Process observation in fiber laser-based selective laser melting

Science.gov (United States)

Thombansen, Ulrich; Gatej, Alexander; Pereira, Milton

2015-01-01

The process observation in selective laser melting (SLM) focuses on observing the interaction point where the powder is processed. To provide process relevant information, signals have to be acquired that are resolved in both time and space. Especially in high-power SLM, where more than 1 kW of laser power is used, processing speeds of several meters per second are required for a high-quality processing results. Therefore, an implementation of a suitable process observation system has to acquire a large amount of spatially resolved data at low sampling speeds or it has to restrict the acquisition to a predefined area at a high sampling speed. In any case, it is vitally important to synchronously record the laser beam position and the acquired signal. This is a prerequisite that allows the recorded data become information. Today, most SLM systems employ f-theta lenses to focus the processing laser beam onto the powder bed. This report describes the drawbacks that result for process observation and suggests a variable retro-focus system which solves these issues. The beam quality of fiber lasers delivers the processing laser beam to the powder bed at relevant focus diameters, which is a key prerequisite for this solution to be viable. The optical train we present here couples the processing laser beam and the process observation coaxially, ensuring consistent alignment of interaction zone and observed area. With respect to signal processing, we have developed a solution that synchronously acquires signals from a pyrometer and the position of the laser beam by sampling the data with a field programmable gate array. The relevance of the acquired signals has been validated by the scanning of a sample filament. Experiments with grooved samples show a correlation between different powder thicknesses and the acquired signals at relevant processing parameters. This basic work takes a first step toward self-optimization of the manufacturing process in SLM. It enables the

Optodynamics: dynamic aspects of laser beam-surface interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Možina, J; Diaci, J

2012-01-01

This paper presents a synthesis of the results of our original research in the area of laser-material interaction and pulsed laser material processing with a special emphasis on the dynamic aspects of laser beam-surface interaction, which include the links between the laser material removal and the resulting material motion. In view of laser material processing, a laser beam is not only considered as a tool but also as a generator of information about the material transformation. The information is retained and conveyed by different kinds of optically induced mechanical waves. Several generation/detection schemes have been developed to extract this information, especially in the field of non-destructive material evaluation. Blast and acoustic waves, which propagate in the air surrounding the work-piece, have been studied using microphone detection as well as various setups of the laser beam deflection probe. Stress waves propagating through the work-piece have been studied using piezoelectric transducers and laser interferometers.

Modematic: a fast laser beam analyzing system for high power CO2-laser beams

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Flemming O.; Ulrich, Dan

2003-03-01

The performance of an industrial laser is very much depending upon the characteristics of the laser beam. The ISO standards 11146 and 11154 describing test methods for laser beam parameters have been approved. To implement these methods in industry is difficult and especially for the infrared laser sources, such as the CO2-laser, the availabl analyzing systems are slow, difficult to apply and having limited reliability due to the nature of the detection methods. In an EUREKA-project the goal was defined to develop a laser beam analyzing system dedicated to high power CO2-lasers, which could fulfill the demands for an entire analyzing system, automating the time consuming pre-alignment and beam conditioning work required before a beam mode analyses, automating the analyzing sequences and data analysis required to determine the laser beam caustics and last but not least to deliver reliable close to real time data to the operator. The results of this project work will be described in this paper. The research project has led to the development of the Modematic laser beam analyzer, which is ready for the market.

Optimizing laser beam profiles using micro-lens arrays for efficient material processing: applications to solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Hauschild, Dirk; Homburg, Oliver; Mitra, Thomas; Ivanenko, Mikhail; Jarczynski, Manfred; Meinschien, Jens; Bayer, Andreas; Lissotschenko, Vitalij

2009-02-01

High power laser sources are used in various production tools for microelectronic products and solar cells, including the applications annealing, lithography, edge isolation as well as dicing and patterning. Besides the right choice of the laser source suitable high performance optics for generating the appropriate beam profile and intensity distribution are of high importance for the right processing speed, quality and yield. For industrial applications equally important is an adequate understanding of the physics of the light-matter interaction behind the process. In advance simulations of the tool performance can minimize technical and financial risk as well as lead times for prototyping and introduction into series production. LIMO has developed its own software founded on the Maxwell equations taking into account all important physical aspects of the laser based process: the light source, the beam shaping optical system and the light-matter interaction. Based on this knowledge together with a unique free-form micro-lens array production technology and patented micro-optics beam shaping designs a number of novel solar cell production tool sub-systems have been built. The basic functionalities, design principles and performance results are presented with a special emphasis on resilience, cost reduction and process reliability.

Nonstationary plasma-thermo-fluid dynamics and transition in processes of deep penetration laser beam-matter interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Golubev, Vladimir S.; Banishev, Alexander F.; Azharonok, V. V.; Zabelin, Alexandre M.

1994-09-01

A qualitative analysis of the role of some hydrodynamic flows and instabilities by the process of laser beam-metal sample deep penetration interaction is presented. The forces of vapor pressure, melt surface tension and thermocapillary forces can determined a number of oscillatory and nonstationary phenomena in keyhole and weld pool. Dynamics of keyhole formation in metal plates has been studied under laser beam pulse effect ((lambda) equals 1.06 micrometers ). Velocities of the keyhole bottom motion have been determined at 0.5 X 105 - 106 W/cm2 laser power densities. Oscillatory regime of plate break- down has been found out. Small-dimensional structures with d-(lambda) period was found on the frozen cavity walls, which, in our opinion, can contribute significantly to laser beam absorption. A new form of periodic structure on the frozen pattern being a helix-shaped modulation of the keyhole walls and bottom relief has been revealed. Temperature oscillations related to capillary oscillations in the melt layer were discovered in the cavity. Interaction of the CW CO2 laser beam and the matter by beam penetration into a moving metal sample has been studied. The pulsed and thermodynamic parameters of the surface plasma were investigated by optical and spectroscopic methods. The frequencies of plasma jets pulsations (in 10 - 105 Hz range) are related to possible melt surface instabilities of the keyhole.

Additive Manufacturing Processes: Selective Laser Melting, Electron Beam Melting and Binder Jetting-Selection Guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Gokuldoss, Prashanth Konda; Kolla, Sri; Eckert, Jürgen

2017-06-19

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing or rapid prototyping, is gaining increasing attention due to its ability to produce parts with added functionality and increased complexities in geometrical design, on top of the fact that it is theoretically possible to produce any shape without limitations. However, most of the research on additive manufacturing techniques are focused on the development of materials/process parameters/products design with different additive manufacturing processes such as selective laser melting, electron beam melting, or binder jetting. However, we do not have any guidelines that discuss the selection of the most suitable additive manufacturing process, depending on the material to be processed, the complexity of the parts to be produced, or the design considerations. Considering the very fact that no reports deal with this process selection, the present manuscript aims to discuss the different selection criteria that are to be considered, in order to select the best AM process (binder jetting/selective laser melting/electron beam melting) for fabricating a specific component with a defined set of material properties.

Additive Manufacturing Processes: Selective Laser Melting, Electron Beam Melting and Binder Jetting—Selection Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Konda Gokuldoss, Prashanth; Kolla, Sri; Eckert, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing or rapid prototyping, is gaining increasing attention due to its ability to produce parts with added functionality and increased complexities in geometrical design, on top of the fact that it is theoretically possible to produce any shape without limitations. However, most of the research on additive manufacturing techniques are focused on the development of materials/process parameters/products design with different additive manufacturing processes such as selective laser melting, electron beam melting, or binder jetting. However, we do not have any guidelines that discuss the selection of the most suitable additive manufacturing process, depending on the material to be processed, the complexity of the parts to be produced, or the design considerations. Considering the very fact that no reports deal with this process selection, the present manuscript aims to discuss the different selection criteria that are to be considered, in order to select the best AM process (binder jetting/selective laser melting/electron beam melting) for fabricating a specific component with a defined set of material properties. PMID:28773031

Laser beam alignment and profilometry using diagnostic fluorescent safety mirrors

Science.gov (United States)

Lizotte, Todd E.

2011-03-01

There are a wide range of laser beam delivery systems in use for various purposes; including industrial and medical applications. Virtually all such beam delivery systems for practical purposes employ optical systems comprised of mirrors and lenses to shape, focus and guide the laser beam down to the material being processed. The goal of the laser beam delivery is to set the optimum parameters and to "fold" the beam path to reduce the mechanical length of the optical system, thereby allowing a physically compact system. In many cases, even a compact system can incorporate upwards of six mirrors and a comparable number of lenses all needing alignment so they are collinear. One of the major requirements for use of such systems in industry is a method of safe alignment. The alignment process requires that the aligner determine where the beam strikes each element. The aligner should also preferably be able to determine the shape or pattern of the laser beam at that point and its relative power. These alignments are further compounded in that the laser beams generated are not visible to the unaided human eye. Such beams are also often of relatively high power levels, and are thereby a significant hazard to the eyes of the aligner. Obvious an invisible beam makes it nearly impossible to align laser system without some form of optical assistance. The predominant method of visually aligning the laser beam delivery is the use of thermal paper, paper cards or fluorescing card material. The use of paper products which have limited power handling capability or coated plastics can produce significant debris and contaminants within the beam line that ultimately damage the optics. The use of the cards can also create significant laser light scatter jeopardizing the safety of the person aligning the system. This paper covers a new safety mirror design for use with at various UV and Near IR wavelengths (193 nm to 1064 nm) within laser beam delivery systems and how its use can

Modern reflective optics for material processing with high power CO/sub 2/-laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juptner, W.P.O.; Sepold, G.; Rothe, R.R.

1986-01-01

The state of the art in diamond turning of parabolic mirrors allows to manufacture high quality surfaces at a reasonable low price. In this paper a report is given on mirror optics and systems which were developed with the following aims: Small losses of laser power in the system with a high efficiency of the laser beam processing system; Long lifetime of the mirrors under material processing conditions; High Standard of the optical quality; Flexibility for different applications. The requested qualities are guaranteed by the whole construction of the optics and the system. The theoretical works, the state of the art of the development and the future aspects of these laser working head systems are reported

Laser cutting: industrial relevance, process optimization, and laser safety

Science.gov (United States)

Haferkamp, Heinz; Goede, Martin; von Busse, Alexander; Thuerk, Oliver

1998-09-01

Compared to other technological relevant laser machining processes, up to now laser cutting is the application most frequently used. With respect to the large amount of possible fields of application and the variety of different materials that can be machined, this technology has reached a stable position within the world market of material processing. Reachable machining quality for laser beam cutting is influenced by various laser and process parameters. Process integrated quality techniques have to be applied to ensure high-quality products and a cost effective use of the laser manufacturing plant. Therefore, rugged and versatile online process monitoring techniques at an affordable price would be desirable. Methods for the characterization of single plant components (e.g. laser source and optical path) have to be substituted by an omnivalent control system, capable of process data acquisition and analysis as well as the automatic adaptation of machining and laser parameters to changes in process and ambient conditions. At the Laser Zentrum Hannover eV, locally highly resolved thermographic measurements of the temperature distribution within the processing zone using cost effective measuring devices are performed. Characteristic values for cutting quality and plunge control as well as for the optimization of the surface roughness at the cutting edges can be deducted from the spatial distribution of the temperature field and the measured temperature gradients. Main influencing parameters on the temperature characteristic within the cutting zone are the laser beam intensity and pulse duration in pulse operation mode. For continuous operation mode, the temperature distribution is mainly determined by the laser output power related to the cutting velocity. With higher cutting velocities temperatures at the cutting front increase, reaching their maximum at the optimum cutting velocity. Here absorption of the incident laser radiation is drastically increased due to

Compression of Ultrafast Laser Beams

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

Copyright 2003, AIP Publishing LLC. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1611998.) When designing the pulse shaper, the laser beam must completely fill the...for the design of future versions of this device. The easiest way to align the pulse shaper is to use the laser beam that will be shaped, without...Afterward, an ultrafast thin beam splitter is placed into the system after the diameter of the laser beam is reduced; this is done to monitor the beam

Laser beam-plasma plume interaction during laser welding

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Jacek; Moscicki, Tomasz; Szymanski, Zygmunt

2003-10-01

Laser welding process is unstable because the keyhole wall performs oscillations which results in the oscillations of plasma plume over the keyhole mouth. The characteristic frequencies are equal to 0.5-4 kHz. Since plasma plume absorbs and refracts laser radiation, plasma oscillations modulate the laser beam before it reaches the workpiece. In this work temporary electron densities and temperatures are determined in the peaks of plasma bursts during welding with a continuous wave CO2 laser. It has been found that during strong bursts the plasma plume over the keyhole consists of metal vapour only, being not diluted by the shielding gas. As expected the values of electron density are about two times higher in peaks than their time-averaged values. Since the plasma absorption coefficient scales as ~N2e/T3/2 (for CO2 laser radiation) the results show that the power of the laser beam reaching the metal surface is modulated by the plasma plume oscillations. The attenuation factor equals 4-6% of the laser power but it is expected that it is doubled by the refraction effect. The results, together with the analysis of the colour pictures from streak camera, allow also interpretation of the dynamics of the plasma plume.

Beam delivery system with a non-digitized diffractive beam splitter for laser-drilling of silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Amako, J.; Fujii, E.

2016-02-01

We report a beam-delivery system consisting of a non-digitized diffractive beam splitter and a Fourier transform lens. The system is applied to the deep-drilling of silicon using a nanosecond pulse laser in the manufacture of inkjet printer heads. In this process, a circularly polarized pulse beam is divided into an array of uniform beams, which are then delivered precisely to the process points. To meet these requirements, the splitter was designed to be polarization-independent with an efficiency>95%. The optical elements were assembled so as to allow the fine tuning of the effective overall focal length by adjusting the wavefront curvature of the beam. Using the system, a beam alignment accuracy ofbeam array and the throughput was substantially improved (10,000 points on a silicon wafer drilled in ~1 min). This beam-delivery scheme works for a variety of laser applications that require parallel processing.

M2 qualify laser beam propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelhalim, Bencheikh; Mohamed, Bouafia

2010-01-01

One of the most important properties of a laser resonator is the highly collimated or spatially coherent nature of the laser output beam. Laser beam diameter and quality factor M 2 are significant parameters in a wide range of laser applications. This is because the spatial beam quality determines how closely the beam can be focused or how well the beam propagates over long distances without significant dispersion. In the present paper we have used three different methods to qualify the spatial structure of a laser beam propagating in free space, the results are obtained and discussed, and we have found that the Wigner distribution function is a powerful tool which allows a global characterization of any kind of beam

Coherent laser beam combining

CERN Document Server

Brignon, Arnaud

2013-01-01

Recently, the improvement of diode pumping in solid state lasers and the development of double clad fiber lasers have allowed to maintain excellent laser beam quality with single mode fibers. However, the fiber output power if often limited below a power damage threshold. Coherent laser beam combining (CLBC) brings a solution to these limitations by identifying the most efficient architectures and allowing for excellent spectral and spatial quality. This knowledge will become critical for the design of the next generation high-power lasers and is of major interest to many industrial, environme

Efficiency of laser beam utilization in gas laser cutting of materials

Science.gov (United States)

Galushkin, M. G.; Grishaev, R. V.

2018-02-01

Relying on the condition of dynamic matching of the process parameters in gas laser cutting, the dependence of the beam utilization factor on the cutting speed and the beam power has been determined. An energy balance equation has been derived for a wide range of cutting speed values.

Electron-beam-excited gas laser research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, A.W.; Gerardo, J.B.; Patterson, E.L.; Gerber, R.A.; Rice, J.K.; Bingham, F.W.

1975-01-01

Net energy gain in laser fusion places requirements on the laser that are not realized by any existing laser. Utilization of relativistic electron beams (REB's), a relatively new source for the excitation of gas laser media, may lead to new lasers that could satisfy these requirements. Already REB's have been utilized to excite gas laser media and produce gas lasers that have not been produced as successfully any other way. Electron-beam-excitation has produced electronic-transition dimer lasers that have not yet been produced by any other excitation scheme (for example, Xe 2 / sup *(1)/, Kr:O(2 1 S)/sup 2/, KrF/sup *(3)/). In addition, REB's have initiated chemical reactions to produce HF laser radiation with unique and promising results. Relativistic-electron-beam gas-laser research is continuing to lead to new lasers with unique properties. Results of work carried out at Sandia Laboratories in this pioneering effort of electron-beam-excited-gas lasers are reviewed. (U.S.)

Laser beam-forming by deformable mirror for laser isotope separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemoto, Koshichi; Fujii, Takashi; Goto, Naohiko

1995-01-01

A rectangular laser beam of uniform intensity is very suitable for laser isotope separation. In this paper, we propose a beam-forming system which consists two deformable mirrors. One of the mirrors changes the beam intensity and the other compensates for phase distortion. We developed a deformable mirror for beam-forming. Its deformed surface is similar to the ideal mirror surface for beam-forming. We reshaped a Gaussian-like He-Ne laser beam into a beam with a more uniform intensity profile by a simple deformable mirror. (author)

Some applications on laser material processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oros, C.

2005-01-01

An overview of the state-of-the-art in laser material processing for a large types of lasers from IR (CO 2 laser, NdYAG laser) to UV (excimer laser) and different kinds of materials (metals, dielectrics) is given. Laser radiation has found a wide range of applications as machining tool for various kinds of materials processing. The machining geometry, the work piece geometry, the material properties and economic productivity claim for customized systems with special design for beam guiding, shaping and delivery in order to fully utilize the laser radiation for surface processing with optimum efficiency, maximum processing speed and high processing quality. The laser-material interaction involves complex processes of heating, melting, vaporization, ejection of atoms, ions, and molecules, shock waves, plasma initiation and plasma expansion. The interaction is dependent on the laser beam parameters (pulse duration, energy and wavelength), the solid target properties and the surrounding environments condition. Experimental results for laser surface melting and laser ablation are given. Also, assuming the applicability of a one dimensional model for short pulses used, and restricting condition to single-pulse exposure, the temperature rise on the target was calculated taking account of the finite optical absorption depth and pulse duration of the laser

Materials processing with superposed Bessel beams

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaoming; Trallero-Herrero, Carlos A.; Lei, Shuting

2016-01-01

We report experimental results of femtosecond laser processing on the surface of glass and metal thin film using superposed Bessel beams. These beams are generated by a combination of a spatial light modulator (SLM) and an axicon with >50% efficiency, and they possess the long depth-of-focus (propagation-invariant) property as found in ordinary Bessel beams. Through micromachining experiments using femtosecond laser pulses, we show that multiple craters can be fabricated on glass with single-shot exposure, and the 1+(⿿1) superposed beam can reduce collateral damage caused by the rings in zero-order Bessel beams in the scribing of metal thin film.

Beam manipulation for compact laser wakefield accelerator based free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loulergue, A; Labat, M; Benabderrahmane, C; Couprie, M E; Evain, C; Malka, V

2015-01-01

Free-electron lasers (FELs) are a unique source of light, particularly in the x-ray domain. After the success of FELs based on conventional acceleration using radio-frequency cavities, an important challenge is the development of FELs based on electron bunching accelerated by a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). However, the present LWFA electron bunch properties do not permit use directly for a significant FEL amplification. It is known that longitudinal decompression of electron beams delivered by state-of-the-art LWFA eases the FEL process. We propose here a second order transverse beam manipulation turning the large inherent transverse chromatic emittances of LWFA beams into direct FEL gain advantage. Numerical simulations are presented showing that this beam manipulation can further enhance by orders of magnitude the peak power of the radiation. (paper)

Beam-energy and laser beam-profile monitor at the BNL LINAC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connolly, R.; Briscoe, B.; Degen, C.; DeSanto, L.; Meng, W.; Minty, M.; Nayak, S.; Raparia, D.; Russo, T.

2010-05-02

We are developing a non-interceptive beam profile and energy monitor for H{sup -} beams in the high energy beam transport (HEBT) line at the Brookhaven National Lab linac. Electrons that are removed from the beam ions either by laser photodetachment or stripping by background gas are deflected into a Faraday cup. The beam profile is measured by stepping a narrow laser beam across the ion beam and measuring the electron charge vs. transverse laser position. There is a grid in front of the collector that can be biased up to 125kV. The beam energy spectrum is determined by measuring the electron charge vs. grid voltage. Beam electrons have the same velocity as the beam and so have an energy of 1/1836 of the beam protons. A 200MeV H{sup -} beam yields 109keV electrons. Energy measurements can be made with either laser-stripped or gas-stripped electrons.

Laser Diode Beam Basics, Manipulations and Characterizations

CERN Document Server

Sun, Haiyin

2012-01-01

Many optical design technical books are available for many years which mainly deal with image optics design based on geometric optics and using sequential raytracing technique. Some books slightly touched laser beam manipulation optics design. On the other hand many books on laser diodes have been published that extensively deal with laser diode physics with little touching on laser diode beam manipulations and characterizations. There are some internet resources dealing with laser diode beams. However, these internet resources have not covered enough materials with enough details on laser diode beam manipulations and characterizations. A technical book concentrated on laser diode beam manipulations and characterizations can fit in to the open and provide useful information to laser diode users. Laser Diode Beam Basics, Manipulations and  Characterizations is concentrated on the very practical side of the subject, it only discusses the basic physics and mathematics that are necessary for the readers in order...

A practical guide to handling laser diode beams

CERN Document Server

Sun, Haiyin

2015-01-01

This book offers the reader a practical guide to the control and characterization of laser diode beams.  Laser diodes are the most widely used lasers, accounting for 50% of the global laser market.  Correct handling of laser diode beams is the key to the successful use of laser diodes, and this requires an in-depth understanding of their unique properties. Following a short introduction to the working principles of laser diodes, the book describes the basics of laser diode beams and beam propagation, including Zemax modeling of a Gaussian beam propagating through a lens.  The core of the book is concerned with laser diode beam manipulations: collimating and focusing, circularization and astigmatism correction, coupling into a single mode optical fiber, diffractive optics and beam shaping, and manipulation of multi transverse mode beams.  The final chapter of the book covers beam characterization methods, describing the measurement of spatial and spectral properties, including wavelength and linewidth meas...

Fundamentals and industrial applications of high power laser beam cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruck, G.J.

1988-01-01

Laser beam cladding has been refined such that clad characteristics are precisely determined through routine process control. This paper reviews the state of the art of laser cladding optical equipment, as well as the fundamental process/clad relationships that have been developed for high power processing. Major categories of industrial laser cladding are described with examples chose to highlight particular process attributes

Experimental investigation of the characteristics of a laser beam passing through a fluid layer for surface quality in-process measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Ruipeng; Tao, Zhengsu

2010-01-01

The optical characteristics of a laser beam passing through a fluid parallel layer are examined through a series of experimental tests in this project. The experimental apparatus consists of a bare surface quality measurement system and a fluid-supporting system. In the case of laser beam propagation through the static fluid layer, a modified Beckmann–Kirchhoff scattering model has been developed. Based on this model, the results of the surface quality in-process optical measurement can be amended. By extracting a ratio parameter from the image of the scattered light pattern to estimate surface roughness, the modified model can be verified quantitatively in the experimental system. As far as laser beam propagation through the flowing fluid layer is concerned, the deflection of the laser beam caused by fluid flow is small. The experiments are conducted to investigate the characteristics, and the results show that the resulting measurement error for surface quality optical measurement is in an acceptable range

Pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam drilling: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Gautam, Girish Dutt; Pandey, Arun Kumar

2018-03-01

Laser beam drilling (LBD) is one of non contact type unconventional machining process that are employed in machining of stiff and high-strength materials, high strength temperature resistance materials such as; metal alloys, ceramics, composites and superalloys. Most of these materials are difficult-to-machine by using conventional machining methods. Also, the complex and precise holes may not be obtained by using the conventional machining processes which may be obtained by using unconventional machining processes. The laser beam drilling in one of the most important unconventional machining process that may be used for the machining of these materials with satisfactorily. In this paper, the attention is focused on the experimental and theoretical investigations on the pulsed Nd:YAG laser drilling of different categories of materials such as ferrous materials, non-ferrous materials, superalloys, composites and Ceramics. Moreover, the review has been emphasized by the use of pulsed Nd:YAG laser drilling of different materials in order to enhance productivity of this process without adverse effects on the drilled holes quality characteristics. Finally, the review is concluded with the possible scope in the area of pulsed Nd:YAG laser drilling. This review work may be very useful to the subsequent researchers in order to give an insight in the area of pulsed Nd:YAG laser drilling of different materials and research gaps available in this area.

Beam transport optics for high-power laser systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.R.

1995-01-01

Beam transport optics receive output energy from the laser cavity and deliver it to the work site. Depending on the application, this may require a few simple elements or large complex systems. Collection of the laser energy depends on the spatial and temporal energy distribution as well as the wavelength and polarization of the laser cavity and output coupler. Transport optics can perform a variety of functions, including beam formatting, frequency doubling, and distribution to one or more work sites while maintaining or even improving the beam quality. The beam may be delivered to work sites as focused spots or images, projected to distant targets, or propagated through various media for sensing or photochemical processing. Design may involve optical modeling of the system, including diffraction effects and thermal management. A Gaussian beam profile is often used for convenience in modeling. When deviations from this ideal profile need to be considered, it is necessary to characterize the laser beam in detail. Design of the transport system requires understanding of the interaction of the laser energy with optical materials and components. Practical considerations include mounting the optics without stress and with the stability suitable for the intended application. Requirements for beam direction, stability, size, shape, and quality dictate the design approach for each specific situation. Attention also must be given to reliability, environmental, and commercial requirements. Damage to optics in high-power laser systems is a common concern. Environmental problems such as atmospheric turbulence, contamination by dust or vapor from the work site or other sources, or absorption of water vapor can directly degrade beam quality. Other potentially significant optical performance effects may result from instability and aging of the optics, temperature, humidity, pressure, transmitted vibration, and contamination from the work site or other sources

Laser-driven acceleration with Bessel beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imasaki, Kazuo; Li, Dazhi

2005-01-01

A new approach of laser-driven acceleration with Bessel beam is described. Bessel beam, in contrast to the Gaussian beam, shows diffraction-free'' characteristics in its propagation, which implies potential in laser-driven acceleration. But a normal laser, even if the Bessel beam, laser can not accelerate charged particle efficiently because the difference of velocity between the particle and photon makes cyclic acceleration and deceleration phase. We proposed a Bessel beam truncated by a set of annular slits those makes several special regions in its travelling path, where the laser field becomes very weak and the accelerated particles are possible to receive no deceleration as they undergo decelerating phase. Thus, multistage acceleration is realizable with high gradient. In a numerical computation, we have shown the potential of multistage acceleration based on a three-stage model. (author)

Laser beam cutting method. Laser ko ni yoru kaitai koho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kutsumizu, A. (Obayashi Corp., Osaka (Japan))

1991-07-01

In this special issue paper concerning the demolition of concrete structures, was introduced a demolition of concrete structures using laser, of which practical application is expected due to the remarkable progress of generating power and efficiency of laser radiator. The characteristics of laser beam which can give a temperature of one million centigrade at the irradiated spot, the laser radiator consisting of laser medium, laser resonator and pumping apparatus, and the laser kinds for working, such as CO{sub 2} laser, YAG laser and CO laser, were described. The basic constitution of laser cutting equipment consisting of large generating power radiator, beam transmitter, beam condenser, and nozzle for working was also illustrated. Furthermore, strong and weak points in the laser cutting for concrete and reinforcement were enumerated. Applications of laser to cutting of reinforced and unreinforced concrete constructions were shown, and the concept and safety measure for application of laser to practical demolition was discussed. 5 refs., 8 figs.

Principles of alignment of multi-beam lasers for thermonuclear purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basov, N.G.; Belyan, B.F.; Zhilkin, G.P.

1978-01-01

The problems of methods and equipment for power pulse laser adjustment, as well as the problem of adjustment automatization are considered. The adjustment of a power 12-channel ''Dolphin'' laser installation on the neodymium glass is taken as a concrete object. The adjustment objects are optical track of laser installation, guidance and laser radiation focusing system on the target, the system of target delivery to the focal volume, control system of element optical quality of laser installation and laser beams, as well as target radiation conditions in vacuum chamber. List of requirements of adjustment beams, possible sources of adjustment beams, equipment complex and laser installation adjustment methods are considered. The principles and scheme solutions of automatic adjustment of optical elements are discussed and the description of working samples of automatic joints is given. The problem of working laser beams imitation by adjusting and the possibilities of automatization of laser radiation space-angle characteristics control are considered. The control scheme of adjustment processes with computer as well as the switching on of adjustment automatic subsystem in the general automatization scheme of the ''Dolphin'' installation are discussed

Beam processing of advanced materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, J.; Copley, S.M.

1993-01-01

International Conference on Beam Processing of Advanced Materials was held at the Fall TMS/ASM Materials Week at Chicago, Illinois, November 2--5, 1992. The symposium was devoted to the recent advances in processing of materials by an energy source such as laser, electron, ion beams, etc. The symposium served as a forum on the science of beam-induced materials processing and implications of this science to practical implementation. An increased emphasis on obtaining an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of beam-induced surface processes was a major trend observed at this years symposium. This has resulted in the increased use of advanced diagnostic techniques and modeling studies to determine the rate controlling steps in these processes. Individual papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the appropriate data bases

Initial alignment method for free space optics laser beam

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Yuta; Tashiro, Yuki; Izumi, Kiyotaka; Yoshida, Koichi; Tsujimura, Takeshi

2016-08-01

The authors have newly proposed and constructed an active free space optics transmission system. It is equipped with a motor driven laser emitting mechanism and positioning photodiodes, and it transmits a collimated thin laser beam and accurately steers the laser beam direction. It is necessary to introduce the laser beam within sensible range of the receiver in advance of laser beam tracking control. This paper studies an estimation method of laser reaching point for initial laser beam alignment. Distributed photodiodes detect laser luminescence at respective position, and the optical axis of laser beam is analytically presumed based on the Gaussian beam optics. Computer simulation evaluates the accuracy of the proposed estimation methods, and results disclose that the methods help us to guide the laser beam to a distant receiver.

Generation and transport of laser accelerated ion beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, Peter; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver [Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Kornilov, Vladimir; Spaedtke, Peter [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Collaboration: LIGHT-Collaboration

2013-07-01

Currently the LIGHT- Project (Laser Ion Generation, Handling and Transport) is performed at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH Darmstadt. Within this project, intense proton beams are generated by laser acceleration, using the TNSA mechanism. After the laser acceleration the protons are transported through the beam pipe by a pulsed power solenoid. To study the transport a VORPAL 3D simulation is compared with CST simulation. A criterion as a function of beam parameters was worked out, to rate the importance of space charge. Furthermore, an exemplary comparison of the solenoid with a magnetic quadrupole-triplet was carried out. In the further course of the LIGHT-Project, it is planned to generate ion beams with higher kinetic energies, using ultra-thin targets. The acceleration processes that can appear are: RPA (Radiation Pressure Acceleration) and BOA (Break-Out Afterburner). Therefore the transport of an ion distribution will be studied, as it emerges from a RPA acceleration.

Numerical analysis of thermal deformation in laser beam heating of a steel plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chao; Kim, Yong-Rae; Kim, Jae-Woong [Yeungnam University, Kyongsan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-05-15

Line heating is a widely used process for plate forming or thermal straightening. Flame heating and induction heating are the traditional heating processes used by industry for line heating. However, these two heating processes are ineffective when used on small steel plates. Thus, the laser beam heating with various power profiles were carried out in this study. A comparison of numerical simulation results and experimental results found a significant difference in the thermal deformation when apply a different power profile of laser beam heating. The one-sinusoid power profile produced largest thermal deformation in this study. The laser beam heating process was simulated by established a combined heat source model, and simulated results were compared with experimental results to confirm the model’s accuracy. The mechanism of thermal deformation was investigated and the effects of model parameters were studied intensively with the finite element method. Thermal deformation was found to have a significant relationship with the amount of central zone plastic deformation. Scientists and engineers could use this study’s verified model to select appropriate parameters in laser beam heating process. Moreover, by using the developed laser beam model, the analysis of welding residual stress or hardness could also be investigated from a power profile point of view.

Beam uniformity of flat top lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chao; Cramer, Larry; Danielson, Don; Norby, James

2015-03-01

Many beams that output from standard commercial lasers are multi-mode, with each mode having a different shape and width. They show an overall non-homogeneous energy distribution across the spot size. There may be satellite structures, halos and other deviations from beam uniformity. However, many scientific, industrial and medical applications require flat top spatial energy distribution, high uniformity in the plateau region, and complete absence of hot spots. Reliable standard methods for the evaluation of beam quality are of great importance. Standard methods are required for correct characterization of the laser for its intended application and for tight quality control in laser manufacturing. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard procedures and definitions for this purpose. These procedures have not been widely adopted by commercial laser manufacturers. This is due to the fact that they are unreliable because an unrepresentative single-pixel value can seriously distort the result. We hereby propose a metric of beam uniformity, a way of beam profile visualization, procedures to automatically detect hot spots and beam structures, and application examples in our high energy laser production.

Transverse Laser Beam Shaping in High Brightness Electron Gun at ATF

CERN Document Server

Roychowdhury, S

2005-01-01

The brightness of electron beams from a photo injector is influenced by the transverse and longitudinal distribution of the laser beam illuminating the cathode. Previous studies at Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility have shown that formation of an ideal e-beam with lowest transverse emittance requires uniform circular distribution of the emitted electrons. The use of the uniformly distributed power of the laser beam may not lead to that of the emitted electrons because of the non-uniform quantum efficiency. A proper shaping of the laser beam can compensate for this non-uniformity. In this paper we describe the use of digital light processing (DLP) technique based on digital mirror device (DMD) for spatial modulation of the laser beam, for measurements of the quantum efficiency map, and for creating the desirable e-beam density profiles. A DMD is aμelectronic mechanical system (MEMS) comprising of millions of highly reflectiveμmirrors controlled by underlying electronics. We present exper...

Laser-driven ultrafast antiproton beam

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shun; Pei, Zhikun; Shen, Baifei; Xu, Jiancai; Zhang, Lingang; Zhang, Xiaomei; Xu, Tongjun; Yu, Yong; Bu, Zhigang

2018-02-01

Antiproton beam generation is investigated based on the ultra-intense femtosecond laser pulse by using two-dimensional particle-in-cell and Geant4 simulations. A high-flux proton beam with an energy of tens of GeV is generated in sequential radiation pressure and bubble regime and then shoots into a high-Z target for producing antiprotons. Both yield and energy of the antiproton beam increase almost linearly with the laser intensity. The generated antiproton beam has a short pulse duration of about 5 ps and its flux reaches 2 × 10 20 s - 1 at the laser intensity of 2.14 × 10 23 W / cm 2 . Compared to conventional methods, this new method based on the ultra-intense laser pulse is able to provide a compact, tunable, and ultrafast antiproton source, which is potentially useful for quark-gluon plasma study, all-optical antihydrogen generation, and so on.

Laser-driven ion acceleration with hollow laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brabetz, C.; Kester, O.; Busold, S.; Bagnoud, V.; Cowan, T.; Deppert, O.; Jahn, D.; Roth, M.; Schumacher, D.

2015-01-01

The laser-driven acceleration of protons from thin foils irradiated by hollow high-intensity laser beams in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) is reported for the first time. The use of hollow beams aims at reducing the initial emission solid angle of the TNSA source, due to a flattening of the electron sheath at the target rear side. The experiments were conducted at the PHELIX laser facility at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH with laser intensities in the range from 10 18  W cm −2 to 10 20  W cm −2 . We observed an average reduction of the half opening angle by (3.07±0.42)° or (13.2±2.0)% when the targets have a thickness between 12 μm and 14 μm. In addition, the highest proton energies were achieved with the hollow laser beam in comparison to the typical Gaussian focal spot

Laser-driven ion acceleration with hollow laser beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brabetz, C., E-mail: c.brabetz@gsi.de; Kester, O. [Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, 60323 Frankfurt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Busold, S.; Bagnoud, V. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz-Institut Jena, 07743 Jena (Germany); Cowan, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Deppert, O.; Jahn, D.; Roth, M. [Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64277 Darmstadt (Germany); Schumacher, D. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)

2015-01-15

The laser-driven acceleration of protons from thin foils irradiated by hollow high-intensity laser beams in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) is reported for the first time. The use of hollow beams aims at reducing the initial emission solid angle of the TNSA source, due to a flattening of the electron sheath at the target rear side. The experiments were conducted at the PHELIX laser facility at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH with laser intensities in the range from 10{sup 18} W cm{sup −2} to 10{sup 20} W cm{sup −2}. We observed an average reduction of the half opening angle by (3.07±0.42)° or (13.2±2.0)% when the targets have a thickness between 12 μm and 14 μm. In addition, the highest proton energies were achieved with the hollow laser beam in comparison to the typical Gaussian focal spot.

Method and apparatus for laser-controlled proton beam radiology

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, Carol J.

1998-01-01

A proton beam radiology system provides cancer treatment and proton radiography. The system includes an accelerator for producing an H.sup.- beam and a laser source for generating a laser beam. A photodetachment module is located proximate the periphery of the accelerator. The photodetachment module combines the H.sup.- beam and laser beam to produce a neutral beam therefrom within a subsection of the H.sup.- beam. The photodetachment module emits the neutral beam along a trajectory defined by the laser beam. The photodetachment module includes a stripping foil which forms a proton beam from the neutral beam. The proton beam is delivered to a conveyance segment which transports the proton beam to a patient treatment station. The photodetachment module further includes a laser scanner which moves the laser beam along a path transverse to the cross-section of the H.sup.- beam in order to form the neutral beam in subsections of the H.sup.- beam. As the scanning laser moves across the H.sup.- beam, it similarly varies the trajectory of the proton beam emitted from the photodetachment module and in turn varies the target location of the proton beam upon the patient. Intensity modulation of the proton beam can also be achieved by controlling the output of the laser.

