Laser-driven micro-rocket

We have developed a new type of miniature rocket motor for pointing and positioning microsatellites. A specially prepared tape with a transparent layer, through which the laser light passes, and an absorbing layer produce the thrust by the laser ablation process. We have achieved a specific impulse of 1800 s (greater than possible with chemistry), and laser momentum coupling coefficients of up to 50 dyn/W. The preprototype achieved 68 dyn of thrust. We discuss the target interaction physics and some of our measurements with the preprototype thruster. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 8 February 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-505/4663-877, E-mail: crphipps@aol.com     

Numerical analysis of nanocluster formation within ns-laser ablation plume

The CIP method is used to calculate macroscopic plume expansion combined with the Zeldovich–Raiser theory for the cluster-formation process such as nucleation and growth. The effect of background gas and latent heat is examined in the one-dimensional case. The latent heats keep the plume temperature at 2500 K for a long period and this explains the delayed photoluminescence. Two contradicting experiments on the size dependence on ambient pressure are clearly explained and are attributed to the difference of laser energy. In two-dimensional simulation, a ‘mushroom-like’ plume shape is replicated, consistent with experimental results. Received: 17 January 2003 / Accepted: 8 February 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-3-5237-2860, E-mail: tohkubo@es.titech.ac.jp     

High-efficiency optical compression of Ti:sapphire laser pulses at 800 nm using a silver-coated hollow fiber

A 50 cm silver coated hollow fiber with inner diameter of 250 μm and filled with argon has been used to compress optical pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm. Input pulses with energy of 250 μJ and duration of 110 fs were used and compressed pulses with energy of 220 μJ and duration of 20 fs were generated by using a prism compressor. Numerical and experimental results are compared. There is good agreement between the measured beam diameters of the hollow-fiber output pulse and the calculated values obtained from propagation of the HE₁₁ mode into free space. For comparison, a similar uncoated fused-silica hollow fiber was also used to obtain 20 fs compressed pulses with an energy of 190 μJ. Received: 7 September 2002 / Published online: 26 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-780/492-1811, E-mail: mohebbi@ee.ualberta.ca     

Emission of laser pulses due to transitions from metastable to metastable levels in strontium vapor

Multi-line laser transitions from one metastable triplet state to another at wavelengths of 2.92, 3.01, 2.69 and 2.60 μm have been obtained through high pulse repetition frequency longitudinal discharge in a mixed gas of strontium vapor and helium buffer gas. The intensity ratio of these laser lines was 5:4:4:1. As far as we know, these laser lines have never been reported except for 3.01 μm. Some mechanisms for forming a population inversion are initially discussed on the basis of analyzing features of corresponding energy-level structure and experimental phenomena. It is reasonable to name this kind of laser as an M–M transition laser according to the feature of the lasing process. Received: 15 October 2002 / Published online: 9 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-0571/8795-1328, E-mail: pbl66@zju.edu.cn     

Sub-ps laser microstructuring of soft X-ray Mo/Si multilayer gratings

The sub-picosecond laser microstructuring of multilayer gratings is presented in this paper. A micromachining system operating with a 0.5 ps KrF laser at 248 nm was used to etch grating structures with a groove width of 1–2 μm in Mo/Si and Si/Mo multilayers. Atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray reflectivity were used to characterize the microetched patterns. The ω-scans around the 1st Bragg maximum show symmetric satellites up to 3rd order, with positions corresponding to the grating period. The use of sub-picosecond laser pulses minimizes the thermally affected zone and enhances the quality of the etched features. Short pulse laser processing is advantageous for the fabrication of high spatial resolution microstructures required in X-ray optics. Received: 21 May 2002 / Accepted: 19 August 2002 / Published online: 15 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Email: dpapa@iesl.forth.gr     

