Wavefront reconstruction of high power laser diode array

A new method for the wavefront measurement of high power laser diode array with large dynamic ranges is presented. The wavefront sensor has a large dynamic range of −π/2 to π/2 and high precision on the measured wavefront slopes (±1′). According to the measurements of the slopes and intensity of the high power laser diode array, complex amplitudes can be obtained and the wavefront can be reconstructed. The reconstructed wavefront of high power laser diode array can be used in designing a laser beam shaping system in future work.     

大口径光学元件中频波前的检测

大口径光学元件中频波前的准确评价已成为高功率激光系统中关注的焦点,元件中频波前均方根值是重要评价指标之一。根据波前中频检测频段及波前检测设备频响特性,将波前的中频区域分为两个检测频段,分别采用干涉仪和光学轮廓仪实现了中频波前均方根值的检测。采用大口径干涉仪可实现全口径波前中频区域低频段波前的检测,通过比对大口径干涉仪和采用小口径干涉仪结合分块融合平均方法的检测结果,提出采用分块融合平均方法也可检测相应频段全口径波前均方根。采用光学轮廓仪通过离散采样的方法检测大口径元件中频区域高频段波前均方根,针对不同离散采样方式的实验结果表明:33的采样方式能满足对410 mm410 mm口径元件中频区域高频段波前均方根的检测。     

一种重构高功率激光束波前的方法

介绍一种对“星光Ⅱ”１０＾１２Ｗ高功率激光器的波前相位进行重构测量的研究方法。实验中对高功率激光束经过孔阵列相位传感器在像纸上烧蚀成的光斑阵列进行图像处理,测定各光斑光强中心及相对位移,再由理论分析得到实用的迭代算法公式,重构出高功率激光束波前。     

Digital holography as a tool for testing high-aperture micro-optics

The collimation of strongly diverging laser beams emitted by high-power diode lasers is performed with aspherical micro-optical components which have large numerical apertures up to NA=0.7. Conventional interferometric techniques do neither deliver the resolution nor the test frequency and are too costly for an industrial application.Digital holography is presented as a measurement tool for the characterization of micro-optical components in this paper providing a robust and fast technique with a simple and compact setup.The setup presented in this contribution does not apply any imaging or magnifying optics thus avoiding any additional aberrations in the wavefront which would falsify the measurement. The reconstruction process is performed in the computer giving direct access to intensity and phase of the measured wavefront. Additional experimental efforts like, e.g. phase shifting techniques are not needed.The large numerical aperture of the microlenses leads to high fringe densities in the holograms which cannot be resolved by CCD-detectors directly. In order to avoid this problem digital holography is combined with a multiple wavelength technique and a diffusing screen to capture the highly diverging wavefront. An averaging method to reduce the introduced speckle noise is applied and results of the characterization of refractive cylindrical microlenses are presented.     

用H-S波前传感器测量穿过超声速流场的激光像差特性

 用Hartmann-Shack(H-S)波前传感器可以准确测量穿过超声速流场的激光波面及其变化过程,进一步计算可以获得光束质心漂移、远场分布等数据。给出了H-S方法测量穿过超声速流场激光波面的原理,采用模式法进行了波前重构,计算了在几种流场条件下的激光波面像差特性PV值,RMS值和Zernike像差系数、Strehl比和环围能量曲线等。结果表明,H-S法可以很好地反映流场建立、稳定和结束过程中Zernike像差的变化。比较无流场和给定参数的超声速流场,激光穿越后产生的最明显的像差变化为离焦和低阶像散的增大。在相同流场参数下,无模型时光束质量好于有模型时光束质量。     

基于本征正交分解函数的波前动态高分辨率重构

 应用Hartmann波前传感器测量了准直平行光通过低速热射流后的畸变波前时间序列，对该时间序列进行本征正交分解得到系列本征函数和时间系数，对本征函数进行双线性插值处理得到未布置探测器处的本征函数值，新本征函数与时间系数相乘从而获得未布置探测器处的波前数据。在时域和频域比较了波前预测值与实际值，结果表明了该插值方法的有效性，从而实现对波前的高时间、高空间分辨率测量。     

Power semiconductor laser diode arrays characterization

Nowadays, power semiconductor laser diode arrays are becoming a widespread source for a large variety of industrial applications. In particular, the availability of low-cost high-power laser diode arrays makes their use possible in the industrial context for material cutting, welding, diagnostics and processing. In the above applications, the exact control of the beam quality plays a very important role because it directly affects the reliability of the final result. In this paper, we present two different approaches useful for the characterization of the beam quality in laser diode arrays. The first one, starting from total intensity measurements on planes orthogonal to the beam propagation path, is able to deduce the working conditions of each laser setting up the array. The second one is aimed at the measurement of a global quality factor of the array itself; to this end, the empirical extension of the M² concept to composite beams is presented along with some experimental results. As the first technique is especially intended for the non-destructive detection of design problems in the array itself and in the bias circuitry, the second one represents a powerful tool for the rapid on-line diagnostics of the laser beam during its use.     