Raman beam combining for laser brightness enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Jay W.; Allen, Graham S.; Pax, Paul H.; Heebner, John E.; Sridharan, Arun K.; Rubenchik, Alexander M.; Barty, Chrisopher B. J.

2015-10-27

An optical source capable of enhanced scaling of pulse energy and brightness utilizes an ensemble of single-aperture fiber lasers as pump sources, with each such fiber laser operating at acceptable pulse energy levels. Beam combining involves stimulated Raman scattering using a Stokes' shifted seed beam, the latter of which is optimized in terms of its temporal and spectral properties. Beams from fiber lasers can thus be combined to attain pulses with peak energies in excess of the fiber laser self-focusing limit of 4 MW while retaining the advantages of a fiber laser system of high average power with good beam quality.

Collisional absorption of two laser beams in plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohan, M.; Acharya, R.

1977-04-01

The collisional absorption of two laser beams is considered by solving the kinetic equation for the plasma electron. Results show that the simultaneous effect of two laser beams on the heating rate is greater as compared with the individual contribution of each laser beam when the two laser beams have a difference of frequencies equal to the plasma frequency

Laser systems configured to output a spectrally-consolidated laser beam and related methods

Science.gov (United States)

Koplow, Jeffrey P [San Ramon, CA

2012-01-10

A laser apparatus includes a plurality of pumps each of which is configured to emit a corresponding pump laser beam having a unique peak wavelength. The laser apparatus includes a spectral beam combiner configured to combine the corresponding pump laser beams into a substantially spatially-coherent pump laser beam having a pump spectrum that includes the unique peak wavelengths, and first and second selectively reflective elements spaced from each other to define a lasing cavity including a lasing medium therein. The lasing medium generates a plurality of gain spectra responsive to absorbing the pump laser beam. Each gain spectrum corresponds to a respective one of the unique peak wavelengths of the substantially spatially-coherent pump laser beam and partially overlaps with all other ones of the gain spectra. The reflective elements are configured to promote emission of a laser beam from the lasing medium with a peak wavelength common to each gain spectrum.

Study on laser beam welding technology for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chida, Itaru; Shiihara, Katsunori; Fukuda, Takeshi; Kono, Wataru; Obata, Minoru; Morishima, Yasuo

2012-01-01

Laser beam welding is one of the jointing processes by irradiating laser beam on the material surface locally and widely used at various industrial fields. Toshiba has developed various laser-based maintenance and repair technologies and already applied them to several existing nuclear power plants. Laser cladding is a technique to weld the corrosion resistant metal onto a substrate surface by feeding filler wire to improve the corrosion resistance. Temper-bead welding is the heat input process to provide the desired microstructure properties of welded low alloy steels without post weld heat treatment, by inducing proper heat cycle during laser welding. Both laser welding technologies would be performed underwater by blowing the shielding gas for creating the local dry area. In this report, some evaluation results of material characteristics by temper-bead welding to target at Reactor Coolant System nozzle of PWR are presented. (author)

Advanced chemical oxygen iodine lasers for novel beam generation

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Kenan; Zhao, Tianliang; Huai, Ying; Jin, Yuqi

2018-03-01

Chemical oxygen iodine laser, or COIL, is an impressive type of chemical laser that emits high power beam with good atmospheric transmissivity. Chemical oxygen iodine lasers with continuous-wave plane wave output are well-developed and are widely adopted in directed energy systems in the past several decades. Approaches of generating novel output beam based on chemical oxygen iodine lasers are explored in the current study. Since sophisticated physical processes including supersonic flowing of gaseous active media, chemical reacting of various species, optical power amplification, as well as thermal deformation and vibration of mirrors take place in the operation of COIL, a multi-disciplinary model is developed for tracing the interacting mechanisms and evaluating the performance of the proposed laser architectures. Pulsed output mode with repetition rate as high as hundreds of kHz, pulsed output mode with low repetition rate and high pulse energy, as well as novel beam with vector or vortex feature can be obtained. The results suggest potential approaches for expanding the applicability of chemical oxygen iodine lasers.

Improved laser damage threshold performance of calcium fluoride optical surfaces via Accelerated Neutral Atom Beam (ANAB) processing

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkpatrick, S.; Walsh, M.; Svrluga, R.; Thomas, M.

2015-11-01

Optics are not keeping up with the pace of laser advancements. The laser industry is rapidly increasing its power capabilities and reducing wavelengths which have exposed the optics as a weak link in lifetime failures for these advanced systems. Nanometer sized surface defects (scratches, pits, bumps and residual particles) on the surface of optics are a significant limiting factor to high end performance. Angstrom level smoothing of materials such as calcium fluoride, spinel, magnesium fluoride, zinc sulfide, LBO and others presents a unique challenge for traditional polishing techniques. Exogenesis Corporation, using its new and proprietary Accelerated Neutral Atom Beam (ANAB) technology, is able to remove nano-scale surface damage and particle contamination leaving many material surfaces with roughness typically around one Angstrom. This surface defect mitigation via ANAB processing can be shown to increase performance properties of high intensity optical materials. This paper describes the ANAB technology and summarizes smoothing results for calcium fluoride laser windows. It further correlates laser damage threshold improvements with the smoothing produced by ANAB surface treatment. All ANAB processing was performed at Exogenesis Corporation using an nAccel100TM Accelerated Particle Beam processing tool. All surface measurement data for the paper was produced via AFM analysis on a Park Model XE70 AFM, and all laser damage testing was performed at Spica Technologies, Inc. Exogenesis Corporation's ANAB processing technology is a new and unique surface modification technique that has demonstrated to be highly effective at correcting nano-scale surface defects. ANAB is a non-contact vacuum process comprised of an intense beam of accelerated, electrically neutral gas atoms with average energies of a few tens of electron volts. The ANAB process does not apply mechanical forces associated with traditional polishing techniques. ANAB efficiently removes surface

Laser optical pumping of sodium and lithium atom beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cusma, J.T.

1983-01-01

The method of optical pumping with a continuous wave dye laser has been used to produce beams of polarized 23 Na atoms and polarized 6 Li atoms. Optical pumping of a 23 Na atom beam using either a multimode dye laser or a single frequency dye laser with a double passed acousto-optic modulator results in electron spin polarizations of 0.70-0.90 and nuclear spin polarizations of 0.75-0.90. Optical pumping of a 6 Li atom beam using a single frequency dye laser either with an acousto-optic modulator or with Doppler shift pumping results in electron spin polarizations of 0.77-0.95 and nuclear spin polarizations greater than 0.90. The polarization of the atom beam is measured using either the laser induced fluorescence in an intermediate magnetic field or a 6-pole magnet to determine the occupation probabilities of the ground hyperfine sublevels following optical pumping. The results of the laser optical pumping experiments agree with the results of a rate equation analysis of the optical pumping process which predicts that nearly all atoms are transferred into a single sublevel for our values of laser intensity and interaction time. The use of laser optical pumping in a polarized ion source for nuclear scattering experiments is discussed. The laser optical pumping method provides a means of constructing an intense source of polarized Li and Na ions

Excimer laser beam delivery systems for medical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Uichi; Hashishin, Yuichi; Okada, Kazuyuki; Tanaka, Hiroyuki

1993-05-01

We have been doing the basic experiments of UV laser beams and biotissue interaction with both KrF and XeCl lasers. However, the conventional optical fiber can not be available for power UV beams. So we have been investigating about UV power beam delivery systems. These experiments carry on with the same elements doped quartz fibers and the hollow tube. The doped elements are OH ion, chlorine and fluorine. In our latest work, we have tried ArF excimer laser and biotissue interactions, and the beam delivery experiments. From our experimental results, we found that the ArF laser beam has high incision ability for hard biotissue. For example, in the case of the cow's bone incision, the incision depth by ArF laser was ca.15 times of KrF laser. Therefore, ArF laser would be expected to harden biotissue therapy as non-thermal method. However, its beam delivery is difficult to work in this time. We will develop ArF laser beam delivery systems.

Laser control of atomic beam motion and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balykin, V.I.; Letokhov, V.S.

1987-01-01

The authors present the results of an experimental investigation of the control of atomic beam motion by the light pressure of laser radiation. Collimation, focusing and reflection of the atomic beam are considered. Collimation of the atomic beam is achieved by the interaction of laser radiation with atoms, when the light pressure force depends only on the atom's velocity. A similar regime of atomic beam interaction with radiation was performed with transversal irradiation of a beam by the axis-symmetrical field. The axis-symmetrical field was formed by laser radiation reflected from the conical mirror surface of a reflecting axicon. The axis of the atomic beam coincided with that of the axicon. The collimation regime was reached under negative detuning of the laser radiation frequency from the atomic transition frequency by a value equal to several homogeneous widths. With positive detuning by the same value the regime of beam decollimation was observed. The density of atoms on the beam axis was changed by 10 3 times, when the collimation regime was replaced by that of decollimation. Focusing of the atomic beam was achieved by light pressure dependent on the atomic coordinate. Focusing was performed within the field configuration formed by divergent laser Gaussian beams propagating in the direction +- X, +- Y of a Cartesian coordinate system. Waists of the laser beams were an equal distance from the atomic beam axis. With an atomic beam propagating along the z axis, expressions for local distance and a formula for the laser lens were obtained. Focusing of the atomic beam was experimentally accomplished, and the image of the atomic beam was received. In this work they also investigated reflection of the atomic beam by laser radiation. The possibility of creating the optics of a neutral atomic beam is shown

Direct diode lasers with comparable beam quality to fiber, CO2, and solid state lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Burgess, James; Kaiman, Michael; Overman, Robert; Glenn, John D.; Tayebati, Parviz

2012-03-01

TeraDiode has produced kW-class ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 2,040 W from a 50 μm core diameter, 0.15 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength was demonstrated. This was achieved with a novel beam combining and shaping technique using COTS diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 3.75 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. This laser is suitable for industrial materials processing applications, including sheet metal cutting and welding. This 2-kW fiber-coupled direct diode laser has comparable brightness to that of industrial fiber lasers and CO2 lasers, and is over 10x brighter than state-of-the-art direct diode lasers.

Effect of laser beam filamentation on plasma wave localization and stimulated Raman scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purohit, Gunjan; Sharma, R. P.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the effect of laser beam filamentation on the localization of electron plasma wave (EPW) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in unmagnitized plasma when both relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities are operative. The filamentary dynamics of laser beam is studied and the splitted profile of the laser beam is obtained due to uneven focusing of the off-axial rays. The localization of electron plasma wave takes place due to nonlinear coupling between the laser beam and EPW. Stimulated Raman scattering of this EPW is studied and backreflectivity has been calculated. The localization of EPW also affects the eigenfrequency and damping of plasma wave; consequently, mismatch and modified enhanced Landau damping lead to the disruption of SRS process and a substantial reduction in the backreflectivity. The new enhanced damping of the plasma wave has been calculated and it is found that the SRS process gets suppressed due to the localization of plasma wave in laser beam filamentary structures. For typical laser beam and plasma parameters with wavelength λ (=1064 nm), power flux (=10 16 W/cm 2 ) and plasma density (n/n cr ) = 0.2; the SRS back reflectivity is found to be suppressed by a factor of around 5%. (author)

Laser diagnostics for picosecond e-beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pogorelsky, I.; Ben-Zvi, I.

1992-01-01

We propose a novel approach to picosecond e-bunch/laser pulse synchronization and spatial alignment based upon refraction and reflection of a laser beam on a plasma column created by relativistic electrons traveling through a gas or solid optical material. The technique may be used in laser accelerators and for general subpicosecond e-beam diagnostics

Materials processing with superposed Bessel beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Xiaoming [Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States); Trallero-Herrero, Carlos A. [J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States); Lei, Shuting, E-mail: lei@ksu.edu [Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States)

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Superpositions of Bessel beams can be generated with >50% efficiency using an SLM and an axicon. • These beams have orders-of-magnitude increase in depth-of-focus compared to Gaussian beams. • Multiple craters can be fabricated on glass with single-shot exposure. • The 1+(−1) superposition can reduce collateral damage caused by the rings in the zero-order Bessel beams. - Abstract: We report experimental results of femtosecond laser processing on the surface of glass and metal thin film using superposed Bessel beams. These beams are generated by a combination of a spatial light modulator (SLM) and an axicon with >50% efficiency, and they possess the long depth-of-focus (propagation-invariant) property as found in ordinary Bessel beams. Through micromachining experiments using femtosecond laser pulses, we show that multiple craters can be fabricated on glass with single-shot exposure, and the 1+(−1) superposed beam can reduce collateral damage caused by the rings in zero-order Bessel beams in the scribing of metal thin film.

Experimental control of the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amin, Munib

2008-12-15

The laser generation of energetic high quality beams of protons and heavier ions has opened up the door to a plethora of applications. These beams are usually generated by the interaction of a short pulse high power laser with a thin metal foil target. They could already be applied to probe transient phenomena in plasmas and to produce warm dense matter by isochoric heating. Other applications such as the production of radioisotopes and tumour radiotherapy need further research to be put into practice. To meet the requirements of each application, the properties of the laser-accelerated particle beams have to be controlled precisely. In this thesis, experimental means to control the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions are investigated. The production and control of proton and carbon ion beams is studied using advanced ion source designs: Experiments concerning mass-limited (i.e. small and isolated) targets are conducted. These targets have the potential to increase both the number and the energy of laser-accelerated protons. Therefore, the influence of the size of a plane foil target on proton beam properties is measured. Furthermore, carbon ion sources are investigated. Carbon ions are of particular interest in the production of warm dense matter and in cancer radiotherapy. The possibility to focus carbon ion beams is investigated and a simple method for the production of quasi-monoenergetic carbon ion beams is presented. This thesis also provides an insight into the physical processes connected to the production and the control of laser-accelerated ions. For this purpose, laser-accelerated protons are employed to probe plasma phenomena on laser-irradiated targets. Electric fields evolving on the surface of laser-irradiated metal foils and hollow metal foil cylinders are investigated. Since these fields can be used to displace, collimate or focus proton beams, understanding their temporal and spatial evolution is crucial for the design of

Experimental control of the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amin, Munib

2008-12-01

The laser generation of energetic high quality beams of protons and heavier ions has opened up the door to a plethora of applications. These beams are usually generated by the interaction of a short pulse high power laser with a thin metal foil target. They could already be applied to probe transient phenomena in plasmas and to produce warm dense matter by isochoric heating. Other applications such as the production of radioisotopes and tumour radiotherapy need further research to be put into practice. To meet the requirements of each application, the properties of the laser-accelerated particle beams have to be controlled precisely. In this thesis, experimental means to control the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions are investigated. The production and control of proton and carbon ion beams is studied using advanced ion source designs: Experiments concerning mass-limited (i.e. small and isolated) targets are conducted. These targets have the potential to increase both the number and the energy of laser-accelerated protons. Therefore, the influence of the size of a plane foil target on proton beam properties is measured. Furthermore, carbon ion sources are investigated. Carbon ions are of particular interest in the production of warm dense matter and in cancer radiotherapy. The possibility to focus carbon ion beams is investigated and a simple method for the production of quasi-monoenergetic carbon ion beams is presented. This thesis also provides an insight into the physical processes connected to the production and the control of laser-accelerated ions. For this purpose, laser-accelerated protons are employed to probe plasma phenomena on laser-irradiated targets. Electric fields evolving on the surface of laser-irradiated metal foils and hollow metal foil cylinders are investigated. Since these fields can be used to displace, collimate or focus proton beams, understanding their temporal and spatial evolution is crucial for the design of

Enhanced laser beam coupling to a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steiger, A.D.; Woods, C.H.

1976-01-01

Density perturbations are induced in a heated plasma by means of a pair of oppositely directed, polarized laser beams of the same frequency. The wavelength of the density perturbations is equal to one half the wavelength of the laser beams. A third laser beam is linearly polarized and directed at the perturbed plasma along a line that is perpendicular to the direction of the two opposed beams. The electric field of the third beam is oriented to lie in the plane containing the three beams. The frequency of the third beam is chosen to cause it to interact resonantly with the plasma density perturbations, thereby efficiently coupling the energy of the third beam to the plasma. 10 claims, 2 figures

On formation of a partially coherent beam in a stable-resonator laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suvorov, A A

2010-01-01

A new method involving the expansion of the field coherence function in partially coherent modes - the eigensolutions of the problem for the second-order coherence function in a stable resonator - is proposed for the theoretical description of the process of multimode laser beam formation. The method for solving the problem for arbitrary partially coherent modes is formulated and the expressions for these modes are derived in the general form. The characteristics of the fundamental partially coherent mode, which coincides with the coherence function of a Gaussian partially coherent beam, are analysed in detail. The partially coherent modes are shown to possess two spatial scales - the effective radius and the coherence radius, which makes them a convenient tool for solving the problem of generation of a partially coherent beam. It is found that the unambiguous relation between the characteristics of partially coherent modes and the stable-resonator parameters is achieved by involving into consideration not only the process of the beam formation by the resonator mirrors but also the process of interaction of radiation with the active laser medium. (laser beams and resonators)

Investigation on fracture toughness of laser beam welded steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riekehr, S.; Cam, G.; Santos, J.F. dos; Kocak, M.; Klein, R.M.; Fischer, R.

1999-01-01

Laser beam welding is currently used in the welding of a variety of structural materials including hot and cold rolled steels, high strength low alloy and stainless steels, aluminium and titanium alloys, refractory and high temperature alloys and dissimilar materials. This high power density welding process has unique advantages of cost effectiveness, low distortion, high welding speed, easy automation, deep penetration, narrow bead width, and narrow HAZ compared to the conventional fusion welding processes. However, there is a need to understand the deformation and fracture properties of laser beam weld joints in order to use this cost effective process for fabrication of structural components fully. In the present study, an austenitic stainless steel, X5CrNi18 10 (1.4301) and a ferritic structural steel, RSt37-2 (1.0038), with a thickness of 4 mm were welded by 5 kW CO 2 laser process. Microhardness measurements were conducted to determine the hardness profiles of the joints. Flat micro-tensile specimens were extracted from the base metal, fusion zone, and heat affected zone of ferritic joint to determine the mechanical property variation across the joint and the strength mismatch ratio between the base metal and the fusion zone. Moreover, fracture mechanics specimens were extracted from the joints and tested at room temperature to determine fracture toughness, Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD), of the laser beam welded specimens. The effect of the weld region strength mis-matching on the fracture toughness of the joints have been evaluated. Crack initiation, crack growth and crack deviation processes have also been examined. These results were used to explain the influence of mechanical heterogeneity of the weld region on fracture behaviour. This work is a part of the ongoing Brite-Euram project Assessment of Quality of Power Beam Weld Joints (ASPOW). (orig.)

The Two-Beam Free Electron Laser Oscillator

CERN Document Server

Thompson, Neil R

2004-01-01

A one-dimensional model of a free-electron laser operating simultaneously with two electron beams of different energies [1] is extended to an oscillator configuration. The electron beam energies are chosen so that an harmonic of the lower energy beam is at the fundamental radiation wavelength of the higher energy beam. Potential benefits over a single-beam free-electron laser oscillator are discussed.

Measurements of laser-imprinting sensitivity to relative beam mistiming in planar plastic foils driven by multiple overlapping laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smalyuk, V.A.; Goncharov, V.N.; Boehly, T.R.; Delettrez, J.A.; Li, D.Y.; Marozas, J.A.; Maximov, A.V.; Meyerhofer, D.D.; Regan, S.P.; Sangster, T.C.

2005-01-01

In a direct-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosion, a spherical target is irradiated by a large number of overlapped laser beams. Imprinting of laser modulations depends on the relative arrival time of laser beams and their angles of incidence. This dependence was measured in planar plastic targets using six overlapping beams on the OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly, D. L. Brown, R. S. Craxton, R. L. Keck, J. P. Knauer, J. H. Kelly, T. J. Kessler, S. A. Kumpan, S. J. Loucks, S. A. Letzring, F. J. Marshall, R. L. McCrory, S. F. B. Morse, W. Seka, J. M. Soures, and C. P. Verdon, Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)]. One of the beams (the imprint beam) had a special phase plate that produced two-dimensional modulations on the target, easily distinguishable from the features imprinted by the other five drive beams. The timing of the imprint beam was varied with respect to the drive beams to study imprinting sensitivity to beam mistiming. Shifting the imprint beam to arrive before the other beams significantly increased the imprint efficiency. The results are in very good agreement with the model predictions

Laser-driven acceleration with Bessel and Gaussian beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafizi, B.; Esarey, E.; Sprangle, P.

1997-01-01

The possibility of enhancing the energy gain in laser-driven accelerators by using Bessel laser beams is examined. Scaling laws are derived for the propagation length, acceleration gradient, and energy gain in various accelerators for both Gaussian and Bessel beam drivers. For equal beam powers, the energy gain can be increased by a factor of N 1/2 by utilizing a Bessel beam with N lobes, provided that the acceleration gradient is linearly proportional to the laser field. This is the case in the inverse free electron laser and the inverse Cherenkov accelerators. If the acceleration gradient is proportional to the square of the laser field (e.g., the laser wakefield, plasma beat wave, and vacuum beat wave accelerators), the energy gain is comparable with either beam profile. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Laser Beam Machining (LBM), State of the Art and New Opportunities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijer, J.

2004-01-01

An overview is given of the state of the art of laser beam machining in general with special emphasis on applications of short and ultrashort lasers. In laser welding the trend is to apply optical sensors for process control. Laser surface treatment is mostly used to apply corrosion and wear

Study on laser beam welding technology for nuclear power plants title

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chida, Itaru; Shiihara, Katsunori; Fukuda, Takeshi; Kono, Wataru; Obata, Minoru; Morishima, Yasuo

2011-01-01

Laser beam welding is one of the jointing processes by irradiating laser beam on the material surface locally and widely used at various industrial fields. Toshiba has developed various laser-based maintenance and repair technologies and already applied them to several existing nuclear power plants. Laser cladding is a technique to weld the corrosion resistant metal onto a substrate surface by feeding filler wire to improve the corrosion resistance. Temper-bead welding is the heat input process to provide the desired microstructure properties of welded low alloy steels without post weld heat treatment, by inducing proper heat cycle during laser welding. Both laser welding technologies would be performed underwater by blowing the shielding gas for creating the local dry area. In this report, some evaluation results of material characteristics by temper-bead welding to target at Reactor Coolant System nozzle of PWR are presented. (author)

Laser beam shaping design based on micromirror array

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Han; Su, Bida; Liu, Jiaguo; Fan, Xiaoli; Jing, Wang

2017-10-01

In the practical application of the laser, it is necessary to use the laser beam shaping technology to shape the output beam of laser device to the uniform light intensity distribution. The shaping divergent optical system of compound eye integrator way is composed of beam expanding mirror group and lens array. Its working principle is to expand the output laser to a certain size of caliber, and then divide the beam with lens array into multiple sub beam, where the lens unit of lens array can control the divergence angle of sub beam through the design of focal length, with mutual superposition of the sub beam in far field, to make up for the nonuniformity of beam, so that the radiant exitance on the radiated surface may become uniform. In this paper, we use a reflective microlens array to realize the laser beam shaping. By through of the practical optical path model established, the ray tracing is carried out and the simulation results for single-mode Gaussian beam with noise circumstance is provided. The analysis results show that the laser beam shaping under different inputs can be effectively realized by use of microlens array. All the energy is within the signal window, with a high energy efficiency of more than 90%; The measured surface has a better uniformity, and the uniformity is better than 99.5% at 150m.

Laser-Bioplasma Interaction: The Blood Type Transmutation Induced by Multiple Ultrashort Wavelength Laser Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Stefan, V. Alexander

2015-11-01

The interaction of ultrashort wavelength multi laser beams with the flowing blood thin films leads to the transmutation of the blood types A, B, and AB into O type. This is a novel mechanism of importance for the transfusion medicine. Laser radiation is in resonance with the eigen-frequency modes of the antigen proteins and forces the proteins to parametrically oscillate until they get kicked out from the surface. The stripping away of antigens is done by the scanning-multiple-lasers of a high repetition rate in the blue-purple frequency domain. The guiding-lasers are in the red-green frequency domain. The laser force, (parametric interaction with the antigen eigen-oscillation), upon the antigen protein molecule must exceed its weight. The scanning laser beam is partially reflected as long as the antigen(s) is not eliminated. The process of the protein detachment can last a few minutes. Supported by Nikola Tesla Labs., Stefan University.

Contribution to the beam plasma material interactions during material processing with TEA CO2 laser radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Jaschek, Rainer; Konrad, Peter E.; Mayerhofer, Roland; Bergmann, Hans W.; Bickel, Peter G.; Kowalewicz, Roland; Kuttenberger, Alfred; Christiansen, Jens

1995-03-01

The TEA-CO2-laser (transversely excited atmospheric pressure) is a tool for the pulsed processing of materials with peak power densities up to 1010 W/cm2 and a FWHM of 70 ns. The interaction between the laser beam, the surface of the work piece and the surrounding atmosphere as well as gas pressure and the formation of an induced plasma influences the response of the target. It was found that depending on the power density and the atmosphere the response can take two forms. (1) No target modification due to optical break through of the atmosphere and therefore shielding of the target (air pressure above 10 mbar, depending on the material). (2) Processing of materials (air pressure below 10 mbar, depending on the material) with melting of metallic surfaces (power density above 0.5 109 W/cm2), hole formation (power density of 5 109 W/cm2) and shock hardening (power density of 3.5 1010 W/cm2). All those phenomena are usually linked with the occurrence of laser supported combustion waves and laser supported detonation waves, respectively for which the mechanism is still not completely understood. The present paper shows how short time photography and spatial and temporal resolved spectroscopy can be used to better understand the various processes that occur during laser beam interaction. The spectra of titanium and aluminum are observed and correlated with the modification of the target. If the power density is high enough and the gas pressure above a material and gas composition specific threshold, the plasma radiation shows only spectral lines of the background atmosphere. If the gas pressure is below this threshold, a modification of the target surface (melting, evaporation and solid state transformation) with TEA-CO2- laser pulses is possible and the material specific spectra is observed. In some cases spatial and temporal resolved spectroscopy of a plasma allows the calculation of electron temperatures by comparison of two spectral lines.

An intense polarized beam by a laser ionization injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohmori, Chihiro; Hiramatsu, Shigenori; Nakamura, Takeshi.

1990-12-01

Accumulation of protons and polarized protons by photo-ionization injection are described. This method consists of (1)producing the neutral hydrogen beam by Lorentz stripping, (2)excitation of the neutral hydrogen beam with a laser, and (3)ionization of the hydrogen beam in the 2P excited state with another laser. When the laser for the excitation is circularly polarized, we can get a polarized proton beam. An ionization efficiency of 98% and a polarization of 80% can be expected by an intense laser beam from a FEL(Free Electron Laser). (author)

Optics with an Atom Laser Beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloch, Immanuel; Koehl, Michael; Greiner, Markus; Haensch, Theodor W.; Esslinger, Tilman

2001-01-01

We report on the atom optical manipulation of an atom laser beam. Reflection, focusing, and its storage in a resonator are demonstrated. Precise and versatile mechanical control over an atom laser beam propagating in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is achieved by optically inducing spin flips between atomic ground states with different magnetic moment. The magnetic force acting on the atoms can thereby be effectively switched on and off. The surface of the atom optical element is determined by the resonance condition for the spin flip in the inhomogeneous magnetic field. More than 98% of the incident atom laser beam is reflected specularly

Doughnut laser beam as an incoherent superposition of two petal beams

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Litvin, IA

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Laguerre–Gaussian beams with a nonzero azimuthal index are known to carry orbital angular momentum (OAM), and are routinely created external to laser cavities. The few reports of obtaining such beams from laser cavities suffer from inconclusive...

Symmetric compression of 'laser greenhouse' targets by a few laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gus'kov, Sergei Yu; Demchenko, N N; Rozanov, Vladislav B; Stepanov, R V; Zmitrenko, N V; Caruso, A; Strangio, C

2003-01-01

The possibility of efficient and symmetric compression of a target with a low-density structured absorber by a few laser beams is considered. An equation of state is proposed for a porous medium, which takes into account the special features of the absorption of high-power nanosecond laser pulses. The open version of this target is shown to allow the use of ordinary Gaussian beams, requiring no special profiling of the absorber surface. The conditions are defined under which such targets can be compressed efficiently by only two laser beams (or beam clusters). Simulations show that for a 2.1-MJ laser pulse, a seven-fold gain for the target under study is achieved. (special issue devoted to the 80th anniversary of academician n g basov's birth)

Dual-beam operation of the Astra Gemini laser facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryan Parry; Nicola Booth; Oleg Chekhlov; John Collier; Edwin Divall; Klaus Ertel; Peta Foster; Steve Hawkes; Chris Hooker; Victoria Marshall

2010-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. Gemini is a Petawatt class Ti:Sapphire laser system at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. It was designed as a dual beam laser, with two independently configurable 800 nm beams delivering 15 J to target in 30 fs pulse duration, giving 0.5 PW peak power per beam. It is capable of reaching intensities over 10 22 W/cm 2 . Gemini can achieve a maximum repetition rate of one shot every 20 seconds, allowing it to deliver hundreds of shots per day; a feature which makes it unique among PW lasers. Already this has proved valuable in experiments involving electron acceleration in gas jets. The first Gemini beamline became operational in 2008. Commissioning of the second beam was deferred to allow earlier access to the facility by experimental scientists, and to develop operational experience. In this mode, Gemini has already produced significant results from a number of advanced plasma physics experiments. The second beam of Gemini is now coming online, with the first dual beam experiment starting in June 2010. The flexibility offered by two short pulse, ultra high intensity beams is another aspect that makes this laser system unique. The dual beams enable versatile configurations and illumination geometries, facilitating a wider range of experiments than is possible with only a single beam. Operationally however, it introduces additional factors which must be monitored and controlled in order to achieve experimental success. The beams must be timed with respect to each other with accuracy less than the pulse duration. The beam foci must also be overlapped spatially, and the stability of both these factors maintained over extended periods. We report on the second beam commissioning process, including the latest results on the characteristics, stability and spatio-temporal overlap of the two beams. We present details of amplifier performance, along with measurements of beam quality, focal spot, pulse duration and contrast, to give a

Influence of laser beam profile on electromagnetically induced absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuk, S. M.; Radonjic, M.; Krmpot, A. J.; Nikolic, S. N.; Grujic, Z. D.; Jelenkovic, B. M.

2010-01-01

We compared, experimentally and theoretically, Hanle electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) obtained using Gaussian and Π-shaped laser beams 3 mm in diameter. The study was done by measuring the transmission of a laser locked to the F g =2→F e =3 transition at the D 2 line of 87 Rb in a vacuum cell. EIA linewidths obtained for the two laser profiles were significantly different in the range of laser intensities 1-4 mW/cm 2 . EIA with the Π-shaped laser beam has a broad intensity maximum and linewidths larger than those obtained with the Gaussian beam profile. We also studied Hanle EIA by measuring the transmission of selected segments of the entire laser beam by placing a small movable aperture in front of the detector. Waveforms so obtained in Hanle EIA resonances were strongly influenced both by the radial distance of the transmitted segment from the beam center and by the radial profile of the laser beam. We show that outer regions of Gaussian beam, and central regions of the Π-shaped beam generate the narrowest lines. The different behaviors of EIA owing to different beam profiles revealed by both theory and experiment indicate the importance of the radial profile of the laser beam for proper modeling of coherent effects in alkali metal vapors.

Tracing the plasma interactions for pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jikun; Stender, Dieter; Pichler, Markus; Döbeli, Max; Pergolesi, Daniele; Schneider, Christof W.; Wokaun, Alexander; Lippert, Thomas

2015-10-01

Pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation is an effective technique to govern the chemical activity of plasma species and background molecules during pulsed laser deposition. Instead of using a constant background pressure, a gas pulse with a reactive gas, synchronized with the laser beam, is injected into vacuum or a low background pressure near the ablated area of the target. It intercepts the initially generated plasma plume, thereby enhancing the physicochemical interactions between the gaseous environment and the plasma species. For this study, kinetic energy resolved mass-spectrometry and time-resolved plasma imaging were used to study the physicochemical processes occurring during the reactive crossed beam laser ablation of a partially 18O substituted La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 target using oxygen as gas pulse. The characteristics of the ablated plasma are compared with those observed during pulsed laser deposition in different oxygen background pressures.

Comparison of laser-induced surface damage density measurements with small and large beams: toward representativeness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamaignere, Laurent; Dupuy, Gabriel; Donval, Thierry; Grua, Pierre; Bercegol, Herve

2011-01-01

Pulsed laser damage density measurements obtained with diverse facilities are difficult to compare, due to the interplay of numerous parameters, such as beam area and pulse geometry, which, in operational large beam conditions, are very different from laboratory measurements. This discrepancy could have a significant impact; if so, one could not even pretend that laser damage density control is a real measurement process. In this paper, this concern is addressed. Tests with large beams of centimeter size on a high-power laser facility have beam performed according to a parametric study and are compared to small beam laboratory tests. It is shown that laser damage densities obtained with large and small beams are equal, within calculated error bars.

Reaching for highest ion beam intensities through laser ion acceleration and beam compression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Dennis; Brabetz, Christian; Blazevic, Abel; Bagnoud, Vincent; Weih, Simon [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung (Germany); Jahn, Diana; Ding, Johannes; Roth, Markus [TU Darmstadt (Germany); Kroll, Florian; Schramm, Ulrich; Cowan, Tom [Helmholtzzentrum Dresden Rossendorf (Germany); Collaboration: LIGHT-Collaboration

2016-07-01

Laser ion acceleration provides access to ion sources with unique properties. To use these capabilities the LIGHT collaboration (Laser Ion Generation Handling and Transport) was founded. The aim of this collaboration is the beam transport and manipulation of laser accelerated ions with conventional accelerator structures. Therefor a dedicated beam line has been build up at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung. With this beam line the manipulation of the transversal and also the longitudinal beam parameters has been achieved. It has been shown that laser generated ion beams can be transported over more than 6 meters and pulses shorter than 300 ps can be generated at this distance. This Talk will give an overview over the recent developments and plans of the LIGHT collaboration.

Parametric study of transport beam lines for electron beams accelerated by laser-plasma interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Scisciò, M.; Lancia, L.; Migliorati, M.; Mostacci, A.; Palumbo, L.; Papaphilippou, Y.; Antici, P.

2016-03-01

In the last decade, laser-plasma acceleration of high-energy electrons has attracted strong attention in different fields. Electrons with maximum energies in the GeV range can be laser-accelerated within a few cm using multi-hundreds terawatt (TW) lasers, yielding to very high beam currents at the source (electron bunches with up to tens-hundreds of pC in a few fs). While initially the challenge was to increase the maximum achievable electron energy, today strong effort is put in the control and usability of these laser-generated beams that still lack of some features in order to be used for applications where currently conventional, radio-frequency (RF) based, electron beam lines represent the most common and efficient solution. Several improvements have been suggested for this purpose, some of them acting directly on the plasma source, some using beam shaping tools located downstream. Concerning the latter, several studies have suggested the use of conventional accelerator magnetic devices (such as quadrupoles and solenoids) as an easy implementable solution when the laser-plasma accelerated beam requires optimization. In this paper, we report on a parametric study related to the transport of electron beams accelerated by laser-plasma interaction, using conventional accelerator elements and tools. We focus on both, high energy electron beams in the GeV range, as produced on petawatt (PW) class laser systems, and on lower energy electron beams in the hundreds of MeV range, as nowadays routinely obtained on commercially available multi-hundred TW laser systems. For both scenarios, our study allows understanding what are the crucial parameters that enable laser-plasma accelerators to compete with conventional ones and allow for a beam transport. We show that suitable working points require a tradeoff-combination between low beam divergence and narrow energy spread.

Experimental and Modeling Study of Liquid-Assisted—Laser Beam Micromachining of Smart Ceramic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mayur Parmar

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Smart ceramic materials are next generation materials with the inherent intelligence to adapt to change in the external environment. These materials are destined to play an essential role in several critical engineering applications. Machining these materials using traditional machining processes is a challenge. The laser beam micromachining (LBMM process has the potential to machine such smart materials. However, laser machining when performed in air induces high thermal stress on the surface, often leading to crack formation, recast and re-deposition of ablated material, and large heat-affected zones (HAZ. Performing laser beam machining in the presence of a liquid medium could potentially resolve these issues. This research investigates the possibility of using a Liquid Assisted—Laser Beam Micromachining (LA-LBMM process for micromachining smart ceramic materials. Experimental studies are performed to compare the machining quality of laser beam machining process in air and in a liquid medium. The study reveals that the presence of liquid medium helps in controlling the heat-affected zone and the taper angle of the cavity drilled, thereby enhancing the machining quality. Analytical modeling is developed for the prediction of HAZ and cavity diameter both in air and underwater conditions, and the model is capable of predicting the experimental results to within 10% error.