Surface nanostructuring of silicon

Irradiation with polarized laser light of 248-nm wavelength induces the formation of periodic undulations ∼10-nm-highon flat silicon substrates. The wavelength of these periodic structures is a function of the light wavelength and the angle of incidence of the laser beam. Linear arrays of silicon nanoparticles with fairly uniform size that extended up to a millimeter were formed if the irradiation was performed using polarized light. When non-polarized laser light with the same fluence was used to illuminate an initially flat surface, non-aligned nanoparticle strings were obtained. However, if part of the irradiated area was microstructured, nanoparticle linear arrays resulted in the vicinity of the microstructured region. An analysis on the evolution of these nanostructures is presented. Nanocolumns could be grown on top of every cone of a microstructured surface upon cumulative laser irradiation with non-polarized light, reaching a height of ∼3 μm and a diameter of 100–200 nm. The mechanisms of nanocolumn origin and growth are analyzed. Received: 16 December 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-865/974-4115, E-mail: apedraza@utk.edu     

Ablation with a single micropatterned KrF laser pulse: quantitative evidence of transient liquid microflow driven by the plume pressure gradient at the surface of polyesters

A microscopic flow of a transient liquid film produced by KrF laser ablation is evidenced on targets of PET and PEN. Experiments were done by using single pulses of the excimer laser beam micropatterned with the aid of submicron projection optics and grating masks. The samples of various crystalline states, ablated with a grating-forming beam (period Λ=3.7 μm), were precisely measured by atomic force microscopy, in order to evidence any deviation from the ablation behavior predicted by the current theory (combination of ablation curve and beam profile). This was confirmed by comparing various behaviors dependent on the polymer nature (PC, PET and PEN). PC is a normally ablating polymer in the sense that the ablated profile can be predicted with previous theory neglecting liquid-flow effects. This case is called ‘dry’ ablation and PC is used as a reference material. But, for some particular samples like crystalline PET, it is revealed that during ablation a film of transient liquid, composed of various components, which are discussed, can flow under the transient action of the gradient of the pressure of the ablation plume and resolidify at the border of the spot after the end of the pulse. This mechanism is further supported by a hydrodynamics theoretical model in which a laser-induced viscosity drop and the gradient of the plume pressure play an important role. The volume of displaced liquid increases with fluence (0.5 to 2 J/cm²) and satisfactory quantitative agreement is obtained with the present model. The same experiment done on the same PET polymer but prepared in the amorphous state does not show microflow, and such an amorphous sample behaves like the reference PC (‘dry’ ablation). The reasons for this surprising result are discussed. Received: 31 October 2002 / Accepted: 4 November 2002 / Published online: 22 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Present address: ST Microelectronics, Crolles, France RID="**" ID="**"Corresponding author. Fax: +33-556/84-6645, E-mail: s.lazare@lpcm.u-bordeaux1.fr     

Femtosecond pulse shaping in the mid infrared by difference-frequency mixing

The generation of programmable complex femtosecond pulses in the mid infrared (3–10 μm) with high precision is reported. Designed pulse shapes in the near infrared (1–1.6 μm) are transferred to the mid infrared via difference-frequency mixing with a second infrared pulse spectrally narrowed in a zero-dispersion compressor. In particular, pulse sequences with variable relative phases have been obtained. The control of the pulse properties is achieved purely electronically, allowing for implementation into a feedback loop. Received: 12 December 2003 / Published online: 3 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-89/32905-200, E-mail: mcm@mpq.mpg.de     

