnique, France. Generation of sub-10 nanosecond long pulses with energies of up to 100 joules at repetition rates of 10 hertz are mainly limited by Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) and thermal effects. These limitations are the central themes of this work. Their impact is discussed within the context of a first Lucia milestone, set around 10 joules. The developed laser system is shown in detail from the oscillator level to the end of the amplification line. A comprehensive discussion of the impact of ASE and thermal effects is completed by related experimental benchmarks. The validated models are used to predict the performances of the laser system, finally resulting in a first activation of the laser system at an energy level of 7 joules in a single-shot regime and 6.6 joules at repetition rates up to 2 hertz. Limitations and further scaling approaches are discussed, followed by an outlook for the further development. (author) [fr

Short-pulse generation in a diode-end-pumped solid-state laser

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ngcobo, S

2010-09-01

Full Text Available , Development of High Average Power Picosecond Laser Systems, Opto- Electronic Devices, (2002). INTRODUCTION A Nd:YVO4 modelocked laser has been constructed using a resonator designed according to the theoretical parameters. The laser produced pulses... theoretical PQSML,th of 2.08W. Short-Pulse Generation in a Diode-End-Pumped Solid-State Laser S. Ngcobo1,2, C. Bollig1 and H. Von Bergmann2 1CSIR National Laser Centre, PO Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa 2Laser Research Center, University...

Technology of discharge and laser resonators for high power CO2 lasers. Koshutsuryoku CO2 laser ni tsukawareru hoden reiki laser kyoshinki gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takenaka, Y.; Kuzumoto, M. (Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Tokyo (Japan))

1994-03-20

This paper describes discharge excitation technology and resonator technology as basic technologies for high power CO2 lasers. As a result of progress in high-frequency power element techniques, the discharge excitation technology now generally uses laser excitation using AC discharge of capacity coupling type. Its representative example is silent discharge (SD) excitation. This is a system to excite laser by applying high voltages with as high frequency as 100 kHz to 1 MHz across a pair of electrodes covered with a dielectric material. The system maintains stability in discharge even if power supply voltage amplitude is modulated, and easily provides pulse outputs. Discharge excitation for diffusion cooled type CO2 laser generates a discharge in a gap with a gap length of about 2 mm, and can perform gas cooling by means of thermal conduction of gas, whereas a compact resonator can be fabricated. A resonator for the diffusion cooled type CO2 laser eliminates gas circulation and cooling systems, hence the device can be made more compact. A report has been given that several of these compact resonators were combined, from which a laser output of 85W was obtained by using RF discharge of 2kW. 43 refs., 21 figs.

Continuous and pulsed laser high power beam combiner for additive manufacturing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bassignana, Marta; Califano, Alessio; Pescarmona, Francesco; Braglia, Andrea; Perrone, Guido

2018-02-01

Laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) from metal powders is emerging as the new industrial revolution, although current fabrication approaches still require long mechanical post-processing to improve the final surface quality and meet the design tolerances. To overcome this limitation, the next generation machines are expected to complement laser AM with laser ablation (LA) to implement surface finishing and micro texturing already during the device growth process. With this aim, a new beam combiner to allow the real-time interchange of additive and subtractive processes using the same scanner head has been designed. Extensive tests have been carried out using a 6 kW continuous-wave laser similar to that used for the metal powder fusion and a nanosecond 100W pulsed source similar to that used for laser ablation.

Short-pulse laser interactions with disordered materials and liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phinney, L.M.; Goldman, C.H.; Longtin, J.P.; Tien, C.L. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1995-12-31

High-power, short-pulse lasers in the picosecond and subpicosecond range are utilized in an increasing number of technologies, including materials processing and diagnostics, micro-electronics and devices, and medicine. In these applications, the short-pulse radiation interacts with a wide range of media encompassing disordered materials and liquids. Examples of disordered materials include porous media, polymers, organic tissues, and amorphous forms of silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide. In order to accurately model, efficiently control, and optimize short-pulse, laser-material interactions, a thorough understanding of the energy transport mechanisms is necessary. Thus, fractals and percolation theory are used to analyze the anomalous diffusion regime in random media. In liquids, the thermal aspects of saturable and multiphoton absorption are examined. Finally, a novel application of short-pulse laser radiation to reduce surface adhesion forces in microstructures through short-pulse laser-induced water desorption is presented.

Measurement of electromagnetic pulses generated during interactions of high power lasers with solid targets

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

De Marco, Massimo; Krása, Josef; Cikhardt, Jakub; Pfeifer, Miroslav; Krouský, Eduard; Margarone, Daniele; Ahmed, H.; Borghesi, M.; Kar, S.; Giuffrida, Lorenzo; Vrána, Roman; Velyhan, Andriy; Limpouch, J.; Korn, Georg; Weber, Stefan A.; Velardi, L.; Delle Side, D.; Nassisi, V.; Ullschmied, Jiří

2016-01-01

Roč. 11, Jun (2016), 1-8, č. článku C06004. ISSN 1748-0221 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LQ1606; GA MŠk EF15_008/0000162; GA ČR(CZ) GA15-02964S; GA MŠk(CZ) LD14089; GA MŠk ED1.1.00/02.0061 Grant - others:ELI Beamlines(XE) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_008/0000162; ELI Beamlines(XE) CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0061 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 ; RVO:61389021 Keywords : lasers * pulsed power Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 1.220, year: 2016

Effects of Femtosecond Terawatt Laser Pulses on Materials Similar to Porcine Skin

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kumru, Semih S; Noojin, Gary D; Rockwell, Benjamin A

2004-01-01

As the laser technology advances and the availability of high power femtosecond pulsed laser systems increase, the urgency to have damage thresholds and ED50 data on these new laser systems becomes...

Q-switched all-fiber laser with short pulse duration based on tungsten diselenide

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenyi; OuYang, Yuyi; Ma, Guoli; Liu, Mengli; Liu, Wenjun

2018-05-01

Fiber lasers are widely used in industrial processing, sensing, medical and communications applications due to their simple structure, good stability and low cost. With the rapid development of fiber lasers and the sustained improvement of industrial laser quality requirements, researchers in ultrafast optics focus on how to get laser pulses with high output power and narrow pulse duration. Q-switched technology is one of the most effective techniques to generate ultrashort pulses. In this paper, a tungsten diselenide saturable absorber with 16.82% modulation depth is prepared by chemical vapor deposition. Experimental results show that when the pump power changes from 115.7 mW to 630 mW, the all-fiber laser can achieve a stable Q-switched pulse output. The repetition rate of the output pulse varies from 80.32 kHz to 204.2 kHz, the pulse duration is 581 ns, the maximum output power is 17.1 mW and the maximum pulse energy is 83.7 nJ. Results in this paper show that tungsten diselenide can be applied to ultrafast optics, which is a kind of saturable absorption material with excellent properties.

Method of high precision interval measurement in pulse laser ranging system

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhen; Lv, Xin-yuan; Mao, Jin-jin; Liu, Wei; Yang, Dong

2013-09-01

Laser ranging is suitable for laser system, for it has the advantage of high measuring precision, fast measuring speed,no cooperative targets and strong resistance to electromagnetic interference,the measuremen of laser ranging is the key paremeters affecting the performance of the whole system.The precision of the pulsed laser ranging system was decided by the precision of the time interval measurement, the principle structure of laser ranging system was introduced, and a method of high precision time interval measurement in pulse laser ranging system was established in this paper.Based on the analysis of the factors which affected the precision of range measure,the pulse rising edges discriminator was adopted to produce timing mark for the start-stop time discrimination,and the TDC-GP2 high precision interval measurement system based on TMS320F2812 DSP was designed to improve the measurement precision.Experimental results indicate that the time interval measurement method in this paper can obtain higher range accuracy. Compared with the traditional time interval measurement system,the method simplifies the system design and reduce the influence of bad weather conditions,furthermore,it satisfies the requirements of low costs and miniaturization.

Recent progress of 638-nm high-power broad area laser diodes in Mitsubishi Electric

Science.gov (United States)

Kuramoto, Kyosuke; Abe, Shinji; Miyashita, Motoharu; Nishida, Takehiro; Yagi, Tetsuya

2018-02-01

Laser based displays have gathered much attention because only the displays can express full color gamut of Ultra-HDTV, ITU-R BT.2020. One of the displays uses the lasers under pulse such as a single spatial light modulator (SLM) projector, and the other does ones under CW such as a multiple SLM projector and a liquid crystal display. Both types require high-power lasers because brightness is the most important factor in the market. We developed two types of 638-nm multi-emitter high-power BA-LDs assembled on Φ9.0-TO, that is, triple emitter for pulse and dual emitter for CW. The triple emitter LD emitted exceeding 6.0 W peak power under 25°C, frequency of 120 Hz, and duty of 30%. At high temperature, 55°C, the peak power was approximately 2.9W. The dual emitter emitted exceeding 3.0W under 25°C, CW. It emitted up to 1.7 W at 55°C. WPE of the dual emitter reached 40.5% at Tc of 25°C, which is the world highest in 638-nm LD under CW to the best of our knowledge, although that of the triple emitter was 38.1%. Both LDs may be suitable for laser based display applications.