Multi-focus beam shaping of high power multimode lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Laskin, Alexander; Volpp, Joerg; Laskin, Vadim; Ostrun, Aleksei

2017-08-01

Beam shaping of powerful multimode fiber lasers, fiber-coupled solid-state and diode lasers is of great importance for improvements of industrial laser applications. Welding, cladding with millimetre scale working spots benefit from "inverseGauss" intensity profiles; performance of thick metal sheet cutting, deep penetration welding can be enhanced when distributing the laser energy along the optical axis as more efficient usage of laser energy, higher edge quality and reduction of the heat affected zone can be achieved. Building of beam shaping optics for multimode lasers encounters physical limitations due to the low beam spatial coherence of multimode fiber-coupled lasers resulting in big Beam Parameter Products (BPP) or M² values. The laser radiation emerging from a multimode fiber presents a mixture of wavefronts. The fiber end can be considered as a light source which optical properties are intermediate between a Lambertian source and a single mode laser beam. Imaging of the fiber end, using a collimator and a focusing objective, is a robust and widely used beam delivery approach. Beam shaping solutions are suggested in form of optics combining fiber end imaging and geometrical separation of focused spots either perpendicular to or along the optical axis. Thus, energy of high power lasers is distributed among multiple foci. In order to provide reliable operation with multi-kW lasers and avoid damages the optics are designed as refractive elements with smooth optical surfaces. The paper presents descriptions of multi-focus optics as well as examples of intensity profile measurements of beam caustics and application results.

Tracing the plasma interactions for pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jikun; Stender, Dieter; Pichler, Markus; Pergolesi, Daniele; Schneider, Christof W.; Wokaun, Alexander; Lippert, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.lippert@psi.ch [General Energy Research Department, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Döbeli, Max [Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

2015-10-28

Pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation is an effective technique to govern the chemical activity of plasma species and background molecules during pulsed laser deposition. Instead of using a constant background pressure, a gas pulse with a reactive gas, synchronized with the laser beam, is injected into vacuum or a low background pressure near the ablated area of the target. It intercepts the initially generated plasma plume, thereby enhancing the physicochemical interactions between the gaseous environment and the plasma species. For this study, kinetic energy resolved mass-spectrometry and time-resolved plasma imaging were used to study the physicochemical processes occurring during the reactive crossed beam laser ablation of a partially {sup 18}O substituted La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} target using oxygen as gas pulse. The characteristics of the ablated plasma are compared with those observed during pulsed laser deposition in different oxygen background pressures.

Molecular-beam studies of primary photochemical processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Y.T.

1982-12-01

Application of the method of molecular-beam photofragmentation translational spectroscopy to the investigation of primary photochemical processes of polyatomic molecules is described. Examples will be given to illustrate how information concerning the energetics, dynamics, and mechanism of dissociation processes can be obtained from the precise measurements of angular and velocity distributions of products in an experiment in which a well-defined beam of molecules is crossed with a laser.

Molecular-beam studies of primary photochemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y.T.

1982-12-01

Application of the method of molecular-beam photofragmentation translational spectroscopy to the investigation of primary photochemical processes of polyatomic molecules is described. Examples will be given to illustrate how information concerning the energetics, dynamics, and mechanism of dissociation processes can be obtained from the precise measurements of angular and velocity distributions of products in an experiment in which a well-defined beam of molecules is crossed with a laser

System for combining laser beams of diverse frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

A system is described for combining laser beams of different frequencies into a number of beams each comprising laser radiation having components of each of the different frequencies. The system can be used in laser isotope separation facilities. (U.K.)

Laser Compton polarimetry of proton beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stillman, A.

1995-01-01

A need exists for non-destructive polarization measurements of the polarized proton beams in the AGS and, in the future, in RHIC. One way to make such measurements is to scatter photons from the polarized beams. Until now, such measurements were impossible because of the extremely low Compton scattering cross section from protons. Modern lasers now can provide enough photons per laser pulse not only to scatter from proton beams but also, at least in RHIC, to analyze their polarization

Staging laser plasma accelerators for increased beam energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panasenko, Dmitriy; Shu, Anthony; Schroeder, Carl; Gonsalves, Anthony; Nakamura, Kei; Matlis, Nicholas; Cormier-Michel, Estelle; Plateau, Guillaume; Lin, Chen; Toth, Csaba; Geddes, Cameron; Esarey, Eric; Leemans, Wim

2008-01-01

Staging laser plasma accelerators is an efficient way of mitigating laser pump depletion in laser driven accelerators and necessary for reaching high energies with compact laser systems. The concept of staging includes coupling of additional laser energy and transporting the electron beam from one accelerating module to another. Due to laser damage threshold constraints, in-coupling laser energy with conventional optics requires distances between the accelerating modules of the order of 10m, resulting in decreased average accelerating gradient and complicated e-beam transport. In this paper we use basic scaling laws to show that the total length of future laser plasma accelerators will be determined by staging technology. We also propose using a liquid jet plasma mirror for in-coupling the laser beam and show that it has the potential to reduce distance between stages to the cm-scale.

Laser Processing Technology using Metal Powders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Jeong-Hwan; Moon, Young-Hoon [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2012-03-15

The purpose of this paper is to review the state of laser processing technology using metal powders. In recent years, a series of research and development efforts have been undertaken worldwide to develop laser processing technologies to fabricate metal-based parts. Layered manufacturing by the laser melting process is gaining ground for use in manufacturing rapid prototypes (RP), tools (RT) and functional end products. Selective laser sintering / melting (SLS/SLM) is one of the most rapidly growing rapid prototyping techniques. This is mainly due to the processes's suitability for almost any materials, including polymers, metals, ceramics and many types of composites. The interaction between the laser beam and the powder material used in the laser melting process is one of the dominant phenomena defining feasibility and quality. In the case of SLS, the powder is not fully melted during laser scanning, therefore the SLS-processed parts are not fully dense and have relatively low strength. To overcome this disadvantage, SLM and laser cladding (LC) processes have been used to enable full melting of the powder. Further studies on the laser processing technology will be continued due to the many potential applications that the technology offers.

Laser-plasma interaction with an adaptive optics wavefront-corrected laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, K.

2008-12-01

The propagation of an intense laser beam trough a preformed plasma is of particular interest in order to achieve laser inertial confinement fusion. Experiments carried out with a near-diffraction limited laser beam, producing a single hot spot interacting with the plasma, delivered new results, presented in this Ph.D. dissertation. In particular the first experimental observation of the filament instability confirms the numerous theoretical and numerical studies on the subject. Beam spreading and filament-ion thresholds are studied thanks to near-field and far-field images, with respect to laser intensity, time and space, and plasma transverse velocity. Same diagnostics have been applied to the stimulated Brillouin scattered light, enabling the first observation of the transverse Brillouin activity in the plasma. (author)

Electron-beam initiated HF lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1975-01-01

Electron beams were used to ignite hydrogen/fluorine mixtures, producing laser energies up to 4.2 kJ, and giving hope that this approach may soon produce energy levels suitable for laser-fusion studies. (auth)

Sub-micrometric surface texturing of AZ31 Mg-alloy through two-beam direct laser interference patterning with a ns-pulsed green fiber laser

Science.gov (United States)

Furlan, Valentina; Biondi, Marco; Demir, Ali Gökhan; Pariani, Giorgio; Previtali, Barbara; Bianco, Andrea

2017-11-01

Two-beam direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) is the method that employs two beams and provides control over the pattern geometry by regulating the angle between the beams and the wavelength of the beam. Despite the simplistic optical arrangement required for the method, the feasibility of sub-micrometric patterning of a surface depends on the correct manipulation of the process parameters, especially in the case of metallic materials. Magnesium alloys, from this point of view, exhibit further difficulty in processability due to low melting point and high reactivity. With biocompatibility and biodegradability features, Mg-alloy implants can take further advantage of surface structuring for tailoring the biological behaviour. In this work, a two-beam DLIP setup has been developed employing an industrial grade nanosecond-pulsed fiber laser emitting at 532 nm. The high repetition rate and ramped pulse profile provided by the laser were exploited for a more flexible control over the energy content deposited over the heat-sensitive Mg-alloy. The paper describes the strategies developed for controlling ramped laser emission at 20 kHz repetition rate. The process feasibility window was assessed within a large range of parameters. Within the feasibility window, a complete experimental plan was applied to investigate the effect of main laser process parameters on the pattern dimensions. Periodic surface structures with good definition down to 580 nm ± 20 nm spacing were successfully produced.

Laser beam trapping and propagation in cylindrical plasma columns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feit, M.D.; Fleck, J.A. Jr.

1976-01-01

An analysis of the scheme to heat magnetically confined plasma columns to kilovolt temperatures with a laser beam requires consideration of two propagation problems. The first question to be answered is whether stable beam trapping is possible. Since the laser beam creates its own density profile by heating the plasma, the propagation of the beam becomes a nonlinear phenomenon, but not necessarily a stable one. In addition, the electron density at a given time depends on the preceding history of both the medium and the laser pulse. A self-consistent time dependent treatment of the beam propagation and the medium hydrodynamics is consequently required to predict the behavior of the laser beam. Such calculations have been carried out and indicate that propagation of a laser beam in an initially uniform plasma can form a stable filament which alternately focuses and defocuses. An additional question that is discussed is whether diffractive losses associated with long propagation paths are significant

Technology Assessment of Laser-Assisted Materials Processing in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarathnam, Karthik; Taminger, Karen M. B.

2001-01-01

Lasers are useful for performing operations such as joining, machining, built-up freeform fabrication, shock processing, and surface treatments. These attributes are attractive for the supportability of longer-term missions in space due to the multi-functionality of a single tool and the variety of materials that can be processed. However, current laser technology also has drawbacks for space-based applications, specifically size, power efficiency, lack of robustness, and problems processing highly reflective materials. A review of recent laser developments will be used to show how these issues may be reduced and indicate where further improvement is necessary to realize a laser-based materials processing capability in space. The broad utility of laser beams in synthesizing various classes of engineering materials will be illustrated using state-of-the art processing maps for select lightweight alloys typically found on spacecraft. With the advent of recent breakthroughs in diode-pumped solid-state lasers and fiber optic technologies, the potential to perform multiple processing techniques is increasing significantly. Lasers with suitable wavelengths and beam properties have tremendous potential for supporting future space missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Incoloy 800 steam generator tubes stubbing by laser and electron beams process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonnin, P.; Noel, J.P.; Gauthier, J.P.; Peigney, A.

1988-01-01

The electron beam welding conditions are optimized for different thermal cycles and chemical compositions of the fusion zone. The metallurgical and mechanical properties of the joints are described and compared with the properties of laser and TIG welds [fr

Fast parallel diffractive multi-beam femtosecond laser surface micro-structuring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng Kuang, E-mail: z.kuang@liv.ac.uk [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brodie Building, Liverpool L69 3GQ (United Kingdom); Dun Liu; Perrie, Walter; Edwardson, Stuart; Sharp, Martin; Fearon, Eamonn; Dearden, Geoff; Watkins, Ken [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brodie Building, Liverpool L69 3GQ (United Kingdom)

2009-04-15

Fast parallel femtosecond laser surface micro-structuring is demonstrated using a spatial light modulator (SLM). The Gratings and Lenses algorithm, which is simple and computationally fast, is used to calculate computer generated holograms (CGHs) producing diffractive multiple beams for the parallel processing. The results show that the finite laser bandwidth can significantly alter the intensity distribution of diffracted beams at higher angles resulting in elongated hole shapes. In addition, by synchronisation of applied CGHs and the scanning system, true 3D micro-structures are created on Ti6Al4V.

Laser beam propagation in non-linearly absorbing media

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Forbes, A

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Many analytical techniques exist to explore the propagation of certain laser beams in free space, or in a linearly absorbing medium. When the medium is nonlinearly absorbing the propagation must be described by an iterative process using the well...

Attenuation of laser power of a focused Gaussian beam during interaction between a laser and powder in coaxial laser cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jichang; Li Lijun; Zhang Yuanzhong; Xie Xiaozhu

2005-01-01

The power of a focused laser beam with a Gaussian intensity profile attenuated by powder in coaxial laser cladding is investigated experimentally and theoretically, and its resolution model is developed. With some assumptions, it is concluded that the attenuation of laser power is an exponential function and is determined by the powder feed rate, particle moving speed, spraying angles and waist positions and diameters of the laser beam and powder flow, grain diameter and run of the laser beam through the powder flow. The attenuation of laser power increases with powder feed rate or run of laser beam through the powder flow. In the experiment presented, 300 W laser power from a focused Gaussian beam is attenuated by a coaxial powder flow. The experimental results agree well with the values calculated with the developed model

A Fundamental Study of Laser Beam Welding Aluminum-Lithium Alloy 2195 for Cryogenic Tank Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Martukanitz, R. P.; Jan. R.

1996-01-01

Based on the potential for decreasing costs of joining stiffeners to skin by laser beam welding, a fundamental research program was conducted to address the impediments identified during an initial study involving laser beam welding of aluminum-lithium alloys. Initial objectives of the program were the identification of governing mechanism responsible for process related porosity while establishing a multivariant relationship between process parameters and fusion zone geometry for laser beam welds of alloy 2195. A three-level fractional factorial experiment was conducted to establish quantitative relationships between primary laser beam processing parameters and critical weld attributes. Although process consistency appeared high for welds produced during partial completion of this study, numerous cracks on the top-surface of the welds were discovered during visual inspection and necessitated additional investigations concerning weld cracking. Two experiments were conducted to assess the effect of filler alloy additions on crack sensitivity: the first experiment was used to ascertain the effects of various filler alloys on cracking and the second experiment involved modification to process parameters for increasing filler metal dilution. Results indicated that filler alloys 4047 and 4145 showed promise for eliminating cracking.

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.

Microstructural evolution and control in laser material processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaul, R.; Nath, A.K.

2005-01-01

Laser processing, because of its characteristic features, often gives rise to unique microstructure and properties not obtained with other conventional processes. We present various diverse laser processing case studies involving control of microstructure through judicious selection of processing parameters carried out with indigenously developed high power CO 2 lasers. The first study describes microstructural control during end plug laser welding of PFBR fuel pin, involving crack pone alloy D9 tube and type 316 M stainless steel (SS) plug, through preferential displacement of focused laser beam. Crater and associated cracks were eliminated by suitable laser power ramping. Another case study describes how low heat input characteristics of laser cladding process has been exploited for suppressing dilution in 'Colomony 6' deposits on austenitic SS. The results are in sharp contrast to extensive dilution noticed in Colmony 6 hard faced deposits made by GTAW. A novel laser surface melting (LSM) treatment for type 316 (N) SS weld metal has been developed to generate a sensitization-resistant microstructure which leads to enhanced resistance against intergranular corrosion (IGC). IGC resistance of laser treated surface has been found to be critically dependent on laser processing parameters. Experimental observations have been analyzed with thermal simulation. We have also studied the effect of laser beam spatial intensity profile on the microstructure in LSM. We have developed laser-assisted graded hard facing of austenitic SS substrate with Stellite 6 which, in contrast to direct deposition either by laser or GTAW, produced smooth transition in chemical composition and hardness used to control grain coarsening and martensite formation in type 430 SS weldment. Laser rapid manufacturing (LRM) is emerging as a new rapid and cost effective process for low volume fabrication, esp. of expensive materials. The talk will also present microstructural characteristics of laser

Applications of laser produced ion beams to nuclear analysis of materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mima, K.; Azuma, H.; Fujita, K.; Yamazaki, A.; Okuda, C.; Ukyo, Y.; Kato, Y.; Arrabal, R. Gonzalez; Soldo, F.; Perlado, J. M.; Nishimura, H.; Nakai, S.

2012-01-01

Laser produced ion beams have unique characteristics which are ultra-short pulse, very low emittance, and variety of nuclear species. These characteristics could be used for analyzing various materials like low Z ion doped heavy metals or ceramics. Energies of laser produced ion beam extend from 0.1MeV to 100MeV. Therefore, various nuclear processes can be induced in the interactions of ion beams with samples. The ion beam driven nuclear analysis has been developed for many years by using various electrostatic accelerators. To explore the applicability of laser ion beam to the analysis of the Li ion battery, a proton beam with the diameter of ∼ 1.0 μm at Takasaki Ion Acceleration for Advanced Radiation Application (TIARA), JAEA was used. For the analysis, the PIGE (Particle-Induced Gamma Ray Emission) is used. The proton beam scans over Li battery electrode samples to diagnose Li density in the LiNi 0.85 Co 0.15 O 2 anode. As the results, PIGE images for Li area density distributions are obtained with the spatial resolution of better than 1.5μm FWHM. By the Li PIGE images, the depth dependence of de-intercalation levels of Li in the anode is obtained. By the POP experiments at TIARA, it is clarified that laser produced ion beam is appropriate for the Li ion battery analysis. 41.85.Lc, 41.75.Jv, 42.62.cf.

Biomimetic surface structuring using cylindrical vector femtosecond laser beams

Science.gov (United States)

Skoulas, Evangelos; Manousaki, Alexandra; Fotakis, Costas; Stratakis, Emmanuel

2017-03-01

We report on a new, single-step and scalable method to fabricate highly ordered, multi-directional and complex surface structures that mimic the unique morphological features of certain species found in nature. Biomimetic surface structuring was realized by exploiting the unique and versatile angular profile and the electric field symmetry of cylindrical vector (CV) femtosecond (fs) laser beams. It is shown that, highly controllable, periodic structures exhibiting sizes at nano-, micro- and dual- micro/nano scales can be directly written on Ni upon line and large area scanning with radial and azimuthal polarization beams. Depending on the irradiation conditions, new complex multi-directional nanostructures, inspired by the Shark’s skin morphology, as well as superhydrophobic dual-scale structures mimicking the Lotus’ leaf water repellent properties can be attained. It is concluded that the versatility and features variations of structures formed is by far superior to those obtained via laser processing with linearly polarized beams. More important, by exploiting the capabilities offered by fs CV fields, the present technique can be further extended to fabricate even more complex and unconventional structures. We believe that our approach provides a new concept in laser materials processing, which can be further exploited for expanding the breadth and novelty of applications.

Determination of Cross-Sectional Area of Focused Picosecond Gaussian Laser Beam

Science.gov (United States)

Ledesma, Rodolfo; Fitz-Gerald, James; Palmieri, Frank; Connell, John

2018-01-01

Measurement of the waist diameter of a focused Gaussian-beam at the 1/e(sup 2) intensity, also referred to as spot size, is key to determining the fluence in laser processing experiments. Spot size measurements are also helpful to calculate the threshold energy and threshold fluence of a given material. This work reports an application of a conventional method, by analyzing single laser ablated spots for different laser pulse energies, to determine the cross-sectional area of a focused Gaussian-beam, which has a nominal pulse width of approx. 10 ps. Polished tungsten was used as the target material, due to its low surface roughness and low ablation threshold, to measure the beam waist diameter. From the ablative spot measurements, the ablation threshold fluence of the tungsten substrate was also calculated.

Multiple quasi-monoenergetic electron beams from laser-wakefield acceleration with spatially structured laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Y.; Li, M. H.; Li, Y. F.; Wang, J. G.; Tao, M. Z.; Han, Y. J.; Zhao, J. R.; Huang, K.; Yan, W. C.; Ma, J. L.; Li, Y. T. [Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100080 (China); Chen, L. M., E-mail: lmchen@iphy.ac.cn [Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100080 (China); Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Li, D. Z. [Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS, Beijing 100049 (China); Chen, Z. Y. [Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan 621999 (China); Sheng, Z. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Department of Physics, Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom); Zhang, J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2015-08-15

By adjusting the focus geometry of a spatially structured laser pulse, single, double, and treble quasi-monoenergetic electron beams were generated, respectively, in laser-wakefield acceleration. Single electron beam was produced as focusing the laser pulse to a single spot. While focusing the laser pulse to two spots that are approximately equal in energy and size and intense enough to form their own filaments, two electron beams were produced. Moreover, with a proper distance between those two focal spots, three electron beams emerged with a certain probability owing to the superposition of the diffractions of those two spots. The energy spectra of the multiple electron beams are quasi-monoenergetic, which are different from that of the large energy spread beams produced due to the longitudinal multiple-injection in the single bubble.

[Enhancement effect of double-beam laser processed aqueous solution on ICP emission spectrum].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jin-zhong; Xu, Li-jing; Su, Hong-xin; Li, Xu; Wang, Shu-fang

2015-01-01

In order to change the physical properties of aqueous solution and improve the radiation intensity of the ICP emission spectrum, the effects of different laser power density and irradiation time on the surface tension and viscosity of aqueous solution were investigated by using near infrared laser at 976 nm and CO2 laser at 10. 6 µm to irradiate aqueous solution orthogonally, then the enhancement of ICP spectral intensity with processed solution was discussed. The results showed that the surface tension and viscosity of aqueous solution reduced by 42. 13% and 14. 03% compared with the untreated, and the atomization efficiency increased by 51.26% at the laser power density 0. 265 7 W . cm-2 of 976 nm and 0. 206 9 W . cm-2 of CO2 laser with 40 min irradiation time. With the optimized aqueous solution introduced into the ICP source, the spectral line intensity of sample elements As, Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb was enhanced by 46.29%, 94. 65%, 30. 76%, 33.07% and 94. 58% compared to the untreated aqueous solution, while the signal-to-background ratio increased by 43. 84%, 85. 35%, 28. 71%, 34. 37% and 90. 91%, respectively. Plasma temperature and electron density also increased by 5. 94% and 1. 18% respectively. It is obvious that the method of double-beam laser orthogonal irradiation on solution can reduce the surface tension and viscosity of aqueous solution significantly, and raise the radiationintensity of ICP source, and will provide a better condition for detecting the trace heavy metal elements in water samples.

The Nike electron-beam-pumped KrF laser amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sethian, J.D.; Pawley, C.J.; Obenschain, S.P.

1997-01-01

Nike is a recently completed multikilojoule krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser that has been built to study the physics of direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. The two final amplifiers of the Nike laser are both electron-beam-pumped systems. This paper describes these two amplifiers, with an emphasis on the pulsed power. The smaller of the two has a 20 x 20 cm aperture, and produces an output laser beam energy in excess of 100 J. This 20 cm Amplifier uses a single 12 kJ Marx generator to inject two 300 kV, 75 kA, 140 ns flat-top electron beams into opposite sides of the laser cell. The larger amplifier in Nike has a 60 x 60 cm aperture, and amplifies the laser beam up to 5 kJ. This 60 cm amplifier has two independent electron beam systems. Each system has a 170 kJ Marx generator that produces a 670 kV, 540 kA, 240 ns flat-top electron beam. Both amplifiers are complete, fully integrated into the laser, meet the Nike system requirements, and are used routinely for laser-target experiments

Process time optimization of robotic remote laser cutting by utilizing customized beam patterns and redundancy space task sequencing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villumsen, Sigurd

This dissertation is written as a part of the ROBOCUT project which concerns the development of a new laser cutting technology that seeks to increase the performance of traditional and remote laser cutting by using beam shaping technologies. The resulting customized beam patterns are obtained by ...... axes of the laser cutting system and transforming the sequencing problem into a generalized traveling salesman problem (GTSP)....

A laser beam quality definition based on induced temperature rise.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Harold C

2012-12-17

Laser beam quality metrics like M(2) can be used to describe the spot sizes and propagation behavior of a wide variety of non-ideal laser beams. However, for beams that have been diffracted by limiting apertures in the near-field, or those with unusual near-field profiles, the conventional metrics can lead to an inconsistent or incomplete description of far-field performance. This paper motivates an alternative laser beam quality definition that can be used with any beam. The approach uses a consideration of the intrinsic ability of a laser beam profile to heat a material. Comparisons are made with conventional beam quality metrics. An analysis on an asymmetric Gaussian beam is used to establish a connection with the invariant beam propagation ratio.

Laser beam accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajima, T.; Dawson, J.M.

1981-01-01

Parallel intense photon (laser, microwave, etc.) beams /omega/sub //0, k/sub 0/ and /omega/sub //1, k/sub 1/ shone on a plasma with frequency separation equal to the plasma frequency /omega/sub //p is capable of accelerating plasma electrons to high energies in large flux. The photon beat excites through the forward Raman scattering large amplitude plasmons whose phase velocity is equal to (/omega/ /sub 0/-/omega/sub //1)/(k/sub 0/-k/sub 1/), close to c in an underdense plasma. The multiple forward Raman instability produces smaller and smaller frequency and group velocity of photons; thus the photons slow down in the plasma by emitting accelerated electrons (inverse Cherenkov process). 6 refs

Laser streaming: Turning a laser beam into a flow of liquid.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yanan; Zhang, Qiuhui; Zhu, Zhuan; Lin, Feng; Deng, Jiangdong; Ku, Geng; Dong, Suchuan; Song, Shuo; Alam, Md Kamrul; Liu, Dong; Wang, Zhiming; Bao, Jiming

2017-09-01

Transforming a laser beam into a mass flow has been a challenge both scientifically and technologically. We report the discovery of a new optofluidic principle and demonstrate the generation of a steady-state water flow by a pulsed laser beam through a glass window. To generate a flow or stream in the same path as the refracted laser beam in pure water from an arbitrary spot on the window, we first fill a glass cuvette with an aqueous solution of Au nanoparticles. A flow will emerge from the focused laser spot on the window after the laser is turned on for a few to tens of minutes; the flow remains after the colloidal solution is completely replaced by pure water. Microscopically, this transformation is made possible by an underlying plasmonic nanoparticle-decorated cavity, which is self-fabricated on the glass by nanoparticle-assisted laser etching and exhibits size and shape uniquely tailored to the incident beam profile. Hydrophone signals indicate that the flow is driven via acoustic streaming by a long-lasting ultrasound wave that is resonantly generated by the laser and the cavity through the photoacoustic effect. The principle of this light-driven flow via ultrasound, that is, photoacoustic streaming by coupling photoacoustics to acoustic streaming, is general and can be applied to any liquid, opening up new research and applications in optofluidics as well as traditional photoacoustics and acoustic streaming.

High energy gain electron beam acceleration by 100TW laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaki, Hideyuki; Kando, Masaki; Kondo, Shuji; Hosokai, Tomonao; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Yokoyama, Takashi; Matoba, Toru; Nakajima, Kazuhisa

2001-01-01

A laser wakefield acceleration experiment using a 100TW laser is planed at JAERI-Kansai. High quality and short pulse electron beams are necessary to accelerate the electron beam by the laser. Electron beam - laser synchronization is also necessary. A microtron with a photocathode rf-gun was prepared as a high quality electron injector. The quantum efficiency (QE) of the photocathode of 2x10 -5 was obtained. A charge of 100pC from the microtron was measured. The emittance and pulse width of the electron beam was 6π mm-mrad and 10ps, respectively. In order to produce a short pulse electron beam, and to synchronize between the electron beam and the laser pulse, an inverse free electron laser (IFEL) is planned. One of problems of LWFA is the short acceleration length. In order to overcome the problem, a Z-pinch plasma waveguide will be prepared as a laser wakefield acceleration tube for 1 GeV acceleration. (author)

Laser beam propagation in atmospheric turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Murty, S. S. R.

1979-01-01

The optical effects of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of low power laser beams are reviewed in this paper. The optical effects are produced by the temperature fluctuations which result in fluctuations of the refractive index of air. The commonly-used models of index-of-refraction fluctuations are presented. Laser beams experience fluctuations of beam size, beam position, and intensity distribution within the beam due to refractive turbulence. Some of the observed effects are qualitatively explained by treating the turbulent atmosphere as a collection of moving gaseous lenses of various sizes. Analytical results and experimental verifications of the variance, covariance and probability distribution of intensity fluctuations in weak turbulence are presented. For stronger turbulence, a saturation of the optical scintillations is observed. The saturation of scintillations involves a progressive break-up of the beam into multiple patches; the beam loses some of its lateral coherence. Heterodyne systems operating in a turbulent atmosphere experience a loss of heterodyne signal due to the destruction of coherence.

Free-electron laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minehara, Eisuke

2003-01-01

The principle and history of free-electron laser (FEL), first evidenced in 1977, the relationship between FEL wavelength and output power, the high-power FEL driven by the superconducting linac, the X-ray FEL by the linac, and the medical use are described. FEL is the vacuum oscillator tube and essentially composed from the high-energy linac, undulator and light-resonator. It utilizes free electrons in the vacuum to generate the beam with wavelength ranging from microwave to gamma ray. The first high-power FEL developed in Japanese Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) is based on the development of superconducting linac for oscillating the highest power beam. In the medical field, applications to excise brain tumors (in US) and to reconstruct experimentally blood vessels in the pig heart (in Gunma University) by lasing and laser coagulator are in progress with examinations to remove intra-vascular cholesterol mass by irradiation of 5.7μm FEL beam. Cancer cells are considered diagnosed by FEL beam of far-infrared-THz range. The FEL beam CT is expected to have a wide variety of application without the radiation exposure and its resolution is equal or superior to that of usual imaging techniques. (N.I.)

Propagation of highly aberrated laser beams in nonquadratic plasma waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feit, M.D.; Fleck, J.A. Jr.; Morris, J.R.

1977-01-01

The propagation of a laser beam in a plasma column several meters long with a realistic electron density distribution is examined. The electron density distribution is based on laser-beam heating at z=0, but is otherwise uncoupled to the laser beam. The aberrated nature of the resulting lenslike medium leads to essentially aperiodic beam properties, which contrast with the completely periodic properties of Gaussian beams propagating in quadratic lenslike media. The beam is nonetheless stably trapped. These aberrated-beam properties also help to stabilize the beam against axial variations in refractive index

Design of Extended Depth-of-Focus Laser Beams Using Orthogonal Beam Expansions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonard Bergstein

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Laser beams with extended depth of focus have many practical applications, such as scanning printed bar codes. Previous work has concentrated on synthesizing such beams by approximating the nondiffracting Bessel beam solution to the wave equation. In this paper, we introduce an alternate novel synthesis method that is based on maintaining a minimum MTF value (contrast over the largest possible distance. To achieve this, the coefficients of an orthogonal beam expansion are sequentially optimized to this criterion. One of the main advantages of this method is that it can be easily generalized to noncircularly symmetrical beams by the appropriate choice of the beam expansion basis functions. This approach is found to be very useful for applications that involve scanning of the laser beam.

Self-focusing of laser beam crossing a laser plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakos, J.S.; Foeldes, I.B.; Ignacz, P.N.; Soerlei, Zs.

1983-03-01

A crossed-beam experiment was performed to clarify the mechanism of self-focusing in a laser produced spark. The plasma was created by one beam and self-focusing was observed in the weak probe beam which crossed the plasma. Experimental results show that the cause of self-focusing is the nonuniform heating mechanism. (author)

Vacuum laser acceleration using a radially polarized CO sub 2 laser beam

CERN Document Server

Liu, Y; He, P

1999-01-01

Utilizing the high-power, radially polarized CO sub 2 laser and high-quality electron beam at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility, a vacuum laser acceleration scheme is proposed. In this scheme, optics configuration is simple, a small focused beam spot size can be easily maintained, and optical damage becomes less important. At least 0.5 GeV/m acceleration gradient is achievable by 1 TW laser power.

Laser beam smoothing and backscatter saturation processes in plasmas relevant to national ignition facility hohlraums

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGowan, B.J.; Berger, R.L.; Cohen, B.I.

2001-01-01

We have used gas-filled targets irradiated by the Nova laser to simulate National Ignition Facility (NIF) hohlraum plasmas and to study the dependence of Stimulated Raman (SRS) and Brillouin (SBS) Scattering on beam smoothing at a range of laser intensities (3ω, 2-410 15 Wcm -2 ) and plasma conditions. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of polarization smoothing as a potential upgrade to the NIF. Experiments with higher intensities and higher densities characteristic of 350eV hohlraum designs indicate that with appropriate beam smoothing the backscatter from such hohlraums may be tolerable. (author)

Laser cooling and ion beam diagnosis of relativistic ions in a storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, S.

1990-08-01

Particle accelerator and storage ring technology has reached an advanced state, so that different heavy ion storage rings are coming into operation by now, capable of storing even fully stripped ions up to U 92+ . The main purpose of these machines are the accumulation of ions and the ability of improving the beam quality, that is the phase space density of the stored beams. This beam cooling is done successfully by the well established stochastic and electron cooling techniques. A new cooling method, the laser cooling, is taken over from atomic beam and ion trap experiments, where it has yielded extremely low temperatures of atomic samples. As a canditate at storage rings 7 Li + ions are stored in the Heidelberg TSR at 13.3 MeV. The ion beam properties of the metastable fraction like momentum spread, storage time and the influence of residual gas scattering are investigated by colinear laser spectroscopy in the experimental section of the TSR. An optical pumping experiment using two dye laser systems yields information about ion kinematics and velocity mixing processes in the ring. Lifetimes in the order of 100 ms for velocity classes marked in this way show that laser cooling can be applied to the stored 7 Li + beam. In an experimental situation of two strong counterpropagating laser beams, both tuned near resonance, a dramatic reduction of the ion beam momentum spread is observed. With a special geometrical control of laser and ion beam the longitudinal beam temperature is reduced from 260 K to at least 3 K with very high collection efficiency. (orig./HSI) [de

STUDIES ON WETTABILITY OF STAINLESS STEEL 316L POWDER IN LASER MELTING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KURIAN ANTONY

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Laser sintering is one of the techniques used in additive manufacturing processes. The main objective of the work is to study the effects of process parameters on wetting phenomenon and interfacial energy during laser melting of stainless steel powder. This paper reports wetting of laser melted powder particles and its use for the determination of surface energy of stainless steel powder under laser beam exposure. Process parameters such as laser power, scan speed and beam diameter are considered for study. This study also identifies the process parameters for better wettability which produces smooth surfaces.

Multiquantum well beam-steering device for laser satellite communication

Science.gov (United States)

Lahat, Roee; Levy, Itamar; Shlomi, Arnon

2002-01-01

With the increasing interest in laser satellite communications, new methods are sought to solve the existing problems of accurate and rapid laser beam deflection. Current solutions in the form of galvanometers or piezo fast steering mirrors with one or two degrees of freedom are bulky, power-consuming and slow. The Multi-Quantum Well (MQW) is a semiconductor device with unique potential to steer laser beams without any moving parts. We have conducted a preliminary evaluation of the potential application of the MQW as a laser beam-steering device for laser satellite communication, examining the performance of critical parameters for this type of communications.

Model for Atmospheric Propagation of Spatially Combined Laser Beams

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS MODEL FOR ATMOSPHERIC PROPAGATION OF SPATIALLY COMBINED LASER BEAMS by Kum Leong Lee September...MODEL FOR ATMOSPHERIC PROPAGATION OF SPATIALLY COMBINED LASER BEAMS 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Kum Leong Lee 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND...BLANK ii Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. MODEL FOR ATMOSPHERIC PROPAGATION OF SPATIALLY COMBINED LASER BEAMS Kum Leong Lee

The Beam Characteristics of High Power Diode Laser Stack

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-01

Direct diode lasers have some of the most attractive features of any laser. They are very efficient, compact, wavelength versatile, low cost, and highly reliable. However, the full utilization of direct diode lasers has yet to be realized. However, the poor quality of diode laser beam itself, directly affect its application ranges, in order to better use of diode laser stack, need a proper correction of optical system, which requires accurate understanding of the diode laser beam characteristics. 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. Therefore diode laser cladding will open a new field of repairing for the damaged machinery parts which must contribute to recycling of the used machines and saving of cost.

High-power direct diode laser output by spectral beam combining

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Hao; Meng, Huicheng; Ruan, Xu; Du, Weichuan; Wang, Zhao

2018-03-01

We demonstrate a spectral beam combining scheme based on multiple mini-bar stacks, which have more diode laser combining elements, to increase the combined diode laser power and realize equal beam quality in both the fast and slow axes. A spectral beam combining diode laser output of 1130 W is achieved with an operating current of 75 A. When a 9.6 X de-magnifying telescope is introduced between the output mirror and the diffraction grating, to restrain cross-talk among diode laser emitters, a 710 W spectral beam combining diode laser output is achieved at the operating current of 70 A, and the beam quality on the fast and slow axes of the combined beam is about 7.5 mm mrad and 7.3 mm mrad respectively. The power reduction is caused by the existence of a couple resonator between the rear facet of the diode laser and the fast axis collimation lens, and it should be eliminated by using diode laser chips with higher front facet transmission efficiency and a fast axis collimation lens with lower residual reflectivity.

The KAERI laser facility with temporal laser beam shaping for application's user

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Sung Ki; Kim, Min Suk; Kim, Young Won; Ko, Kwanghoon; Lim, Changhwan; Seo, Young Seok

2008-01-01

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI)has been developed a high energy Nd:Glass laser facility(KLF)for fast ignition research and high energy physics applications at early 2008. Now, we are researching the temporal laser beam shaping for application's user. The temporal laser beam shaping has been applied to a number of industrial applications. The KLF beam shaping system with fiber based consists of two electro optic modulator with DC bias using a Mach Zehnder interferometer, an arbitrary electronic waveform generator, a continuous wavelength fiber laser source, a fiber based pulse amplification system and DC bias source to generate temporally shaped pulses with a high extinction ratio and high resolution. RF signal waveform user defined by an arbitrary electronic waveform generator is only connected to one electro optic modulator. DC bias source with auto feed back or manual controller is connected both two electro optic modulators. Emitting laser light from a continuous wavelength fiber laser source is modulated to meet a user defined laser pulse with a high extinction ratio by two electro optic modulators. Experimental results are shown in Fig.1. Figure 1(a)shows two programmed waveforms with the signal width 10ns in an arbitrary electronic waveform generator. Figure 1(b)shows output laser pulses with sub mJ energy from amplification results of the KLF beam shaping system which can control the pulse width ranges from 400ps to sub us

Development of laser beam welding for the lip seal configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, Ashish; Joshi, Jaydeep; Singh, Dhananjay Kumar; Natu, Harshad; Rotti, Chandramouli; Bandyopadhyay, Mainak; Chakraborty, Arun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Laser welding parameter optimization for required weld penetration. • Parametric study of actual scenarios like air gap, plate & beam misalignment. • Destructive and non-destructive examination of the welds and He-leak testing. - Abstract: A vacuum seal using the lip sealing technique is emerging as the most likely choice for fusion devices, to comply with the requirement of maintainability. The welding technology considered for lip sealing is laser welding, due to the attributes of small spot diameter, low concentrated heat input, high precision and penetration. To establish the process, an experiment has been conducted on a sample size of 150 mm × 50 mm having thickness of 2 mm, material AISI304L to assess the dependence of beam parameters like, laser power, speed and focusing distance on penetration and quality of weld joint. Further, the assessment of the effect of welding set-up variables like air-gap between plates, plate misalignment, and laser beam misalignment on the weld quality is also required. This paper presents the results of this experimental study and also the plan for developing a large (∼10 m) size laser welded seal, that simulates, appropriately, the configuration required in large dimension fusion devices.