Direct near-field phase measurement of laser diodes employing a single-mode fiber interferometer

A method of direct measurement of near-field phase and intensity distribution of laser diodes employing a single-mode fiber interferometer is proposed and demonstrated. The phase and intensity of the output beam of the laser in the vicinity of the output facet are measured directly via interferometry. Using a 980 nm laser diode as an example, we obtained a beam width of 0.9 and 3.6 μm at the output facet in the vertical and horizontal axes, respectively. In addition, the phase information of the output beam was also obtained by using interferometry. This technique is particularly useful for laser diodes whose near-field phases are difficult to measure directly. The measured vertical and horizontal wavefront radius of curvatures of a laser diode are in good agreement with the calculation from Gaussian beam theory. Detailed understanding and measurement of the near-field phase and intensity distributions of light sources and optical components are essential for micro-optic designs with better mode matching to minimize the insertion loss.     

采用曲率传感器测量热透镜焦距

 分析了用光栅型波前曲率传感器测量热透镜焦距的基本原理，针对高功率固体激光器的工作特点，结合实验现象推导了在热透镜效应较强时热透镜焦距变化的计算公式。对半导体二极管(LD)侧面泵浦的百W级Nd:YAG激光棒在泵浦电流为15~25 A时的热透镜焦距值进行了测量，讨论了可能存在的误差。实验现象和理论分析一致，测量的热透镜焦距值与理论值符合得较好。     

Time-multiplexing generates a diode laser beam with high beam quality

The beams of four pulsed high-power laser diodes are time-multiplexed resulting in a laser beam of high quality. A combination of polarization switches and filters forming a digital time-multiplexer is utilized to guide laser pulses produced by the individual laser diodes onto a common optical path. A resulting beam with an optical power of 10 W and a beam quality comparable with that of a single laser diode at a wavelength of 960 nm is obtained.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on high-power laser-induced thermal blooming effect in chamber with different gases

High-power laser induced thermal blooming effects in a closed chamber with three different gases are investigated theoretically and experimentally in this work. In the theoretical treatment, an incompressible gas turbulent model is adopted. In the numerical simulation the gas refractive index as a function of both the temperature and pressure is taken into consideration. In the experimental study the pump-probe technology is adopted. A high-power 1064-nm fiber laser with maximum output power of 12 kW is used to drive the gas thermal blooming, and a 50-mW high-beam-quality 637-nm laser diode (LD) is used as a probe beam. The influences of the gas thermal blooming in the chamber on the probe beam wavefront and beam quality are analyzed for three different gases of air, nitrogen, and helium, respectively. The results indicate that nitrogen is well suitable for restraining thermal blooming effect for high-power laser. The measured data are in good agreement with the simulated results.     

Asymmetric optical beam manipulation via polarization and spatial phase-dependency

We report on an optical beam produced by superimposing radially- and circularly-polarized laser beams for active control of the location of the beam's intensity. The asymmetric intensity distribution relative to the beam's central axis, and its location is determined by the relative phase difference between the two beams. Since the beam has a planar wavefront, it carries no orbital angular momentum, yet it shares phase singularity and spiral interference characteristics commonly associated with helical wavefronts. Such an optical beam is valuable for applications in optical–optical switches and routers, optical steering, and also optical trapping and rotation, or driving opto-micromachines.     