Development of high power pumping system for capillary discharge EUV laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakai, Yusuke; Komatsu, Takanori; Watanabe, Masato; Okino, Akitoshi; Hotta, Eiki

2008-01-01

Development of high power pumping system for capillary discharge soft X-ray laser is reported. The pulsed power system consists of a 2.2 μF LC generator, a 2:54 step-up transformer and a 3 nF water capacitor. Taking advantage of high efficiency configuration, step-up ratio of water capacitor voltage to LC generator initial voltage is about 40 times. Consequently, obtained water capacitor voltage reaches about 450 kV when LC generator was charged to 12.5 kV. As a consequent, possibility of charging a water capacitor to 1 MV is demonstrated. With this extremely compact system, discharge current could be increased to nearly 100 kA through moderately long capillary, which leads to generation of high-density and high-temperature plasma column in order to realize EUV laser. (author)

High Power High Efficiency Diode Laser Stack for Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yuanyuan; Lu, Hui; Fu, Yueming; Cui, Yan

2018-03-01

High-power diode lasers based on GaAs semiconductor bars are well established as reliable and highly efficient laser sources. As diode laser is simple in structure, small size, longer life expectancy with the advantages of low prices, it is widely used in the industry processing, such as heat treating, welding, hardening, cladding and so on. Respectively, diode laser could make it possible to establish the practical application because of rectangular beam patterns which are suitable to make fine bead with less power. At this power level, it can have many important applications, such as surgery, welding of polymers, soldering, coatings and surface treatment of metals. But there are some applications, which require much higher power and brightness, e.g. hardening, key hole welding, cutting and metal welding. In addition, High power diode lasers in the military field also have important applications. So all developed countries have attached great importance to high-power diode laser system and its applications. This is mainly due their low performance. In this paper we will introduce the structure and the principle of the high power diode stack.

Generation of high-power terahertz radiation by femtosecond-terawatt lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nashima, Shigeki; Hosoda, Makoto; Daido, Hiroyuki

2007-01-01

We observed electromagnetic waves in the terahertz (THz) frequency range from a Ti foil excited by tabletop terawatt (T-cube) laser pulses. The radiation power was increased drastically with increasing its laser power. We also investigated the polarization characteristics of the sub-terahertz wave. It is found that the polarization of the radiated sub-terahertz waves was parallel to the incident beam plane, which is independent on the pump laser polarization. These results indicate transient electric field to the incident plane is generated by laser-plasma interaction, i.e., laser wake field and coherent plasma wave. (author)

Extending ultra-short pulse laser texturing over large area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mincuzzi, G., E-mail: girolamo.mincuzzi@alphanov.com; Gemini, L.; Faucon, M.; Kling, R.

2016-11-15

Highlights: • We carried out metal surface texturing (Ripples, micro grooves, Spikes) using a high power, high repetition rate, industrial, Ultra-short pulses laser. • Extremely Fast processing is shown (Laser Scan speed as high as 90 m/s) with a polygon scanner head. • Stainless steel surface blackening with Ultra-short pulses laser has been obtained with unprecedented scanspeed. • Full SEM surface characterization was carried out for all the different structures obtained. • Reflectance measurements were carried out to characterize surface reflectance. - Abstract: Surface texturing by Ultra-Short Pulses Laser (UPL) for industrial applications passes through the use of both fast beam scanning systems and high repetition rate, high average power P, UPL. Nevertheless unwanted thermal effects are expected when P exceeds some tens of W. An interesting strategy for a reliable heat management would consists in texturing with a low fluence values (slightly higher than the ablation threshold) and utilising a Polygon Scanner Heads delivering laser pulses with unrepeated speed. Here we show for the first time that with relatively low fluence it is possible over stainless steel, to obtain surface texturing by utilising a 2 MHz femtosecond laser jointly with a polygonal scanner head in a relatively low fluence regime (0.11 J cm{sup −2}). Different surface textures (Ripples, micro grooves and spikes) can be obtained varying the scan speed from 90 m s{sup −1} to 25 m s{sup −1}. In particular, spikes formation process has been shown and optimised at 25 m s{sup −1} and a full morphology characterization by SEM has been carried out. Reflectance measurements with integrating sphere are presented to compare reference surface with high scan rate textures. In the best case we show a black surface with reflectance value < 5%.

Effect of laser pulse parameters on the size and fluorescence of nanodiamonds formed upon pulsed-laser irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Peikang; Hu, Shengliang; Zhang, Taiping; Sun, Jing; Cao, Shirui

2010-01-01

The size of nanodiamonds formed upon laser irradiation could be easily controlled over simply adjusting laser pulse parameters. The stable size and structure of nanodiamonds were mostly determined by laser power density and pulse width. Both large nanodiamonds with multiply twinning structure (MTS) and small nanodiamonds with single crystalline structure (SCS) emitted strong visible light after surface passivation, and their fluorescence quantum yield (QY) was 4.6% and 7.1%, respectively.

Effect of laser pulse parameters on the size and fluorescence of nanodiamonds formed upon pulsed-laser irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bai, Peikang [School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China); Hu, Shengliang, E-mail: hsliang@yeah.net [Key Laboratory of Instrumentation Science and Dynamic Measurement (North University of China), Ministry of Education, National Key Laboratory Science and Technology on Electronic Test and Measurement, Taiyuan 030051 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China); Zhang, Taiping; Sun, Jing [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Cao, Shirui [School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China)

2010-07-15

The size of nanodiamonds formed upon laser irradiation could be easily controlled over simply adjusting laser pulse parameters. The stable size and structure of nanodiamonds were mostly determined by laser power density and pulse width. Both large nanodiamonds with multiply twinning structure (MTS) and small nanodiamonds with single crystalline structure (SCS) emitted strong visible light after surface passivation, and their fluorescence quantum yield (QY) was 4.6% and 7.1%, respectively.

Beam shaping to provide round and square-shaped beams in optical systems of high-power lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Laskin, Alexander; Laskin, Vadim

2016-05-01

Optical systems of modern high-power lasers require control of irradiance distribution: round or square-shaped flat-top or super-Gaussian irradiance profiles are optimum for amplification in MOPA lasers and for thermal load management while pumping of crystals of solid-state ultra-short pulse lasers to control heat and minimize its impact on the laser power and beam quality while maximizing overall laser efficiency, variable profiles are also important in irradiating of photocathode of Free Electron lasers (FEL). It is suggested to solve the task of irradiance re-distribution using field mapping refractive beam shapers like piShaper. The operational principle of these devices presumes transformation of laser beam intensity from Gaussian to flat-top one with high flatness of output wavefront, saving of beam consistency, providing collimated output beam of low divergence, high transmittance, extended depth of field, negligible residual wave aberration, and achromatic design provides capability to work with ultra-short pulse lasers having broad spectrum. Using the same piShaper device it is possible to realize beams with flat-top, inverse Gauss or super Gauss irradiance distribution by simple variation of input beam diameter, and the beam shape can be round or square with soft edges. This paper will describe some design basics of refractive beam shapers of the field mapping type and optical layouts of their applying in optical systems of high-power lasers. Examples of real implementations and experimental results will be presented as well.

Production of quasi ellipsoidal laser pulses for next generation high brightness photoinjectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rublack, T., E-mail: Tino.Rublack@desy.de [DESY, Zeuthen (Germany); Good, J.; Khojoyan, M.; Krasilnikov, M.; Stephan, F. [DESY, Zeuthen (Germany); Hartl, I.; Schreiber, S. [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Andrianov, A.; Gacheva, E.; Khazanov, E.; Mironov, S.; Potemkin, A.; Zelenogorskii, V.V. [IAP/RAS, Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Syresin, E. [JINR, Dubna (Russian Federation)

2016-09-01

The use of high brightness electron beams in Free Electron Laser (FEL) applications is of increasing importance. One of the most promising methods to generate such beams is the usage of shaped photocathode laser pulses. It has already demonstrated that temporal and transverse flat-top laser pulses can produce very low emittance beams [1]. Nevertheless, based on beam simulations further improvements can be achieved using quasi-ellipsoidal laser pulses, e.g. 30% reduction in transverse projected emittance at 1 nC bunch charge. In a collaboration between DESY, the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Science (IAP RAS) in Nizhny Novgorod and the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna such a laser system capable of producing trains of laser pulses with a quasi-ellipsoidal distribution, has been developed. The prototype of the system was installed at the Photo Injector Test facility at DESY in Zeuthen (PITZ) and is currently in the commissioning phase. In the following, the laser system will be introduced, the procedure of pulse shaping will be described and the last experimental results will be shown.

Working Group VI Summary Report: New Ideas Employing High-Power Lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, W.P.