Development of laser beam welding for the lip seal configuration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yadav, Ashish, E-mail: ashish.yadav@iter-india.org [ITER-India, Institute for Plasma Research, Sector 25, Gandhinagar 382016, Gujarat (India); Joshi, Jaydeep; Singh, Dhananjay Kumar [ITER-India, Institute for Plasma Research, Sector 25, Gandhinagar 382016, Gujarat (India); Natu, Harshad [Magod Laser Machining Pvt. Ltd., KIADB Ind. Area, Jigani, Anekal Taluk, Bengaluru 560105 (India); Rotti, Chandramouli; Bandyopadhyay, Mainak; Chakraborty, Arun [ITER-India, Institute for Plasma Research, Sector 25, Gandhinagar 382016, Gujarat (India)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Laser welding parameter optimization for required weld penetration. • Parametric study of actual scenarios like air gap, plate & beam misalignment. • Destructive and non-destructive examination of the welds and He-leak testing. - Abstract: A vacuum seal using the lip sealing technique is emerging as the most likely choice for fusion devices, to comply with the requirement of maintainability. The welding technology considered for lip sealing is laser welding, due to the attributes of small spot diameter, low concentrated heat input, high precision and penetration. To establish the process, an experiment has been conducted on a sample size of 150 mm × 50 mm having thickness of 2 mm, material AISI304L to assess the dependence of beam parameters like, laser power, speed and focusing distance on penetration and quality of weld joint. Further, the assessment of the effect of welding set-up variables like air-gap between plates, plate misalignment, and laser beam misalignment on the weld quality is also required. This paper presents the results of this experimental study and also the plan for developing a large (∼10 m) size laser welded seal, that simulates, appropriately, the configuration required in large dimension fusion devices.

Influence of laser beam profiles on received power fluctuation

Science.gov (United States)

Dordova, Lucie; Diblik, Jan

2011-09-01

Gaussian beam is very often used for the transmission of information in optical wireless links. The usage of this optical beam has its advantages and, of course, disadvantages. This work focuses on possibilities of using laser beams with different distribution of optical intensity - Top Hat beam. Creation of the optical beam with selected optical intensity profile will be briefly described. Optical beams will propagate through the "clear" and stationary atmosphere in the experimental part of this work. These results will be compared with the data obtained after a laser beam is passed through the turbulent and attenuated atmosphere. We will use an ultrasound fog generator for laser beam attenuation testing. To create the turbulence, infra radiators will be applied. Particular results obtained from different atmospheric conditions will be compared and using different types of optical beams will be assessed.

A three-dimensional laser vibration measurement technology realized on five laser beam and its calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lu-Ke; Zhang, Shen-Feng

2018-03-01

Put forward a kind of three-dimensional vibration information technology of vibrating object by the mean of five laser beam of He-Ne laser, and with the help of three-way sensor, measure the three-dimensional laser vibration developed by above mentioned technology. The technology based on the Doppler principle of interference and signal demodulation technology, get the vibration information of the object, through the algorithm processing, extract the three-dimensional vibration information of space objects, and can achieve the function of angle calibration of five beam in the space, which avoid the effects of the mechanical installation error, greatly improve the accuracy of measurement. With the help of a & B K4527 contact three axis sensor, measure and calibrate three-dimensional laser vibrometer, which ensure the accuracy of the measurement data. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of contact and non-contact sensor, and analysis the future development trends of the sensor industry.

ILIAS - Ion and laser beam interaction and application studies. Progress report no. 2 of the PHELIX theory group

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mulser, P.; Schlegel, T. (eds.)

2007-02-15

The following topics are dealt with:QED, nuclear and high energy processes in extremely strong laser pulses, waves with constant phase velocity in relativistic plasmas, the effective critical electron density and its relativistic increase in an intense laser field, acceleration of electrons by laser pulses in vacuum, electron capture acceleration in a slit laser beam, laser acceleration of ion beams, collisionless high-power laser beam absorption, vacuum heating vs skin layer absorption of intense fs laser pulses, timescales of laser-induced phase transitions, quasi-static electron equilibria of laser-heted clusters, correlations in multi-electronic satellite spectra, radiation transport in the CAVEAT code. (HSI)

ILIAS - Ion and laser beam interaction and application studies. Progress report no. 2 of the PHELIX theory group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulser, P.; Schlegel, T.

2007-02-01

The following topics are dealt with:QED, nuclear and high energy processes in extremely strong laser pulses, waves with constant phase velocity in relativistic plasmas, the effective critical electron density and its relativistic increase in an intense laser field, acceleration of electrons by laser pulses in vacuum, electron capture acceleration in a slit laser beam, laser acceleration of ion beams, collisionless high-power laser beam absorption, vacuum heating vs skin layer absorption of intense fs laser pulses, timescales of laser-induced phase transitions, quasi-static electron equilibria of laser-heted clusters, correlations in multi-electronic satellite spectra, radiation transport in the CAVEAT code. (HSI)

Research on applications of rectangular beam in micro laser propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiao, L.; Cai, J.; Ma, H.H.; Li, G.X.; Li, L.; Shen, Z.W.; Tang, Z.P.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Diode laser bar of 808 nm is introduced into the micro laser propulsion field. • Double base propellant (DBP) coating with BOPP substrate was obtained. • The combination of laser power and energy decides the propulsion performance. • The new rectangular beam prefers to produce higher impulse. - Abstract: Micro laser propulsion is a new technology with brilliant future. In order to reduce the thruster mass and volume further, laser bar is introduced into the micro laser propulsion field. A new kind of 220 × 20 μm rectangular beam of 808 nm was obtained by oval lens compressing the light of diode at fast axes and slow axes. The effect of laser power, energy and coating thickness of double base propellant on propulsion performance was studied. Propulsion performance of double base propellant under static and dynamic mode shows some different characters. Compared to round beam, the new beam prefers to produce higher impulse. Ablation efficiency of DBP shows better performance in short laser duration. The combination of power density and energy density decides the laser propulsion performance. The new rectangular beam is appropriate for millisecond micro-laser propulsion

Beam propagation considerations in the Aurora laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosoche, L.A.; Mc Leod, J.; Hanlon, J.A.

1987-01-01

Aurora is a high-power KrF laser system now being constructed for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) studies. It will use optical angular multiplexing and serial amplification by electron-beam-driven KrF amplifiers to deliver a stacked, multikilojoule 5-ns-duration laser pulse to ICF targets. The requirements of angular multiplexing KrF lasers at the multikilojoule level dictate path lengths on the order of 1 km. The inherent complicated path crossings produced by angular multiplexing and pulse stacking do not allow isolation of individual beam lines, so the optical quality of the long beam paths must be controlled. Propagation of the 248-nm light beams over long paths in air is affected by scattering, absorption thermal gradients and turbulence, beam alignment, and control and optical component figure errors

Method of laser beam coding for control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pałys, Tomasz; Arciuch, Artur; Walczak, Andrzej; Murawski, Krzysztof

2017-08-01

The article presents the method of encoding a laser beam for control systems. The experiments were performed using a red laser emitting source with a wavelength of λ = 650 nm and a power of P ≍ 3 mW. The aim of the study was to develop methods of modulation and demodulation of the laser beam. Results of research, in which we determined the effect of selected camera parameters, such as image resolution, number of frames per second on the result of demodulation of optical signal, is also shown in the paper. The experiments showed that the adopted coding method provides sufficient information encoded in a single laser beam (36 codes with the effectiveness of decoding at 99.9%).

Laser beam complex amplitude measurement by phase diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Védrenne, Nicolas; Mugnier, Laurent M; Michau, Vincent; Velluet, Marie-Thérèse; Bierent, Rudolph

2014-02-24

The control of the optical quality of a laser beam requires a complex amplitude measurement able to deal with strong modulus variations and potentially highly perturbed wavefronts. The method proposed here consists in an extension of phase diversity to complex amplitude measurements that is effective for highly perturbed beams. Named camelot for Complex Amplitude MEasurement by a Likelihood Optimization Tool, it relies on the acquisition and processing of few images of the beam section taken along the optical path. The complex amplitude of the beam is retrieved from the images by the minimization of a Maximum a Posteriori error metric between the images and a model of the beam propagation. The analytical formalism of the method and its experimental validation are presented. The modulus of the beam is compared to a measurement of the beam profile, the phase of the beam is compared to a conventional phase diversity estimate. The precision of the experimental measurements is investigated by numerical simulations.

Laser Beam delivering and shaping device for transfer of organic film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kangin; Kwon, Jin Hyuk; Yi, Jonghoon

2008-01-01

The laser based organic material transfer methods are developed by several groups for OLED (organic light emitting diode)fabrication. Well developed laser based methods are LITI (Laser Induced Thermal Imaging)and LIPS (Laser Induced Pattern wise Sublimation). These methods are proved to be suitable for large OLED panel fabrication. At an early stage of development, TEM"00"mode Nd:YAG laser was used for pattering organic material. The focused focused Nd:YAG laser beam generated heat in the film and the heat caused expansion of organic material coated layer. The organic film on the layer is transferred to the display panel due to pressure exerted on the display panel by the layer. Recently developed system prefers to employ a diode laser with wavelength of 800nm. Diode laser is cheaper and smaller photon source compared with the Nd:YAG laser. In this work, we use Nd doped fiber laser (wavelength=1070nm, power=10W)because the laser has stable output and well defined Gaussian beam profile compared with diode laser. We also employed fiber coupled diode laser (808nm)because it also has well defined beam distribution. In laser methods, spatially shaped beam is required for clean and sharp transfer. There are several methods for the beam shaping such as aspheric lens, diffractive optical elements, and micro lens array etc. We found that Gaussian beam can be shaped to a square hat like beam just by using simple commercial spherical lens set

Laser beam diagnostics for metalworking applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, T.J.; Lingenfelter, A.C.

1984-01-01

The Materials Fabrication Division of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has three pulsed Nd-YAG lasers dedicated to metalworking. The units are used in a job shop primarily for welding. They also have a number of applications requiring cutting and drilling capability. Each of these metalworking operations requires somewhat different laser beam characteristics. As most investigators have found, the mode of the laser beam and the mode stability are the key variables which must be controlled if optimum results are to be achieved. The authors use several techniques to observe and measure these variables, i.e. Charge Couple Device (CCD) Camera, Thermal Image Plate and thermal-sensitive paper

Novel beam delivery fibers for delivering flat-top beams with controlled BPP for high power CW and pulsed laser applications

Science.gov (United States)

Jollivet, C.; Farley, K.; Conroy, M.; Abramczyk, J.; Belke, S.; Becker, F.; Tankala, K.

2016-03-01

Single-mode (SM) kW-class fiber lasers are the tools of choice for material processing applications such as sheet metal cutting and welding. However, application requirements include a flat-top intensity profile and specific beam parameter product (BPP). Here, Nufern introduces a novel specialty fiber technology capable of converting a SM laser beam into a flat-top beam suited for these applications. The performances are demonstrated using a specialty fiber with 100 μm pure silica core, 0.22 NA surrounded by a 120 μm fluorine-doped layer and a 360 μm pure silica cladding, which was designed to match the conventional beam delivery fibers. A SM fiber laser operating at a wavelength of 1.07 μm and terminated with a large-mode area (LMA) fiber with 20 μm core and 0.06 NA was directly coupled in the core of the flat-top specialty fiber using conventional splicing technique. The output beam profile and BPP were characterized first with a low-power source and confirmed using a 2 kW laser and we report a beam transformation from a SM beam into a flat-top intensity profile beam with a 3.8 mm*mrad BPP. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first successful beam transformation from SM to MM flat-top with controlled BPP in a single fiber integrated in a multi-kW all-fiber system architecture.

Extending the process limits of laser polymer welding with high-brilliance beam sources (recent status and prospects of POLYBRIGHT)

Science.gov (United States)

Olowinsky, A.; Boglea, A.

2011-03-01

Plastics play an important role in almost every facet of our lives and constitute a wide variety of products, from everyday products such as food and beverage packaging, over furniture and building materials to high tech products in the automotive, electronics, aerospace, white goods, medical and other sectors [1]. The objective of PolyBright, the European Research project on laser polymer welding, is to provide high speed and flexible laser manufacturing technology and expand the limits of current plastic part assembly. New laser polymer joining processes for optimized thermal management in combination with adapted wavelengths will provide higher quality, high processing speed up to 1 m/s and robust manufacturing processes at lower costs. Key innovations of the PolyBright project are fibre lasers with high powers up to 500 W, high speed scanning and flexible beam manipulation systems for simultaneous welding and high-resolution welding, such as dynamic masks and multi kHz scanning heads. With this initial step, PolyBright will break new paths in processing of advanced plastic products overcoming the quality and speed limitations of conventional plastic part assembly. Completely new concepts for high speed processing, flexibility and quality need to be established in combination with high brilliance lasers and related equipment. PolyBright will thus open new markets for laser systems with a short term potential of over several 100 laser installations per year and a future much larger market share in the still growing plastic market. PolyBright will hence establish a comprehensive and sustainable development activity on new high brilliance lasers that will strengthen the laser system industry.

High-quality laser-accelerated ion beams for medical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harman, Zoltan; Keitel, Christoph H. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Salamin, Yousef I. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)

2009-07-01

Cancer radiation therapy requires accelerated ion beams of high energy sharpness and a narrow spatial profile. As shown recently, linearly and radially polarized, tightly focused and thus extremely strong laser beams should permit the direct acceleration of light atomic nuclei up to energies that may offer the potentiality for medical applications. Radially polarized beams have better emittance than their linearly polarized counterparts. We put forward the direct laser acceleration of ions, once the refocusing of ion beams by external fields is solved or radially polarized laser pulses of sufficient power can be generated.

Synthetic methods for beam to beam power balancing capability of large laser facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Guangyu; Zhang Xiaomin; Zhao Runchang; Zheng Wanguo; Yang Xiaoyu; You Yong; Wang Chengcheng; Shao Yunfei

2011-01-01

To account for output power balancing capability of large laser facilities, a synthetic method with beam to beam root-mean-square is presented. Firstly, a conversion process for the facilities from original data of beam powers to regular data is given. The regular data contribute to the normal distribution approximately, and then a corresponding simple method of root-mean-square for beam to beam power balancing capability is given.Secondly, based on theory of total control charts and cause-selecting control charts, control charts with root-mean-square are established which show short-term variety of power balancing capability of the facilities. Mean rate of failure occurrence is also defined and used to describe long-term trend of global balancing capabilities of the facilities. Finally, advantages of the intuitive and efficient diagnosis for synthetic methods are illustrated by analysis of experimental data. (authors)

Monitoring the beam flux in molecular beam epitaxy using laser multiphoton ionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chien, R.; Sogard, M.R.

1990-01-01

In this paper, we will describe a method using laser nonresonant multiphoton ionization to measure beam flux in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems. The results were obtained in a test chamber where a focused excimer laser beam was used to photoionize a small fraction of the atomic and molecular beams. The constituents of the beams were identified by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Ion signal strength was found to be directly correlated to the temperature of the atomic beam oven. Good stability and sensitivity on gallium, aluminum, and silicon atomic beams was demonstrated. Arsenic was also detected. We demonstrated very sensitive detection of contaminant atomic and molecular constituents of our system. We have also detected the presence of short-term fluctuations in the gallium flux from an effusion source. These fluctuations, previously suspected, can be in excess of ±10%

Improving fiber-optic laser beam delivery by incorporating GRADIUM optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, B.V.; Leong, K.H.

1997-01-01

The performance of a fiber-optic laser beam delivery system strongly depends on the fiber and the optics used to image the fiber face on the workpiece. We have compared off-the-shelf homogenous (BK7) and GRADIUM (axial-gradient) singlets to determine what improvement the GRADIUM offers in practice to the typical laser user. The realized benefit for this application, although significant, is much smaller than would be realized by a conventional imaging application. The figure of merit for laser-based materials processing is the 86% energy-enclosure radius, which is not directly supported by commerical ray-tracing software. Therefore empirical rules of thumb are presented to understand when GRADIUM (or any other well-corrected optics) will yield meaningful improvement to the beam delivery system. copyright 1997 Optical Society of America

Bunching and phase focusing of laser generated proton beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Dennis; Hofmann, Ingo; Blazevic, Abel; Deppert, Oliver [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung (Germany); Busold, Simon; Roth, Markus; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver [TU Darmstadt (Germany); Brabetz, Christian [Universitaet Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Zielbauer, Bernhard [HI Jena (Germany); Collaboration: LIGHT-Collaboration

2013-07-01

Laser accelerated proton beams can reach very high intensities and very low emittances. Therefore they are suitable as ion sources for many applications. One is the coupling into common ion accelerator structures to replace pre accelerators that are used so far. The LIGHT (Laser Ion Generation, Handling and Transport) collaboration has been founded to develop ion optics and targets and optimize laser parameter to make this coupling most efficient. In a first step a short pulse beam line for the PHELIX-laser at GSI to the experiment site Z6 has been build in order to laser accelerate protons here. In a second step a pulsed solenoid has been established to collimate the divergent ion beam. In a third step this collimated beam will be coupled into a bunching unit, which consists of a spiral resonator with three gaps which leads to an overall acceleration voltage of 1 MV. With this cavity it is not only possible to avoid the broadening of the pulse, but also to phase focus it. This talk presents also the progress towards the operation of the spiral resonator as buncher for a laser accelerated ion beam e.g. simulations, tests and performance data and shows the next steps of the beam shaping efforts.

Suppression of beam-break-up in a standing wave free electron laser two-beam accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, H.; Kim, J.S.

1994-03-01

Various schemes are examined in this study on the suppression of beam break-up (BBU) in a standing wave free electron laser two-beam accelerator (SWFEL/TBA). Two schemes are found to be not only able to effectively suppress the BBU but at the same time have minimum effect on the microwave generation process inside the SWFEL cavities. One is making the cavity-iris junction sufficiently gradual and the other is stagger-tuning the cavities

Synchronous characterization of semiconductor microcavity laser beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, T; Lippi, G L

2015-06-01

We report on a high-resolution double-channel imaging method used to synchronously map the intensity- and optical-frequency-distribution of a laser beam in the plane orthogonal to the propagation direction. The synchronous measurement allows us to show that the laser frequency is an inhomogeneous distribution below threshold, but that it becomes homogeneous across the fundamental Gaussian mode above threshold. The beam's tails deviations from the Gaussian shape, however, are accompanied by sizeable fluctuations in the laser wavelength, possibly deriving from manufacturing details and from the influence of spontaneous emission in the very low intensity wings. In addition to the synchronous spatial characterization, a temporal analysis at any given point in the beam cross section is carried out. Using this method, the beam homogeneity and spatial shape, energy density, energy center, and the defects-related spectrum can also be extracted from these high-resolution pictures.

Multimode laser beam analyzer instrument using electrically programmable optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Marraccini, Philip J; Riza, Nabeel A

2011-12-01

Presented is a novel design of a multimode laser beam analyzer using a digital micromirror device (DMD) and an electronically controlled variable focus lens (ECVFL) that serve as the digital and analog agile optics, respectively. The proposed analyzer is a broadband laser characterization instrument that uses the agile optics to smartly direct light to the required point photodetectors to enable beam measurements of minimum beam waist size, minimum waist location, divergence, and the beam propagation parameter M(2). Experimental results successfully demonstrate these measurements for a 500 mW multimode test laser beam with a wavelength of 532 nm. The minimum beam waist, divergence, and M(2) experimental results for the test laser are found to be 257.61 μm, 2.103 mrad, 1.600 and 326.67 μm, 2.682 mrad, 2.587 for the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively. These measurements are compared to a traditional scan method and the results of the beam waist are found to be within error tolerance of the demonstrated instrument.

Precision atomic beam density characterization by diode laser absorption spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oxley, Paul; Wihbey, Joseph [Physics Department, The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610 (United States)

2016-09-15

We provide experimental and theoretical details of a simple technique to determine absolute line-of-sight integrated atomic beam densities based on resonant laser absorption. In our experiments, a thermal lithium beam is chopped on and off while the frequency of a laser crossing the beam at right angles is scanned slowly across the resonance transition. A lock-in amplifier detects the laser absorption signal at the chop frequency from which the atomic density is determined. The accuracy of our experimental method is confirmed using the related technique of wavelength modulation spectroscopy. For beams which absorb of order 1% of the incident laser light, our measurements allow the beam density to be determined to an accuracy better than 5% and with a precision of 3% on a time scale of order 1 s. Fractional absorptions of order 10{sup −5} are detectable on a one-minute time scale when we employ a double laser beam technique which limits laser intensity noise. For a lithium beam with a thickness of 9 mm, we have measured atomic densities as low as 5 × 10{sup 4} atoms cm{sup −3}. The simplicity of our technique and the details we provide should allow our method to be easily implemented in most atomic or molecular beam apparatuses.

Precision atomic beam density characterization by diode laser absorption spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oxley, Paul; Wihbey, Joseph

2016-01-01

We provide experimental and theoretical details of a simple technique to determine absolute line-of-sight integrated atomic beam densities based on resonant laser absorption. In our experiments, a thermal lithium beam is chopped on and off while the frequency of a laser crossing the beam at right angles is scanned slowly across the resonance transition. A lock-in amplifier detects the laser absorption signal at the chop frequency from which the atomic density is determined. The accuracy of our experimental method is confirmed using the related technique of wavelength modulation spectroscopy. For beams which absorb of order 1% of the incident laser light, our measurements allow the beam density to be determined to an accuracy better than 5% and with a precision of 3% on a time scale of order 1 s. Fractional absorptions of order 10 −5 are detectable on a one-minute time scale when we employ a double laser beam technique which limits laser intensity noise. For a lithium beam with a thickness of 9 mm, we have measured atomic densities as low as 5 × 10 4 atoms cm −3 . The simplicity of our technique and the details we provide should allow our method to be easily implemented in most atomic or molecular beam apparatuses.

Precision atomic beam density characterization by diode laser absorption spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Oxley, Paul; Wihbey, Joseph

2016-09-01

We provide experimental and theoretical details of a simple technique to determine absolute line-of-sight integrated atomic beam densities based on resonant laser absorption. In our experiments, a thermal lithium beam is chopped on and off while the frequency of a laser crossing the beam at right angles is scanned slowly across the resonance transition. A lock-in amplifier detects the laser absorption signal at the chop frequency from which the atomic density is determined. The accuracy of our experimental method is confirmed using the related technique of wavelength modulation spectroscopy. For beams which absorb of order 1% of the incident laser light, our measurements allow the beam density to be determined to an accuracy better than 5% and with a precision of 3% on a time scale of order 1 s. Fractional absorptions of order 10 -5 are detectable on a one-minute time scale when we employ a double laser beam technique which limits laser intensity noise. For a lithium beam with a thickness of 9 mm, we have measured atomic densities as low as 5 × 10 4 atoms cm -3 . The simplicity of our technique and the details we provide should allow our method to be easily implemented in most atomic or molecular beam apparatuses.

Light-material interactions in laser material processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, S.; Albright, C.E.

1989-01-01

The authors discusses how light interactions with materials in laser material processing operations occur by a variety of mechanisms depending on the material being processed, the wavelength of the laser light, the gaseous environment, and the physical state of the material surface. The high reflectivity of metals limits the fraction of the beam power absorbed by the solid metal surface. For metals in the solid state, reflectivity increases as the wavelength of the laser light and the electrical conductivity of the metal increase. The reflectivity of metals is reduced upon heating to the melting point, and further reduced upon melting. At high power densities the liquid metal surface is heated so quickly that very rapid vaporization occurs. The recoil force produced by the evaporation causes a depression in the liquid/vapor interface. The keyhole resulting from this depression allows for multiple reflections and thus increases beam absorption in the liquid

Electron beam pumped KrF lasers for fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sethian, J.D.; Friedman, M.; Giuliani, J.L. Jr.; Lehmberg, R.H.; Obenschain, S.P.; Kepple, P.; Wolford, M.; Hegeler, F.; Swanekamp, S.B.; Weidenheimer, D.; Welch, D.; Rose, D.V.; Searles, S.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we describe the development of electron beam pumped KrF lasers for inertial fusion energy. KrF lasers are an attractive driver for fusion, on account of their demonstrated very high beam quality, which is essential for reducing imprint in direct drive targets; their short wavelength (248 nm), which mitigates the growth of plasma instabilities; and their modular architecture, which reduces development costs. In this paper we present a basic overview of KrF laser technology as well as current research and development in three key areas: electron beam stability and transport; KrF kinetics and laser propagation; and pulsed power. The work will be cast in context of the two KrF lasers at the Naval Research Laboratory, The Nike Laser (5 kJ, single shot), and The Electra Laser (400-700 J repetitively pulsed)

Design and Status of the ELIMED Beam Line for Laser-Driven Ion Beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Pablo Cirrone

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Charged particle acceleration using ultra-intense and ultra-short laser pulses has gathered a strong interest in the scientific community and it is now one of the most attractive topics in the relativistic laser-plasma interaction research. Indeed, it could represent the future of particle acceleration and open new scenarios in multidisciplinary fields, in particular, medical applications. One of the biggest challenges consists of using, in a future perspective, high intensity laser-target interaction to generate high-energy ions for therapeutic purposes, eventually replacing the old paradigm of acceleration, characterized by huge and complex machines. The peculiarities of laser-driven beams led to develop new strategies and advanced techniques for transport, diagnostics and dosimetry of the accelerated particles, due to the wide energy spread, the angular divergence and the extremely intense pulses. In this framework, the realization of the ELIMED (ELI-Beamlines MEDical applications beamline, developed by INFN-LNS (Catania, Italy and installed in 2017 as a part of the ELIMAIA beamline at the ELI-Beamlines (Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines facility in Prague, has the aim to investigate the feasibility of using laser-driven ion beams in multidisciplinary applications. ELIMED will represent the first user’s open transport beam line where a controlled laser-driven ion beam will be used for multidisciplinary and medical studies. In this paper, an overview of the beamline, with a detailed description of the main transport elements, will be presented. Moreover, a description of the detectors dedicated to diagnostics and dosimetry will be reported, with some preliminary results obtained both with accelerator-driven and laser-driven beams.

Simulation of the impact of refractive surgery ablative laser pulses with a flying-spot laser beam on intrasurgery corneal temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Shraiki, Mario; Arba-Mosquera, Samuel

2011-06-01

To evaluate ablation algorithms and temperature changes in laser refractive surgery. The model (virtual laser system [VLS]) simulates different physical effects of an entire surgical process, simulating the shot-by-shot ablation process based on a modeled beam profile. The model is comprehensive and directly considers applied correction; corneal geometry, including astigmatism; laser beam characteristics; and ablative spot properties. Pulse lists collected from actual treatments were used to simulate the temperature increase during the ablation process. Ablation efficiency reduction in the periphery resulted in a lower peripheral temperature increase. Steep corneas had lesser temperature increases than flat ones. The maximum rise in temperature depends on the spatial density of the ablation pulses. For the same number of ablative pulses, myopic corrections showed the highest temperature increase, followed by myopic astigmatism, mixed astigmatism, phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK), hyperopic astigmatism, and hyperopic treatments. The proposed model can be used, at relatively low cost, for calibration, verification, and validation of the laser systems used for ablation processes and would directly improve the quality of the results.

Laser induced focusing for over-dense plasma beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, Peter; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver; Mulser, Peter

2015-01-01

The capability of ion acceleration with high power, pulsed lasers has become an active field of research in the past years. In this context, the radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) mechanism has been the topic of numerous theoretical and experimental publications. Within that mechanism, a high power, pulsed laser beam hits a thin film target. In contrast to the target normal sheath acceleration, the entire film target is accelerated as a bulk by the radiation pressure of the laser. Simulations predict heavy ion beams with kinetic energy up to GeV, as well as solid body densities. However, there are several effects which limit the efficiency of the RPA: On the one hand, the Rayleigh-Taylor-instability limits the predicted density. On the other hand, conventional accelerator elements, such as magnetic focusing devices are too bulky to be installed right after the target. Therefore, we present a new beam transport method, suitable for RPA-like/over-dense plasma beams: laser induced focusing

Laser-driven particle and photon beams and some applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ledingham, K W D; Galster, W

2010-01-01

Outstanding progress has been made in high-power laser technology in the last 10 years with laser powers reaching petawatt (PW) values. At present, there are 15 PW lasers built or being built around the world and plans are afoot for new, even higher power, lasers reaching values of exawatt (EW) or even zetawatt (ZW) powers. Petawatt lasers generate electric fields of 10 12 V m -1 with a large fraction of the total pulse energy being converted to relativistic electrons with energies reaching in excess of 1 GeV. In turn these electrons result in the generation of beams of protons, heavy ions, neutrons and high-energy photons. These laser-driven particle beams have encouraged many to think of carrying out experiments normally associated with conventional nuclear accelerators and reactors. To this end a number of introductory articles have been written under a trial name 'Laser Nuclear Physics' (Ledingham and Norreys 1999 Contemp. Phys. 40 367, Ledingham et al 2002 Europhys. News. 33 120, Ledingham et al 2003 Science 300 1107, Takabe et al 2001 J. Plasma Fusion Res. 77 1094). However, even greater strides have been made in the last 3 or 4 years in laser technology and it is timely to reassess the potential of laser-driven particle and photon beams. It must be acknowledged right from the outset that to date laser-driven particle beams have yet to compete favourably with conventional nuclear accelerator-generated beams in any way and so this is not a paper comparing laser and conventional accelerators. However, occasionally throughout the paper as a reality check, it will be mentioned what conventional nuclear accelerators can do.

Laser-driven particle and photon beams and some applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ledingham, K W D; Galster, W, E-mail: K.Ledingham@phys.strath.ac.u [SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

2010-04-15

Outstanding progress has been made in high-power laser technology in the last 10 years with laser powers reaching petawatt (PW) values. At present, there are 15 PW lasers built or being built around the world and plans are afoot for new, even higher power, lasers reaching values of exawatt (EW) or even zetawatt (ZW) powers. Petawatt lasers generate electric fields of 10{sup 12} V m{sup -1} with a large fraction of the total pulse energy being converted to relativistic electrons with energies reaching in excess of 1 GeV. In turn these electrons result in the generation of beams of protons, heavy ions, neutrons and high-energy photons. These laser-driven particle beams have encouraged many to think of carrying out experiments normally associated with conventional nuclear accelerators and reactors. To this end a number of introductory articles have been written under a trial name 'Laser Nuclear Physics' (Ledingham and Norreys 1999 Contemp. Phys. 40 367, Ledingham et al 2002 Europhys. News. 33 120, Ledingham et al 2003 Science 300 1107, Takabe et al 2001 J. Plasma Fusion Res. 77 1094). However, even greater strides have been made in the last 3 or 4 years in laser technology and it is timely to reassess the potential of laser-driven particle and photon beams. It must be acknowledged right from the outset that to date laser-driven particle beams have yet to compete favourably with conventional nuclear accelerator-generated beams in any way and so this is not a paper comparing laser and conventional accelerators. However, occasionally throughout the paper as a reality check, it will be mentioned what conventional nuclear accelerators can do.

Preparation of a monoenergetic sodium beam by laser cooling and deflection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nellessen, J.; Sengstock, K.; Muller, J.H.; Ertmer, W.; Wallis, H.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on a sodium atomic beam with a density of approx. 10 5 at cm 3 within a velocity interval of less than 3 m/s with a mean velocity of typically 50-160 m/s which has been produced by laser deflection of a laser cooled atomic beam. Laser cooling with the frequency chirp method decelerates and cools a considerable part of an atomic beam into a narrow velocity group with a temperature of approx 30 mK as a part of the resulting atomic beam. This velocity group has been selectively deflected up to 30 degrees - 40 degrees using a light field with k vectors always perpendicular to the atomic trajectory. If the light field is prepared by use of a cylindrical lens, the angle of deflection is nearly independent from the actual orbit radius. For a laser frequency detuning of about one natural linewidth to the red, the strong frequency dependence of the light pressure force leads to a beam collimation via detuning-locking of the atomic trajectory. To avoid optical pumping we used a frequency modulated laser beam with a sideband spacing matched to the hyperfine splitting of the ground state. As the cooling was performed by the frequency chirp method, one can use a part of the cooling laser beam as deflecting laser beam. Typical velocity distributions in the deflected and undeflected atomic beam, measured 22 cm downstream the deflection zone. It shows the perfect transfer of the cooled velocity group from the laser cooled beam into the deflected beam; curve c) shows as comparison the result for the deflection of the initial thermal atomic beam

Laser processing of metals and alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goswami, G.L.; Kumar, Dilip; Roy, P.R.

1988-01-01

Laser, due to its high degree of coherence can produce powder density in the range of 10 3 -10 11 W/mm 2 . This high power density of the laser beam enables it to be utilized for many industrial applications, e.g. welding, cutting, drilling, surface treatment, etc. Laser processing of materials has many advantages, e.g. good quality product at high processing speed, least heat affected zone, minimum distortion, etc. In addition, the same laser system can be utilized for different applications, a very cost effective factor for any industry. Therefore laser has been adopted for processing of different materials for a wide range of applications and is now replacing conventional materials processing techniques on commercial merits with several economic and metallurgical advantages. Applications of laser to process materials of different thicknesses varying from 0.1 mm to 100 mm have demonstrat ed its capability as an important manufacturing tool for engineering industries. While lasers have most widely been utilized in welding, cutting and drilling they have also found applications in surface treatment of metals and alloys, e.g. transfor mation hardening and annealing. More recently, there has been significant amount of research being undertaken in laser glazing, laser surface alloying and laser cladding for obtaining improved surface properties. This report reviews the stat us of laser processing of metals and alloys emphasising its metallurgical aspects a nd deals with the different laser processes like welding, cutting, drilling and surface treatment highlighting the types and choice of laser and its interaction with metals and alloys and the applications of these processes. (author). 93 refs., 32 figs., 7 tables

Laser beam characterization with digital holograms

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Forbes, A

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We show how laser beam characterization may be done in real-time with digital holograms. We illustrate the power of the techniques by applying them to a variety of laser sources, from fibers to solid-state....

Femtosecond laser processing of photovoltaic and transparent materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Sanghoon

The photovoltaic semiconducting and transparent dielectric materials are of high interest in current industry. Femtosecond laser processing can be an effective technique to fabricate such materials since non-linear photochemical mechanisms predominantly occur. In this series of studies, femtosecond (fs) laser processing techniques that include laser drilling on Si wafer, laser scribing on CIGS thin film, laser ablation on Lithium Niobate (LN) crystal, and fabrication of 3D structures in fused silica were studied. The fs laser drilling on Si wafer was performed to fabricate via holes for wrap-through PV devices. For reduction of the number of shots in fs laser drilling process, self-action of laser light in the air was initiated. To understand physical phenomena during laser drilling, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), emission, and shadowgraph images were studied. The result indicated the presence of two mechanisms that include fabrication by self-guided beam and wall-guided beam. Based on our study, we could fabricate ~16 micrometer circular-shaped via holes with ~200 laser pulses on 160-170 micrometer thick c- and mc-Si wafer. For the fs laser scribing on ink jet printed CIGS thin film solar cell, the effect of various parameters that include pulse accumulation, wavelength, pulse energy, and overlapping were elucidated. In our processing regime, the effect of wavelength could be diminished due to compensation between beam size, pulse accumulation, energy fluence, and the absorption coefficient. On the other hand, for high PRF fs laser processing, pulse accumulation effect cannot be ignored, while it can be negligible in low PRF fs laser processing. The result indicated the presence of a critical energy fluence for initiating delamination of CIGS layer. To avoid delamination and fabricate fine isolation lines, the overlapping method can be applied. With this method, ~1 micrometer width isolation lines were fabricated. The fs laser ablation on LN wafer was studied

Propagation of Gaussian laser beam in cold plasma of Drude model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Ying; Yuan Chengxun; Zhou Zhongxiang; Li Lei; Du Yanwei

2011-01-01

The propagation characters of Gaussian laser beam in plasmas of Drude model have been investigated by complex eikonal function assumption. The dielectric constant of Drude model is representative and applicable in describing the cold unmagnetized plasmas. The dynamics of ponderomotive nonlinearity, spatial diffraction, and collision attenuation is considered. The derived coupling equations determine the variations of laser beam and irradiation attenuation. The modified laser beam-width parameter F, the dimensionless axis irradiation intensity I, and the spatial electron density distribution n/n 0 have been studied in connection with collision frequency, initial laser intensity and beam-width, and electron temperature of plasma. The variations of laser beam and plasma density due to different selections of parameters are reasonably explained, and results indicate the feasible modification of the propagating characters of laser beam in plasmas, which possesses significance to fast ignition, extended propagation, and other applications.