Femtosecond pulsed-laser deposition of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The elemental composition and the surface morphology of thin films grown by laser ablation of barium titanate with femtosecond pulses at 620 nm laser wavelength have been systematically studied according to the experimental pulsed-laser deposition parameters : laser energy density, oxygen pressure, substrate temperature, target–substrate distance and substrate position (in- and off-axis geometry). Firstly, even at high temperature (700 °C), the deposits consist of coalesced particles up to 1-μm in size, mixed in a poorly crystallised tetragonal BaTiO₃ thin film. The particles formed in femtosecond pulsed-laser deposition induce a high surface roughness, which is observed whatever the experimental growth conditions and does not correspond to the droplets often observed during laser ablation in the nanosecond regime. As shown by plasma expansion dynamics, these particles propagate toward the substrate in the plasma plume with a low velocity, and are assumed to be produced by gas-phase reactions. Moreover, the cationic concentration evaluated through the Ba/Ti ratio strongly depends on the oxygen pressure in the ablation chamber and the angular position of the substrate along the normal to the target at laser impact. Indeed, the films appear to be enriched in the heavy element (Ba) when the substrate is located at high angular deviation. This fact is correlated to an increase in the lighter species (i.e. Ti) in the central part of the plasma plume. Received: 30 April 2002 / Accepted: 26 August 2002 / Published online: 8 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +33-1/4354-2878, E-mail: millon@gps.jussieu.fr RID="**" ID="**"Also at: LSMCL, Université de Metz, 57078 Metz Cedex 3, France     

Application of lidar in ultraviolet,visible and infrared ranges for early forest fire detection

The efficiencies of direct lidars operating at 355, 532, 1064 and 1540-nm radiation wavelengths for early forest fire detection were compared. For each wavelength, the range for reliable smoke-plume detection was estimated on the basis of a computer simulation plume using a one-dimensional “top-hat” gas dynamic model for the calculation of the backscattering and extinction-coefficient profiles within the plume. The agreement between the predicted signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and experimental results for 532 and 1064-nm wavelength radiation is good. The decrease of the signal-to-noise ratio with distance is maximum for 355 nm and minimum for 1064 nm. At 1540 nm, the decay of SNR with distance is slightly faster, but the SNR is higher than for other wavelengths, leading to the highest detection efficiency for the same energy of the probing laser pulse. For a burning rate of 2 kg/s and a laser beam divergence of 2.5 mr, the maximum distance for reliable detection varies between 6 and 12 km, depending on the wavelength. Received: 15 May 2002 / Revised version: 13 September 2002 / Published online: 22 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +351-21/841-8120, E-mail: rui.vilar@ist.utl.pt     

High-peak-power diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

We report on a passively Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser polarized along the a axis (corresponding to the smallest value of emission cross section at 1064 nm), generating 157-μJ pulses with 6.0-ns time duration (>20 kW peak power) and 3.6 W of average power at 1064 nm with good beam quality (M²<1.4). The selection of the polarization was performed by a novel technique relying on the birefringence of the laser crystal and on the misalignment sensitivity of the resonator. Received: 30 September 2002 / Revised version: 22 November 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +39-382/422583, E-mail: agnesi@ele.unipv.it     

Dynamics of the plume formation and parameters of the ejected clusters in short-pulse laser ablation

The dynamics of the early stages of the ablation plume formation and the mechanisms of cluster ejection are investigated in large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. The cluster composition of the ablation plume has a strong dependence on the irradiation conditions and is defined by the interplay of a number of processes during the ablation plume evolution. At sufficiently high laser fluences, the phase explosion of the overheated material leads to the formation of a foamy transient structure of interconnected liquid regions that subsequently decomposes into a mixture of liquid droplets, gas-phase molecules, and small clusters. The ejection of the largest droplets is attributed to the hydrodynamic motion in the vicinity of the melted surface, especially active in the regime of stress confinement. Spatially resolved analysis of the dynamics of the plume formation reveals the effect of segregation of the clusters of different sizes in the expanding plume. A relatively low density of small/medium clusters is observed in the region adjacent to the surface, where large clusters are being formed. Medium-size clusters dominate in the middle of the plume and only small clusters and monomers are observed near the front of the expanding plume. Despite being ejected from deeper under the surface, the larger clusters in the plume have substantially higher internal temperatures as compared to the smaller clusters. The cluster-size distributions can be relatively well described by a power law Y(N)∼N^-τ with exponents different for small, up to ∼15 molecules, and large clusters. The decay is much slower in the high-mass region of the distribution. Received: 13 October 2001 / Accepted: 18 July 2002 / Published online: 25 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-434/982-5660, E-mail: lz2n@virginia.edu     