1999-01-01

The objectives of this working group were to provide the ''Future Light Source Community'' information on: Electron-Laser interaction based sources; Plasma based radiation sources and accelerators; and Present and future high-power laser technology. A summary of presentations, discussions and opinions is presented next. At the end of this report, a few references are given. The list is very far from being complete but is meant as a start for further exploring the various topics discussed in this working group. Based on presentations and discussions during the workshop, a summarizing table of the performance of three different types of laser systems has been made. The emphasis is on listing performance parameters of solid state, FEL and gas based lasers, relevant to the development of a future fourth generation light source. Two types of solid state lasers capable of producing peak power in the multi-terawatt range are described: Nd:glass and Ti:sapphire lasers [1]. The main development for these lasers is towards higher average power levels: from the 10 W to the > 100 W level. An infrared FEL has recently produced 1 kW average power but with peak power on the order of 0.1 GW [2]. A terawatt class, short pulse CO 2 based gas laser is under development at the Advanced Test Facility at BNL [3

Eye safe high power laser diode in the 1410-1550nm range

Science.gov (United States)

Boucart, Julien; de Largy, Brian; Kearley, Mark; Lichtenstein, Norbert

2010-02-01

The demand for high power lasers emitting in the 14xx-15xxnm range is growing for applications in fields such as medical or homeland security. We demonstrate high power laser diodes with emission at 1430, 1470 and 1560 nm. Single multimode emitters at 1470nm emit about 3.5W in CW operation. Power conversion efficiency can reach values as high as 38.5%. With this base material, single and multi-emitter fiber coupled modules are built. Additionally, bars on passive and microchannel coolers are fabricated that deliver 25W and 38W respectively in CW mode, while obtaining more than 80 W in pulsed mode. All reliability tests show an outstanding stability of the material with no signs of wearout after 3750 hrs under strong acceleration conditions.

A High Power InGaN-Based Blue-Violet Laser Diode Array with a Broad-Area Stripe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ping; Zhao De-Gang; Feng Mei-Xin; Jiang De-Sheng; Liu Zong-Shun; Yang Hui; Zhang Li-Qun; Li De-Yao; Liu Jian-Ping; Wang Hui; Zhu Jian-Jun; Zhang Shu-Ming; Zhang Bao-Shun

2013-01-01

An array of high power InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well laser diodes with a broad waveguide is fabricated. The laser diode structure is grown on a GaN substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The laser diode array consists of five emitter stripes which share common electrodes on one laser chip. The electrical and optical characteristics of the laser diode array are investigated under the pulse current injection with 10kHz frequency and 100 ns pulse width. The laser diode array emits at the wavelength of 409 nm, which is located in the blue-violet region, and the threshold current is 2.9 A. The maximum output light peak power is measured to be 7.5 W at the wavelength of 411.8 nm under the current of 25 A

Supercomputations and big-data analysis in strong-field ultrafast optical physics: filamentation of high-peak-power ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Voronin, A. A.; Panchenko, V. Ya; Zheltikov, A. M.

2016-06-01

High-intensity ultrashort laser pulses propagating in gas media or in condensed matter undergo complex nonlinear spatiotemporal evolution where temporal transformations of optical field waveforms are strongly coupled to an intricate beam dynamics and ultrafast field-induced ionization processes. At the level of laser peak powers orders of magnitude above the critical power of self-focusing, the beam exhibits modulation instabilities, producing random field hot spots and breaking up into multiple noise-seeded filaments. This problem is described by a (3  +  1)-dimensional nonlinear field evolution equation, which needs to be solved jointly with the equation for ultrafast ionization of a medium. Analysis of this problem, which is equivalent to solving a billion-dimensional evolution problem, is only possible by means of supercomputer simulations augmented with coordinated big-data processing of large volumes of information acquired through theory-guiding experiments and supercomputations. Here, we review the main challenges of supercomputations and big-data processing encountered in strong-field ultrafast optical physics and discuss strategies to confront these challenges.

Pulsed operation of high-power light emitting diodes for imaging flow velocimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willert, C; Klinner, J; Moessner, S; Stasicki, B

2010-01-01

High-powered light emitting diodes (LED) are investigated for possible uses as light sources in flow diagnostics, in particular, as an alternative to laser-based illumination in particle imaging flow velocimetry in side-scatter imaging arrangements. Recent developments in solid state illumination resulted in mass-produced LEDs that provide average radiant power in excess of 10 W. By operating these LEDs with short duration, pulsed currents that are considerably beyond their continuous current damage threshold, light pulses can be generated that are sufficient to illuminate and image micron-sized particles in flow velocimetry. Time-resolved PIV measurements in water at a framing rate of 2kHz are presented. The feasibility of LED-based PIV measurements in air is also demonstrated

Molecular dynamics study of lubricant depletion by pulsed laser heating

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Young Woo; Rosenkranz, Andreas; Talke, Frank E.

2018-05-01

In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to numerically investigate the effect of pulsed laser heating on lubricant depletion. The maximum temperature, the lubricant depletion width, the number of evaporated lubricant beads and the number of fragmented lubricant chains were studied as a function of laser peak power, pulse duration and repetition rate. A continuous-wave laser and a square pulse laser were simulated and compared to a Gaussian pulse laser. With increasing repetition rate, pulsed laser heating was found to approach continuous-wave laser heating.

High average power diode pumped solid state lasers for CALIOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comaskey, B.; Halpin, J.; Moran, B.

1994-07-01

Diode pumping of solid state media offers the opportunity for very low maintenance, high efficiency, and compact laser systems. For remote sensing, such lasers may be used to pump tunable non-linear sources, or if tunable themselves, act directly or through harmonic crystals as the probe. The needs of long range remote sensing missions require laser performance in the several watts to kilowatts range. At these power performance levels, more advanced thermal management technologies are required for the diode pumps. The solid state laser design must now address a variety of issues arising from the thermal loads, including fracture limits, induced lensing and aberrations, induced birefringence, and laser cavity optical component performance degradation with average power loading. In order to highlight the design trade-offs involved in addressing the above issues, a variety of existing average power laser systems are briefly described. Included are two systems based on Spectra Diode Laboratory's water impingement cooled diode packages: a two times diffraction limited, 200 watt average power, 200 Hz multi-rod laser/amplifier by Fibertek, and TRW's 100 watt, 100 Hz, phase conjugated amplifier. The authors also present two laser systems built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) based on their more aggressive diode bar cooling package, which uses microchannel cooler technology capable of 100% duty factor operation. They then present the design of LLNL's first generation OPO pump laser for remote sensing. This system is specified to run at 100 Hz, 20 nsec pulses each with 300 mJ, less than two times diffraction limited, and with a stable single longitudinal mode. The performance of the first testbed version will be presented. The authors conclude with directions their group is pursuing to advance average power lasers. This includes average power electro-optics, low heat load lasing media, and heat capacity lasers

Study of the high power laser-metal interactions in the gaseous atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Lugomer, Stjepan; Bitelli, G.; Stipancic, M.; Jovic, F.

1994-08-01

The tantalum and titanium plates were treated by pulsed, high power CO2 laser in the pressurized atmospheres of N2 and O2. Studies performed by the optical microscopy, microhardness measurements, and the auger electron spectroscopy revealed: (1) topographic modification of the surface caused by the temperature field; (2) metal hardening, caused by the laser shock; and (3) alloying/cladding, caused by the chemical reaction between the metal surface and the gaseous atmosphere.

Impact of laser power density on tribological properties of Pulsed Laser Deposited DLC films

Science.gov (United States)

Gayathri, S.; Kumar, N.; Krishnan, R.; AmirthaPandian, S.; Ravindran, T. R.; Dash, S.; Tyagi, A. K.; Sridharan, M.

2013-12-01

Fabrication of wear resistant and low friction carbon films on the engineered substrates is considered as a challenging task for expanding the applications of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. In this paper, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique is used to deposit DLC films on two different types of technologically important class of substrates such as silicon and AISI 304 stainless steel. Laser power density is one of the important parameter used to tailor the fraction of sp2 bonded amorphous carbon (a-C) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) made by sp3 domain in the DLC film. The I(D)/I(G) ratio decreases with the increasing laser power density which is associated with decrease in fraction of a-C/ta-C ratio. The fraction of these chemical components is quantitatively analyzed by EELS which is well supported to the data obtained from the Raman spectroscopy. Tribological properties of the DLC are associated with chemical structure of the film. However, the super low value of friction coefficient 0.003 is obtained when the film is predominantly constituted by a-C and sp2 fraction which is embedded within the clusters of ta-C. Such a particular film with super low friction coefficient is measured while it was deposited on steel at low laser power density of 2 GW/cm2. The super low friction mechanism is explained by low sliding resistance of a-C/sp2 and ta-C clusters. Combination of excellent physical and mechanical properties of wear resistance and super low friction coefficient of DLC films is desirable for engineering applications. Moreover, the high friction coefficient of DLC films deposited at 9GW/cm2 is related to widening of the intergrain distance caused by transformation from sp2 to sp3 hybridized structure.