Apparatus and method for increasing the bandwidth of a laser beam

Science.gov (United States)

Wilcox, Russell B.

1992-01-01

A method and apparatus using sinusoidal cross-phase modulation, provides a laser pulse having a very broad bandwidth while substantially retaining the input laser's temporal shape. The modulator may be used in a master oscillator system for a laser having a master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) configration. The modulator utilizes a first laser providing an output wavelength .lambda. and a second laser providing an output wavelength shifted by a small amount to .lambda.+.DELTA..lambda.. Each beam has a single, linear polarization. Each beam is coupled into a length of polarization-preserving optical fiber. The first laser beam is coupled into the optical fiber with the beam's polarization aligned with the fiber's main axis, and the second beam is coupled into the fiber with its polarization rotated from the main axis by a predetermined angle. Within the fiber, the main axis' polarization defines an interference beam and the orthogonal axis' polarization defines a signal beam. In the interference beam, the first laser beam and the parallel polarized vector component of the other beam interfere to create areas of high and low intensity, which modulates the signal beam by cross phase modulation. Upon exit from the optical fiber, the beams are coupled out and the modulated signal beam is separated out by a polarization selector. The signal beam can be applied to coherence reducing systems to provide an output that is temporally and spatially incoherent. The U.S. Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. W7405-ENG-48 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Excitation of Accelerating Plasma Waves by Counter-propagating Laser Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gennady Shvets; Nathaniel J. Fisch; Alexander Pukhov

2001-01-01

Generation of accelerating plasma waves using two counter-propagating laser beams is considered. Colliding-beam accelerator requires two laser pulses: the long pump and the short timing beam. We emphasize the similarities and differences between the conventional laser wakefield accelerator and the colliding-beam accelerator (CBA). The highly nonlinear nature of the wake excitation is explained using both nonlinear optics and plasma physics concepts. Two regimes of CBA are considered: (i) the short-pulse regime, where the timing beam is shorter than the plasma period, and (ii) the parametric excitation regime, where the timing beam is longer than the plasma period. Possible future experiments are also outlined

GPC Light Shaper for energy efficient laser materials processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bañas, Andrew Rafael; Palima, Darwin; Villangca, Mark Jayson

The biggest use of lasers is in materials processing. In manufacturing, lasers are used for cutting, drilling, marking and other machining processes. Similarly, lasers are important in microfabrication processes such as photolithography, direct laser writing, or ablation. Lasers are advantageous...... with steep, well defined edges that would further increase laser cutting precision or allow “single shot” laser engraving of arbitrary 2D profiles, as opposed to point scanning [3,4]. Instead of lossy approaches, GPC beam shaping is achieved with simplified, binary phase-only optics [5] that redistributes...... because they do not wear out, have no physical contact with the processed material, avoid heating or warping effects, and are generally more precise. Since lasers are easier to adapt to different optimized shapes, they can be even more precise and energy efficient for materials processing. The cost...

Laser-accelerated proton beams as a new particle source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuernberg, Frank

2010-11-15

The framework of this thesis is the investigation of the generation of proton beams using high-intensity laser pulses. In this work, an experimental method to fully reconstruct laser-accelerated proton beam parameters, called radiochromic film imaging spectroscopy (RIS), was developed. Since the proton beam expansion is a plasma expansion with accompanying electrons, a low-energy electron spectrometer was developed, built and tested to study the electron distribution matching to the proton beam energy distribution. Two experiments were carried out at the VULCAN Petawatt laser with the aim of showing dynamic control and enhancement of proton acceleration using multiple or defocused laser pulses. Irradiating the target with a long pulse, low-intensity laser (10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2}) prior to the main pulse ({proportional_to}ns), an optimum pre-plasma density scale length of 60 {mu}m is generated leading to an enhancement of the maximum proton energy ({proportional_to}25%), the proton flux (factor of 3) and the beam uniformity. Proton beams were generated more efficiently than previously by driving thinner target foils at a lower intensity over a large area. The optimum condition was a 2 {mu}m foil irradiated with an intensity of 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} onto a 60 {mu}m spot. Laser to proton beam efficiencies of 7.8% have been achieved (2.2% before) - one of the highest conversion efficiencies ever achieved. In the frame of this work, two separate experiments at the TRIDENT laser system have shown that these laser-accelerated proton beams, with their high number of particles in a short pulse duration, are well-suited for creating isochorically heated matter in extreme conditions. Besides the manipulation of the proton beam parameters directly during the generation, the primary aim of this thesis was the capture, control and transport of laser-accelerated proton beams by a solenoidal magnetic field lense for further purpose. In a joint project proposal, the laser and

Laser-accelerated proton beams as a new particle source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuernberg, Frank

2010-01-01

The framework of this thesis is the investigation of the generation of proton beams using high-intensity laser pulses. In this work, an experimental method to fully reconstruct laser-accelerated proton beam parameters, called radiochromic film imaging spectroscopy (RIS), was developed. Since the proton beam expansion is a plasma expansion with accompanying electrons, a low-energy electron spectrometer was developed, built and tested to study the electron distribution matching to the proton beam energy distribution. Two experiments were carried out at the VULCAN Petawatt laser with the aim of showing dynamic control and enhancement of proton acceleration using multiple or defocused laser pulses. Irradiating the target with a long pulse, low-intensity laser (10 12 W/cm 2 ) prior to the main pulse (∝ns), an optimum pre-plasma density scale length of 60 μm is generated leading to an enhancement of the maximum proton energy (∝25%), the proton flux (factor of 3) and the beam uniformity. Proton beams were generated more efficiently than previously by driving thinner target foils at a lower intensity over a large area. The optimum condition was a 2 μm foil irradiated with an intensity of 10 19 W/cm 2 onto a 60 μm spot. Laser to proton beam efficiencies of 7.8% have been achieved (2.2% before) - one of the highest conversion efficiencies ever achieved. In the frame of this work, two separate experiments at the TRIDENT laser system have shown that these laser-accelerated proton beams, with their high number of particles in a short pulse duration, are well-suited for creating isochorically heated matter in extreme conditions. Besides the manipulation of the proton beam parameters directly during the generation, the primary aim of this thesis was the capture, control and transport of laser-accelerated proton beams by a solenoidal magnetic field lense for further purpose. In a joint project proposal, the laser and plasma physics group of the Technische Universitat

Spectral beam combining of diode lasers with high efficiency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, André; Vijayakumar, Deepak; Jensen, Ole Bjarlin

2012-01-01

Based on spectral beam combining we obtain 16 W of output power, combining two 1063 nm DBR-tapered diode lasers. The spectral separation within the combined beam can be used for subsequent sum-frequency generation.......Based on spectral beam combining we obtain 16 W of output power, combining two 1063 nm DBR-tapered diode lasers. The spectral separation within the combined beam can be used for subsequent sum-frequency generation....

Automatic laser beam position control on the Isolde-Rilis experiment

CERN Document Server

Grancharova, D; Fedosseev, V; Suberlucq, Guy; CERN. Geneva. AB Department

2003-01-01

The On-Line Isotope Mass Separator ISOLDE at CERN is a facility for production of radioactive ion beams by the interaction of proton beams with a thick target. One of the most widely used types of ion source at ISOLDE is a chemically selective laser ion source based on the method of laser ionization of atoms in a hot cavity - RILIS (Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source). The optical set-up of RILIS includes three copper vapour lasers, a set of dye lasers and frequency multiplication crystals giving up to three different beams of tuneable wavelengths. This paper will focus on the transport of the laser beams to the targets at distances of 18 m and 23 m, the development of the acquisition of their position and finally the automatic control of optics for an accurate alignment.

Generation of monoenergetic ion beams with a laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M.

2009-01-01

A method for the generation of monoenergetic proton and ion beams from a laser-based particle accelerator is presented. This method utilizes the unique space-charge effects occurring during relativistic laser-plasma interactions on solid targets in combination with a dot-like particle source. Due to this unique interaction geometry, MeV proton beams with an intrinsically narrow energy spectrum were obtained, for the first time, from a micrometer-scale laser accelerator. Over the past three years, the acceleration scheme has been consistently improved to enhance both the maximum particle energy and the reliability of the setup. The achieved degree of reliability allowed to derive the first scaling laws specifically for monoenergetic proton beams. Furthermore, the acceleration scheme was expanded on other target materials, enabling the generation of monoenergetic carbon beams. The experimental work was strongly supported by the parallel development of a complex theoretical model, which fully accounts for the observations and is in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The presented results have an extraordinarily broad scope way beyond the current thesis: The availability of monoenergetic ion beams from a compact laser-plasma beam source - in conjunction with the unique properties of laser-produced particle beams - addresses a number of outstanding applications in fundamental research, material science and medical physics, and will help to shape a new generation of accelerators. (orig.)

Generation of monoenergetic ion beams with a laser accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M.

2009-01-29

A method for the generation of monoenergetic proton and ion beams from a laser-based particle accelerator is presented. This method utilizes the unique space-charge effects occurring during relativistic laser-plasma interactions on solid targets in combination with a dot-like particle source. Due to this unique interaction geometry, MeV proton beams with an intrinsically narrow energy spectrum were obtained, for the first time, from a micrometer-scale laser accelerator. Over the past three years, the acceleration scheme has been consistently improved to enhance both the maximum particle energy and the reliability of the setup. The achieved degree of reliability allowed to derive the first scaling laws specifically for monoenergetic proton beams. Furthermore, the acceleration scheme was expanded on other target materials, enabling the generation of monoenergetic carbon beams. The experimental work was strongly supported by the parallel development of a complex theoretical model, which fully accounts for the observations and is in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The presented results have an extraordinarily broad scope way beyond the current thesis: The availability of monoenergetic ion beams from a compact laser-plasma beam source - in conjunction with the unique properties of laser-produced particle beams - addresses a number of outstanding applications in fundamental research, material science and medical physics, and will help to shape a new generation of accelerators. (orig.)

Generation of shape-invariant flat-top laser beams

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ait-Ameur, K

2015-02-01

Full Text Available A great number of laser applications need in place of the usual Gaussian beam a flat-top intensity profile in the focal plane of a focusing lens. In general the transformation of the laser beam from the Gaussian to the flat-top shape is made by a...

Vapor plume oscillation mechanisms in transient keyhole during tandem dual beam fiber laser welding

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin; Zhang, Xiaosi; Pang, Shengyong; Hu, Renzhi; Xiao, Jianzhong

2018-01-01

Vapor plume oscillations are common physical phenomena that have an important influence on the welding process in dual beam laser welding. However, until now, the oscillation mechanisms of vapor plumes remain unclear. This is primarily because mesoscale vapor plume dynamics inside a millimeter-scale, invisible, and time-dependent keyhole are difficult to quantitatively observe. In this paper, based on a developed three-dimensional (3D) comprehensive model, the vapor plume evolutions in a dynamical keyhole are directly simulated in tandem dual beam, short-wavelength laser welding. Combined with the vapor plume behaviors outside the keyhole observed by high-speed imaging, the vapor plume oscillations in dynamical keyholes at different inter-beam distances are the first, to our knowledge, to be quantitatively analyzed. It is found that vapor plume oscillations outside the keyhole mainly result from vapor plume instabilities inside the keyhole. The ejection velocity at the keyhole opening and dynamical behaviors outside the keyhole of a vapor plume both violently oscillate with the same order of magnitude of high frequency (several kHz). Furthermore, the ejection speed at the keyhole opening and ejection area outside the keyhole both decrease as the beam distance increases, while the degree of vapor plume instability first decreases and then increases with increasing beam distance from 0.6 to 1.0 mm. Moreover, the oscillation mechanisms of a vapor plume inside the dynamical keyhole irradiated by dual laser beams are investigated by thoroughly analyzing the vapor plume occurrence and flow process. The vapor plume oscillations in the dynamical keyhole are found to mainly result from violent local evaporations and severe keyhole geometry variations. In short, the quantitative method and these findings can serve as a reference for further understanding of the physical mechanisms in dual beam laser welding and of processing optimizations in industrial applications.

Evolution of a Gaussian laser beam in warm collisional magnetoplasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jafari, M. J.; Jafari Milani, M. R., E-mail: mrj.milani@gmail.com [Plasma Physics Research School, NSTRI, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Niknam, A. R. [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-07-15

In this paper, the spatial evolution of an intense circularly polarized Gaussian laser beam propagated through a warm plasma is investigated, taking into account the ponderomotive force, Ohmic heating, external magnetic field, and collisional effects. Using the momentum transfer and energy equations, both modified electron temperature and electron density in plasma are obtained. By introducing the complex dielectric permittivity of warm magnetized plasma and using the complex eikonal function, coupled differential equations for beam width parameter are established and solved numerically. The effects of polarization state of laser and magnetic field on the laser spot size evolution are studied. It is observed that in case of the right-handed polarization, an increase in the value of external magnetic field causes an increase in the strength of the self-focusing, especially in the higher values, and consequently, the self-focusing occurs in shorter distance of propagation. Moreover, the results demonstrate the existence of laser intensity and electron temperature ranges where self-focusing can occur, while the beam diverges outside of these regions; meanwhile, in these intervals, there exists a turning point for each of intensity and temperature in which the self-focusing process has its strongest strength. Finally, it is found that the self-focusing effect can be enhanced by increasing the plasma frequency (plasma density).

Novel Approach to Increase the Energy-related Process Efficiency and Performance of Laser Brazing

Science.gov (United States)

Mittelstädt, C.; Seefeld, T.; Radel, T.; Vollertsen, F.

Although laser brazing is well established, the energy-related efficiency of this joining method is quite low. That is because of low absorptivity of solid-state laser radiation, especially when copper base braze metals are used. Conventionally the laser beam is set close to the vertical axis and the filler wire is delivered under a flat angle. Therefore, the most of the utilized laser power is reflected and thus left unexploited. To address this situation an alternative processing concept for laser brazing, where the laser beam is leading the filler wire, has been investigated intending to make use of reflected shares of the laser radiation. Process monitoring shows, that the reflection of the laser beam can be used purposefully to preheat the substrate which is supporting the wetting and furthermore increasing the efficiency of the process. Experiments address a standard application from the automotive industry joining zinc coated steels using CuSi3Mn1 filler wire. Feasibility of the alternative processing concept is demonstrated, showing that higher processing speeds can be attained, reducing the required energy per unit length while maintaining joint properties.

Numerical study of neutron beam divergence in a beam-fusion scenario employing laser driven ions

Science.gov (United States)

Alejo, A.; Green, A.; Ahmed, H.; Robinson, A. P. L.; Cerchez, M.; Clarke, R.; Doria, D.; Dorkings, S.; Fernandez, J.; McKenna, P.; Mirfayzi, S. R.; Naughton, K.; Neely, D.; Norreys, P.; Peth, C.; Powell, H.; Ruiz, J. A.; Swain, J.; Willi, O.; Borghesi, M.; Kar, S.

2016-09-01

The most established route to create a laser-based neutron source is by employing laser accelerated, low atomic-number ions in fusion reactions. In addition to the high reaction cross-sections at moderate energies of the projectile ions, the anisotropy in neutron emission is another important feature of beam-fusion reactions. Using a simple numerical model based on neutron generation in a pitcher-catcher scenario, anisotropy in neutron emission was studied for the deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction. Simulation results are consistent with the narrow-divergence (∼ 70 ° full width at half maximum) neutron beam recently served in an experiment employing multi-MeV deuteron beams of narrow divergence (up to 30° FWHM, depending on the ion energy) accelerated by a sub-petawatt laser pulse from thin deuterated plastic foils via the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism. By varying the input ion beam parameters, simulations show that a further improvement in the neutron beam directionality (i.e. reduction in the beam divergence) can be obtained by increasing the projectile ion beam temperature and cut-off energy, as expected from interactions employing higher power lasers at upcoming facilities.

Dual-beam laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy in zero-gap lap joint configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Harooni, Masoud; Carlson, Blair; Kovacevic, Radovan

2014-03-01

Porosity within laser welds of magnesium alloys is one of the main roadblocks to achieving high quality joints. One of the causes of pore formation is the presence of pre-existing coatings on the surface of magnesium alloy such as oxide or chromate layers. In this study, single-beam and dual-beam laser heat sources are investigated in relation to mitigation of pores resulting from the presence of the as-received oxide layer on the surface of AZ31B-H24 magnesium alloy during the laser welding process. A fiber laser with a power of up to 4 kW is used to weld samples in a zero-gap lap joint configuration. The effect of dual-beam laser welding with different beam energy ratios is studied on the quality of the weld bead. The purpose of this paper is to identify the beam ratio that best mitigates pore formation in the weld bead. The laser molten pool and the keyhole condition, as well as laser-induced plasma plume are monitored in real-time by use of a high speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera assisted with a green laser as an illumination source. Tensile and microhardness tests were used to measure the mechanical properties of the laser welded samples. Results showed that a dual-beam laser configuration can effectively mitigate pore formation in the weld bead by a preheating-welding mechanism.

In situ laser processing in a scanning electron microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Nicholas A.; Magel, Gregory A.; Hartfield, Cheryl D.; Moore, Thomas M.; Fowlkes, Jason D.; Rack, Philip D. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States) and Omniprobe, Inc., an Oxford Instruments Company, 10410 Miller Rd., Dallas, Texas 75238 (United States); Omniprobe, Inc., an Oxford Instruments Company, 10410 Miller Rd., Dallas, Texas 75238 (United States); Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States) and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)

2012-07-15

Laser delivery probes using multimode fiber optic delivery and bulk focusing optics have been constructed and used for performing materials processing experiments within scanning electron microscope/focused ion beam instruments. Controlling the current driving a 915-nm semiconductor diode laser module enables continuous or pulsed operation down to sub-microsecond durations, and with spot sizes on the order of 50 {mu}m diameter, achieving irradiances at a sample surface exceeding 1 MW/cm{sup 2}. Localized laser heating has been used to demonstrate laser chemical vapor deposition of Pt, surface melting of silicon, enhanced purity, and resistivity via laser annealing of Au deposits formed by electron beam induced deposition, and in situ secondary electron imaging of laser induced dewetting of Au metal films on SiO{sub x}.

Dismantling of metallic components of a concrete structure with a laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Migliorati, B.; Manassero, G.; Tarroni, G.

1985-01-01

Experimental tests have been performed using CO 2 laser with output power 1-15 kW to evaluate the effect of varying the following parameters: material (carbon steel Fe42C, stainless steel AISI 304, concrete), laser power, beam characteristics, work piece velocity, gas type and distribution on the laser interaction zone. In the case of concrete, drilling depths of 80 mm were obtained in a few seconds using a 10 kW laser beam and pieces of 160 mm were cut at 0.01 meters per minute. Results with carbon steel indicated maximum thicknesses of 110 mm, cut at 0.01 meters per minute with 10 kW, while depths of about 20% lower were obtained with the AISI 304 stainless steel. A parallel investigation was aimed at characterising particles emission during the laser cutting process. At the end of the research, it was possible to elaborate a preliminary proposal concerning a laser based dismantling system for a typical Nuclear Power Station PWR

Propagation Characteristics of High-Power Vortex Laguerre-Gaussian Laser Beams in Plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhili Lin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The propagation characteristics of high-power laser beams in plasma is an important research topic and has many potential applications in fields such as laser machining, laser-driven accelerators and laser-driven inertial confined fusion. The dynamic evolution of high-power Laguerre-Gaussian (LG beams in plasma is numerically investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD method based on the nonlinear Drude model, with both plasma frequency and collision frequency modulated by the light intensity of laser beam. The numerical algorithms and implementation techniques of FDTD method are presented for numerically simulating the nonlinear permittivity model of plasma and generating the LG beams with predefined parameters. The simulation results show that the plasma has different field modulation effects on the two exemplified LG beams with different cross-sectional patterns. The self-focusing and stochastic absorption phenomena of high-power laser beam in plasma are also demonstrated. This research also provides a new means for the field modulation of laser beams by plasma.

Beam Transport Devices for the 10 kW IR Free Electron Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence Dillon-Townes; Michael Bevins; David Kashy; Stephanie Slachtouski; Ronald Lassiter; George Neil; Michelle Shinn; Joseph Gubeli; Christopher Behre; David Douglas; David W. Waldman; George Biallas; Lawrence Munk; Christopher Gould

2005-01-01

Beam transport components for the 10kW IR Free Electron Laser (FEL) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) were designed to manage (1) electron beam transport and (2) photon beam transport. An overview of the components will be presented in this paper. The electron beam transport components were designed to address RF heating, maintain an accelerator transport vacuum of 1 x 10 -8 torr, deliver photons to the optical cavity, and provide 50 kW of beam absorption during the energy recovery process. The components presented include a novel shielded bellows, a novel zero length beam clipper, a one decade differential pumping station with a 7.62 cm (3.0 inch) aperture, and a 50 kW beam dump. The photon beam transport components were designed to address the management of photons delivered by the accelerator transport. The optical cavity manages the photons and optical transport delivers the 10 kW of laser power to experimental labs. The optical cavity component presented is a unique high reflector vessel and the optical transport component presented is a turning mirror cassette

A laser-wire beam-energy and beam-profile monitor at the BNL linac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connolly, R.; Degen, C.; DeSanto, L.; Meng, W.; Michnoff, R.; Minty, M.; Nayak, S.

2011-03-28

In 2009 a beam-energy monitor was installed in the high energy beam transport (HEBT) line at the Brookhaven National Lab linac. This device measures the energies of electrons stripped from the 40mA H{sup -} beam by background gas. Electrons are stripped by the 2.0x10{sup -7}torr residual gas at a rate of {approx}1.5x10{sup -8}/cm. Since beam electrons have the same velocities as beam protons, the beam proton energy is deduced by multiplying the electron energy by m{sub p}/m{sub e}=1836. A 183.6MeV H{sup -} beam produces 100keV electrons. In 2010 we installed an optics plates containing a laser and scanning optics to add beam-profile measurement capability via photodetachment. Our 100mJ/pulse, Q-switched laser neutralizes 70% of the beam during its 10ns pulse. This paper describes the upgrades to the detector and gives profile and energy measurements.

Effect of laser beam conditioning on fabrication of clean micro-channel on stainless steel 316L using second harmonic of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Sanasam Sunderlal; Baruah, Prahlad Kr; Khare, Alika; Joshi, Shrikrishna N.

2018-02-01

Laser micromachining of metals for fabrication of micro-channels generate ridge formation along the edges accompanied by ripples along the channel bed. The ridge formation is due to the formation of interference pattern formed by back reflections from the beam splitter and other optical components involved before focusing on the work piece. This problem can be curtailed by using a suitable aperture or Iris diaphragm so as to cut the unwanted portion of the laser beam before illuminating the sample. This paper reports an experimental investigation on minimizing this problem by conditioning the laser beam using an Iris diaphragm and using optimum process parameters. In this work, systematic experiments have been carried out using the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser to fabricate micro-channels. Initial experiments revealed that formation of ridges along the sides of micro-channel can easily be minimized with the help of Iris diaphragm. Further it is noted that a clean micro-channel of depth 43.39 μm, width up to 64.49 μm and of good surface quality with average surface roughness (Ra) value of 370 nm can be machined on stainless steel (SS) 316L by employing optimum process condition: laser beam energy of 30 mJ/pulse, 11 number of laser scans and scan speed of 169.54 μm/s with an opening of 4 mm diameter of Iris diaphragm in the path of the laser beam.

Parametric studies of cutting zircaloy-2 sheets with a laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, S.; Badgujar, B.P.; Goswami, G.L.

1996-01-01

The highly reactive and pyrophoric nature of zirconium alloys limits the use of conventional thermal sources (e.g., plasma arc cutting, oxygen flame cutting, etc.) for the cutting and drilling of these alloys. In this context, a highly coherent laser beam provides a good alternative for the cutting and drilling. In the present paper, laser beam cutting of zircaloy-2 sheets of 1.1 mm and 0.74 mm thickness is performed using a 300 W average power pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, nozzle gap, gas pressure and cutting speed were varied to give different laser cutting conditions. Metallographic study of the cut surfaces showed the presence of transformed beta phase in the heat affected zone (HAZ) near the cut surface. The microhardness value across the cut surface was also measured. It showed a gradual increase in microhardness from the base metal (160 VHN) towards the HAZ having a maximum value of 365 VHN. The results of parametric studies of the cutting indicated that, with proper selection of process parameters, very narrow cuts can be easily made in zircaloy-2 using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser with a saving in material and at a much faster rate than alternative processes such as plasma arc cutting and oxygen flame cutting

Excimer laser beam profile recording based on electrochemical etched polycarbonate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parvin, P.; Jaleh, B.; Zangeneh, H.R.; Zamanipour, Z.; Davoud-Abadi, Gh.R.

2008-01-01

There is no polymeric detector used to register the beam profile of UV lasers. Here, a method is proposed for the measurement of intensive UV beam pattern of the excimer lasers based on the photoablated polycarbonate detector after coherent UV exposure and the subsequent electrochemical etching. UV laser induced defects in the form of self-microstructuring on polycarbonate are developed to replicate the spatial intensity distribution as a beam profiler

Excimer laser beam profile recording based on electrochemical etched polycarbonate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parvin, P. [Physics Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Hafez Ave, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Laser Research Center, AEOI, P.O. Box 1165-8486, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: parvin@aut.ac.ir; Jaleh, B. [Physics Department, Bu-Ali Sina University, Postal Code 65174, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zangeneh, H.R. [Physics Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Hafez Ave, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zamanipour, Z. [Laser Research Center, AEOI, P.O. Box 1165-8486, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Davoud-Abadi, Gh.R. [Physics Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Hafez Ave, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2008-08-15

There is no polymeric detector used to register the beam profile of UV lasers. Here, a method is proposed for the measurement of intensive UV beam pattern of the excimer lasers based on the photoablated polycarbonate detector after coherent UV exposure and the subsequent electrochemical etching. UV laser induced defects in the form of self-microstructuring on polycarbonate are developed to replicate the spatial intensity distribution as a beam profiler.

Exposure of Chlorpromazine to 266 nm Laser Beam Generates New Species with Antibacterial Properties: Contributions to Development of a New Process for Drug Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Pascu, Mihail Lucian; Danko, Balazs; Martins, Ana; Jedlinszki, Nikoletta; Alexandru, Tatiana; Nastasa, Viorel; Boni, Mihai; Militaru, Andra; Andrei, Ionut Relu; Staicu, Angela; Hunyadi, Attila; Fanning, Seamus; Amaral, Leonard

2013-01-01

Introduction Phenothiazines when exposed to white light or to UV radiation undergo a variety of reactions that result in degradation of parental compound and formation of new species. This process is slow and may be sped up with exposure to high energy light such as that produced by a laser. Methods Varying concentrations of Chlorpromazine Hydrochloride (CPZ) (2–20 mg/mL in distilled water) were exposed to 266 nm laser beam (time intervals: 1–24 hrs). At distinct intervals the irradiation products were evaluated by spectrophotometry between 200–1500 nm, Thin Layer Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) - Diode Array Detection, HPLC tandem mass spectrometry, and for activity against the CPZ sensitive test organism Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. Results CPZ exposure to 266 nm laser beam of given energy levels yielded species, whose number increased with duration of exposure. Although the major species produced were Promazine (PZ), hydroxypromazine or PZ sulfoxide, and CPZ sulfoxide, over 200 compounds were generated with exposure of 20 mg/mL of CPZ for 24 hrs. Evaluation of the irradiation products indicated that the bioactivity against the test organism increased despite the total disappearance of CPZ, that is due, most probably, to one or more new species that remain yet unidentified. Conclusions Exposure of CPZ to a high energy (6.5 mJ) 266 nm laser beam yields rapidly a large number of new and stable species. For biological grade phenothiazines (in other words knowing the impurities in the samples: solvent and solute) this process may be reproducible because one can control within reasonably low experimental errors: the concentration of the parent compound, the laser beam wavelength and average energy, as well as the duration of the exposure time. Because the process is “clean” and rapid, it may offer advantages over the pyrogenically based methods for the production of derivatives. PMID:23405212

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.

Automated translating beam profiler for in situ laser beam spot-size and focal position measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Keaveney, James

2018-03-01

We present a simple and convenient, high-resolution solution for automated laser-beam profiling with axial translation. The device is based on a Raspberry Pi computer, Pi Noir CMOS camera, stepper motor, and commercial translation stage. We also provide software to run the device. The CMOS sensor is sensitive over a large wavelength range between 300 and 1100 nm and can be translated over 25 mm along the beam axis. The sensor head can be reversed without changing its axial position, allowing for a quantitative estimate of beam overlap with counter-propagating laser beams. Although not limited to this application, the intended use for this device is the automated measurement of the focal position and spot-size of a Gaussian laser beam. We present example data of one such measurement to illustrate device performance.

Laser alignment measurement model with double beam

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, Changtao; Zhang, Lili; Hou, Xianglin; Wang, Ming; Lv, Jia; Du, Xin; He, Ping

2012-10-01

Double LD-Double PSD schedule.employ a symmetric structure and there are a laser and a PSD receiver on each axis. The Double LD-Double PSD is used, and the rectangular coordinate system is set up by use of the relationship of arbitrary two points coordinates, and then the parameter formula is deduced by the knowledge of solid geometry. Using the data acquisition system and the data processing model of laser alignment meter with double laser beam and two detector , basing on the installation parameter of the computer, we can have the state parameter between the two shafts by more complicated calculation and correction. The correcting data of the four under chassis of the adjusted apparatus moving on the level and the vertical plane can be calculated using the computer. This will instruct us to move the apparatus to align the shafts.

Laser-Compton Scattering as a Potential Electron Beam Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chouffani, K.; Wells, D.; Harmon, F.; Lancaster, G.; Jones, J.

2002-01-01

LCS experiments were carried out at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC); sharp monochromatic x-ray lines were observed. These are produced using the so-called inverse Compton effect, whereby optical laser photons are collided with a relativistic electron beam. The back-scattered photons are then kinematically boosted to keV x-ray energies. We have first demonstrated these beams using a 20 MeV electron beam collided with a 100 MW, 7 ns Nd; YAG laser. We observed narrow LCS x-ray spectral peaks resulting from the interaction of the electron beam with the Nd; YAG laser second harmonic (532 nm). The LCS x-ray energy lines and energy deviations were measured as a function of the electron beam energy and energy-spread respectively. The results showed good agreement with the predicted valves. LCS could provide an excellent probe of electron beam energy, energy spread, transverse and longitudinal distribution and direction

Beam shaping by using small-aperture SLM and DM in a high power laser

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sensen; Lu, Zhiwei; Du, Pengyuan; Wang, Yulei; Ding, Lei; Yan, Xiusheng

2018-03-01

High-power laser plays an important role in many fields, such as directed energy weapon, optoelectronic contermeasures, inertial confinement fusion, industrial processing and scientific research. The uniform nearfield and wavefront are the important part of the beam quality for high power lasers, which is conducive to maintaining the high spatial beam quality in propagation. We demonstrate experimentally that the spatial intensity and wavefront distribution at the output is well compensated in the complex high-power solid-state laser system by using the small-aperture spatial light modulator (SLM) and deformable mirror (DM) in the front stage. The experimental setup is a hundred-Joule-level Nd:glass laser system operating at three wavelengths at 1053 nm (1ω), 527 nm (2ω) and 351 nm (3ω) with 3 ns pulse duration with the final output beam aperture of 60 mm. While the clear arperture of the electrically addressable SLM is less than 20 mm and the effective diameter of the 52-actuators DM is about 15 mm. In the beam shaping system, the key point is that the two front-stage beam shaping devices needs to precompensate the gain nonuniform and wavefront distortion of the laser system. The details of the iterative algorithm for improving the beam quality are presented. Experimental results show that output nearfield and wavefont are both nearly flat-topped with the nearfield modulation of 1.26:1 and wavefront peak-to-valley value of 0.29 λ at 1053nm after beam shaping.

Laser spectroscopy of relativistic beams of H- and H

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, W.W.; Tang, C.Y.; Harris, P.G.; Mohagheghi, A.H.; Bryant, H.C.; Reeder, R.A.; Toutounchi, H.; Sharifian, H.

1989-01-01

Laser spectroscopy on near-light velocity H- ions and H atoms has been carried out at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility using a variety of fixed frequency lasers intersecting accelerated beams at variable angles. Beam energies up to 800 MeV (v/c) = 0.84 make possible an unusually wide tuning range at modestly high resolution. A dedicated beam line, the High Resolution Atomic Beam (HIRAB), also makes possible Stark effect and field ionization studies in the multi-megavolt/cm range. Preliminary results on multiphoton detachment of fast H-ions using a pulsed CO 2 laser focussed to ∼10 11 W/cm 2 over a factor 10 photon energy range (CM frame) are presented in this paper

Significance of self magnetic field in long-distance collimation of laser-generated electron beams

OpenAIRE

Chen, Shi; Huang, Jiaofeng; Niu, Yifei; Dan, Jiakun; Chen, Ziyu; Li, Jianfeng

2014-01-01

Long-distance collimation of fast electron beams generated by laser-metallic-wire targets has been observed in recent experiments, while the mechanism behind this phenomenon remains unclear. In this work, we investigate in detail the laser-wire interaction processes with a simplified model and Classical Trajectory Monte Carlo simulations, and demonstrate the significance of the self magnetic fields of the beams in the long-distance collimation. Good agreements of simulated image plate pattern...

Full-Duplex Digital Communication on a Single Laser Beam

Science.gov (United States)

Hazzard, D. A.; MacCannell, J. A.; Lee, G.; Selves, E. R.; Moore, D.; Payne, J. A.; Garrett, C. D.; Dahlstrom, N.; Shay, T. M.

2006-01-01

A proposed free-space optical communication system would operate in a full-duplex mode, using a single constant-power laser beam for transmission and reception of binary signals at both ends of the free-space optical path. The system was conceived for two-way data communication between a ground station and a spacecraft in a low orbit around the Earth. It has been estimated that in this application, a data rate of 10 kb/s could be achieved at a ground-station-to-spacecraft distance of 320 km, using a laser power of only 100 mW. The basic system concept is also applicable to terrestrial free-space optical communications. The system (see figure) would include a diode laser at one end of the link (originally, the ground station) and a liquid-crystal- based retroreflecting modulator at the other end of the link (originally, the spacecraft). At the laser end, the beam to be transmitted would be made to pass through a quarter-wave plate, which would convert its linear polarization to right circular polarization. For transmission of data from the laser end to the retroreflector end, the laser beam would be modulated with subcarrier phase-shift keying (SC-PSK). The transmitted beam would then pass through an aperture- sharing element (ASE) - basically, a mirror with a hole in it, used to separate the paths of the transmitted and received light beams. The transmitted beam would continue outward through a telescope (which, in the original application, would be equipped with a spacecraft-tracking system) that would launch the transmitted beam along the free-space optical path to the retroreflector end.

Applicability evaluation of eddy current testing for underwater laser beam welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Noriyasu; Kasuya, Takashi; Ueno, Souichi; Ochiai, Makoto; Yuguchi, Yasuhiro

2010-01-01

We clarified a defect detecting capability of eddy current testing (ECT) as a surface inspection technique for underwater laser beam welding. An underwater laser beam welding procedure includes groove caving as a preparation, laser beam welding in groove and welding surface grinding as a post treatment. Therefore groove and grinded welding surface inspections are required underwater. We curried out defect detection tests using three kinds of specimens simulated a groove, reactor vessel nozzle dissimilar metal welding materials and a laser beam welding material with a cross coil ECT probe. From experimental results, we confirmed that it is possible to detect 0.3 mm or more depth electro-discharge machining slits on machining surfaces in all specimens and an ECT has possibility as a surface inspection technique for underwater laser beam welding. (author)

Laser processing of cast iron for enhanced erosion resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.H.; Altstetter, C.J.; Rigsbee, J.M.

1984-01-01

The surfaces of nodular and gray cast iron have been modified by CO 2 laser processing for enhanced hardness and erosion resistance. Control of the near-surface microstructure was achieved primarily by controlling resolidification of the laser melted layer through variations in laser beam/target interaction time and beam power density. Typical interaction times and power densities used were 5 msec and 500 kW/cm 2 . Two basic kinds of microstructure can be produced-a feathery microstructure with high hardness (up to 1245 HV) and a dendritic microstructure with a metastable, fully austenitic matrix and lower hardness (600 to 800 HV). Erosion testing was done using slurries of SiO 2 or SiC in water. Weight loss and crater profile measurements were used to evaluate the erosion characteristics of the various microstructures. Both ductile and gray cast iron showed marked improvement in erosion resistance after laser processing

Processing with kW fibre lasers: advantages and limits

Science.gov (United States)

Kratky, A.; Schuöcker, D.; Liedl, G.