Femtosecond regenerative amplification in Cr:forsterite at 5–10 kHz

We developed a high-power oscillator–regenerative amplifier femtosecond laser system. Based on chromium-doped forsterite. The system is operating near 1.25 μm at a 5–10 kHz repetition rate. Chirped-pulse amplification produced 0.86 W (0.75 W) of average power, or 465 mW (400 mW) after compression at 5 kHz (10 kHz). Nearly bandwidth-limited pulses of duration 135 fs (shortest) and 150 fs (typical) are available with an energy of 93 μJ and 40 μJ at 5 and 10 kHz, respectively. Received: 7 June 2002 / Published online: 15 November 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-30/63921289, E-mail: petrov@mbi-berlin.de     

Power-boosted difference-frequency source for high-resolution infrared spectroscopy

We analyzed the spectroscopic performance of a difference-frequency source that utilizes a 5-W Yb-fiber amplifier for the “signal” radiation in order to increase the “idler” power generated around 4.3 μm. The amplifier is seeded by a monolithic-cavity Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm. The intensity noise spectral density of the “idler” radiation was characterized. Cavity-enhanced saturated-absorption spectroscopy was also performed to test the frequency resolution. In particular, we observed the Lamb-dip spectrum of the ro-vibrational (00⁰0-00⁰1)R(0)transition of ¹⁷O¹²C¹⁶O in natural abundance. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of that transition by the Lamb-dip technique. Received: 19 December 2002 / Revised version: 3 February 2003 / Published online: 16 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +39-055/4572-451, E-mail: mazzotti@inoa.it     

On the accurate determination of pressure- induced line shifts in the 2ν<Subscript>3</Subscript> band of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O at 1320 nm

A simple technique is demonstrated for the accurate determination of pressure-induced line shifts of water in air. High- and low-pressure water samples are simultaneously probed on selected overtone transitions at 1.32 μm using a current-modulated distributed-feedback diode laser and harmonic detection. The resultant profiles yield an average line shift of -293±30 MHz/atm for the 3,3,0 (002)2,2,1 (000)transition at 227251 GHz and -134±7 MHz/atm for the 3,2,1 (002)2,1,2 (000) transition at 227027 GHz. Comparisons are made between first- and second-harmonic detection, and wavelength- and frequency-modulation regimes. The effect of modulation broadening on the returned line shifts is quantified. Received: 12 August 2002 / Revised version: 21 October 2002 / Published online: 8 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +44-01865/275410, E-mail: gus.hancock@chemistry.ox.ac.uk     

High-efficiency clean EUV plasma source at 10–30 nm, driven by a long-pulse-width excimer laser

A long-pulse-width high-output energy (120 ns FWHM, 7 J) XeCl laser has been focused on thin tape targets (Cu and Ta) to generate more than 100-ns-long (FWHM) EUV pulses in the 10–30 nm spectral region, suitable for projection microlithography. The conversion efficiency was more than 20% over a 2π solid angle. We observed debris emission using a gated CCD camera, and measured the debris speed for different irradiation conditions. We found irradiation conditions such that the measured velocities were low enough that simple mechanical devices combined with krypton at low-pressure could efficiently stop both ionic debris and cluster debris. Our results show that a suitable combination of driving-laser characteristics, target material and thickness, environment gas and mechanical choppers can make clean and increase the power of EUV solid-target laser-plasma sources. Received: 21 October 2002 / Published online: 26 February 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +39-06/9400-5334, E-mail: bollanti@frascati.enea.it     