Novel Laser Ignition Technique Using Dual-Pulse Pre-Ionization

Science.gov (United States)

Dumitrache, Ciprian

Recent advances in the development of compact high power laser sources and fiber optic delivery of giant pulses have generated a renewed interest in laser ignition. The non-intrusive nature of laser ignition gives it a set of unique characteristics over the well-established capacitive discharge devices (or spark plugs) that are currently used as ignition sources in engines. Overall, the use of laser ignition has been shown to have a positive impact on engine operation leading to a reduction in NOx emission, fuel saving and an increased operational envelope of current engines. Conventionally, laser ignition is achieved by tightly focusing a high-power q-switched laser pulse until the optical intensity at the focus is high enough to breakdown the gas molecules. This leads to the formation of a spark that serves as the ignition source in engines. However, there are certain disadvantages associated with this ignition method. This ionization approach is energetically inefficient as the medium is transparent to the laser radiation until the laser intensity is high enough to cause gas breakdown. As a consequence, very high energies are required for ignition (about an order of magnitude higher energy than capacitive plugs at stoichiometric conditions). Additionally, the fluid flow induced during the plasma recombination generates high vorticity leading to high rates of flame stretching. In this work, we are addressing some of the aforementioned disadvantages of laser ignition by developing a novel approach based on a dual-pulse pre-ionization scheme. The new technique works by decoupling the effect of the two ionization mechanisms governing plasma formation: multiphoton ionization (MPI) and electron avalanche ionization (EAI). An UV nanosecond pulse (lambda = 266 nm) is used to generate initial ionization through MPI. This is followed by an overlapped NIR nanosecond pulse (lambda = 1064 nm) that adds energy into the pre-ionized mixture into a controlled manner until the

Pulsed Power Applications in High Intensity Proton Rings

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Wu; Ducimetière, Laurent; Fowler, Tony; Kawakubo, Tadamichi; Mertens, Volker; Sandberg, Jon; Shirakabe, Yoshihisa

2005-01-01

The pulsed power technology has been applied in particle accelerators and storage rings for over four decades. It is most commonly used in injection, extraction, beam manipulation, source, and focusing systems. These systems belong to the class of repetitive pulsed power. In this presentation, we review and discuss the history, present status, and future challenge of pulsed power applications in high intensity proton accelerators and storage rings.

Fluorescence-pumped photolytic gas laser system for a commercial laser fusion power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monsler, M.J.

1977-01-01

The first results are given for the conceptual design of a short-wavelength gas laser system suitable for use as a driver (high average power ignition source) for a commercial laser fusion power plant. A comparison of projected overall system efficiencies of photolytically excited oxygen, sulfur, selenium and iodine lasers is described, using a unique windowless laser cavity geometry which will allow scaling of single amplifier modules to 125 kJ per aperture for 1 ns pulses. On the basis of highest projected overall efficiency, a selenium laser is chosen for a conceptual power plant fusion laser system. This laser operates on the 489 nm transauroral transition of selenium, excited by photolytic dissociation of COSe by ultraviolet fluorescence radiation. Power balances and relative costs for optics, electrical power conditioning and flow conditioning of both the laser and fluorescer gas streams are discussed for a system with the following characteristics: 8 operating modules, 2 standby modules, 125 kJ per module, 1.4 pulses per second, 1.4 MW total average power. The technical issues of scaling visible and near-infrared photolytic gas laser systems to this size are discussed

Third-harmonic generation and self-channeling in air using high-power femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akoezbek, N.; Iwasaki, A.; Chin, S.L.; Becker, A.; Scalora, M.; Bowden, C.M.

2002-01-01

It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that during laser pulse filamentation in air an intense ultrashort third-harmonic pulse is generated forming a two-colored filament. The third-harmonic pulse maintains both its peak intensity and energy over distances much longer than the characteristic coherence length. We argue that this is due to a nonlinear phase-locking mechanism between the two pulses in the filament and is independent of the initial material wave-vector mismatch. A rich spatiotemporal propagation dynamics of the third-harmonic pulse is predicted. Potential applications of this phenomenon to other parametric processes are discussed

High-power continuous wave and passively Q-switched laser operations of a Nd:GGG crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, L J; Tang, D Y; Xie, G Q; Dong, C M; Jia, Z T; Tao, X T

2008-01-01

We report on the continuous wave (CW) and passive Q-switching performance of a high-power diode-pumped Nd:GGG laser. A CW output power of 7.20 W was obtained under an absorbed pump power of 14.97 W, which gives a slop efficiency of 52.7%. With a Cr 4+ doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystal as the saturable absorber, the shortest passively Q-switched pulse width, largest pulse energy, and highest peak power achieved were 7.7 ns, 126.25 μJ, and 15.5 kW, respectively

Water Vapour Propulsion Powered by a High-Power Laser-Diode

Science.gov (United States)

Minami, Y.; Uchida, S.

Most of the laser propulsion schemes now being proposed and developed assume neither power supplies nor on-board laser devices and therefore are bound to remote laser stations like a kite via a laser beam “string”. This is a fatal disadvantage for a space vehicle that flies freely though it is often said that no need of installing an energy source is an advantage of a laser propulsion scheme. The possibility of an independent laser propulsion space vehicle that carries a laser source and a power supply on board is discussed. This is mainly due to the latest development of high power laser diode (LD) technology. Both high specific impulse-low thrust mode and high thrust-low specific impulse mode can be selected by controlling the laser output by using vapour or water as a propellant. This mode change can be performed by switching between a high power continuous wave (cw), LD engine for high thrust with a low specific impulse mode and high power LD pumping Q-switched Nd:YAG laser engine for low thrust with the high specific impulse mode. This paper describes an Orbital Transfer Vehicle equipped with the above-mentioned laser engine system and fuel cell that flies to the Moon from a space platform or space hotel in Earth orbit, with cargo shipment from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon, including the possibility of a sightseeing trip.

Self-focusing and guiding of short laser pulses in ionizing gases and plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esarey, E.; Sprangle, P.; Krall, J.; Ting, A.

1997-01-01

The propagation of intense laser pulses in gases and plasmas is relevant to a wide range of applications, including laser-driven accelerators, laser-plasma channeling, harmonic generation, supercontinuum generation, X-ray lasers, and laser-fusion schemes. Here, several features of intense, short-pulse (≤1 ps) laser propagation in gases undergoing ionization and in plasmas are reviewed, discussed, and analyzed. The wave equations for laser pulse propagation in a gas undergoing ionization and in a plasma are derived. The source-dependent expansion method is discussed, which is a general method for solving the paraxial wave equation with nonlinear source terms. In gases, the propagation of high-power (near the critical power) laser pulses is considered including the effects of diffraction, nonlinear self-focusing, ionization, and plasma generation. Self-guided solutions and the stability of these solutions are discussed. In plasmas, optical guiding by relativistic effects, ponderomotive effects, and preformed density channels is considered. The self-consistent plasma response is discussed, including plasma wave effects and instabilities such as self-modulation. Recent experiments on the guiding of laser pulses in gases and in plasmas are briefly summarized

Thermal Response to High-Power Holmium Laser Lithotripsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldoukhi, Ali H; Ghani, Khurshid R; Hall, Timothy L; Roberts, William W

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate "caliceal" fluid temperature changes during holmium laser activation/lithotripsy using settings up to 40 W power output with different irrigation flow rates. The experimental system consisted of a glass test tube (diameter 10 mm/length 75 mm) filled with deionized water, to mimic a calix. Real-time temperature was recorded using a thermocouple (Physitemp, NJ) positioned 5 mm from the bottom of the tube. A 200 μm laser fiber (Flexiva; Boston Scientific, MA) was introduced through the working channel of a disposable ureteroscope (LithoVue; Boston Scientific) and the laser fiber tip was positioned 15 mm above the bottom of the test tube. Deionized water irrigation (room temperature) through the working channel of the ureteroscope was delivered at flow rates of 0, 7-8, 14-15, and 38-40 mL/minute. A 120-W holmium laser (pulse 120; Lumenis, CA) was used. The following settings were explored: 0.5 J × 10 Hz, 1.0 J × 10 Hz, 0.5 J × 20 Hz, 1.0 J × 20 Hz, 0.5 J × 40 Hz, 1.0 J × 40 Hz, and 0.5 J × 80 Hz. During each experiment, the laser was activated continuously for 60 seconds. Temperature increased with increasing laser power output and decreasing irrigation flow rate. The highest temperature, 70.3°C (standard deviation 2.7), occurred with laser setting of 1.0 J × 40 Hz and no irrigation after 60 seconds of continuous laser firing. None of the tested laser settings and irrigation parameters produced temperature exceeding 51°C when activated for only 10 seconds of continuous laser firing. High-power holmium settings fired in long bursts with low irrigation flow rates can generate high fluid temperatures in a laboratory "caliceal" model. Awareness of this risk allows urologist to implement a variety of techniques (higher irrigation flow rates, intermittent laser activation, and potentially cooled irrigation fluid) to control and mitigate thermal

Method and apparatus for obtaining very high energy laser pulses: photon cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vali, V.; Krogstad, R.S.; Goldstein, R.

1975-01-01

Apparatus is arranged in selected embodiments of several combinations, each sometimes being referred to as a system, and each embodiment establishing a large enclosable chamber containing a laser energy reacting medium through which a laser beam is created. When laser energy pulses of such a beam are created, they are guided in a continuous path using reflectors in this chamber, and they receive supplemental energy units from multiple spaced laser pumps. Each laser pump is effective in respect to its own inverted population laser energy source, and each laser pump is triggered by an overall excitation control system. The laser beam is thereby supplemented to a higher level at each laser pump. Yet at all times the laser energy reacting medium remains at a level below super radiance. A working unit or working pulse of a laser beam is allowed to escape from each large enclosable chamber through an escape exit only when a preselected very high energy level is reached. The escape exit of this chamber may be designed to be destroyed by the exiting high level pulse energy of the laser beam. Also an escape exit may be opened upon the operation of a piezoelectric decoupler. (U.S.)