2008-10-01

Up-to-date fibre lasers produce multi-kw radiation with an excellent beam quality. Compared to CO2-lasers, fibre lasers have relatively low operational costs and offer a very high flexibility in production due to the beam delivery with process fibres. As a consequence, fibre lasers have attracted more and more attention. On the other hand, their use in industrial applications especially in the automotive industry is still limited to a certain extent and fibre lasers haven't replaced all other laser sources till now as it could be expected. In laser cutting, the small kerf width produced by fibre lasers should be advantageous since the heated volume is smaller compared to CO2-lasers. In fact, cutting velocities are usually much higher which is also caused by the higher absorption coefficient of most metals at the wavelength emitted by fibre lasers. Nevertheless, cutting with fibre lasers of some metals - e.g. stainless steels - is restricted to a small thicknesses of approx. 5mm. The reason for this is that the surface roughness of the edges increases dramatically with the thickness of the work piece. Applications of fibre lasers include e.g. remote welding or even remote cutting of a large variety of materials with usually excellent results. Due to the excellent beam quality the aspect ratio of the weld seam in relation to the penetration depth is quite good. In the case of thin sheet metal welding such a small beam waist is beneficial - but with thicker sheet metals it is very often disadvantageous since the preparation of samples is more complicated, costs increase and requirements on clamping devices rise. In this paper, advantages and disadvantages of fibre lasers are discussed briefly. Applications of a 1.5 kW fibre laser are presented and compared to classical laser systems.

Propagation of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions in non-Kolmogorov turbulence.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Rumao; Si, Lei; Ma, Yanxing; Zhou, Pu; Liu, Zejin

2012-08-10

The propagation properties of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions through non-Kolmogorov turbulence are studied in detail both analytically and numerically. The analytical expressions for the average intensity and the beam width of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions propagating through turbulence are derived based on the combination of statistical optics methods and the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle. The effect of beam distortions, such as amplitude modulation and phase fluctuation, is studied by numerical examples. The numerical results reveal that phase fluctuations have significant influence on the spreading of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays in non-Kolmogorov turbulence, and the effects of the phase fluctuations can be negligible as long as the phase fluctuations are controlled under a certain level, i.e., a>0.05 for the situation considered in the paper. Furthermore, large phase fluctuations can convert the beam distribution rapidly to a Gaussian form, vary the spreading, weaken the optimum truncation effects, and suppress the dependence of spreading on the parameters of the non-Kolmogorov turbulence.

ELIMED, future hadrontherapy applications of laser-accelerated beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cirrone, Giuseppe A.P.; Carpinelli, Massimo; Cuttone, Giacomo; Gammino, Santo; Bijan Jia, S.; Korn, Georg; Maggiore, Mario; Manti, Lorenzo; Margarone, Daniele; Prokupek, Jan; Renis, Marcella; Romano, Francesco; Schillaci, Francesco; Tomasello, Barbara; Torrisi, Lorenzo; Tramontana, Antonella; Velyhan, Andriy

2013-01-01

Laser-ion acceleration has recently gained a great interest as an alternative to conventional and more expensive acceleration techniques. These ion beams have desirable qualities such as small source size, high luminosity and small emittance to be used in different fields as Nuclear Physics, Medical Physics, etc. This is very promising specially for the future perspective of a new concept of hadrontherapy based on laser-based devices could be developed, replacing traditional accelerating machines. Before delivering laser-driven beams for treatments they have to be handled, cleaned from unwanted particles and characterized in order to have the clinical requirements. In fact ion energy spectra have exponential trend, almost 100% energy spread and a wide angular divergence which is the biggest issue in the beam transport and, hence, in a wider use of this technology. In order to demonstrate the clinical applicability of laser-driven beams new collaboration between ELI-Beamlines project researchers from Prague (Cz) and a INFN-LNS group from Catania (I) has been already launched and scientists from different countries have already express their will in joining the project. This cooperation has been named ELIMED (MEDical application at ELIBeamlines) and will take place inside the ELI-Beamlines infrastructure located in Prague. This work describes the schedule of the ELIMED project and the design of the energy selector which will be realized at INFN-LNS. The device is an important part of the whole transport beam line which will be realised in order to make the ion beams suitable for medical applications. -- Highlights: •We simulated the energy selection system, in order to optimize the device. •We simulated the experimental setup for the run at the TARANIS laser system. •We studied the efficiency of the devise for a proton beam with an uniform energy spectrum

ELIMED, future hadrontherapy applications of laser-accelerated beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cirrone, Giuseppe A.P. [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Carpinelli, Massimo [INFN Sezione di Caglari, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy); Cuttone, Giacomo; Gammino, Santo [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Bijan Jia, S. [Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Korn, Georg [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Maggiore, Mario [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); INFN-LNL, Legnaro (Italy); Manti, Lorenzo [University Federico II of Naples, Dip.to di Scienze Fisiche, Naples (Italy); Margarone, Daniele; Prokupek, Jan [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Renis, Marcella [University of Catania, Catania (Italy); Romano, Francesco [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); Schillaci, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.schillaci@eli-beams.eu [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Tomasello, Barbara [University of Catania, Catania (Italy); Torrisi, Lorenzo [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Dip. to di Fisica, University of Messina, Messina (Italy); Tramontana, Antonella [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Velyhan, Andriy [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic)

2013-12-01

Laser-ion acceleration has recently gained a great interest as an alternative to conventional and more expensive acceleration techniques. These ion beams have desirable qualities such as small source size, high luminosity and small emittance to be used in different fields as Nuclear Physics, Medical Physics, etc. This is very promising specially for the future perspective of a new concept of hadrontherapy based on laser-based devices could be developed, replacing traditional accelerating machines. Before delivering laser-driven beams for treatments they have to be handled, cleaned from unwanted particles and characterized in order to have the clinical requirements. In fact ion energy spectra have exponential trend, almost 100% energy spread and a wide angular divergence which is the biggest issue in the beam transport and, hence, in a wider use of this technology. In order to demonstrate the clinical applicability of laser-driven beams new collaboration between ELI-Beamlines project researchers from Prague (Cz) and a INFN-LNS group from Catania (I) has been already launched and scientists from different countries have already express their will in joining the project. This cooperation has been named ELIMED (MEDical application at ELIBeamlines) and will take place inside the ELI-Beamlines infrastructure located in Prague. This work describes the schedule of the ELIMED project and the design of the energy selector which will be realized at INFN-LNS. The device is an important part of the whole transport beam line which will be realised in order to make the ion beams suitable for medical applications. -- Highlights: •We simulated the energy selection system, in order to optimize the device. •We simulated the experimental setup for the run at the TARANIS laser system. •We studied the efficiency of the devise for a proton beam with an uniform energy spectrum.

Semiconductor processing with excimer lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, R.T.; Narayan, J.; Christie, W.H.; van der Leeden, G.A.; Rothe, D.E.; Cheng, L.J.

1983-01-01

The advantages of pulsed excimer lasers for semiconductor processing are reviewed. Extensive comparisons of the quality of annealing of ion-implanted Si obtained with XeCl and ruby lasers have been made. The results indicate that irrespective of the large differences in the optical properties of Si at uv and visible wavelengths, the efficiency of usage of the incident energy for annealing is comparable for the two lasers. However, because of the excellent optical beam quality, the XeCl laser can provide superior control of the surface melting and the resulting junction depth. Furthermore, the concentrations of electrically active point defects in the XeCl laser annealed region are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than that obtained from ruby or Nd:YAG lasers. All these results seem to suggest that XeCl lasers should be suitable for fabricating not only solar cells but also the more advanced device structures required for VLSI or VHSIC applications

The laser beam welding test of ODS fuel claddings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uwaba, Tomoyuki; Ukai, Shigeharu

2004-06-01

As a alternative method of pressurized resistance welding being currently developed, integrity evaluations for a laser beam welding joint between a ODS cladding tube and a FMS end plug were conducted for the purpose of studying the applicability of the laser beam welding technique to the welding with the lower end plug. The laser beam welding causes blowholes in the welding zone, whose effect on the high cycle fatigue strength of the joint is essential because of the flow-induced vibration during irradiation. The rotary bending tests using specimens with laser beam welding between ODS cladding tubes and FMS end plugs were carried out to evaluate the fatigue strength of the welding joint containing blowholes. The fatigue limit of stress amplitude about 200 MPa from 10 6 -10 7 cycles suggested that the laser beam welding joint had enough strength against the flow-induced vibration. Sizing of blowholes in the welding zone by using a micro X ray CT technique estimated the rate of defect areas due to blowholes at 1-2%. It is likely that the fatigue strength remained nearly unaffected by blowholes because of the no correlation between the breach of the rotary bending test specimen and the rate of defect area. Based on results of tensile test, internal burst test, Charpy impact test and fatigue test of welded zone, including study of allowable criteria of blowholes in the inspection, it is concluded that the laser beam welding can be probably applied to the welding between the ODS cladding tube and the FMS lower end plug. (author)

Turbulence-induced persistence in laser beam wandering.

Science.gov (United States)

Zunino, Luciano; Gulich, Damián; Funes, Gustavo; Pérez, Darío G

2015-07-01

We have experimentally confirmed the presence of long-memory correlations in the wandering of a thin Gaussian laser beam over a screen after propagating through a turbulent medium. A laboratory-controlled experiment was conducted in which coordinate fluctuations of the laser beam were recorded at a sufficiently high sampling rate for a wide range of turbulent conditions. Horizontal and vertical displacements of the laser beam centroid were subsequently analyzed by implementing detrended fluctuation analysis. This is a very well-known and widely used methodology to unveil memory effects from time series. Results obtained from this experimental analysis allow us to confirm that both coordinates behave as highly persistent signals for strong turbulent intensities. This finding is relevant for a better comprehension and modeling of the turbulence effects in free-space optical communication systems and other applications related to propagation of optical signals in the atmosphere.

Characteristics of a laser beam produced by using thermal lensing effect compensation in a fiber-coupled laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Duck-Lae; Kim, Byung-Tai

2010-01-01

The characteristics of a laser beam produced by using thermal lensing effect compensation in a fiber-coupled laser-diode Nd:YAG ceramic laser were investigated. The thermal lensing effect was compensated for by using a compensator, which was 25 mm away from the laser rod, with a focal length of 30 mm and an effective clear aperture of 22 mm. Using a compensator, the divergence and the beam propagation factor M 2 of the output beam were 5.5 mrad and 2.4, respectively, under a pump power of 12W. The high-frequency components in the compensated laser beam were removed.

Induced Current Characteristics Due to Laser Induced Plasma and Its Application to Laser Processing Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madjid, Syahrun Nur; Idris, Nasrullah; Kurniawan, Koo Hendrik; Kagawa, Kiichiro

2011-01-01

In laser processing, suitable conditions for laser and gas play important role in ensuring a high quality of processing. To determine suitable conditions, we employed the electromagnetic phenomena associated with laser plasma generation. An electrode circuit was utilised to detect induced current due to the fast electrons propelled from the material during laser material processing. The characteristics of induced current were examined by changing parameters such as supplied voltage, laser pulse energy, number of laser shots, and type of ambient gas. These characteristics were compared with the optical emission characteristics. It was shown that the induced current technique proposed in this study is much more sensitive than the optical method in monitoring laser processing, that is to determine the precise focusing condition, and to accurately determine the moment of completion of laser beam penetration. In this study it was also shown that the induced current technique induced by CW CO 2 laser can be applied in industrial material processing for monitoring the penetration completion in a stainless steel plate drilling process.

Progress in ultrafast laser processing and future prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Sugioka, Koji

2017-03-01

The unique characteristics of ultrafast lasers have rapidly revolutionized materials processing after their first demonstration in 1987. The ultrashort pulse width of the laser suppresses heat diffusion to the surroundings of the processed region, which minimizes the formation of a heat-affected zone and thereby enables ultrahigh precision micro- and nanofabrication of various materials. In addition, the extremely high peak intensity can induce nonlinear multiphoton absorption, which extends the diversity of materials that can be processed to transparent materials such as glass. Nonlinear multiphoton absorption enables three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanofabrication by irradiation with tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses inside transparent materials. Thus, ultrafast lasers are currently widely used for both fundamental research and practical applications. This review presents progress in ultrafast laser processing, including micromachining, surface micro- and nanostructuring, nanoablation, and 3D and volume processing. Advanced technologies that promise to enhance the performance of ultrafast laser processing, such as hybrid additive and subtractive processing, and shaped beam processing are discussed. Commercial and industrial applications of ultrafast laser processing are also introduced. Finally, future prospects of the technology are given with a summary.

Atmospheric Error Correction of the Laser Beam Ranging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Saydi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric models based on surface measurements of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity have been used to increase the laser ranging accuracy by ray tracing. Atmospheric refraction can cause significant errors in laser ranging systems. Through the present research, the atmospheric effects on the laser beam were investigated by using the principles of laser ranging. Atmospheric correction was calculated for 0.532, 1.3, and 10.6 micron wavelengths through the weather conditions of Tehran, Isfahan, and Bushehr in Iran since March 2012 to March 2013. Through the present research the atmospheric correction was computed for meteorological data in base of monthly mean. Of course, the meteorological data were received from meteorological stations in Tehran, Isfahan, and Bushehr. Atmospheric correction was calculated for 11, 100, and 200 kilometers laser beam propagations under 30°, 60°, and 90° rising angles for each propagation. The results of the study showed that in the same months and beam emission angles, the atmospheric correction was most accurate for 10.6 micron wavelength. The laser ranging error was decreased by increasing the laser emission angle. The atmospheric correction with two Marini-Murray and Mendes-Pavlis models for 0.532 nm was compared.

Intra-cavity decomposition of a dual-directional laser beam

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Naidoo, Darryl

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A method of decomposing a dual-directional laser beam into a forward propagating field and a backward propagating field for an apertured plano-concave cavity is presented. An intra-cavity aperture is a simple method of laser beam shaping as higher...

High quality electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiggins, S M; Issac, R C; Welsh, G H; Brunetti, E; Shanks, R P; Anania, M P; Cipiccia, S; Manahan, G G; Aniculaesei, C; Ersfeld, B; Islam, M R; Burgess, R T L; Vieux, G; Jaroszynski, D A [SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Gillespie, W A [SUPA, Division of Electronic Engineering and Physics, University of Dundee, Dundee (United Kingdom); MacLeod, A M [School of Computing and Creative Technologies, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee (United Kingdom); Van der Geer, S B; De Loos, M J, E-mail: m.wiggins@phys.strath.ac.u [Pulsar Physics, Burghstraat 47, 5614 BC Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2010-12-15

High quality electron beams have been produced in a laser-plasma accelerator driven by femtosecond laser pulses with a peak power of 26 TW. Electrons are produced with an energy up to 150 MeV from the 2 mm gas jet accelerator and the measured rms relative energy spread is less than 1%. Shot-to-shot stability in the central energy is 3%. Pepper-pot measurements have shown that the normalized transverse emittance is {approx}1{pi} mm mrad while the beam charge is in the range 2-10 pC. The generation of high quality electron beams is understood from simulations accounting for beam loading of the wakefield accelerating structure. Experiments and self-consistent simulations indicate that the beam peak current is several kiloamperes. Efficient transportation of the beam through an undulator is simulated and progress is being made towards the realization of a compact, high peak brilliance free-electron laser operating in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft x-ray wavelength ranges.

Laser Materials Processing for NASA's Aerospace Structural Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarathnam, Karthik; Hunyady, Thomas A.

2001-01-01

Lasers are useful for performing operations such as joining, machining, built-up freeform fabrication, and surface treatment. Due to the multifunctional nature of a single tool and the variety of materials that can be processed, these attributes are attractive in order to support long-term missions in space. However, current laser technology also has drawbacks for space-based applications. Specifically, size, power efficiency, lack of robustness, and problems processing highly reflective materials are all concerns. With the advent of recent breakthroughs in solidstate laser (e.g., diode-pumped lasers) and fiber optic technologies, the potential to perform multiple processing techniques in space has increased significantly. A review of the historical development of lasers from their infancy to the present will be used to show how these issues may be addressed. The review will also indicate where further development is necessary to realize a laser-based materials processing capability in space. The broad utility of laser beams in synthesizing various classes of engineering materials will be illustrated using state-of-the art processing maps for select lightweight alloys typically found on spacecraft. Both short- and long-term space missions will benefit from the development of a universal laser-based tool with low power consumption, improved process flexibility, compactness (e.g., miniaturization), robustness, and automation for maximum utility with a minimum of human interaction. The potential advantages of using lasers with suitable wavelength and beam properties for future space missions to the moon, Mars and beyond will be discussed. The laser processing experiments in the present report were performed using a diode pumped, pulsed/continuous wave Nd:YAG laser (50 W max average laser power), with a 1064 nm wavelength. The processed materials included Ti-6AI-4V, Al-2219 and Al-2090. For Phase I of this project, the laser process conditions were varied and optimized

Laser materials processing applications at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargrove, R.S.; Dragon, E.P.; Hackel, R.P.; Kautz, D.D.; Warner, B.E.

1993-01-01

High power and high radiance laser technologies developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) such as copper-vapor lasers, solid-state slab lasers, dye lasers, harmonic wavelength conversion of these lasers, and fiber optic delivery systems show great promise for material processing tasks. Evaluation of models suggests significant potential for tenfold increases in welding, cutting, and drilling performance, as well as capability for applications in emerging technologies such as micromachining, surface treatment, and stereolithography. Copper and dye laser systems are currently being developed at LLNL for uranium enrichment production facilities. The goals of this program are to develop low-cost, reliable and maintainable industrial laser systems. Chains of copper lasers currently operate at more than 1.5 kW output and achieve mean time between failures of more than 1,000 hours. The beam quality of copper vapor lasers is approximately three times the diffraction limit. Dye lasers have near diffraction limited beam quality at greater than 1.0 kW. Diode laser pumped, Nd:YAG slab lasers are also being developed at LLNL. Current designs achieve powers of greater than 1.0 kW and projected beam quality is in the two to five times diffraction limited range. Results from cutting and drilling studies in titanium and stainless steel alloys show that cuts and holes with extremely fine features can be made with dye and copper-vapor lasers. High radiance beams produce low distortion and small heat-affected zones. The authors have accomplished very high aspect ratio holes in drilling tests (> 60: 1) and features with micron scale (5-50 μm) sizes. Other, traditionally more difficult, materials such as copper, aluminum and ceramics will soon be studied in detail

Characterisation of electron beams from laser-driven particle accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunetti, E.; Manahan, G. G.; Shanks, R. P.; Islam, M. R.; Ersfeld, B.; Anania, M. P.; Cipiccia, S.; Issac, R. C.; Vieux, G.; Welsh, G. H.; Wiggins, S. M.; Jaroszynski, D. A. [Physics Department, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

2012-12-21

The development, understanding and application of laser-driven particle accelerators require accurate measurements of the beam properties, in particular emittance, energy spread and bunch length. Here we report measurements and simulations showing that laser wakefield accelerators can produce beams of quality comparable to conventional linear accelerators.

Ablation of polytetrafluoroethylene using a continuous CO2 laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolstopyatov, E M

2005-01-01

The ablation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is studied using a continuous CO 2 laser beam of 30-50 W at a mean intensity of 0.05-50 MW m -2 . The ablation products and changes in the target layer are examined using infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The main experiments were conducted with an unfocused beam of intensity 0.9-1.2 MW m -2 . The radiation-polymer interaction characteristics were found to change appreciably as the ablation conditions are approached. Within the polymer layer, light scattering diminishes and true resonant light absorption increases. Two distinct polymer components, which differ primarily in their resistance to CO 2 laser radiation, were found to exist under ablation conditions. The less stable component depolymerizes intensively, while the more resistant component is blown up into fibres by intense gas flow. The reasons behind this behaviour are discussed. Preliminary gamma irradiation of PTFE is found to have a significant influence on the laser ablation process

From laser cooling of non-relativistic to relativistic ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, U.; Bussmann, M.; Habs, D.

2004-01-01

Laser cooling of stored 24 Mg + ion beams recently led to the long anticipated experimental realization of Coulomb-ordered 'crystalline' ion beams in the low-energy RF-quadrupole storage ring PAul Laser CooLing Acceleration System (Munich). Moreover, systematic studies revealed severe constraints on the cooling scheme and the storage ring lattice for the attainment and maintenance of the crystalline state of the beam, which will be summarized. With the envisaged advent of high-energy heavy ion storage rings like SIS 300 at GSI (Darmstadt), which offer favourable lattice conditions for space-charge-dominated beams, we here discuss the general scaling of laser cooling of highly relativistic beams of highly charged ions and present a novel idea for direct three-dimensional beam cooling by forcing the ions onto a helical path

Real-time determination of laser beam quality by modal decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Oliver A; Schulze, Christian; Flamm, Daniel; Brüning, Robert; Kaiser, Thomas; Schröter, Siegmund; Duparré, Michael

2011-03-28

We present a real-time method to determine the beam propagation ratio M2 of laser beams. The all-optical measurement of modal amplitudes yields M2 parameters conform to the ISO standard method. The experimental technique is simple and fast, which allows to investigate laser beams under conditions inaccessible to other methods.

submitter Parametric study of transport beam lines for electron beams accelerated by laser-plasma interaction

CERN Document Server

Scisciò, M; Migliorati, M; Mostacci, A; Palumbo, L; Papaphilippou, Y; Antici, P

2016-01-01

In the last decade, laser-plasma acceleration of high-energy electrons has attracted strong attention in different fields. Electrons with maximum energies in the GeV range can be laser-accelerated within a few cm using multi-hundreds terawatt (TW) lasers, yielding to very high beam currents at the source (electron bunches with up to tens-hundreds of pC in a few fs). While initially the challenge was to increase the maximum achievable electron energy, today strong effort is put in the control and usability of these laser-generated beams that still lack of some features in order to be used for applications where currently conventional, radio-frequency (RF) based, electron beam lines represent the most common and efficient solution. Several improvements have been suggested for this purpose, some of them acting directly on the plasma source, some using beam shaping tools located downstream. Concerning the latter, several studies have suggested the use of conventional accelerator magnetic devices (such as quadrupo...

Review of laser mega joule target area: Design and processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geitzholz, M.; Lanternier, C.

2006-01-01

The Laser Mega Joule (LMJ) target area is currently designed to achieve ignition and significant fusion gain in laboratory. LMJ will be composed of 240 identical large 370 mm * 370 mm square laser beams. These beams will focus 2 mega-joules of energy at the wavelength of 351 nm on the center of an experiment chamber. Design studies for target equipment are well advanced, target chamber and target holder (concrete) works have already begun. A detailed overview of the target area equipment is presented: target chamber, frame, diagnostic inserter manipulator, final optic assembly, dual diagnostic and laser reference, non cryogenic target positioner. Recent technical and architectural choices are detailed including safety transfers and alignment processes (target, laser and diagnostic). All this target equipment allows us to optimize shot chrono-gram, from target metrology to the shot, including calibration process. (authors)

Applications Of Laser Processing For Automotive Manufacturing In Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Masashi; Ueda, Katsuhiko; Takagi, Soya

1986-11-01

Recently in Japan, laser processing is increasingly being employed for production, so that laser cutting, laser welding and other laser material processing have begun to be used in various industries. As a result, the number of lasers sold has been increasing year by year in Japan. In the Japanese automotive industry, a number applications have been introduced in laboratories and production lines. In this paper, several current instances of such laser applications will be introduced. In the case of welding, studies have been conducted on applying laser welding to automatic transmission components, in place of electron beam welding. Another example of application, the combination of lasers and robots to form highly flexible manufacturing systems, has been adopted for trimming steel panel and plastic components.

On a laser beam fiducial line application for metrological purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batusov, V.; Budagov, J.; Lyablin, M.; Rusakovich, N.; Sisakyan, A.; Topilin, N.; Khubua, J.; Lasseur, C.

2008-01-01

The possibility of a collimated one-mode laser beam used as a fiducial line is considered. The technology of an 'extended' laser beam formation and application for a much extended fiducial line is proposed

Statistical spatial properties of speckle patterns generated by multiple laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Cain, A.; Sajer, J. M.; Riazuelo, G.

2011-01-01

This paper investigates hot spot characteristics generated by the superposition of multiple laser beams. First, properties of speckle statistics are studied in the context of only one laser beam by computing the autocorrelation function. The case of multiple laser beams is then considered. In certain conditions, it is shown that speckles have an ellipsoidal shape. Analytical expressions of hot spot radii generated by multiple laser beams are derived and compared to numerical estimates made from the autocorrelation function. They are also compared to numerical simulations performed within the paraxial approximation. Excellent agreement is found for the speckle width as well as for the speckle length. Application to the speckle patterns generated in the Laser MegaJoule configuration in the zone where all the beams overlap is presented. Influence of polarization on the size of the speckles as well as on their abundance is studied.

Laser cooled ion beams and strongly coupled plasmas for precision experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bussmann, Michael

2008-01-01

This cumulative thesis summarizes experimental and theoretical results on cooling of ion beams using single-frequency, single-mode tabletop laser systems. It consists of two parts. One deals with experiments on laser-cooling of ion beams at relativistic energies, the other with simulations of stopping and sympathetic cooling of ions for precision in-trap experiments. In the first part, experimental results are presented on laser-cooling of relativistic C 3+ ion beams at a beam energy of 122 MeV/u, performed at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI. The main results presented in this thesis include the first attainment of longitudinally space-charge dominated relativistic ion beams using pure laser-cooling. The second part lists theoretical results on stopping and sympathetic cooling of ions in a laser-cooled one-component plasma of singly charged 24 Mg ions, which are confined in a three-dimensional harmonic trap potential. (orig.)

Distribution uniformity of laser-accelerated proton beams

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun-Gao; Zhu, Kun; Tao, Li; Xu, Xiao-Han; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wen-Jun; Lu, Hai-Yang; Zhao, Yan-Ying; Lu, Yuan-Rong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xue-Qing

2017-09-01

Compared with conventional accelerators, laser plasma accelerators can generate high energy ions at a greatly reduced scale, due to their TV/m acceleration gradient. A compact laser plasma accelerator (CLAPA) has been built at the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics at Peking University. It will be used for applied research like biological irradiation, astrophysics simulations, etc. A beamline system with multiple quadrupoles and an analyzing magnet for laser-accelerated ions is proposed here. Since laser-accelerated ion beams have broad energy spectra and large angular divergence, the parameters (beam waist position in the Y direction, beam line layout, drift distance, magnet angles etc.) of the beamline system are carefully designed and optimised to obtain a radially symmetric proton distribution at the irradiation platform. Requirements of energy selection and differences in focusing or defocusing in application systems greatly influence the evolution of proton distributions. With optimal parameters, radially symmetric proton distributions can be achieved and protons with different energy spread within ±5% have similar transverse areas at the experiment target. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11575011, 61631001) and National Grand Instrument Project (2012YQ030142)

Effect of the temporal laser pulse asymmetry on pair production processes during intense laser-electron scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Hojbota, C. I.; Kim, Hyung Taek; Kim, Chul Min; Pathak, V. B.; Nam, Chang Hee

2018-06-01

We investigate the effects of laser pulse shape on strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes during the collision between a relativistic electron beam and an intense laser pulse. The interplay between high-energy photon emission and two pair production processes, i.e. nonlinear Breit–Wheeler (BW) and Trident, was investigated using particle-in-cell simulations. We found that the temporal evolution of these two processes could be controlled by using laser pulses with different degrees of asymmetry. The temporal envelope of the laser pulse can significantly affect the number of pairs coming from the Trident process, while the nonlinear BW process is less sensitive to it. This study shows that the two QED processes can be examined with state-of-the-art petawatt lasers and the discrimination of the two pair creation processes is feasible by adjusting the temporal asymmetry of the colliding laser pulse.

Electron beam cooling by laser

CERN Document Server

Urakawa, J; Terunuma, N; Taniguchi, T; Yamazaki, Y; Hirano, K; Nomura, M; Sakai, I; Takano, M; Sasao, N; Honda, Y; Noda, A; Bulyak, E; Gladkikh, P; Mystykov, A; Zelinsky, A; Zimmermann, Frank

2004-01-01

In 1997, Z.Huang and R.Ruth proposed a compact laser-electron storage ring (LESR) for electron beam cooling or x-ray generation. Because the laser-wire monitor in the ATF storage ring has worked well and demonstrated the achievement of the world's smallest transverse emittance for a circulating electron beam, we have started the design of a small storage ring with about 10 m circumference and the development of basic technologies for the LESR. In this paper, we describe the design and experimental results of pulse stacking in a 42-cm long optical cavity. Since our primary purpose is demonstrating the proof-of-principle of the LESR, we will then discuss the future experimental plan at the KEK-ATF for the generation of high average-brilliance gamma-rays.

An online, energy-resolving beam profile detector for laser-driven proton beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metzkes, J.; Rehwald, M.; Obst, L.; Schramm, U. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden–Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Zeil, K.; Kraft, S. D.; Sobiella, M.; Schlenvoigt, H.-P. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden–Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Karsch, L. [OncoRay-National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden (Germany)

2016-08-15

In this paper, a scintillator-based online beam profile detector for the characterization of laser-driven proton beams is presented. Using a pixelated matrix with varying absorber thicknesses, the proton beam is spatially resolved in two dimensions and simultaneously energy-resolved. A thin plastic scintillator placed behind the absorber and read out by a CCD camera is used as the active detector material. The spatial detector resolution reaches down to ∼4 mm and the detector can resolve proton beam profiles for up to 9 proton threshold energies. With these detector design parameters, the spatial characteristics of the proton distribution and its cut-off energy can be analyzed online and on-shot under vacuum conditions. The paper discusses the detector design, its characterization and calibration at a conventional proton source, as well as the first detector application at a laser-driven proton source.

Double-sided electron-beam generator for KrF laser excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlitt, L.; Swingle, J.

1980-05-01

Several laser systems excited by electron beam have been identified as candidates for pump sources for laser fusion applications. The electron beam generators required must be compact, reliable and capable of synchronization with other system components. A KrF laser producing a minimum output of 25 J was needed for the RAPIER (Raman Amplifier Pumped by Intensified Excimer Radiation) system. A double-sided electron beam system was designed and constructed specifically for this purpose and has produced > 35 J of KrF output. Each of the two electron beam machines in the system operates with an rms jitter of 0.4 ns and together occupy approx. 3.5 m 2 of floor space. The successful operation of this laser has engendered requests for a description of the engineering details of this system. This document contains a brief description of the design issues and a full set of engineering drawings for this KrF laser amplifier

Metal impurity injection into DIVA plasmas with a Q-switched laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamauchi, Toshihiko; Nagami, Masayuki; Sengoku, Seio; Kumagai, Katsuaki

1978-08-01

Metal impurity injection into DIVA plasmas with a Q-switched ruby laser beam is described. Metal materials used are aluminium and gold. The Q-switched laser beam is incident onto a thin metal film thickness about 0.2 μm coated on pyrex glass plate surface. The metal film is vaporized by the laser beam and injected into DIVA plasma. The laser-beam injection method has advantages of sharp profile of vaporized metal, easy control of vaporized metal quantity and injection rate control of metal vapor. (author)

Advantages of fibre lasers in 3D metal cutting and welding applications supported by a 'beam in motion (BIM)' beam delivery system

Science.gov (United States)

Scheller, Torsten; Bastick, André; Griebel, Martin

2012-03-01

Modern laser technology is continuously opening up new fields of applications. Driven by the development of increasingly efficient laser sources, the new technology is successfully entering classical applications such as 3D cutting and welding of metals. Especially in light weight applications in the automotive industry laser manufacturing is key. Only by this technology the reduction of welding widths could be realised as well as the efficient machining of aluminium and the abrasion free machining of hardened steel. The paper compares the operation of different laser types in metal machining regarding wavelength, laser power, laser brilliance, process speed and welding depth to give an estimation for best use of single mode or multi mode lasers in this field of application. The experimental results will be presented by samples of applied parts. In addition a correlation between the process and the achieved mechanical properties will be made. For this application JENOPTIK Automatisierungstechnik GmbH is using the BIM beam control system in its machines, which is the first one to realize a fully integrated combination of beam control and robot. The wide performance and wavelength range of the laser radiation which can be transmitted opens up diverse possibilities of application and makes BIM a universal tool.

Longitudinal dynamics of laser-cooled fast ion beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weidemüller, M.; Eike, B.; Eisenbarth, U.

1999-01-01

We present recent results of our experiments on laser cooling of fast stored ion beams at the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring. The longitudinal motion of the ions is directly cooled by the light pressure force, whereas efficient transverse cooling is obtained indirectly by longitudinal-transverse co......We present recent results of our experiments on laser cooling of fast stored ion beams at the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring. The longitudinal motion of the ions is directly cooled by the light pressure force, whereas efficient transverse cooling is obtained indirectly by longitudinal....... When applying laser cooling in square-well buckets over long time intervals, hard Coulomb collisions suddenly disappear and the longitudinal temperature drops by about a factor of three. The observed longitudinal behaviour of the beam shows strong resemblance with the transition to an Coulomb...

Large area electron beam pumped krypton fluoride laser amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sethian, J.D.; Obenschain, S.P.; Gerber, K.A.; Pawley, C.J.; Serlin, V.; Sullivan, C.A.; Webster, W.; Deniz, A.V.; Lehecka, T.; McGeoch, M.W.; Altes, R.A.; Corcoran, P.A.; Smith, I.D.; Barr, O.C.

1997-01-01

Nike is a recently completed multi-kilojoule krypton fluoride (KrF) laser that has been built to study the physics of direct drive inertial confinement fusion. This paper describes in detail both the pulsed power and optical performance of the largest amplifier in the Nike laser, the 60 cm amplifier. This is a double pass, double sided, electron beam-pumped system that amplifies the laser beam from an input of 50 J to an output of up to 5 kJ. It has an optical aperture of 60 cm x 60 cm and a gain length of 200 cm. The two electron beams are 60 cm high x 200 cm wide, have a voltage of 640 kV, a current of 540 kA, and a flat top power pulse duration of 250 ns. A 2 kG magnetic field is used to guide the beams and prevent self-pinching. Each electron beam is produced by its own Marx/pulse forming line system. The amplifier has been fully integrated into the Nike system and is used on a daily basis for laser-target experiments. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Lasers and particle beam for fusion and strategic defense

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

This special issue of the Journal of Fusion Energy consists of the edited transscripts of a symposium on the applications of laser and particle beams to fusion and strategic defense. Its eleven papers discuss these topics: the Strategic Defense Initiative; accelerators for heavy ion fusion; rf accelerators for fusion and strategic defense; Pulsed power, ICF, and the Strategic Defense Initiative; chemical lasers; the feasibility of KrF lasers for fusion; the damage resistance of coated optic; liquid crystal devices for laser systems; fusion neutral-particle beam research and its contribution to the Star Wars program; and induction linacs and free electron laser amplifiers for ICF devices and directed-energy weapons

Propagation of an intense laser beam in a tapered plasma channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jha, Pallavi; Singh, Ram Gopal; Upadhyaya, Ajay K.; Mishra, Rohit K.

2008-01-01

Propagation characteristics and modulation instability of an intense laser beam propagating in an axially tapered plasma channel, having a parabolic radial density profile, are studied. Using the source-dependent expansion technique, the evolution equation for the laser spot is set up and conditions for propagation of the laser beam with a constant spot size (matched beam) are obtained. Further, the dispersion relation and growth rate of modulation instability of the laser pulse as it propagates through linearly and quadratically tapered plasma channels, have been obtained

GeV electron beams from centimeter-scale channel guided laser wakefield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonsalves, A.; Nakamura, K.; Panasenko, D.; Toth, Cs.; Esarey, E.; Schroeder; Hooker, S.M.; Leemans, W.P.; Hooker, S.M.

2007-01-01

Results are presented on the generation of quasi-monoenergetic electron beams with energy up to 1 GeV using a 40TW laser and a 3.3 cm-long hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide. Electron beams were not observed without a plasma channel, indicating that self-focusing alone could not be relied upon for effective guiding of the laser pulse. Results are presented of the electron beam spectra, and the dependence of the reliability of producing electron beams as a function of laser and plasma parameters

Property Investigation of Laser Cladded, Laser Melted and Electron Beam Melted Ti-Al6-V4

Science.gov (United States)

2006-05-01

UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED Figure 3: Examples of electron beam melted net shape parts; powder bed [3]. 1.4 Laser Cladding ...description, www.arcam.com. [4] K.-H. Hermann, S. Orban, S. Nowotny, Laser Cladding of Titanium Alloy Ti6242 to Restore Damaged Blades, Proceedings...Property Investigation of Laser Cladded , Laser Melted and Electron Beam Melted Ti-Al6-V4 Johannes Vlcek EADS Deutschland GmbH Corporate Research

A laser-based beam profile monitor for the SLC/SLD interaction region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alley, R.; Arnett, D.; Bong, E.; Colocho, W.; Frisch, J.; Horton-Smith, S.; Inman, W.; Jobe, K.; Kotseroglou, T.; McCormick, D.; Nelson, J.; Scheeff, M.; Wagner, S.; Ross, M.C.

1996-01-01

Beam size estimates made using beam-beam deflections are used for optimization of the Stanford linear collider (SLC) electron-positron beam sizes. Typical beam sizes and intensities expected for 1996 operations are 2.1 x 0.6 μm (x, y) at 4.0.10 10 particles per pulse. Conventional profile monitors, such as scanning wires, fail at charge densities well below this. The laser-based profile monitor uses a finely-focused 350-nm wavelength tripled YLF laser pulse that traverses the particle beam path about 29 cm away from the e + /e - IP. Compton scattered photons and degraded e + /e - are detected as the beam is steered across the laser pulse. The laser pulse has a transverse size of 380 nm and a Rayleigh range of about 5 μm. (orig.)

Laser beams hazards. Experimental determination of a laser ocular lesion threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courant, D.; Court, L.; Gueneau, G.; Bagot, J.D.; Abadie, B.; Brouillet, B.; Laborde, G.; Duchene, A.