Effects of a prepulse on laser-induced EUV radiation conversion efficiency

The influence of prepulses on the conversion efficiency (CE) of laser radiation into 13 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, resulting from lithium-like oxygen ions from O20 μm water droplets, was investigated. The laser pulse durations in the experiment ranged from 200 fs to 120 ps. Applying prepulses preceding the main pulse at various delays of up to 11 ns, it was shown that the CE increases differently for each measured pulse duration. The strongest dependence on the introduction of a prepulse was observed for 2 ps laser pulses with a 20 mJ laser pulse energy. The EUV CE was improved by a factor of 15 by the introduction of a prepulse. Calculations on the atomic physics of oxygen ions and simulations of the laser–plasma interaction revealed the influence of the prepulse on the EUV yield. Received: 25 October 2002 / Published online: 22 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-3641/947-202, E-mail: duesterer@ioq.uni-jena.de     

Synchronously pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator of congruent and stoichiometric MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate

A synchronously pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on congruent MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate (c-MgO:PPLN) is reported. The system, operating at room temperature, was pumped by a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. The wavelengths of the signal and idler waves were tuned from 870 nm to 1.54 μm and 1.58 to 5.67 μm, respectively, by changing the pump wavelength, the grating period or the cavity length. Pumped by 1.1 W of 755 nm laser radiation, the OPO generated 310 mW of 1080 nm radiation. This signal output corresponds to a total conversion efficiency of 50%. Without dispersion compensation the OPO generated phase-modulated signal pulses of 200 fs duration. Besides the OPO of c-MgO:PPLN, an OPO of stoichiometric (s) MgO:PPLN was investigated. Because of the reduced sensitivity to photorefractive damage, both crystals allowed efficient OPO operation at room temperature. Received: 19 August 2002 / Revised version: 11 December 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-631/205-3906, E-mail: andres@physik.uni-kl.de     

High-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) absorption spectroscopy of ammonia (NH<Subscript>3</Subscript>) near 1.54 μm

A single-frequency VCSEL has been used for the first time for high-resolution spectroscopy near 1.5 μm. The incorporated buried-tunnel-junction technology enabled the realization of a long-wavelength InGaAlAs/InP VCSEL with low threshold current (0.925 mA), high output powers (0.576 mW) and low series resistance (60 Ω). The high-speed tuning capability of the long-wavelength VCSEL was investigated and used to conduct high-speed absorption spectroscopy. The peak tuning speed was measured to be 3.4 cm^-1/μs and a 4.5-cm^-1-wide NH₃ spectrum was recorded in 2 μs. The VCSEL was used to measure highly resolved low-pressure spectra for pressures ranging from 9.6 mbar to 1 bar. The measured Doppler-broadened linewidth of 0.02 cm^-1 agrees within 3% with the theoretical calculations. The availability and various advantages of 1.3–2-μm single-frequency VCSELs as compared to edge-emitting diode lasers, such as a large current tuning range even at very high tuning frequencies, and low production costs, should significantly expand the application fields for near-infrared laser gas sensors. Received: 17 July 2002 / Revised version: 4 December 2002 / Published online: 12 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +43-1/58801-15999, E-mail: Gerhard@Totschnig.com     

Passive Q-switching of 1.44 μm and 1.34 μm diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers with a V:YAG saturable absorber

Spectroscopic data of a V³⁺:YAG passive Q-switch crystal were measured. The absorption recovery time was determined to be of 37±7 ns and the ground state absorption cross section was estimated to be 0.7×10^-18 cm² at 1.44 μm and 3.5×10^-18 cm² at 1.34 μm. Passively Q-switched operation of diode pumped 1.44 μm and 1.3 μm Nd:YAG lasers was demonstrated using this crystal as saturable absorber. Average output powers of 1.42 W (1.44 μm) and 1.56 W (1.34 μm) and pulse energies of 24 μJ (1.44 μm) and 25 μJ (1.34 μm) were observed, respectively. Received: 19 August 2002 / Published online: 12 February 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-40/42838-6281, E-mail: kretschmann@physnet.uni-hamburg.de