Components for monolithic fiber chirped pulse amplification laser systems

Science.gov (United States)

Swan, Michael Craig

The first portion of this work develops techniques for generating femtosecond-pulses from conventional fabry-perot laser diodes using nonlinear-spectral-broadening techniques in Yb-doped positive dispersion fiber ampliers. The approach employed an injection-locked fabry-perot laser diode followed by two stages of nonlinear-spectral-broadening to generate sub-200fs pulses. This thesis demonstrated that a 60ps gain-switched fabry-perot laser-diode can be injection-locked to generate a single-longitudinal-mode pulse and compressed by nonlinear spectral broadening to 4ps. Two problems have been identified that must be resolved before moving forward with this approach. First, gain-switched pulses from a standard diode-laser have a number of characteristics not well suited for producing clean self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses, such as an asymmetric temporal shape, which has a long pulse tail. Second, though parabolic pulse formation occurs for any arbitrary temporal input pulse profile, deviation from the optimum parabolic input results in extensively spectrally modulated self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses. In conclusion, the approach of generating self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses from pulsed laser diodes has to be modified from the initial approach explored in this thesis. The first Yb-doped chirally-coupled-core ber based systems are demonstrated and characterized in the second portion of this work. Robust single-mode performance independent of excitation or any other external mode management techniques have been demonstrated in Yb-doped chirally-coupled-core fibers. Gain and power efficiency characteristics are not compromised in any way in this novel fiber structure up to the 87W maximum power achieved. Both the small signal gain at 1064nm of 30.3dB, and the wavelength dependence of the small signal gain were comparable to currently deployed large-mode-area-fiber technology. The efficiencies of the laser and amplifier were measured to be 75% and 54

Ultrashort pulse laser deposition of thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Michael D.; Banks, Paul S.; Stuart, Brent C.

2002-01-01

Short pulse PLD is a viable technique of producing high quality films with properties very close to that of crystalline diamond. The plasma generated using femtosecond lasers is composed of single atom ions with no clusters producing films with high Sp.sup.3 /Sp.sup.2 ratios. Using a high average power femtosecond laser system, the present invention dramatically increases deposition rates to up to 25 .mu.m/hr (which exceeds many CVD processes) while growing particulate-free films. In the present invention, deposition rates is a function of laser wavelength, laser fluence, laser spot size, and target/substrate separation. The relevant laser parameters are shown to ensure particulate-free growth, and characterizations of the films grown are made using several diagnostic techniques including electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and Raman spectroscopy.

High-power diode laser bars as pump sources for fiber lasers and amplifiers (Invited Paper)

Science.gov (United States)

Bonati, G.; Hennig, P.; Wolff, D.; Voelckel, H.; Gabler, T.; Krause, U.; T'nnermann, A.; Reich, M.; Limpert, J.; Werner, E.; Liem, A.

2005-04-01

Fiber lasers are pumped by fibercoupled, multimode single chip devices at 915nm. That"s what everybody assumes when asked for the type of fiber laser pumps and it was like this for many years. Coming up as an amplifier for telecom applications, the amount of pump power needed was in the range of several watts. Highest pump powers for a limited market entered the ten watts range. This is a range of power that can be covered by highly reliable multimode chips, that have to survive up to 25 years, e.g. in submarine applications. With fiber lasers entering the power range and the application fields of rod and thin disc lasers, the amount of pump power needed raised into the area of several hundred watts. In this area of pump power, usually bar based pumps are used. This is due to the much higher cost pressure of the industrial customers compared to telecom customers. We expect more then 70% of all industrial systems to be pumped by diode laser bars. Predictions that bar based pumps survive for just a thousand hours in cw-operation and fractions of this if pulsed are wrong. Bar based pumps have to perform on full power for 10.000h on Micro channel heat sinks and 20.000h on passive heatsinks in industrial applications, and they do. We will show a variety of data, "real" long time tests and statistics from the JENOPTIK Laserdiode as well as data of thousands of bars in the field, showing that bar based pumps are not just well suitable for industrial applications on high power levels, but even showing benefits compared to chip based pumps. And it"s reasonable, that the same objectives of cost effectiveness, power and lifetime apply as well to thin disc, rod and slab lasers as to fiber lasers. Due to the pumping of fiber lasers, examples will be shown, how to utilize bars for high brightness fiber coupling. In this area, the automation is on its way to reduce the costs on the fibercoupling, similar to what had been done in the single chip business. All these efforts are

LASER PROCESSING ON SINGLE CRYSTALS BY UV PULSE LASER

OpenAIRE

龍見, 雅美; 佐々木, 徹; 高山, 恭宜

2009-01-01

Laser processing by using UV pulsed laser was carried out on single crystal such as sapphire and diamond in order to understand the fundamental laser processing on single crystal. The absorption edges of diamond and sapphire are longer and shorter than the wave length of UV laser, respectively. The processed regions by laser with near threshold power of processing show quite different state in each crystal.

Pulsed laser triggered high speed microfluidic fluorescence activated cell sorter†‡

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ting-Hsiang; Chen, Yue; Park, Sung-Yong; Hong, Jason; Teslaa, Tara; Zhong, Jiang F.; Di Carlo, Dino; Teitell, Michael A.

2014-01-01

We report a high speed and high purity pulsed laser triggered fluorescence activated cell sorter (PLACS) with a sorting throughput up to 20 000 mammalian cells s−1 with 37% sorting purity, 90% cell viability in enrichment mode, and >90% purity in high purity mode at 1500 cells s−1 or 3000 beads s−1. Fast switching (30 μs) and a small perturbation volume (~90 pL) is achieved by a unique sorting mechanism in which explosive vapor bubbles are generated using focused laser pulses in a single layer microfluidic PDMS channel. PMID:22361780

Development of high average power industrial Nd:YAG laser with peak power of 10 kW class

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Cheol Jung; Kim, Jeong Mook; Jung, Chin Mann; Kim, Soo Sung; Kim, Kwang Suk; Kim, Min Suk; Cho, Jae Wan; Kim, Duk Hyun

1992-03-01

We developed and commercialized an industrial pulsed Nd:YAG laser with peak power of 10 kW class for fine cutting and drilling applications. Several commercial models have been investigated in design and performance. We improved its quality to the level of commercial Nd:YAG laser by an endurance test for each parts of laser system. The maximum peak power and average power of our laser were 10 kW and 250 W, respectively. Moreover, the laser pulse width could be controlled from 0.5 msec to 20 msec continuously. Many optical parts were localized and lowered much in cost. Only few parts were imported and almost 90% in cost were localized. Also, to accellerate the commercialization by the joint company, the training and transfer of technology were pursued in the joint participation in design and assembly by company researchers from the early stage. Three Nd:YAG lasers have been assembled and will be tested in industrial manufacturing process to prove the capability of developed Nd:YAG laser with potential users. (Author)

Influence of powerful pulses of laser irradiation on metallic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besogonov, V.V.; Chudinov, V.G.

1999-01-01

The relaxation process of energy transferred by powerful pulses of laser irradiation to a superficial layer in metallic films has been investigated by the molecular dynamics technique. Beam energy transformation into mechanical energy of movement of irradiated atoms is shown to be possible due to changing pair interaction potentials. Variation of the Coulomb interaction screening of an ionic subsystem through the excitation of valence electrons is illustrated as major of the reasons for changing the potentials

Diode-pumped solid state laser. (Part V). ; Short pulse laser oscillation. Handotai laser reiki kotai laser. 5. ; Tan pulse hasshin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuwabara, M.; Bando, N. (Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan))

1991-12-25

A semiconductor laser (LD) excited solid state laser using an LD as an excited light source is under discussion for its practical applications to measurements, processing, communications, office automation, and medical areas. This paper describes the discussions given on the short pulse transmission using AOQ switching elements in the LD excited solid state laser with a long wave length band (1.3{mu}m), which is expected of its application in the communications and measurements area. Based on a possibility of raising a measurements resolution by making the pluses in the LD excited solid state laser, and experiments were performed using Nd:YLF as a laser host. as a results, it was found that the smaller the effective mode volume V {sub eff},the smaller the pulse width, and that the ratio of number of initial inversion distribution (N{sub i}/N{sub t}), an important parameter to determine pulse widths, can be obtained from the ratio of the LD exciting light to the input power (P{sub in}/P{sub t}). 7 refs., 14 figs., 2 tabs.

PHELIX - Petawatt high-energy laser for heavy ion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Backe, H.; Bock, R.; Caird, J.

1998-12-01

A high-power laser facility will be installed at the GSI heavy-ion accelerator. It will deliver laser pulses up to one kilojoule (with an option of a later upgrade to several kJ) at a pulse length of 1 - 10 nanoseconds (high-energy mode). In a high-intensity mode, laser pulses with a power of one petawatt (10 15 Watt) will be generated by chirped pulse amplification at a pulse length of typically 500 femtoseconds. Details of the laser system as well as time schedule and costs are given in Section B. In combination with the heavy-ion beams available at GSI - which will be further improved in intensity by the presently on-going upgrade program - a large number of unique experiments will become possible by the high-power laser facility described in this report. As outlined in Section A, novel research opportunities are expected in a wide range of basic-research topics spanning from the study of ion-matter interaction, through challenging new experiments in atomic, nuclear, and astrophysics, into the virgin field of relativistic plasma physics. Foreseeable topics in applied science are the development of new sources for highly charged ions and of X-ray lasers, new concepts for laser-based particle acceleration and the research in the field of inertial confinement fusion. (orig.)