1984-10-01

The risks due to the use of laser have called for the definition of exposure limits. The determination of these values requires the knowledge of the physical parameters of exposure and both the anatomical and the physiological properties of the skin and the eye. The parameters of the mechanisms involved in the biological effects of laser beams, the concept of damage criteria and the experimental results found in the literature are first discussed. The main parameter of the beam determining the injury: wavelength, time and the size of the image are then analysed. Some examples of experimental determinations of laser ocular lesion thresholds, carried out on the retinae of the rabbit and the monkey, emphasize, the difficulties met in the determination of the exposure limits. These experiments involve the effect of laser beam in the visible spectrum. Several techniques are compared: a direct ophthalmoscopic observation, a method with fluorescein angiography, a histologic study with light microscopy and an electrophysiological study. The results show that the determination of exposure limits is chiefly a function of the experimental techniques used, the delay of the observation after exposure and the probability of risk selected. The experimental results demonstrate the importance of these parameters and bring into light the uncertainties of the present guidelines [fr

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

Orthogonal cutting of laser beam melted parts

Science.gov (United States)

Götze, Elisa; Zanger, Frederik; Schulze, Volker

2018-05-01

The finishing process of parts manufactured by laser beam melting is of high concern due to the lack of surface accuracy. Therefore, the focus of this work lies on the influence of the build-up direction of the parts and their effect on the finishing process. The orthogonal cutting reveals findings in the fields of chip formation, involved forces and temperatures appearing during machining. In the investigations, the cutting depth was varied between 0.05 and 0.15 mm representing a finishing process and the cutting velocity ranges from 30 to 200 m/min depending on the material. The experiments contain the materials stainless steel (AISI 316L), titanium (Ti6Al4V) and nickel-base alloy (IN718). The two materials named latter are of high interest in the aerospace sector and at the same time titanium is used in the medical field due to its biocompatibility. For the materials IN718 and Ti6Al4V a negative rake angle of -7.5° and for stainless steel a rake angle of 12.5° are chosen for the cutting experiments. The results provide the base for processing strategies. Therefore, the specimens were solely laser beam melted without post-processing like heat treatment. The evaluation of the experiments shows that an increase in cutting speed has different effects depending on the material. For stainless steel the measured forces regarding the machining direction to the layers approach the same values. In contrast, the influence of the layers regarding the forces appearing during orthogonal cutting of the materials IN718 and Ti6Al4V differ for lower cutting speeds.

Active beam position stabilization of pulsed lasers for long-distance ion profile diagnostics at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).

Science.gov (United States)

Hardin, Robert A; Liu, Yun; Long, Cary; Aleksandrov, Alexander; Blokland, Willem

2011-02-14

A high peak-power Q-switched laser has been used to monitor the ion beam profiles in the superconducting linac at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The laser beam suffers from position drift due to movement, vibration, or thermal effects on the optical components in the 250-meter long laser beam transport line. We have designed, bench-tested, and implemented a beam position stabilization system by using an Ethernet CMOS camera, computer image processing and analysis, and a piezo-driven mirror platform. The system can respond at frequencies up to 30 Hz with a high position detection accuracy. With the beam stabilization system, we have achieved a laser beam pointing stability within a range of 2 μrad (horizontal) to 4 μrad (vertical), corresponding to beam drifts of only 0.5 mm × 1 mm at the furthest measurement station located 250 meters away from the light source.

Conceptual development of the Laser Beam Manifold (LBM)

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, W.; Owen, R. B.

1979-01-01

The laser beam manifold, a device for transforming a single, narrow, collimated beam of light into several beams of desired intensity ratios is described. The device consists of a single optical substrate with a metallic coating on both optical surfaces. By changing the entry point, the number of outgoing beams can be varied.

Fundamental experiment for flash removal of aluminum alloy by CO2 laser beam cutting; CO2 laser beam setsudan ni yoru aluminium gokin no ibaritori no kiso jikken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kataoka, Y.; Tokunaga, T. [University of Industrial Technology, Kanagawa (Japan); Miyazaki, T. [Chiba Institute of Technology, Chiba (Japan)

1995-08-25

CO2 laser beam has been applied to cut of the aluminum alloy. Average cut width, roughness of cut surface and average thickness of heat affected zone are investigated as functions of laser power, cutting speed and assist gas pressure. The average cut width increases with laser power, but it does not depend on the cutting speed. The narrowest average cut width obtained is 0.22mm under the conditions of laser power of 900W and cutting speeds from 600 to 1000mm/min. The roughness of cut surface decreases with decreasing cutting speed. The best smoothness of cut surface obtained is 17 {mu}m (Rmax) , when the conditions are 1100W and 600mm/min. The average thickness of heat affected zone decreases with increasing assist gas pressure. CO2 laser beam cutting is applicable to flash removal from aluminum alloy casting. This process is expected to reduce the need of physical labor and to improve the working conditions in the foundry industry. 32 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Deformation of a laser beam in the fabrication of graphite microstructures inside a volume of diamond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kononenko, T V; Zavedeev, E V [Natural Science Center, A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-03-31

We report a theoretical and experimental study of the energy profile deformation along the laser beam axis during the fabrication of graphite microstructures inside a diamond crystal. The numerical simulation shows that the use of a focusing lens with a numerical aperture NA < 0.1 at a focusing depth of up to 2 mm makes it possible to avoid a noticeable change in the energy profile of the beam due to the spherical aberration that occurs in the case of refraction of the focused laser beam at the air – diamond interface. The calculation results are confirmed by experimental data on the distribution of the laser intensity along the beam axis in front of its focal plane, derived from observations of graphitisation wave propagation in diamond. The effect of radiation self-focusing on laser-induced graphitisation of diamond is analysed. It is shown that if the wavefront distortion due to self-focusing can be neglected at a minimum pulse energy required for the optical breakdown of diamond, then an increase in the beam distortion with increasing pulse energy has no effect on the graphitisation process. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)

Laser cooled ion beams and strongly coupled plasmas for precision experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bussmann, Michael

2008-03-17

This cumulative thesis summarizes experimental and theoretical results on cooling of ion beams using single-frequency, single-mode tabletop laser systems. It consists of two parts. One deals with experiments on laser-cooling of ion beams at relativistic energies, the other with simulations of stopping and sympathetic cooling of ions for precision in-trap experiments. In the first part, experimental results are presented on laser-cooling of relativistic C{sup 3+} ion beams at a beam energy of 122 MeV/u, performed at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI. The main results presented in this thesis include the first attainment of longitudinally space-charge dominated relativistic ion beams using pure laser-cooling. The second part lists theoretical results on stopping and sympathetic cooling of ions in a laser-cooled one-component plasma of singly charged {sup 24}Mg ions, which are confined in a three-dimensional harmonic trap potential. (orig.)

Beam diagnostics for Laser-induced proton generation at KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong Heun; Park, Seong Hee; Jeong, Young Uk; Lee, Ki Tae; Chan, Young Ho; Lee, Byung Cheol; Yoo, Byeong Duk

2005-01-01

With an advent of femto-second lasers, a laseraccelerated ion generation has been world-widely studied for medical and nuclear applications. It is known that protons with the energy from several tens MeV to a few hundreds MeV require for a cancer therapy and nuclear reaction. Even though, up to present, the maximum energy of laser-accelerated proton is about 60 MeV, it is expected that the energy of protons generated can be obtained at least up to 150 MeV. According to theoretical and experimental works, it turns out the energy distribution and the flux of ions strongly depends on the intensity of a fs laser at a target. However, physics on laser-plasma interaction is still not clear. The precise measurements of parameters of a fs laser and ions are important to figure out the physics and develop the theoretical interpretation. Typically, beam diagnostic system includes measurements and/or monitoring of the temporal and spatial profiles of lasers at the target as well as the energy spectrum and density profile of protons, which are critical for the analysis of mechanism and the characterization of protons generated. We fabricated and installed the target chamber for laser-accelerated proton generation and are now integrating beam diagnostic system. For laser diagnostics, beam monitoring and alignment system has been installed. For a charged particle, CR-39 detectors, Thomson parabola spectrometer, and Si charged particle detectors are installed for density profile and energy spectrum. In this paper, we discuss the laser beam monitoring and alignment system. We also estimates expected spectrum of protons from Thomson parabola spectrometer, depending on the parameters of protons

Dynamics and transport of laser-accelerated particle beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Stefan

2010-01-01

The subject of this thesis is the investigation and optimization of beam transport elements in the context of the steadily growing field of laser-driven particle acceleration. The first topic is the examination of the free vacuum expansion of an electron beam at high current density. It could be shown that particle tracking codes which are commonly used for the calculation of space charge effects will generate substantial artifacts in the regime considered here. The artifacts occurring hitherto predominantly involve insufficient prerequisites for the Lorentz transformation, the application of inadequate initial conditions and non negligible retardation artifacts. A part of this thesis is dedicated to the development of a calculation approach which uses a more adequate ansatz calculating space charge effects for laser-accelerated electron beams. It can also be used to validate further approaches for the calculation of space charge effects. The next elements considered are miniature magnetic quadrupole devices for the focusing of charged particle beams. General problems involved with their miniaturization concern distorting higher order field components. If these distorting components cannot be controlled, the field of applications is very limited. In this thesis a new method for the characterization and compensation of the distorting components was developed, which might become a standard method when assembling these permanent magnet multipole devices. The newly developed characterization method has been validated at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) electron accelerator. Now that we can ensure optimum performance, the first application of permanent magnet quadrupole devices in conjunction with laser-accelerated ion beams is presented. The experiment was carried out at the Z-Petawatt laser system at Sandia National Laboratories. A promising application for laser-accelerated electron beams is the FEL in a university-scale size. The first discussion of all relevant aspects

Dynamics and transport of laser-accelerated particle beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Stefan

2010-04-19

The subject of this thesis is the investigation and optimization of beam transport elements in the context of the steadily growing field of laser-driven particle acceleration. The first topic is the examination of the free vacuum expansion of an electron beam at high current density. It could be shown that particle tracking codes which are commonly used for the calculation of space charge effects will generate substantial artifacts in the regime considered here. The artifacts occurring hitherto predominantly involve insufficient prerequisites for the Lorentz transformation, the application of inadequate initial conditions and non negligible retardation artifacts. A part of this thesis is dedicated to the development of a calculation approach which uses a more adequate ansatz calculating space charge effects for laser-accelerated electron beams. It can also be used to validate further approaches for the calculation of space charge effects. The next elements considered are miniature magnetic quadrupole devices for the focusing of charged particle beams. General problems involved with their miniaturization concern distorting higher order field components. If these distorting components cannot be controlled, the field of applications is very limited. In this thesis a new method for the characterization and compensation of the distorting components was developed, which might become a standard method when assembling these permanent magnet multipole devices. The newly developed characterization method has been validated at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) electron accelerator. Now that we can ensure optimum performance, the first application of permanent magnet quadrupole devices in conjunction with laser-accelerated ion beams is presented. The experiment was carried out at the Z-Petawatt laser system at Sandia National Laboratories. A promising application for laser-accelerated electron beams is the FEL in a university-scale size. The first discussion of all relevant aspects

Automatic tracking of the intersection of a laser and electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turko, B.T.; Fuzesy, R.Z.; Pripstein, D.A.; Kowitt, M.; Chamberlain, O.; Shapiro, G.; Hughes, E.

1990-05-01

For the Compton Polarimeter experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator the crossing point of a laser beam and an electron beam must be kept accurate and stable. An electronic system is described for the automatic tracking and correcting of the beam crossing. A remote CCD camera, relatively insensitive to electromagnetic disturbance, records small displacements of the pulsed laser beam. Video signals are analyzed at a remote station, the amount of drift from a selected reference point determined and the appropriate correction commands sent to the motorized mirror deflecting the laser beam. A description of the system, its performance and the test results are presented. 2 refs., 4 figs

Beam conditioner for free electron lasers and synchrotrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, H.; Neil, G.R.

1998-01-01

A focused optical has been used to introduce an optical pulse, or electromagnetic wave, collinear with the electron beam in a free electron laser or synchrotron thereby adding an axial field component that accelerates the electrons on the radial outside of the distribution of electrons in the electron beam. This invention consists of using the axial electrical component of a TEM 10 mode Gaussian beam in vacuum to condition the electron beam and speed up the outer electrons in the beam. The conditioning beam should possess about the same diameter as the electron beam. The beam waist of the conditioning wave must be located around the entrance of the undulator longitudinally to have a net energy exchange between the electrons in the outer part of the distribution and the conditioning wave owing to the natural divergence of a Gaussian beam. By accelerating the outer electrons, the outer and core electrons are caused to stay in phase. This increases the fraction of the electron beam energy that is converted to light thereby improving the efficiency of conversion of energy to light and therefore boosting the power output of the free electron laser and synchrotron. 4 figs

High-energy coherent terahertz radiation emitted by wide-angle electron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xue; Brunetti, Enrico; Jaroszynski, Dino A.

2018-04-01

High-charge electron beams produced by laser-wakefield accelerators are potentially novel, scalable sources of high-power terahertz radiation suitable for applications requiring high-intensity fields. When an intense laser pulse propagates in underdense plasma, it can generate femtosecond duration, self-injected picocoulomb electron bunches that accelerate on-axis to energies from 10s of MeV to several GeV, depending on laser intensity and plasma density. The process leading to the formation of the accelerating structure also generates non-injected, sub-picosecond duration, 1–2 MeV nanocoulomb electron beams emitted obliquely into a hollow cone around the laser propagation axis. These wide-angle beams are stable and depend weakly on laser and plasma parameters. Here we perform simulations to characterise the coherent transition radiation emitted by these beams if passed through a thin metal foil, or directly at the plasma–vacuum interface, showing that coherent terahertz radiation with 10s μJ to mJ-level energy can be produced with an optical to terahertz conversion efficiency up to 10‑4–10‑3.

Using harmonic oscillators to determine the spot size of Hermite-Gaussian laser beams

Science.gov (United States)

Steely, Sidney L.

1993-01-01

The similarity of the functional forms of quantum mechanical harmonic oscillators and the modes of Hermite-Gaussian laser beams is illustrated. This functional similarity provides a direct correlation to investigate the spot size of large-order mode Hermite-Gaussian laser beams. The classical limits of a corresponding two-dimensional harmonic oscillator provide a definition of the spot size of Hermite-Gaussian laser beams. The classical limits of the harmonic oscillator provide integration limits for the photon probability densities of the laser beam modes to determine the fraction of photons detected therein. Mathematica is used to integrate the probability densities for large-order beam modes and to illustrate the functional similarities. The probabilities of detecting photons within the classical limits of Hermite-Gaussian laser beams asymptotically approach unity in the limit of large-order modes, in agreement with the Correspondence Principle. The classical limits for large-order modes include all of the nodes for Hermite Gaussian laser beams; Sturm's theorem provides a direct proof.

On the mutual interaction between laser beams in plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, C.; Duda, B.J.; Evans, R.G.; Fonseca, R.A.; Hemker, R.G.; Mori, W.B.

2002-01-01

The nonlinear interaction between light beams in a plasma is studied. In particular, nonlinearities due to relativistic mass corrections and density modulations from a plasma wave wake are considered; but the results can be generalized for other nonlinearities. A simple physical picture using the nonlinear phase velocity of the light wave in a plasma is developed to show that when two laser beams are coherent, the force can be repulsive or attractive, depending on their relative phase. When the two laser beams are polarized in mutually perpendicular directions, the force is always attractive. Using a variational method, a simple analytical expression for this attractive force is derived for Gaussian beams. The centers of the lasers move analogously to point masses under this attractive force with the laser power playing the role of the mass. Under an attractive force, solutions exist where the two lasers can spiral around each other. It is also shown that the plasma wave wake can cause the two spiraling lasers to become intertwined forming a braided pattern. The braiding is common to any nonlinearity which is not instantaneous. The analytical results concerning attraction, repulsion, and braiding have been confirmed using three dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The simulations also show that angular momentum can radiate away leading to the coalescence of the remaining energy

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)

Self-reconstruction of diffraction-free and accelerating laser beams in scattering media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ersoy, T.; Yalizay, B.; Akturk, S.

2012-01-01

We experimentally investigate propagation of laser beams with different intensity profiles in highly scattering media. We generate transverse laser amplitude profiles with Gaussian, Bessel and Airy function envelopes. We then propagate these beams through optical phantoms formed with variable density intralipid solutions. At the sample exit, we compare change in maximum intensities, as well as beam profile reconstruction. We show that self-reconstruction properties of Bessel and Airy beams bring about slower decrease in maximum intensity with increasing scatterer density. On the other hand, the beam profiles deteriorate faster, as compared to reference Gaussian beams. Slower decrease in the intensity can be attributed to the wavevector spectra providing a continuous flow of energy to the beam center, while beam deterioration is linked to total beam volume in the scattering medium. These results show that beam shaping methods can significantly enhance delivery of intense light deeper into turbid media, but this enhancement is compromised by stronger speckling of beam profiles. -- Highlights: ► We experimentally investigate propagation of shaped laser beams in turbid media. ► Peak intensity of Bessel and Airy beams decrease slower with increasing scatterer. ► Shaped beam profiles deteriorate faster, as compared to reference Gaussian beams. ► Shaped beam profiles can enhance applications of lasers inscattering media.

Studies of the Influence of Beam Profile and Cooling Conditions on the Laser Deposition of a Directionally-Solidified Superalloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuo Yang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In the laser deposition of single crystal and directionally-solidified superalloys, it is desired to form laser deposits with high volume fractions of columnar grains by suppressing the columnar-to-equiaxed transition efficiently. In this paper, the influence of beam profile (circular and square shapes and cooling conditions (natural cooling and forced cooling on the geometric morphology and microstructure of deposits were experimentally studied in the laser deposition of a directionally-solidified superalloy, IC10, and the mechanisms of influence were revealed through a numerical simulation of the thermal processes during laser deposition. The results show that wider and thinner deposits were obtained with the square laser beam than those with the circular laser beam, regardless of whether natural or forced cooling conditions was used. The heights and contact angles of deposits were notably increased due to the reduced substrate temperatures by the application of forced cooling for both laser beam profiles. Under natural cooling conditions, columnar grains formed epitaxially at both the center and the edges of the deposits with the square laser beam, but only at the center of the deposits with the circular laser beam; under forced cooling conditions, columnar grains formed at both the center and the edges of deposits regardless of the laser beam profile. The high ratios of thermal gradient and solidification velocity in the height direction of the deposits were favorable to forming deposits with higher volume fractions of columnar grains.

Laser Beam Caustic Measurement with Focal Spot Analyser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Flemming Ove; Gong, Hui; Bagger, Claus

2005-01-01

In industrial applications of high power CO2-lasers the caustic characteristics of the laser beam have great effects on the performance of the lasers. A welldefined high intense focused spot is essential for reliable production results. This paper presents a focal spot analyser that is developed...

Launch and capture of a single particle in a pulse-laser-assisted dual-beam fiber-optic trap

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Zhenhai; She, Xuan; Li, Nan; Hu, Huizhu

2018-06-01

The rapid loading and manipulation of microspheres in optical trap is important for its applications in optomechanics and precision force sensing. We investigate the microsphere behavior under coaction of a dual-beam fiber-optic trap and a pulse laser beam, which reveals a launched microsphere can be effectively captured in a spatial region. A suitable order of pulse duration for launch is derived according to the calculated detachment energy threshold of pulse laser. Furthermore, we illustrate the effect of structural parameters on the launching process, including the spot size of pulse laser, the vertical displacement of beam waist and the initial position of microsphere. Our result will be instructive in the optimal design of the pulse-laser-assisted optical tweezers for controllable loading mechanism of optical trap.

Study of fast electron generation using multi beam of LFEX-class laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hata, M; Nagatomo, H; Sakagami, H; Johzaki, T; Sentoku, Y

2016-01-01

Fast Ignition Realization Experiment project phase-I (FIREX-I) is being performed at Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. In this project, the four-beam bundled high-energy Petawatt laser (LFEX) is being operated. LFEX laser provides great multi-beam irradiation flexibility, with the possibility of arrange the pulses in temporal sequence, spatially separate them in distinct spots of focus them in a single spot. In this paper, we study the two- beam interference effects on high-intensity picosecond laser-plasma interaction (LPI) by twodimensional relativistic Particle-In-Cell simulations. The interference causes surface perturbation, which enhances laser absorption and underdense plasma generation, increasing the accelerated electron number and their slope temperature. The laser-to-electron energy conversion efficiency for two-beam interference case is suitable for Fast Ignition (FI) compared to the single beam case, but the increment of fast electron divergence leads to lower energy coupling. To optimize the target design for FI, these interference effects should be taken into consideration. (paper)

On the exploration of effect of critical beam power on the propagation of Gaussian laser beam in collisionless magnetized plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Urunkar, T. U.; Valkunde, A. T.; Vhanmore, B. D.; Gavade, K. M.; Patil, S. D.; Takale, M. V.

2018-05-01

It is quite known that critical power of the laser plays vital role in the propagation of Gaussian laser beam in collisionless plasma. The nonlinearity in dielectric constant considered herein is due to the ponderomotive force. In the present analysis, the interval of critical beam power has been explored to sustain the competition between diffraction and self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam during propagation in collisionless magnetized plasma. Differential equation for beam-width parameter has been established by using WKB and paraxial approximations under parabolic equation approach. The effect of critical power on the propagation of Gaussian laser beam has been presented graphically and discussed.

Rippled beam free electron laser amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsten, Bruce E.

1999-01-01

A free electron laser amplifier provides a scalloping annular electron beam that interacts with the axial electric field of a TM.sub.0n mode. A waveguide defines an axial centerline and, a solenoid arranged about the waveguide produces an axial constant magnetic field within the waveguide. An electron beam source outputs a annular electron beam that interacts with the axial magnetic field to have an equilibrium radius and a ripple radius component having a variable radius with a ripple period along the axial centerline. An rf source outputs an axial electric field that propagates within the waveguide coaxial with the electron beam and has a radial mode that interacts at the electron beam at the equilibrium radius component of the electron beam.

Fluid simulation for two laser beams co-propagating in underdense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahdy, A.I.

2004-09-01

2D simulations code was constructed in order simulate the interactions of two co-propagating laser beams with underdense plasma. Simulations results at different laser intensities and separation-distances between the beams centroids were presented. In the results the effects of the laser intensities on the self-focusing and merging of the propagating beams were shown. In addition, the influence of increasing the separation-distance on the beams stability and trajectories were studied. A comparison with previous simulations at similar conditions was carried out in order to evaluate the numerical technique used to solve the basic equations. (author)

Design of the prototype of a beam transport line for handling and selection of low energy laser-driven beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schillaci, F., E-mail: francesco.schillaci@eli-beams.eu [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Maggiore, M. [INFN-LNL, Legnaro (Italy); Cirrone, G.A.P.; Cuttone, G.; Pisciotta, P.; Costa, M.; Rifuggiato, D.; Romano, F. [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Scuderi, V. [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic)

2016-11-21

A first prototype of transport beam-line for laser-driven ion beams to be used for the handling of particles accelerated by high-power laser interacting with solid targets has been realized at INFN. The goal is the production of a controlled and stable beam in terms of energy and angular spread. The beam-line consists of two elements: an Energy Selection System (ESS), already realized and characterized with both conventional and laser-accelerated beams, and a Permanent Magnet Quadrupole system (PMQ) designed, in collaboration with SIGMAPHI (Fr), to improve the ESS performances. In this work a description of the ESS system and some results of its characterization with conventional beams are reported, in order to provide a complete explanation of the acceptance calculation. Then, the matching with the PMQ system is presented and, finally, the results of preliminary simulations with a realistic laser-driven energy spectrum are discussed demonstrating the possibility to provide a good quality beam downstream the systems.

Laser ionization installation for measurement of atomic beam parameters

CERN Document Server

Tukhlibaev, O; Khalilov, E E; Alimov, U Z

2002-01-01

The design of the laser ionization installation for determination of the atomic beam intensity, density and spatial structure is described. The method of the atoms laser resonance staged photoionization is applied in the installation. The above installation consists of two lasers on the dyestuffs, the atomizer, the ionization system and the ion signals registration system. The results of studies on the spatial structure of the In atoms beam are presented. The proposed method provides for the spatial resolution at the level of 10-100 mu m

Beam collimation and energy spectrum compression of laser-accelerated proton beams using solenoid field and RF cavity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teng, J.; Gu, Y.Q., E-mail: tengjian@mail.ustc.edu.cn; Zhu, B.; Hong, W.; Zhao, Z.Q.; Zhou, W.M.; Cao, L.F.

2013-11-21

This paper presents a new method of laser produced proton beam collimation and spectrum compression using a combination of a solenoid field and a RF cavity. The solenoid collects laser-driven protons efficiently within an angle that is smaller than 12 degrees because it is mounted few millimeters from the target, and collimates protons with energies around 2.3 MeV. The collimated proton beam then passes through a RF cavity to allow compression of the spectrum. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations demonstrate the proton beam transport in the solenoid and RF electric fields. Excellent energy compression and collection efficiency of protons are presented. This method for proton beam optimization is suitable for high repetition-rate laser acceleration proton beams, which could be used as an injector for a conventional proton accelerator.

Beam collimation and energy spectrum compression of laser-accelerated proton beams using solenoid field and RF cavity

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, J.; Gu, Y. Q.; Zhu, B.; Hong, W.; Zhao, Z. Q.; Zhou, W. M.; Cao, L. F.

2013-11-01

This paper presents a new method of laser produced proton beam collimation and spectrum compression using a combination of a solenoid field and a RF cavity. The solenoid collects laser-driven protons efficiently within an angle that is smaller than 12 degrees because it is mounted few millimeters from the target, and collimates protons with energies around 2.3 MeV. The collimated proton beam then passes through a RF cavity to allow compression of the spectrum. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations demonstrate the proton beam transport in the solenoid and RF electric fields. Excellent energy compression and collection efficiency of protons are presented. This method for proton beam optimization is suitable for high repetition-rate laser acceleration proton beams, which could be used as an injector for a conventional proton accelerator.

Beam collimation and energy spectrum compression of laser-accelerated proton beams using solenoid field and RF cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teng, J.; Gu, Y.Q.; Zhu, B.; Hong, W.; Zhao, Z.Q.; Zhou, W.M.; Cao, L.F.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a new method of laser produced proton beam collimation and spectrum compression using a combination of a solenoid field and a RF cavity. The solenoid collects laser-driven protons efficiently within an angle that is smaller than 12 degrees because it is mounted few millimeters from the target, and collimates protons with energies around 2.3 MeV. The collimated proton beam then passes through a RF cavity to allow compression of the spectrum. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations demonstrate the proton beam transport in the solenoid and RF electric fields. Excellent energy compression and collection efficiency of protons are presented. This method for proton beam optimization is suitable for high repetition-rate laser acceleration proton beams, which could be used as an injector for a conventional proton accelerator

Laser-driven electron beam and radiation sources for basic, medical and industrial sciences

Science.gov (United States)

NAKAJIMA, Kazuhisa

2015-01-01

To date active research on laser-driven plasma-based accelerators have achieved great progress on production of high-energy, high-quality electron and photon beams in a compact scale. Such laser plasma accelerators have been envisaged bringing a wide range of applications in basic, medical and industrial sciences. Here inheriting the groundbreaker’s review article on “Laser Acceleration and its future” [Toshiki Tajima, (2010)],1) we would like to review recent progress of producing such electron beams due to relativistic laser-plasma interactions followed by laser wakefield acceleration and lead to the scaling formulas that are useful to design laser plasma accelerators with controllability of beam energy and charge. Lastly specific examples of such laser-driven electron/photon beam sources are illustrated. PMID:26062737

Laser ablation of hard tissue: correlation between the laser beam parameters and the post-ablative tissue characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Serafetinides, Alexandros A.; Makropoulou, Mersini I.; Khabbaz, Maruan

2003-11-01

Hard dental tissue laser applications, such as preventive treatment, laser diagnosis of caries, laser etching of enamel, laser decay removal and cavity preparation, and more recently use of the laser light to enlarge the root canal during the endodontic therapy, have been investigated for in vitro and in vivo applications. Post-ablative surface characteristics, e.g. degree of charring, cracks and other surface deformation, can be evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. The experimental data are discussed in relevance with the laser beam characteristics, e.g. pulse duration, beam profile, and the beam delivery systems employed. Techniques based on the laser illumination of the dental tissues and the subsequent evaluation of the scattered fluorescent light will be a valuable tool in early diagnosis of tooth diseases, as carious dentin or enamel. The laser induced autofluorescence signal of healthy dentin is much stronger than that of the carious dentin. However, a better understanding of the transmission patterns of laser light in teeth, for both diagnosis and therapy is needed, before the laser procedures can be used in a clinical environment.

Single lens laser beam shaper

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chuyu [Newport News, VA; Zhang, Shukui [Yorktown, VA

2011-10-04

A single lens bullet-shaped laser beam shaper capable of redistributing an arbitrary beam profile into any desired output profile comprising a unitary lens comprising: a convex front input surface defining a focal point and a flat output portion at the focal point; and b) a cylindrical core portion having a flat input surface coincident with the flat output portion of the first input portion at the focal point and a convex rear output surface remote from the convex front input surface.

Multi-image acquisition-based distance sensor using agile laser spot beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Riza, Nabeel A; Amin, M Junaid

2014-09-01

We present a novel laser-based distance measurement technique that uses multiple-image-based spatial processing to enable distance measurements. Compared with the first-generation distance sensor using spatial processing, the modified sensor is no longer hindered by the classic Rayleigh axial resolution limit for the propagating laser beam at its minimum beam waist location. The proposed high-resolution distance sensor design uses an electronically controlled variable focus lens (ECVFL) in combination with an optical imaging device, such as a charged-coupled device (CCD), to produce and capture different laser spot size images on a target with these beam spot sizes different from the minimal spot size possible at this target distance. By exploiting the unique relationship of the target located spot sizes with the varying ECVFL focal length for each target distance, the proposed distance sensor can compute the target distance with a distance measurement resolution better than the axial resolution via the Rayleigh resolution criterion. Using a 30 mW 633 nm He-Ne laser coupled with an electromagnetically actuated liquid ECVFL, along with a 20 cm focal length bias lens, and using five spot images captured per target position by a CCD-based Nikon camera, a proof-of-concept proposed distance sensor is successfully implemented in the laboratory over target ranges from 10 to 100 cm with a demonstrated sub-cm axial resolution, which is better than the axial Rayleigh resolution limit at these target distances. Applications for the proposed potentially cost-effective distance sensor are diverse and include industrial inspection and measurement and 3D object shape mapping and imaging.

Coherent beam combining architectures for high power tapered laser arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Schimmel, G.; Janicot, S.; Hanna, M.; Decker, J.; Crump, P.; Erbert, G.; Witte, U.; Traub, M.; Georges, P.; Lucas-Leclin, G.

2017-02-01

Coherent beam combining (CBC) aims at increasing the spatial brightness of lasers. It consists in maintaining a constant phase relationship between different emitters, in order to combine them constructively in one single beam. We have investigated the CBC of an array of five individually-addressable high-power tapered laser diodes at λ = 976 nm, in two architectures: the first one utilizes the self-organization of the lasers in an interferometric extended-cavity, which ensures their mutual coherence; the second one relies on the injection of the emitters by a single-frequency laser diode. In both cases, the coherent combining of the phase-locked beams is ensured on the front side of the array by a transmission diffractive grating with 98% efficiency. The passive phase-locking of the laser bar is obtained up to 5 A (per emitter). An optimization algorithm is implemented to find the proper currents in the five ridge sections that ensured the maximum combined power on the front side. Under these conditions we achieve a maximum combined power of 7.5 W. In the active MOPA configuration, we can increase the currents in the tapered sections up to 6 A and get a combined power of 11.5 W, corresponding to a combining efficiency of 76%. It is limited by the beam quality of the tapered emitters and by fast phase fluctuations between emitters. Still, these results confirm the potential of CBC approaches with tapered lasers to provide a high-power and high-brightness beam, and compare with the current state-of-the-art with laser diodes.

Numerical Model based Reliability Estimation of Selective Laser Melting Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohanty, Sankhya; Hattel, Jesper Henri

2014-01-01

Selective laser melting is developing into a standard manufacturing technology with applications in various sectors. However, the process is still far from being at par with conventional processes such as welding and casting, the primary reason of which is the unreliability of the process. While...... of the selective laser melting process. A validated 3D finite-volume alternating-direction-implicit numerical technique is used to model the selective laser melting process, and is calibrated against results from single track formation experiments. Correlation coefficients are determined for process input...... parameters such as laser power, speed, beam profile, etc. Subsequently, uncertainties in the processing parameters are utilized to predict a range for the various outputs, using a Monte Carlo method based uncertainty analysis methodology, and the reliability of the process is established....

Optical breakdown of helium in Bessel laser radiation beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreev, N E; Pleshanov, I V; Margolin, L Ya; Pyatnitskii, Lev N

1998-01-01

Numerical simulation is used to investigate the dynamics of formation of a helium plasma in Bessel beams, shaped by an axicon and a phase converter from a laser radiation pulse with Gaussian temporal and radial intensity profiles. The beam intensities at the breakdown threshold are determined as a function of the pulse duration for various radial field distributions in a beam characterised by Bessel functions of order m (m = 0 - 5). It is shown that in the investigated range of parameters the threshold intensity is independent of m. The temporal and spatial evolution of the resultant plasma, and the dependence of the plasma characteristics on the pulse parameters are considered. Conditions are found for the formation of tubular plasma channels in beams of orders m≥1. The adopted model of the optical breakdown of helium is shown to be satisfactory because of a good agreement between the results of calculations of the moment of breakdown in a zeroth-order Bessel beam and experimental results. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

Development of an energy selector system for laser-driven proton beam applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scuderi, V., E-mail: scuderiv@lns.infn.it [Department of Experimental Program at ELI-Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines project, Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Bijan Jia, S. [Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, Mashhad (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Carpinelli, M. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Cirrone, G.A.P. [Department of Experimental Program at ELI-Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines project, Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Cuttone, G. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Korn, G. [Department of Experimental Program at ELI-Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines project, Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Licciardello, T. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Maggiore, M. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Viale dell' Universit 2, Legnaro (Pd) (Italy); Margarone, D. [Department of Experimental Program at ELI-Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines project, Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Pisciotta, P.; Romano, F. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Schillaci, F. [Department of Experimental Program at ELI-Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines project, Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); Stancampiano, C. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania (Italy); and others

2014-03-11

Nowadays, laser-driven proton beams generated by the interaction of high power lasers with solid targets represent a fascinating attraction in the field of the new acceleration techniques. These beams can be potentially accelerated up to hundreds of MeV and, therefore, they can represent a promising opportunity for medical applications. Laser-accelerated proton beams typically show high flux (up to 10{sup 11} particles per bunch), very short temporal profile (ps), broad energy spectra and poor reproducibility. In order to overcome these limitations, these beams have be controlled and transported by means of a proper beam handling system. Furthermore, suitable dosimetric diagnostic systems must be developed and tested. In the framework of the ELIMED project, we started to design a dedicated beam transport line and we have developed a first prototype of a beam line key-element: an Energy Selector System (ESS). It is based on permanent dipoles, capable to control and select in energy laser-accelerated proton beams. Monte Carlo simulations and some preliminary experimental tests have been already performed to characterize the device. A calibration of the ESS system with a conventional proton beam will be performed in September at the LNS in Catania. Moreover, an experimental campaign with laser-driven proton beam at the Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University in Belfast is already scheduled and will be completed within 2014.

Conceptual design of a large E-beam-pumped KrF laser for ICF commercial applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, D.B.; Waganer, L.M.; Zuckerman, D.S.; Bowers, D.A.

1986-01-01

Two types of KrF lasers appear attractive as a driver for an ICF electric power plant. The original concept uses large electron-beam-pumped amplifiers and pure angular multiplexing to deliver short, shaped pulses to the target. A recently conceived alternate concept uses many small, long-pulse e-beam sustained discharge lasers which transfer their energy through the forward Raman process to a multiplexed set of beams to deliver the energy to target. Preliminary comparisons of the two systems indicate that the original concept has both a lower cost and a lower system efficiency, and both concepts appear to be nearly equally attractive as an ICF driver for an electric power plant. This paper examines a 4.8 MJ, 5 Hz KrF laser system designed using the original concept. The laser uses 24 main amplifiers arranged in eight sets of three amplifiers each. This layout optimizes both the optical system and the gas flow system, and uses a simple target illumination scheme that provides neutron shielding to allow hands-on maintenance in the laser hall

A method of measuring micro-impulse with torsion pendulum based on multi-beam laser heterodyne

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan-Chao; Wang, Chun-Hui

2012-02-01

In this paper, we propose a novel method of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement for micro-impulse. The measurement of the micro-impulse, which is converted into the measurement of the small tuning angle of the torsion pendulum, is realized by considering the interaction between pulse laser and working medium. Based on Doppler effect and heterodyne technology, the information regarding the small tuning angle is loaded to the frequency difference of the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal by the frequency modulation of the oscillating mirror, thereby obtaining many values of the small tuning angle after the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal demodulation simultaneously. Processing these values by weighted-average, the small tuning angle can be obtained accurately and the value of the micro-impulse can eventually be calculated. Using Polyvinylchlorid+2%C as a working medium, this novel method is used to simulate the value of the micro-impulse by MATLAB which is generated by considering the interaction between the pulse laser and the working medium, the obtained result shows that the relative error of this method is just 0.5%.