基于Shark-Hartmann理论的波前探测技术研究

精确的波前探测是反射镜面型检测及光束波前畸变测量的重要依据,论文根据Shark-Hartmann理论对波前探测技术进行了模拟和实验研究。将平行光经过球面透镜/柱面透镜后形成的球面波/柱面波作为探测波前。实验采用商用的微透镜阵列和CCD搭建Shark-Hartmann传感器,利用实际光束作为参考光,避免了参考光的不准直性对实验的影响。模拟计算结果表明平均曲率误差为13.423 mm,实验结果实现了对球面/柱面/倾斜波的探测及复原。     

高功率二极管泵浦激光模块的热致球差

 为获得高功率高光束质量的激光器,对激光器中的热致球差进行了研究。介绍了高功率二极管泵浦Nd:YAG棒激光模块热致球差的测量和补偿方法。使用S-H波前探测器测量了激光模块的三阶球差,设计了补偿系统对激光模块的球差进行了补偿,并对补偿前后的各阶像差进行了分析。在主振功放(MOPA)系统中使用球差补偿系统,工作电流110 A时,光束质量平方因子从9.2提高到6.4。实验结果表明球差补偿系统能消除激光模块的的三阶球差,而且不会引起其它像差的增大,提高了激光器光束质量。     

Shack-Hartmann sensor based on a cylindrical microlens array

We present a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) based on a cylindrical microlens array as a device for measuring highly aberrated wavefronts. Instead of the typical spot pattern created by a conventional SHWS, two orthogonal line patterns are detected on a CCD and are superimposed. A processing algorithm uses the continuity of the focal line to extend the dynamic range of measurement by localizing the line, even if it leaves the CCD area confined by the corresponding microcylinder. The measurement of a wavefront from a progressive addition lens with an 80 lambda peak-to-valley value reveals the capabilities of the sensor.     

Effective suppression of beam divergence for a high-power laser diode bar by an external-cavity technique

We describe effective suppression of beam divergence for a high-power laser diode bar by use of an external-cavity technique. Nineteen off-axis external-cavity laser diodes of the high-power laser diode are formed by feedback with a stripe mirror. At three times the threshold current, the diverging angle (1/e2) of the external-cavity laser diode bar is reduced to 1.5 degrees from 6.6 degrees (free running) with 14.1-W peak output power and 70.4% of the radiated power of the free-running state without the external cavity. This technique effectively improves the beam quality of the high-power laser diode bar.     

Polychromatic light interferometer for high-accuracy positioning

Superposition of different-wavelength, multimode- and single-mode laser diode beams is investigated to locate the fringe of zero interference order in a Twyman-Green interferometer. The possibility of central fringe detection using three multimode laser diodes or one single-mode together with a pair of multimode laser diodes is shown. If a single-mode laser diode is applied, a simultaneous fringe-counting technique for displacement measurement is available. The influence of the angle between wavefronts entering the interferometer is analyzed. A repeatability of about 5 nm is shown for surface position determination when using three-beam source.     

Narrow bandwidth operation of high-power broad-area diode laser using cascaded phase-conjugate injection locking

A broad-area laser is injection-locked by another broad-area laser that is also injection-locked by a single-mode diode laser. Two double-phase conjugate mirrors of photorefractive BaTaO₃ are used to couple the master laser beams to the first slave laser, and the first slave laser output to the second slave laser. One of the double-phase conjugate mirrors is built up with the beams from two broad-area lasers. Two slave lasers are oscillating in single longitudinal mode at 808.5 nm and the spectral width is the same as that of the master laser. Final single-mode output power from the second slave broad-area laser is 840 mW, which is limited by the power of the injection beam. This work verifies the possibility of the multi-stage cascaded injection locking of high-power diode lasers with phase-conjugate injection. Received: 18 November 1998 / Revised version: 29 January 1999 / Published online: 7 April 1999     

Ø500 mm阵列透镜波前采样器的研制

 设计加工了一个由484块单透镜组成的大口径阵列透镜,并设计了一套光束波前采样及测量实验系统。在实验过程中,合理匹配了阵列透镜波前采样器、CCD、成像屏和图像采集处理各系统参数,并讨论了该系统的动态范围和采样精度。利用平行光标定了该系统,且测量了大口径波前的像差,测量值与理论值相吻合。实验证明了阵列透镜波前采样器用于波前采样的技术可行性。     

渐进多焦点镜片波前像差的扩束测量方法

利用波前传感器测量自由曲面镜片时,由于自由曲面镜片的直径通常大于波前传感器的接收孔径,主要采用子孔径拼接技术测量镜片的波前像差。针对子孔径拼接技术测量中存在着操作繁琐、数据处理量大等问题,提出渐进多焦点镜片波前像差的扩束测量方法,得到渐进多焦点镜片中央直径为22 mm圆形区域内的波前像差。为了验证试验的可靠性,将测量得到的波前像差泽尼克表述中的离焦项转换为球镜度,与条纹偏折法测量得到镜片的球镜度进行对比实验,实验结果证明了渐进多焦点镜片波前像差的扩束测量方法可以用于渐进多焦点镜片波前像差的检测。