High-power VCSELs for smart munitions

Science.gov (United States)

Geske, Jon; MacDougal, Michael; Cole, Garrett; Snyder, Donald

2006-08-01

The next generation of low-cost smart munitions will be capable of autonomously detecting and identifying targets aided partly by the ability to image targets with compact and robust scanning rangefinder and LADAR capabilities. These imaging systems will utilize arrays of high performance, low-cost semiconductor diode lasers capable of achieving high peak powers in pulses ranging from 5 to 25 nanoseconds in duration. Aerius Photonics is developing high-power Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) to meet the needs of these smart munitions applications. The authors will report the results of Aerius' development program in which peak pulsed powers exceeding 60 Watts were demonstrated from single VCSEL emitters. These compact packaged emitters achieved pulse energies in excess of 1.5 micro-joules with multi kilo-hertz pulse repetition frequencies. The progress of the ongoing effort toward extending this performance to arrays of VCSEL emitters and toward further improving laser slope efficiency will be reported.

Investigation of optical and hydrodynamic processes initiated in biological tissues and liquids under the action of high-power pulses of 1.54 μm laser radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Belikov, Andrey V.; Fomicheva, Yana Yu.; Gagarskiy, Sergey V.; Sergeev, Andrey N.; Smirnov, Sergey N.; Zagorulko, Alexey M.

2018-04-01

The results of strobe-photographic study of steam-gas cavities formation in a bulk of saline as a result of high-power Yb,Er:Glass laser pulses impact are presented. The data on dynamics of laser pulse transmission through the laserproduced steam-gas cavity for different values of the distance h between the fiber end and the cuvette bottom (quartz plate) are presented. It was observed that the steam-gas cavity might be used for effective non-contact delivery of laser radiation to the submerged target: transmission value at maximum steam-gas cavity size reached 0.87 for h = 0.5 mm. The influence of steam-gas cavities parameters on ablation efficiency of eye lens destruction in vitro is also discussed. The ablation of cataract eye lens in liquid environment is more effective than in air. The efficiency of eye lens ablation decreases with the increase of h . The maximal values of ablation efficiency (2.14·10-3 mm3/pulse) were obtained in the case of underwater ablation at h = 0 mm.

Wavelength stabilisation during current pulsing of tapered laser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Ole Bjarlin

2009-01-01

The use of external feedback to stabilise the frequency of a tapered laser during current pulsing is reported. Using this technique more than 20 W of peak power in 60 ns pulses from the tapered laser is obtained and owing to the external feedback, the laser is tunable in the 778-808 nm range...

Infrared laser damage thresholds in corneal tissue phantoms using femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Boretsky, Adam R.; Clary, Joseph E.; Noojin, Gary D.; Rockwell, Benjamin A.

2018-02-01

Ultrafast lasers have become a fixture in many biomedical, industrial, telecommunications, and defense applications in recent years. These sources are capable of generating extremely high peak power that can cause laser-induced tissue breakdown through the formation of a plasma upon exposure. Despite the increasing prevalence of such lasers, current safety standards (ANSI Z136.1-2014) do not include maximum permissible exposure (MPE) values for the cornea with pulse durations less than one nanosecond. This study was designed to measure damage thresholds in corneal tissue phantoms in the near-infrared and mid-infrared to identify the wavelength dependence of laser damage thresholds from 1200-2500 nm. A high-energy regenerative amplifier and optical parametric amplifier outputting 100 femtosecond pulses with pulse energies up to 2 mJ were used to perform exposures and determine damage thresholds in transparent collagen gel tissue phantoms. Three-dimensional imaging, primarily optical coherence tomography, was used to evaluate tissue phantoms following exposure to determine ablation characteristics at the surface and within the bulk material. The determination of laser damage thresholds in the near-IR and mid-IR for ultrafast lasers will help to guide safety standards and establish the appropriate MPE levels for exposure sensitive ocular tissue such as the cornea. These data will help promote the safe use of ultrafast lasers for a wide range of applications.

High-power SRS lasers – coherent summators (the way it was)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grasiuk, Arkadii Z; Zubarev, I G; Efimkov, V F; Smirnov, V G

2012-01-01

The history of the research works performed under the guidance of H.G. Basov and aimed at developing high-energy lasers – coherent summators (CSs) – based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen is reported. The work was performed jointly by researchers of FIAN [the Laboratory of Quantum Radiophysics (LQRP)] and VNIIEF. Many problems were solved as a result of these studies. Liquid nitrogen and oxygen were found to be optimal active media for high-power SRS lasers with high energy per pulse. A method for purifying these cryogenic liquids from micro- and nanoimpurities was developed, which made it possible to eliminate nonlinear loss of pump radiation and converted radiation in the active medium and ensure effective operation of SRS lasers – coherent summators (SRSL CSs) with high output energy. Cryogenic cells providing high optical homogeneity of liquid nitrogen and oxygen were developed, which ensured low (at a level of 0.1 mrad) divergence of converted radiation with high energy density. Raster focusing systems providing optimal concentration of pump radiation in the active medium were designed. These studies resulted in the development of high-power highenergy SRSL CSs with a low beam divergence, based on liquid nitrogen (λ S = 1.89 μm) and liquid oxygen (λ S = 1.65 μm), with pumping by explosively pumped iodine lasers (EPILs) (λ p = 1.315 μm). The characteristics of the SRSL CSs developed were record for that time (the end of 1960s and the beginning of 1970s): energy up to 2.5 kJ per 10-μs pulse, beam divergence ∼10 -4 rad, and beam energy density of several hundreds of J cm -2 . (special issue devoted to the 90th anniversary of n.g. basov)

Laser stand for irradiation of targets by laser pulses from the Iskra-5 facility at a repetition rate of 100 MHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annenkov, V I; Garanin, Sergey G; Eroshenko, V A; Zhidkov, N V; Zubkov, A V; Kalipanov, S V; Kalmykov, N A; Kovalenko, V P; Krotov, V A; Lapin, S G; Martynenko, S P; Pankratov, V I; Faizullin, V S; Khrustalev, V A; Khudikov, N M; Chebotar, V S

2009-01-01

A train of a few tens of high-power subnanosecond laser pulses with a repetition period of 10 ns is generated in the Iskra-5 facility. The laser pulse train has an energy of up to 300 J and contains up to 40 pulses (by the 0.15 intensity level), the single pulse duration in the train being ∼0.5 ns. The results of experiments on conversion of a train of laser pulses to a train of X-ray pulses are presented. Upon irradiation of a tungsten target, a train of X-ray pulses is generated with the shape of an envelope in the spectral band from 0.18 to 0.28 keV similar to that of the envelope of the laser pulse train. The duration of a single X-ray pulse in the train is equal to that of a single laser pulse. (lasers)

Application of high-power lasers to equation-of-state research at ultrahigh pressures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trainor, R.J.; Graboske, H.C.; Long, K.S.; Shaner, J.W.

1978-01-01

The application of high-power pulsed lasers to ultrahigh pressure equation-of-state (EOS) experiments is discussed. It is shown that pressures along the principal Hugoniot between 1 and 10 TPa can be produced with existing lasers used for inertial-confinement fusion research. The relevance of measurements in this pressure regime to improving our understanding of condensed matter physics is also discussed. New experimental techniques as well as potential experimental problems are described, and EOS experiments on the Janus and Argus laser systems are proposed

Laser power supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehouse, D.R.; Hartshorn, D.W.

1975-01-01

A method of energizing a laser source stimulating flash lamp directly from an ac power line is presented. Uncontrolled diodes couple the anode and cathode of the flash lamp directly to the ac line. The lamp is triggered by a separate triggering circuit which produces its trigger pulse at a predetermined phase of the ac power source. The use of high current carrying controlled rectifiers and large energy storage devices is thereby eliminated. (U.S.)

Model of pulse extraction from a copper laser amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boley, C.D.; Warner, B.E.

1997-03-01

A computational model of pulse propagation through a copper laser amplifier has been developed. The model contains a system of 1-D (in the axial direction), time-dependent equations for the laser intensity and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), coupled to rate equations for the atomic levels. Detailed calculations are presented for a high-power amplifier at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The extracted power agrees with experiment near saturation. At lower input power the calculation overestimates experiment, probably because of increased ASE effects. 6 refs., 6 figs

Amorphous-polycrystal transition induced by laser pulse in self-ion implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foti, G.; Rimini, E.; Vitali, G.; Bertolotti, M.