A method of measuring micro-impulse with torsion pendulum based on multi-beam laser heterodyne

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yan-Chao; Wang Chun-Hui

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel method of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement for micro-impulse. The measurement of the micro-impulse, which is converted into the measurement of the small tuning angle of the torsion pendulum, is realized by considering the interaction between pulse laser and working medium. Based on Doppler effect and heterodyne technology, the information regarding the small tuning angle is loaded to the frequency difference of the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal by the frequency modulation of the oscillating mirror, thereby obtaining many values of the small tuning angle after the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal demodulation simultaneously. Processing these values by weighted-average, the small tuning angle can be obtained accurately and the value of the micro-impulse can eventually be calculated. Using Polyvinylchlorid+2%C as a working medium, this novel method is used to simulate the value of the micro-impulse by MATLAB which is generated by considering the interaction between the pulse laser and the working medium, the obtained result shows that the relative error of this method is just 0.5%. (general)

Numerical simulation of residual stress in laser based additive manufacturing process

Science.gov (United States)

Kalyan Panda, Bibhu; Sahoo, Seshadev

2018-03-01

Minimizing the residual stress build-up in metal-based additive manufacturing plays a pivotal role in selecting a particular material and technique for making an industrial part. In beam-based additive manufacturing, although a great deal of effort has been made to minimize the residual stresses, it is still elusive how to do so by simply optimizing the processing parameters, such as beam size, beam power, and scan speed. Amid different types of additive manufacturing processes, Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) process uses a high-power laser to melt and sinter layers of metal powder. The rapid solidification and heat transfer on powder bed endows a high cooling rate which leads to the build-up of residual stresses, that will affect the mechanical properties of the build parts. In the present work, the authors develop a numerical thermo-mechanical model for the measurement of residual stress in the AlSi10Mg build samples by using finite element method. Transient temperature distribution in the powder bed was assessed using the coupled thermal to structural model. Subsequently, the residual stresses were estimated with varying laser power. From the simulation result, it found that the melt pool dimensions increase with increasing the laser power and the magnitude of residual stresses in the built part increases.

Ion beam sputter coatings for laser technology

Science.gov (United States)

Ristau, Detlev; Gross, Tobias

2005-09-01

The initial motivation for the development of Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) processes was the need for optical coatings with extremely low optical scatter losses for laser gyros. Especially, backscattering of the gyro-mirrors couples the directional modes in the ring resonator leading to the lock in effect which limits the sensitivity of the gyro. Accordingly, the first patent on IBS was approved for an aircraft company (Litton) in 1978. In the course of the rapid development of the IBS-concept during the last two decades, an extremely high optical quality could be achieved for laser coatings in the VIS- and NIR-spectral region. For example, high reflecting coatings with total optical losses below 1 ppm were demonstrated for specific precision measurement applications with the Nd:YAG-laser operating at 1.064 μm. Even though the high quality level of IBS-coatings had been confirmed in many applications, the process has not found its way into the production environment of most optical companies. Major restrictions are the relatively low rate of the deposition process and the poor lateral homogeneity of the coatings, which are related to the output characteristics of the currently available ion sources. In the present contribution, the basic principles of IBS will be discussed in the context of the demands of modern laser technology. Besides selected examples for special applications of IBS, aspects will be presented for approaches towards rapid manufacturing of coatings and the production of rugate filters on the basis of IBS-techniques.

Transport of laser accelerated proton beams and isochoric heating of matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roth, M; Alber, I; Guenther, M; Harres, K; Bagnoud, V; Brown, C; Gregori, G; Clarke, R; Heathcote, R; Li, B; Daido, H; Fernandez, J; Flippo, K; Gaillard, S; Gauthier, C; Glenzer, S; Kritcher, A; Kugland, N; LePape, S; Makita, M

2010-01-01

The acceleration of intense proton and ion beams by ultra-intense lasers has matured to a point where applications in basic research and technology are being developed. Crucial for harvesting the unmatched beam parameters driven by the relativistic electron sheath is the precise control of the beam. We report on recent experiments using the PHELIX laser at GSI, the VULCAN laser at RAL and the TRIDENT laser at LANL to control and use laser accelerated proton beams for applications in high energy density research. We demonstrate efficient collimation of the proton beam using high field pulsed solenoid magnets, a prerequisite to capture and transport the beam for applications. Furthermore we report on two campaigns to use intense, short proton bunches to isochorically heat solid targets up to the warm dense matter state. The temporal profile of the proton beam allows for rapid heating of the target, much faster than the hydrodynamic response time thereby creating a strongly coupled plasma at solid density. The target parameters are then probed by X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) to reveal the density and temperature of the heated volume. This combination of two powerful techniques developed during the past few years allows for the generation and investigation of macroscopic samples of matter in states present in giant planets or the interior of the earth.

Transport of laser accelerated proton beams and isochoric heating of matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roth, M; Alber, I; Guenther, M; Harres, K [Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Bagnoud, V [GSI Helmholtzzentrum f. Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Brown, C; Gregori, G [Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Clarke, R; Heathcote, R; Li, B [STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, OX14 OQX (United Kingdom); Daido, H [Photo Medical Research Center, JAEA, Kizugawa-City, Kyoto 619-0215 (Japan); Fernandez, J; Flippo, K; Gaillard, S; Gauthier, C [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Glenzer, S; Kritcher, A; Kugland, N; LePape, S [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Makita, M, E-mail: markus.roth@physik.tu-darmstadt.d [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)

2010-08-01

The acceleration of intense proton and ion beams by ultra-intense lasers has matured to a point where applications in basic research and technology are being developed. Crucial for harvesting the unmatched beam parameters driven by the relativistic electron sheath is the precise control of the beam. We report on recent experiments using the PHELIX laser at GSI, the VULCAN laser at RAL and the TRIDENT laser at LANL to control and use laser accelerated proton beams for applications in high energy density research. We demonstrate efficient collimation of the proton beam using high field pulsed solenoid magnets, a prerequisite to capture and transport the beam for applications. Furthermore we report on two campaigns to use intense, short proton bunches to isochorically heat solid targets up to the warm dense matter state. The temporal profile of the proton beam allows for rapid heating of the target, much faster than the hydrodynamic response time thereby creating a strongly coupled plasma at solid density. The target parameters are then probed by X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) to reveal the density and temperature of the heated volume. This combination of two powerful techniques developed during the past few years allows for the generation and investigation of macroscopic samples of matter in states present in giant planets or the interior of the earth.

Measurement system with high accuracy for laser beam quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Yi; Zeng, Ciling; Xie, Peiyuan; Jiang, Qingshan; Liang, Ke; Yang, Zhenyu; Zhao, Ming

2015-05-20

Presently, most of the laser beam quality measurement system collimates the optical path manually with low efficiency and low repeatability. To solve these problems, this paper proposed a new collimated method to improve the reliability and accuracy of the measurement results. The system accuracy controlled the position of the mirror to change laser beam propagation direction, which can realize the beam perpendicularly incident to the photosurface of camera. The experiment results show that the proposed system has good repeatability and the measuring deviation of M2 factor is less than 0.6%.

Using a short-pulse diffraction-limited laser beam to probe filamentation of a random phase plate smoothed beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kline, J. L.; Montgomery, D. S.; Flippo, K. A.; Johnson, R. P.; Rose, H. A.; Shimada, T.; Williams, E. A.

2008-01-01

A short pulse (few picoseconds) laser probe provides high temporal resolution measurements to elucidate details of fast dynamic phenomena not observable with typical longer laser pulse probes and gated diagnostics. Such a short pulse laser probe (SPLP) has been used to measure filamentation of a random phase plate (RPP) smoothed laser beam in a gas-jet plasma. The plasma index of refraction due to driven density and temperature fluctuations by the RPP beam perturbs the phase front of a SPLP propagating at a 90 deg. angle with respect to the RPP interaction beam. The density and temperature fluctuations are quasistatic on the time scale of the SPLP (∼2 ps). The transmitted near-field intensity distribution from the SPLP provides a measure of the phase front perturbation. At low plasma densities, the transmitted intensity pattern is asymmetric with striations across the entire probe beam in the direction of the RPP smoothed beam. As the plasma density increases, the striations break up into smaller sizes along the direction of the RPP beam propagation. The breakup of the intensity pattern is consistent with self-focusing of the RPP smoothed interaction beam. Simulations of the experiment using the wave propagation code, PF3D, are in qualitative agreement demonstrating that the asymmetric striations can be attributed to the RPP driven density fluctuations. Quantification of the beam breakup measured by the transmitted SPLP could lead to a new method for measuring self-focusing of lasers in underdense plasmas.

Using a short-pulse diffraction-limited laser beam to probe filamentation of a random phase plate smoothed beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Kline, J L; Montgomery, D S; Flippo, K A; Johnson, R P; Rose, H A; Shimada, T; Williams, E A

2008-10-01

A short pulse (few picoseconds) laser probe provides high temporal resolution measurements to elucidate details of fast dynamic phenomena not observable with typical longer laser pulse probes and gated diagnostics. Such a short pulse laser probe (SPLP) has been used to measure filamentation of a random phase plate (RPP) smoothed laser beam in a gas-jet plasma. The plasma index of refraction due to driven density and temperature fluctuations by the RPP beam perturbs the phase front of a SPLP propagating at a 90 degree angle with respect to the RPP interaction beam. The density and temperature fluctuations are quasistatic on the time scale of the SPLP (approximately 2 ps). The transmitted near-field intensity distribution from the SPLP provides a measure of the phase front perturbation. At low plasma densities, the transmitted intensity pattern is asymmetric with striations across the entire probe beam in the direction of the RPP smoothed beam. As the plasma density increases, the striations break up into smaller sizes along the direction of the RPP beam propagation. The breakup of the intensity pattern is consistent with self-focusing of the RPP smoothed interaction beam. Simulations of the experiment using the wave propagation code, PF3D, are in qualitative agreement demonstrating that the asymmetric striations can be attributed to the RPP driven density fluctuations. Quantification of the beam breakup measured by the transmitted SPLP could lead to a new method for measuring self-focusing of lasers in underdense plasmas.

Vertical laser beam propagation through the troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Minott, P. O.; Bufton, J. L.; Schaefer, W. H.; Grolemund, D. A.

1974-01-01

The characteristics of the earth's atmosphere and its effects upon laser beams was investigated in a series of balloon borne, optical propagation experiments. These experiments were designed to simulate the space to ground laser link. An experiment to determine the amplitude fluctuation, commonly called scintillation, caused by the atmosphere was described.

Hollow core waveguide as mid-infrared laser modal beam filter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patimisco, P.; Giglio, M.; Spagnolo, V. [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica, Università e Politecnico di Bari, CNR-IFN UOS BARI, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy); Sampaolo, A. [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica, Università e Politecnico di Bari, CNR-IFN UOS BARI, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States); Kriesel, J. M. [Opto-Knowledge Systems, Inc. (OKSI), 19805 Hamilton Ave., Torrance, California 90502-1341 (United States); Tittel, F. K. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States)

2015-09-21

A novel method for mid-IR laser beam mode cleaning employing hollow core waveguide as a modal filter element is reported. The influence of the input laser beam quality on fiber optical losses and output beam profile using a hollow core waveguide with 200 μm-bore size was investigated. Our results demonstrate that even when using a laser with a poor spatial profile, there will exist a minimum fiber length that allows transmission of only the Gaussian-like fundamental waveguide mode from the fiber, filtering out all the higher order modes. This essentially single mode output is preserved also when the waveguide is bent to a radius of curvature of 7.5 cm, which demonstrates that laser mode filtering can be realized even if a curved light path is required.

Summary of the guideline on underwater laser beam repair welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichikawa, Hiroya; Yoda, Masaki; Motora, Yuichi

2013-01-01

It is known that stress corrosion cracking (SCC) might occur at the weld of a reactor pressure vessel or core internals. Underwater laser beam clad welding for mitigation of SCC has been already established and the guideline 'Underwater laser beam clad welding' was published. Moreover, the guideline 'Seal welding' was also published as a repair method for SCC. In addition to these guidelines, the guideline 'Underwater laser beam repair welding' was newly published in November, 2012 for the repair welding after completely removing a SCC crack occurred in weld or base metal. This paper introduces the summary of this guideline. (author)

High resolution laser spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool in beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergmann, K.; Hefter, U.; Hering, P.

1977-01-01

The combination of high resolution laser spectroscopy with the technique of molecular beams allows a very detailed beam research since molecules or atoms in specific quantum states can be sampled yielding previously unavailable sources of data. In these experiments a Na/Na 2 beam emerges from a 0.2 mm nozzle and is collimated by a 2 mm wide slit 50 cm downstream. To probe the molecules a single mode Ar + -laser was used which can be tuned within the gain profile of the laser line (8 GHz) to several transitions between specific levels in the ground state and second electronically excited state of the Na 2 molecule. (Auth.)

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

Closely spaced mirror pair for reshaping and homogenizing pump beams in laser amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bass, I.L.

1992-12-01

Channeling a laser beam by multiple reflections between two closely-spaced, parallel or nearly parallel mirrors, serves to reshape and homogenize the beam at the output gap between the mirrors. Application of this device to improve the spatial overlap of a copper laser pump beam with the signal beam in a dye laser amplifier is described. This technique has been applied to the AVLIS program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Laser beam welding of titanium additive manufactured parts

OpenAIRE

Wits, Wessel Willems; Jauregui Becker, Juan Manuel

2015-01-01

In this paper the joinability of titanium Additive Manufactured (AM) parts is explored. Keyhole welding, using a pulsed laser beam, of conventionally produced parts is compared to AM parts. Metal AM parts are notorious for having remaining porosities and other non-isotropic properties due to the layered manufacturing process. This study shows that due to these deficiencies more energy per unit weld length is required to obtain a similar keyhole geometry for titanium AM parts. It is also demon...

Characterisation of beams of low power infrared lasers for medical uses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welch, M.; Ramsay, D.

1996-01-01

Full text: The initial aim of this work was to investigate the power stability, both temporally and spatially, of the beams of low power infrared diode lasers of the type used by physiotherapists and vascular surgeons. Most of the lasers in this category are small, handheld devices, often with on/off switches which are manually held on while the laser is running. Two of those tested were larger, on stands, and could be set to run for a nominated time. Measurements made by one of us prior to the project had indicated that the power output of at least one of the lasers in use at Westmead Hospital was varying significantly over the treatment time. It is not at present known whether or not uniformity of power output is a significant factor in low power laser therapy, which has been shown to have beneficial effects for conditions ranging from torn muscles and arthritis to birth marks. Dramatic improvement in the healing of skin ulcers and wounds such as amputation scars has also been recorded. Equipment was chosen and a set of techniques developed for analysing the laser beams (some of which operated in continuous wave mode, some in pulsed mode, and some in both) with respect to: power output over time; power distribution within the beam, ie., beam profile; beam divergence; and pulse repetition frequency and pulse shape, if applicable. The fact that some of the lasers were continuous wave, some were pulsed and that some had very high pulse repetition frequencies placed restrictions on the type of power meter which could be used. Eventually a surface absorbing thermal power meter, responsive over a wide range of wavelengths, was chosen for temporal power measurements. Pulse repetition rates and pulse shapes were shown on a CRO; and spatial power distribution, beam shape, power distribution and divergence were recorded via a CCD camera and Spiricon laser beam analyser. 3D printouts from the Spiricon were made showing distribution of beam power. Nine lasers were analysed

3D Laser Processing : The Renault Rl5

Science.gov (United States)

Rolland, Olivier C.; Meyer, Bernard D.

1986-11-01

The RL5, a five-axis robot, is designed to steer a powerful laser beam on 3 dimensional (3D) trajectories with a great accuracy. Cutting and welding with a CO2 laser beam, drilling with a YAG laser beam are some applications of this machine which can be integrated in a production line. Easy management and modifications of trajectories, obtained either in a teaching mode or by a CAD-CAM system, give the laser tool its main interest : flexibility.

Acceleration of laser-injected electron beams in an electron-beam driven plasma wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knetsch, Alexander

2018-03-01

Plasma wakefields deliver accelerating fields that are approximately a 100 times higher than those in conventional radiofrequency or even superconducting radiofrequency cavities. This opens a transformative path towards novel, compact and potentially ubiquitous accelerators. These prospects, and the increasing demand for electron accelerator beamtime for various applications in natural, material and life sciences, motivate the research and development on novel plasma-based accelerator concepts. However, these electron beam sources need to be understood and controlled. The focus of this thesis is on electron beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) and the controlled injection and acceleration of secondary electron bunches in the accelerating wake fields by means of a short-pulse near-infrared laser. Two laser-triggered injection methods are explored. The first one is the Trojan Horse Injection, which relies on very good alignment and timing control between electron beam and laser pulse and then promises electron bunches with hitherto unprecedented quality as regards emittance and brightness. The physics of electron injection in the Trojan Horse case is explored with a focus on the final longitudinal bunch length. Then a theoretical and numerical study is presented that examines the physics of Trojan Horse injection when performed in an expanding wake generated by a smooth density down-ramp. The benefits are radically decreased drive-electron bunch requirements and a unique bunch-length control that enables longitudinal electron-bunch shaping. The second laser-triggered injection method is the Plasma Torch Injection, which is a versatile, all-optical laser-plasma-based method capable to realize tunable density downramp injection. At the SLAC National Laboratory, the first proof-of-principle was achieved both for Trojan Horse and Plasma Torch injection. Setup details and results are reported in the experimental part of the thesis along with the commissioning

Narrow linewidth operation of a spectral beam combined diode laser bar.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhanda; Jiang, Menghua; Cheng, Siqi; Hui, Yongling; Lei, Hong; Li, Qiang

2016-04-20

Our experiment is expected to provide an approach for realizing ultranarrow linewidth for a spectral beam combined diode laser bar. The beams of a diode laser bar are combined in a fast axis after a beam transformation system. With the help of relay optics and a transform lens with a long focal length of 1.5 m, the whole wavelength of a spectral combined laser bar can be narrowed down to 0.48 nm from more than 10 nm. We have achieved 56.7 W cw from a 19-element single bar with an M2 of 1.4  (in horizontal direction)×11.6  (in vertical direction). These parameters are good evidence that all the beams from the diode laser bar are combined together to increase the brightness.

Analysis of processes participating during intense iodine-laser-beam interactions with laser-produced plasmas

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Láska, Leoš; Badziak, J.; Jungwirth, Karel; Kalal, M.; Krása, Josef; Krouský, Eduard; Kubeš, P.; Margarone, Daniele; Parys, P.; Pfeifer, Miroslav; Rohlena, Karel; Rosinski, M.; Ryč, L.; Skála, Jiří; Torrisi, L.; Ullschmied, Jiří; Velyhan, Andriy; Wolowski, J.

2010-01-01

Roč. 165, 6-10 (2010), s. 463-471 ISSN 1042-0150 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA AV ČR IAA100100715 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 228334 - LASERLAB-EUROPE Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523; CEZ:AV0Z20430508 Keywords : laser plasma * non-linear processes * magnetic self-focusing * pinching Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 0.660, year: 2010

Scintillation reduction for laser beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman, G P; Gorshkov, V N; Torous, S V

2011-01-01

We numerically examine the spatial evolution of the structure of coherent and partially coherent laser beams, including the optical vortices, propagating in turbulent atmospheres. The influence of beam fragmentation and wandering relative to the axis of propagation (z-axis) on the value of the scintillation index (SI) of the signal at the detector is analysed. These studies were performed for different dimensions of the detector, distances of propagation, and strengths of the atmospheric turbulence. Methods for significantly reducing the SI are described. These methods utilize averaging of the signal at the detector over a set of partially coherent beams (PCBs). It is demonstrated that the most effective approach is using a set of PCBs with definite initial directions of propagation relative to the z-axis. This approach results in a significant compensation of the beam wandering which in many cases is the main contributor to the SI. A novel method is to generate the PCBs by combining two laser beams-Gaussian and vortex beams, with different frequencies (the difference between these two frequencies being significantly smaller than the frequencies themselves). In this case, the effective suppression of the SI does not require high-frequency modulators. This result is important for achieving gigabit data rates in long-distance laser communication through turbulent atmospheres.

Scintillation reduction for laser beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berman, G P; Gorshkov, V N [Theoretical Division, T-4 and CNLS MS B213, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Torous, S V, E-mail: gpb@lanl.gov [National Technical University of Ukraine ' KPI' , 37 Peremogy Avenue, Building 7, Kiev-56, 03056 (Ukraine)

2011-03-14

We numerically examine the spatial evolution of the structure of coherent and partially coherent laser beams, including the optical vortices, propagating in turbulent atmospheres. The influence of beam fragmentation and wandering relative to the axis of propagation (z-axis) on the value of the scintillation index (SI) of the signal at the detector is analysed. These studies were performed for different dimensions of the detector, distances of propagation, and strengths of the atmospheric turbulence. Methods for significantly reducing the SI are described. These methods utilize averaging of the signal at the detector over a set of partially coherent beams (PCBs). It is demonstrated that the most effective approach is using a set of PCBs with definite initial directions of propagation relative to the z-axis. This approach results in a significant compensation of the beam wandering which in many cases is the main contributor to the SI. A novel method is to generate the PCBs by combining two laser beams-Gaussian and vortex beams, with different frequencies (the difference between these two frequencies being significantly smaller than the frequencies themselves). In this case, the effective suppression of the SI does not require high-frequency modulators. This result is important for achieving gigabit data rates in long-distance laser communication through turbulent atmospheres.

Spatial beam shaping using a micro-structured optical fiber and all-fiber laser amplification system for large-scale laser facilities seeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvet, Pierre

2014-01-01

Spatial beam shaping is an important topic for the lasers applications. For various industrial areas (marking, drilling, laser-matter interaction, high-power laser seeding...) the optical beam has to be flattened. Currently, the state of the art of the beam shaping: 'free-space' solutions or highly multimode fibers, are not fully suitable. The first ones are very sensitive to any perturbations and the maintenance is challenging, the second ones cannot deliver a coherent beam. For this reason, we present in this manuscript a micro-structured optical single-mode fiber delivering a spatially flattened beam. This 'Top-Hat' fiber can shape any beam in a spatially coherent beam what is a progress with respect to the highly multimode fibers used in the state of the art. The optical fibers are easy to use and very robust, what is a strong benefit with respect to the 'free-space' solutions. Thanks to this fiber, we could realize an all-fiber multi-stage laser chain to amplify a 10 ns pulse to 100 μJ. Moreover the temporal, spectral and spatial properties were preserved. We adapted this 'Top-Hat' fiber to this multi-stage laser chain, we proved the capability and the interest of this fiber for the spatial beam shaping of the laser beams in highly performing and robust laser systems. (author) [fr

Laser and electron beam welding of Ti-alloys: Literature review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cam, G; Santos, J.F. dos; Kocak, M [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Werkstofforschung

1998-12-31

The welding of titanium alloys must be conducted in completely inert or vacuum environments due to the strong affinity of titanium to oxygen. Residual stresses in titanium welds can greatly influence the performance of a fabricated aerospace component by degrading fatigue properties. Moreover, distortion can cause difficulties in the final assembly and operation of high-tolerance aerospace systems. Power beam welding processes, namely laser and electron beam welding, offer remarkable advantages over conventional fusion welding processes and have a great potential to produce full-penetration, single-pass autogenous welds with minimal component distortion due to low heat input and high reproducibility of joint quality. Moreover, electron beam welding process, which is conducted in a vacuum chamber, inherently provides better atmospheric protection. Although considerable progress has been made in welding of titanium alloys by power beam processes, there is still a lack of a complete set of mechanical properties data of these joints. Furthermore, the problem of solid-state cracking in fusion welding of {gamma}-TiAl intermetallic alloys due to their low ductility is still to be overcome. The purpose of this literature review is to outline the progress made in this area and to provide basic information for the Brite-Euram project entitled assessment of quality of power beam weld joints ``ASPOW``. (orig.) 31 refs.

Studies on the beam system for the calibration of the OPAL jet chamber with laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maringer, G.

1988-07-01

UV laser beams are an important tool for the calibration of the OPAL jet chamber. A beam transport system containing about 350 mirrors in total guides the beams from the laser outside the detector into the chamber. Four of the mirrors are moveable under remote control allowing to guide the beams into each of the 24 sectors and to correct the beam path in case of deviations. A program to control these moveable mirrors has been developed. Drift velocity measurements will be performed by means of double beams which are generated by appropriate beamsplitters. Accurate knowledge of the double beam distances is essential to obtain the desired accuracy of better than 0.1% or 10 μm. Using a CCD device with a pixel size of 23x23 μm 2 the beam distance could be measured with errors below the required limit. (orig.)

On the control of filamentation of intense laser beams propagating in underdense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, E.A.

2006-01-01

In indirect drive inertial confinement fusion ignition designs, the laser energy is delivered into the hohlraum through the laser entrance holes (LEHs), which are sized as small as practicable to minimize x-ray radiation losses. On the other hand, deleterious laser plasma processes, such as filamentation and stimulated backscatter, typically increase with laser intensity. Ideally, therefore, the laser spot shape should be a close fit to the LEH, with uniform (envelope) intensity in the spot and minimal energy at larger radii spilling onto the LEH material. This keeps the laser intensity as low as possible, consistent with the area of the LEH aperture and the power requirements of the design. This can be achieved (at least for apertures significantly larger than the laser's aberrated focal spot) by the use of custom-designed phase plates. However, outfitting the 192-beam National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner, E. M. Campbell, and W. J. Hogan, Fusion Tech. 26, 755 1994)] laser with multiple sets of phase plates optimized for a variety of different LEH aperture sizes is an expensive proposition. It is thus important to assess the impact on laser-plasma interaction processes of using phase plates with a smaller than optimum focal spot (or even no phase plates at all!) and then defocusing the beam to expand it to fill the LEH and lower its intensity. Significant effects are found from changes in the characteristic sizes of the laser speckle, from the lack of uniformity of the laser envelope out of the focal plane and on the efficacy of additional polarization smoothing and/or smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD). These effects are quantified with analytic estimates and simulations using PF3D, our laser-plasma interaction code

Evaluating the beam quality of double-cladding fiber lasers in applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Ping; Wang, Xuejiao; Gong, Mali; Xiao, Qirong

2016-08-10

We put forward a new βFL factor, which is used exclusively in fiber lasers and is suitable to assess beam quality and choose the LP01 mode as the new suitable ideal beam. We present a new simple measurement method and verify the reasonability of the βFL factor in experiment in a 20/400 μm fiber laser. Furthermore, we use the βFL factor to evaluate the beam quality of a 3-kW-level fiber laser. It can be concluded that βFL is a key factor not only for assessing the performance of the high-power fiber laser that is our main focus, but also for the simple measurement.

Propagation of a laser beam in a time-varying waveguide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, J.M.; Kevorkian, J.

1978-01-01

The propagation of an axisymmetric laser beam in a plasma column having a radially parabolic electron density distribution is examined. First, an extended paraxial procedure is developed for the case of an axially uniform waveguide. It is shown that the essential feature of an alternate focusing and defocusing beam is retained, but that the intensity distribution is cumulatively modified at the foci and at the outer portions of the beam as compared to that of the paraxial case. Second, some general features of paraxial beam propagation are examined for the case of axially varying waveguides. Finally, laser plasma coupling is examined for the case when laser heating generates a density distribution that is radially parabolic near the axis and when the energy absorbed over a focal length of a plasma lens is small. It is shown that stable or unstable beam propagation depends upon the relative magnitude of the density fluctuations which exist in the axial variation of the waveguides as a result of laser heating. When the fluctuations are small, the propagation is stable, and a simple algebraic expression is obtained which relates the beam diameter to the axially slow averaged variation in the waveguide. When the fluctuations are large, the propagation stability can be determined only by consistently combining plasma dynamics and beam propagation to interrelate the axial variation of the beam to that of the waveguide. In this case of beam propagation in a time-varying waveguide, it is shown that the global stability of the propagation depends upon the initial fluctuation growth rate compared to the initial time rate of change in the radial curvature of the waveguide

Interaction of a CO2 laser beam with a shock-tube plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Box, S.J.C.; John, P.K.; Byszewski, W.W.

1977-01-01

The results of experimental investigations of the interaction of a CO 2 laser beam with plasma produced in an electromagnetic shock tube are presented. The interaction was investigated in two different configurations: with the laser beam perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the shock wave and with the laser beam parallel to the direction of the shock wave. The laser energy was 0.3 J in a 180-nsec pulse. The plasma density was in the range 10 17 --10 18 cm -3 and temperature was around 2 eV. Spectroscopic methods were used in the measurement of density and temperature. Direct observation of the path of the laser beam through the plasma was made by an image-convertor camera in conjunction with a narrow-band interference filter. The propagation of the laser through the plasma and energy absorption are discussed. The observed maximum increase in electron temperature due to the laser in the first configuration was 0.4 eV and the estimated temperature increase in the second configuration was about 2 eV

Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration (RITA) - laser-plasma accelerated quasi-monoenergetic GeV ion-beams with existing lasers?

Science.gov (United States)

Sahai, Aakash A.

2013-10-01

Laser-plasma ion accelerators have the potential to produce beams with unprecedented characteristics of ultra-short bunch lengths (100s of fs) and high bunch-charge (1010 particles) over acceleration length of about 100 microns. However, creating and controlling mono-energetic bunches while accelerating to high-energies has been a challenge. If high-energy mono-energetic beams can be demonstrated with minimal post-processing, laser (ω0)-plasma (ωpe) ion accelerators may be used in a wide-range of applications such as cancer hadron-therapy, medical isotope production, neutron generation, radiography and high-energy density science. Here we demonstrate using analysis and simulations that using relativistic intensity laser-pulses and heavy-ion (Mi ×me) targets doped with a proton (or light-ion) species (mp ×me) of trace density (at least an order of magnitude below the cold critical density) we can scale up the energy of quasi-mono-energetically accelerated proton (or light-ion) beams while controlling their energy, charge and energy spectrum. This is achieved by controlling the laser propagation into an overdense (ω0 RITA). Desired proton or light-ion energies can be achieved by controlling the velocity of the snowplow, which is shown to scale inversely with the rise-time of the laser (higher energies for shorter pulses) and directly with the scale-length of the plasma density gradient. Similar acceleration can be produced by controlling the increase of the laser frequency (Chirp Induced Transparency Acceleration, ChITA). Work supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF- PHY-0936278. Also, NSF-PHY-0936266 and NSF-PHY-0903039; the US Department of Energy under DEFC02-07ER41500, DE- FG02-92ER40727 and DE-FG52-09NA29552.

Methods and Devices for Space Optical Communications Using Laser Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Goorjian, Peter M. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Light is used to communicate between objects separated by a large distance. Light beams are received in a telescopic lens assembly positioned in front of a cat's-eye lens. The light can thereby be received at various angles to be output by the cat's-eye lens to a focal plane of the cat's-eye lens, the position of the light beams upon the focal plane corresponding to the angle of the beam received. Lasers and photodetectors are distributed along this focal plane. A processor receives signals from the photodetectors, and selectively signal lasers positioned proximate the photodetectors detecting light, in order to transmit light encoding data through the cat's-eye lens and also through a telescopic lens back in the direction of the received light beams, which direction corresponds to a location upon the focal plane of the transmitting lasers.

Multi-GeV electron-positron beam generation from laser-electron scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Vranic, Marija; Klimo, Ondrej; Korn, Georg; Weber, Stefan

2018-03-16

The new generation of laser facilities is expected to deliver short (10 fs-100 fs) laser pulses with 10-100 PW of peak power. This opens an opportunity to study matter at extreme intensities in the laboratory and provides access to new physics. Here we propose to scatter GeV-class electron beams from laser-plasma accelerators with a multi-PW laser at normal incidence. In this configuration, one can both create and accelerate electron-positron pairs. The new particles are generated in the laser focus and gain relativistic momentum in the direction of laser propagation. Short focal length is an advantage, as it allows the particles to be ejected from the focal region with a net energy gain in vacuum. Electron-positron beams obtained in this setup have a low divergence, are quasi-neutral and spatially separated from the initial electron beam. The pairs attain multi-GeV energies which are not limited by the maximum energy of the initial electron beam. We present an analytical model for the expected energy cutoff, supported by 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations. The experimental implications, such as the sensitivity to temporal synchronisation and laser duration is assessed to provide guidance for the future experiments.

Multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement with ultra-precision for Young modulus based on oscillating mirror modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y. Chao; Ding, Q.; Gao, Y.; Ran, L. Ling; Yang, J. Ru; Liu, C. Yu; Wang, C. Hui; Sun, J. Feng

2014-07-01

This paper proposes a novel method of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement for Young modulus. Based on Doppler effect and heterodyne technology, loaded the information of length variation to the frequency difference of the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal by the frequency modulation of the oscillating mirror, this method can obtain many values of length variation caused by mass variation after the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal demodulation simultaneously. Processing these values by weighted-average, it can obtain length variation accurately, and eventually obtain value of Young modulus of the sample by the calculation. This novel method is used to simulate measurement for Young modulus of wire under different mass by MATLAB, the obtained result shows that the relative measurement error of this method is just 0.3%.

Monitoring of laser material processing using machine integrated low-coherence interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Kunze, Rouwen; König, Niels; Schmitt, Robert

2017-06-01

Laser material processing has become an indispensable tool in modern production. With the availability of high power pico- and femtosecond laser sources, laser material processing is advancing into applications, which demand for highest accuracies such as laser micro milling or laser drilling. In order to enable narrow tolerance windows, a closedloop monitoring of the geometrical properties of the processed work piece is essential for achieving a robust manufacturing process. Low coherence interferometry (LCI) is a high-precision measuring principle well-known from surface metrology. In recent years, we demonstrated successful integrations of LCI into several different laser material processing methods. Within this paper, we give an overview about the different machine integration strategies, that always aim at a complete and ideally telecentric integration of the measurement device into the existing beam path of the processing laser. Thus, highly accurate depth measurements within machine coordinates and a subsequent process control and quality assurance are possible. First products using this principle have already found its way to the market, which underlines the potential of this technology for the monitoring of laser material processing.

Compact two-beam push-pull free electron laser

Science.gov (United States)

Hutton, Andrew [Yorktown, VA

2009-03-03

An ultra-compact free electron laser comprising a pair of opposed superconducting cavities that produce identical electron beams moving in opposite directions such that each set of superconducting cavities accelerates one electron beam and decelerates the other electron beam. Such an arrangement, allows the energy used to accelerate one beam to be recovered and used again to accelerate the second beam, thus, each electron beam is decelerated by a different structure than that which accelerated it so that energy exchange rather than recovery is achieved resulting in a more compact and highly efficient apparatus.

Tuneable Gaussian to flat-top resonator by amplitude beam shaping using a digital laser

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ngcobo, S

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper we experimentally demonstrate a simple laser cavity that produces spatial tuneable laser modes from a Gaussian beam to a Flat-top beam and a Donut-beam. The laser cavity contains an opaque ring and an adjustable circular aperture...

Laser beam welding and friction stir welding of 6013-T6 aluminium alloy sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, R.; Dalle Donne, C.; Staniek, G.

2000-01-01

Butt welds of 1.6 mm thick 6013-T6 sheet were produced using laser beam welding and friction stir welding processes. Employing the former joining technique, filler powders of the alloys Al-5%Mg and Al-12%Si were used. Microstructure, hardness profiles, tensile properties and the corrosion behaviour of the welds in the as-welded condition were investigated. The hardness in the weld zone was lower compared to that of the base material in the peak-aged temper. Hardness minima were measured in the fusion zone and in the thermomechanically affected zone for laser beam welded and friction stir welded joints, respectively. Metallographic and fractographic examinations revealed pores in the fusion zone of the laser beam welds. Porosity was higher in welds made using the filler alloy Al-5%Mg than using the filler metal Al-12%Si. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the β '' (Mg 2 Si) hardening precipitates were dissolved in the weld zone due to the heat input of the joining processes. Joint efficiencies achieved for laser beam welds depended upon the filler powders, being about 60 and 80% using the alloys Al-5%Mg and Al-12%Si, respectively. Strength of the friction stir weld approached over 80% of the ultimate tensile strength of the 6013-T6 base material. Fracture occurred in the region of hardness minima unless defects in the weld zone led to premature failure. The heat input during welding did not cause a degradation of the corrosion behaviour of the welds, as found in continuous immersion tests in an aqueous chloride-peroxide solution. In contrast to the 6013-T6 parent material, the weld zone was not sensitive to intergranular corrosion. Alternate immersion tests in 3.5% NaCl solution indicated high stress corrosion cracking resistance of the joints. For laser beam welded sheet, the weld zone of alternately immersed specimens suffered severe degradation by pitting and intergranular corrosion, which may be associated with galvanic coupling of filler metal and

Laser assisted modification and chemical metallization of electron-beam deposited ceria thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krumov, E.; Starbov, N.; Starbova, K.; Perea, A.; Solis, J.

2009-01-01

Excimer laser processing is applied for tailoring the surface morphology and phase composition of CeO 2 ceramic thin films. E-beam evaporation technique is used to deposit samples on stainless steel and silicate glass substrates. The films are then irradiated with ArF* excimer laser pulses under different exposure conditions. Scanning electron microscopy, optical spectrophotometry, X-ray diffractometry and EDS microanalysis are used to characterize the non-irradiated and laser-processed films. Upon UV laser exposure there is large increase of the surface roughness that is accompanied by photo-darkening and ceria reduction. It is shown that the laser induced changes in the CeO 2 films facilitate the deposition of metal nano-aggregates in a commercial copper electroless plating bath. The significance of laser modification as a novel approach for the production of CeO 2 based thin film catalysts is discussed.