1977-01-01

Reflection high energy electron diffraction has been used to investigate the amorphous to polycrystalline structure transition in silicon induced by laser pulse. The power density of the ruby laser pulse, in the free generation mode, has been maintained below the threshold to induce surface damage. Depth analysis has been carried out in silicon crystal using the channeling effect technique. (orig.) [de

High-power actively Q-switched single-mode 1342 nm Nd:YVO4 ring laser, injection-locked by a cw single-frequency microchip laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Peter; Bartschke, Juergen; L'huillier, Johannes A

2015-11-30

In this paper we report on the realization of a single-mode Q-switched Nd:YVO4 ring laser at 1342 nm. Unidirectional and single-mode operation of the ring laser is achieved by injection-locking with a continuous wave Nd:YVO4 microchip laser, emitting a single-frequency power of up to 40 mW. The ring laser provides a single-mode power of 13.9 W at 10 kHz pulse repetition frequency with a pulse duration of 18.2 ns and an excellent beam quality (M2 laser, a power of 8.7 W at 671 nm with a pulse duration of 14.8 ns and a beam propagation factor of M2 < 1.1 is obtained. The 671 nm radiation features a long-term spectral width of 75 MHz.

Influence of resonator length on catastrophic optical damage in high-power AlGaInP broad-area lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Bou Sanayeh, Marwan

2017-05-01

The increasing importance of extracting high optical power out of semiconductor lasers motivated several studies in catastrophic optical damage (COD) level improvement. In this study, the influence of the resonator length in high-power broad-area (BA) AlGaInP lasers on COD is presented. For the analyses, several 638 nm AlGaInP 60 μm BA lasers from the same wafer were used. Resonator lengths of 900, 1200, 1500, and 1800 μm were compared. In order to independently examine the effect of the resonator length on the maximum power reached by the lasers before COD (PCOD), the lasers used are uncoated and unmounted, and PCOD under pulsed mode was determined. It was found that higher output powers and eventually higher PCOD can be achieved using longer resonators; however, it was also found that this is mainly useful when working at high output powers far away from the laser threshold, since the threshold current and slope efficiency worsen when the resonator length increases.

High-power fiber-coupled pump lasers for fiber lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Kasai, Yohei; Aizawa, Takuya; Tanaka, Daiichiro

2018-02-01

We present high-power fiber-coupled pump modules utilized effectively for ultra-high power single-mode (SM) fiber lasers. Maximum output power of 392 W was achieved at 23 A for 915 nm pump, and 394 W for 976 nm pump. Fiber core diameter is 118 μm and case temperature is 25deg. C. Polarization multiplexing technique was newly applied to our optical system. High-reliability of the laser diodes (LD) at high-power operation has been demonstrated by aging tests. Advanced package structure was developed that manages uncoupled light around input end of the fiber. 800 hours continuous drive with uncoupled light power of 100 W has been achieved.

Highly efficient, versatile, self-Q-switched, high-repetition-rate microchip laser generating Ince–Gaussian modes for optical trapping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun Dong; Yu He; Xiao Zhou; Shengchuang Bai [Department of Electronics Engineering, School of Information Science and Engineering, Xiamen, 361005 (China)

2016-03-31

Lasers operating in the Ince-Gaussian (IG) mode have potential applications for optical manipulation of microparticles and formation of optical vortices, as well as for optical trapping and optical tweezers. Versatile, self-Q-switched, high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate Cr, Nd:YAG microchip lasers operating in the IG mode are implemented under tilted, tightly focused laser-diode pumping. An average output power of over 2 W is obtained at an absorbed pump power of 6.4 W. The highest optical-to-optical efficiency of 33.2% is achieved at an absorbed pump power of 3.9 W. Laser pulses with a pulse energy of 7.5 μJ, pulse width of 3.5 ns and peak power of over 2 kW are obtained. A repetition rate up to 335 kHz is reached at an absorbed pump power of 5.8 W. Highly efficient, versatile, IG-mode lasers with a high repetition rate and a high peak power ensure a better flexibility in particle manipulation and optical trapping. (control of laser radiation parameters)

Optimization of a high voltage power supply for a nitrogen laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baly, L.; Garcia, M.A.; Martin, J.L.

1997-01-01

In the present paper the optimization of a high voltage switching power supply for a compact TEA nitrogen laser is described. Taking as criterion the recovering of the charging voltage in a 95% of the maximal voltage, the relationships between the recovering rate coefficient, the recovering time and the maximal repetition frequency were obtained. Using an experimental set-up the power supply optimal values of turns in the primary transformer coil N p= 35 and excitation pulse frequency f exc= 25.5 kHz was determined

Ultrashort laser pulses and electromagnetic pulse generation in air and on dielectric surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprangle, P.; Penano, J.R.; Hafizi, B.; Kapetanakos, C.A.

2004-01-01

Intense, ultrashort laser pulses propagating in the atmosphere have been observed to emit sub-THz electromagnetic pulses (EMPS). The purpose of this paper is to analyze EMP generation from the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with air and with dielectric surfaces and to determine the efficiency of conversion of laser energy to EMP energy. In our self-consistent model the laser pulse partially ionizes the medium, forms a plasma filament, and through the ponderomotive forces associated with the laser pulse, drives plasma currents which are the source of the EMP. The propagating laser pulse evolves under the influence of diffraction, Kerr focusing, plasma defocusing, and energy depletion due to electron collisions and ionization. Collective effects and recombination processes are also included in the model. The duration of the EMP in air, at a fixed point, is found to be a few hundred femtoseconds, i.e., on the order of the laser pulse duration plus the electron collision time. For steady state laser pulse propagation the flux of EMP energy is nonradiative and axially directed. Radiative EMP energy is present only for nonsteady state or transient laser pulse propagation. The analysis also considers the generation of EMP on the surface of a dielectric on which an ultrashort laser pulse is incident. For typical laser parameters, the power and energy conversion efficiency from laser radiation to EMP radiation in both air and from dielectric surfaces is found to be extremely small, -8 . Results of full-scale, self-consistent, numerical simulations of atmospheric and dielectric surface EMP generation are presented. A recent experiment on atmospheric EMP generation is also simulated

Effect of thermal management on the properties of saturable absorber mirrors in high-power mode-locked semiconductor disk lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rantamäki, Antti; Lyytikäinen, Jari; Jari Nikkinen; Okhotnikov, Oleg G

2011-01-01

The thermal management of saturable absorbers is shown to have a critical impact on a high-power mode-locked disk laser. The absorber with efficient heat removal makes it possible to generate ultrashort pulses with high repetition rates and high power density.

High Power Vanadate lasers

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Strauss

2006-07-01

Full Text Available stream_source_info Strauss1_2006.pdf.txt stream_content_type text/plain stream_size 3151 Content-Encoding UTF-8 stream_name Strauss1_2006.pdf.txt Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Laser Research Institute... University of Stellenbosch www.laser-research.co.za High Power Vanadate lasers H.J.Strauss, Dr. C. Bollig, R.C. Botha, Prof. H.M. von Bergmann, Dr. J.P. Burger Aims 1) To develop new techniques to mount laser crystals, 2) compare the lasing properties...

Low-timing-jitter, stretched-pulse passively mode-locked fiber laser with tunable repetition rate and high operation stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yuanshan; Zhang, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guofu; Zhao, Wei; Bai, Jing

2010-01-01

We design a low-timing-jitter, repetition-rate-tunable, stretched-pulse passively mode-locked fiber laser by using a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM), a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), and a tunable optical delay line in the laser configuration. Low-timing-jitter optical pulses are stably produced when a SESAM and a 0.16 m dispersion compensation fiber are employed in the laser cavity. By inserting a tunable optical delay line between NALM and SESAM, the variable repetition-rate operation of a self-starting, passively mode-locked fiber laser is successfully demonstrated over a range from 49.65 to 50.47 MHz. The experimental results show that the newly designed fiber laser can maintain the mode locking at the pumping power of 160 mW to stably generate periodic optical pulses with width less than 170 fs and timing jitter lower than 75 fs in the 1.55 µm wavelength region, when the fundamental repetition rate of the laser is continuously tuned between 49.65 and 50.47 MHz. Moreover, this fiber laser has a feature of turn-key operation with high repeatability of its fundamental repetition rate in practice

Shock wave generation in laser ablation studied using pulsed digital holographic interferometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amer, Eynas; Gren, Per; Sjoedahl, Mikael [Division of Experimental Mechanics, Luleaa University of Technology, SE-971 87 Luleaa (Sweden)], E-mail: eynas.amer@ltu.se, E-mail: per.gren@ltu.se, E-mail: mikael.sjodahl@ltu.se

2008-11-07

Pulsed digital holographic interferometry has been used to study the shock wave induced by a Q-switched Nd-YAG laser ({lambda} = 1064 nm and pulse duration 12 ns) on a polycrystalline boron nitride (PCBN) ceramic target under atmospheric air pressure. A special setup based on using two synchronized wavelengths from the same laser for processing and measurement simultaneously has been introduced. Collimated laser light ({lambda} = 532 nm) passed through the volume along the target and digital holograms were recorded for different time delays after processing starts. Numerical data of the integrated refractive index field were calculated and presented as phase maps showing the propagation of the shock wave generated by the process. The location of the induced shock wave front was observed for different focusing and time delays. The amount of released energy, i.e. the part of the incident energy of the laser pulse that is eventually converted to a shock wave has been estimated using the point explosion model. The released energy is normalized by the incident laser pulse energy and the energy conversion efficiency between the laser pulse and PCBN target has been calculated at different power densities. The results show that the energy conversion efficiency seems to be constant around 80% at high power densities.

A highly efficient Ho:YAG laser in-band pumped by a linewidth-narrowed Tm:YLF laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, X M; Yang, C H; Yao, B Q; Wang, Y Z; Zhang, W S

2013-01-01

A highly efficient Tm:YLF-Ho:YAG laser system is presented in this paper. To obtain the narrow linewidth 1908 nm laser output, a volume Bragg grating combined with a Fabry–Perot (FP) etalon were used as wavelength selection devices. The maximum output power of 28.7 W was obtained with a slope efficiency of 42.3% in the Tm:YLF laser. An output wavelength of 1908.1 nm and FWHM linewidth of 60 pm were achieved at the maximum output level. Using this Tm:YLF laser as the pump source, high efficiency continuous wave and Q-switched operation of a Ho:YAG laser was demonstrated. Operating at continuous wave mode, up to 73.3% slope efficiency and 67.4% optical conversion efficiency were obtained in the Ho:YAG laser, corresponding to a diode-to-Ho optical conversion efficiency of 23.7%. For the Q-switched mode, when the incident Tm power was 27.3 W, the maximum single pulse energy of 3.4 mJ, pulse width of 15 ns and peak power of 229.3 kW were achieved at the pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz. The maximum average power of 18.3 W, pulse width of 18 ns and peak power of 103.6 kW were obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz. (paper)

Laser system using ultra-short laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Dantus, Marcos [Okemos, MI; Lozovoy, Vadim V [Okemos, MI; Comstock, Matthew [Milford, MI

2009-10-27

A laser system using ultrashort laser pulses is provided. In another aspect of the present invention, the system includes a laser, pulse shaper and detection device. A further aspect of the present invention employs a femtosecond laser and binary pulse shaping (BPS). Still another aspect of the present invention uses a laser beam pulse, a pulse shaper and a SHG crystal.

Technical advantages of disk laser technology in short and ultrashort pulse processes

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, P.; Stollhof, J.; Weiler, S.; Massa, S.; Faisst, B.; Denney, P.; Gounaris, E.

2011-03-01

This paper demonstrates that disk-laser technology introduces advantages that increase efficiency and allows for high productivity in micro-processing in both the nanosecond (ns) and picosecond (ps) regimes. Some technical advantages of disk technology include not requiring good pump beam quality or special wavelengths for pumping of the disk, high optical efficiencies, no thermal lensing effects and a possible scaling of output power without an increase of pump beam quality. With cavity-dumping, the pulse duration of the disk laser can be specified between 30 and hundreds of nanoseconds, but is independent of frequency, thus maintaining process stability. TRUMPF uses this technology in the 750 watts average power laser TruMicro 7050. High intensity, along with fluency, is important for high ablation rates in thinfilm removal. Thus, these ns lasers show high removal rates, above 60 cm2/s, in thin-film solar cell production. In addition, recent results in paint-stripping of aerospace material prove the green credentials and high processing rates inherent with this technology as it can potentially replace toxic chemical processes. The ps disk technology meanwhile is used in, for example, scribing of solar cells, wafer dicing and drilling injector nozzles, as the pulse duration is short enough to minimize heat input in the laser-matter interaction. In the TruMicro Series 5000, the multi-pass regenerative amplifier stage combines high optical-optical efficiencies together with excellent output beam quality for pulse durations of only 6 ps and high pulse energies of up to 0.25 mJ.

Proceedings of the first JAERI-Kansai international workshop on ultrashort-pulse ultrahigh-power lasers and simulation for laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

Records of the First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop, which focused on the subject of 'Ultrashort-Pulse Ultrahigh-Power Lasers and Simulation for Laser-Plasma Interactions', are contained in this issue. The First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop was held as Joint ICFA/JAERI-Kansai International Workshop '97 with International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). This report consists of 24 contributed papers. (J.P.N.)

Proceedings of the first JAERI-Kansai international workshop on ultrashort-pulse ultrahigh-power lasers and simulation for laser-plasma interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Records of the First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop, which focused on the subject of `Ultrashort-Pulse Ultrahigh-Power Lasers and Simulation for Laser-Plasma Interactions`, are contained in this issue. The First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop was held as Joint ICFA/JAERI-Kansai International Workshop `97 with International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). This report consists of 24 contributed papers. (J.P.N.)

Pulsed Laser Centre (CLPU). The Salamanca peta watt laser; Centro de Laseres Pulsados (CLPU). El laser de Petavatio de Salamanca

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franco, L. R.

2016-08-01

With pulses lasting 30 photo seconds, the CLPU VEGA laser is capable of generating a peak power level of one peta watt, this making it one of the worlds most powerful lasers. When focussed it can reach extreme intensities. The way in which a pulse of this nature interacts with an atom or what its applications might be are among the questions answered by this article. (Author)

Laser and Plasma Parameters for Laser Pulse Amplification by Stimulated Brillouin Backscattering in the Strong Coupling Regime

Science.gov (United States)

Gangolf, Thomas; Blecher, Marius; Bolanos, Simon; Lancia, Livia; Marques, Jean-Raphael; Cerchez, Mirela; Prasad, Rajendra; Aurand, Bastian; Loiseau, Pascal; Fuchs, Julien; Willi, Oswald

2017-10-01

In the ongoing quest for novel techniques to obtain ever higher laser powers, plasma amplification has drawn much attention, benefiting from the fact that a plasma can sustain much higher energy densities than a solid state amplifier. As a plasma process, Stimulated Brillouin Backscattering in the strong coupling regime (sc-SBS) can be used to transfer energy from one laser pulse (pump) to another (seed), by a nonlinear ion oscillation forced by the pump laser. Here, we report on experimental results on amplification by sc-SBS using the ARCTURUS Ti:Sapphire multi-beam laser system at the University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Counter-propagating in a supersonic Hydrogen gas jet target, an ultrashort seed pulse with a pulse duration between 30 and 160 fs and an energy between 1 and 12 mJ was amplified by a high-energy pump pulse (1.7 ps, 700 mJ). For some of the measurements, the gas was pre-ionized with a separate laser pulse (780 fs, 460 mJ). Preliminary analysis shows that the amplification was larger for the longer seed pulses, consistent with theoretical predictions.

The effects of focusing power on TEA CO2 laser-induced gas breakdown and the consequent pulse shaping effects

Science.gov (United States)

Beheshtipour, Saleheh; Safari, Ebrahim; Majdabadi, Abbas; Silakhori, Kaveh

2018-02-01

Transversely Excited Atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser pulses were used in order to generate an optical breakdown in a variety of mono- and polyatomic molecules using different focusing powers. The dependence of the spark kernel geometry and the transmitted pulse shapes on the focusing power as well as the pressure, molecular weight, and ionization energy of the gases was investigated in detail. Partial removal of the transmitted pulse tail in the 0.05-2.6 μs range together with shortened spikes in the 10-60 ns range has been observed by applying a 2.5 cm focal length lens for all the gases. At higher focal lengths, this effect is only incompletely observed for He gas. Spatial-temporal analyses of the laser beams and the relevant plasma plumes indicate that this behavior is due to the drop in the plasma density below the critical level, before the laser pulse tail is completed.

New laser system for highly sensitive clinical pulse oximetry

Science.gov (United States)

Hamza, Mostafa; Hamza, Mohammad

1996-04-01

This paper describes the theory and design of a new pulse oximeter in which laser diodes and other compact laser sources are used for the measurement of oxygen saturation in patients who are at risk of developing hypoxemia. The technique depends upon illuminating special sites of the skin of the patient with radiation from modulated laser sources at selected wavelengths. The specific laser wavelengths are chosen based on the absorption characteristics of oxyhemoglobin, reduced hemoglobin and other interfering sources for obtaining more accurate measurements. The laser radiation transmitted through the tissue is detected and signal processing based on differential absorption laser spectroscopy is done in such a way to overcome the primary performance limitations of the conventionally used pulse oximetry. The new laser pulse oximeter can detect weak signals and is not affected by other light sources such as surgical lamps, phototherapy units, etc. The detailed description and operating characteristics of this system are presented.

Atmospheric Propagation and Combining of High-Power Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-08

Brightness-scaling potential of actively phase- locked solid state laser arrays,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electron., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 460–472, May...attempting to phase- lock high-power lasers, which is not encountered when phase- locking low-power lasers, for example mW power levels. Regardless, we...technology does not currently exist. This presents a challenging problem when attempting to phase- lock high-power lasers, which is not encountered when

Pulse generation and preamplification for long pulse beamlines of Orion laser facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillier, David I; Winter, David N; Hopps, Nicholas W

2010-06-01

We describe the pulse generation, shaping, and preamplification system for the nanosecond beamlines of the Orion laser facility. The system generates shaped laser pulses of up to approximately 1 J of 100 ps-5 ns duration with a programmable temporal profile. The laser has a 30th-power supergaussian spatial profile and is diffraction limited. The system is capable of imposing 2D smoothing by spectral dispersion upon the beam, which will produce a nonuniformity of 10% rms at the target.

EVALUATION OF THE THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF HIGH-INTENSITY PULSED-PERIODIC LASER RADIATION (CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS

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