Interaction of a scanning laser-generated ultrasonic line source with a surface-breaking flaw

The scanning laser source (SLS) technique has been proposed recently as an effective way to investigate small surface-breaking cracks. By monitoring the amplitude and frequency changes of the ultrasound generated as the SLS scans over a defect, the SLS technique has provided enhanced signal-to-noise performance compared to the traditional pitch-catch or pulse-echo ultrasonic methods. In previous work, either a point source or a short line source was used for generation of ultrasound. The resulting Rayleigh wave was typically bipolar in nature. In this paper, a scanning laser line source (SLLS) technique using a true thermoelastic line source (which leads to generation of monopolar surface waves) is demonstrated experimentally and through numerical simulation. Experiments are performed using a line-focused Nd:YAG laser and interferometric detection. For the numerical simulation, a hybrid model combining a mass-spring lattice method (MSLM) and a finite difference method (FDM) is used. As the SLLS is scanned over a surface-breaking flaw, it is shown both experimentally and numerically that the monopolar Rayleigh wave becomes bipolar, dramatically indicating the presence of the flaw.     

The experimental study of fatigue crack detection using scanning laser point source technique

For the purpose of better understanding the interaction of Rayleigh wave and the fatigue crack in a metallic sample, a set of experimental setups is built, based on the scanning laser source (SLS) technique, utilizing a point source to take place of the line source to generate surface acoustic waves (SAWs), and an interferometer is to detect the SAWs signal. The information of the crack (such as position and length) can be obtained by utilizing a two-dimensional scan of the material surface. This paper focuses on the detection of visible and invisible fatigue crack by using this point-source-based scanning laser source technique, and comparing the results with those of conventional pitch-catch technique. The result shows that with two-dimensional scanning, and analyzing the amplitude of the generated SAWs, not only the visible fatigue can be identified, but also the invisible fatigue crack can be discriminated. As a result, the sensitivity of the scanning point laser source technique is higher than the conventional pitch-catch technique.     

激光激发声表面波在缺陷板材中散射过程的有限元分析

利用有限元法模拟了金属板材中激光激发的声表面波经过缺陷位置时发生散射的瞬态过程,采用线状激光源作为超声导波的激发源.针对三种不同深度的表面缺陷以及三种亚表面缺陷的模型进行了对比计算,结果显示缺陷的深度及位置对声表面波的时域特征存在显著的影响.表面缺陷深度越深将产生较大幅度的表面反射回波,亚表面缺陷的影响将取决于缺陷上顶面距离板材上表面的距离.因此,数值模拟结果表明通过分析激光产生的表面波形可以判定近表面缺陷的尺寸和所处的位置.     

Modeling for quantitative non-destructive evaluation

A quantitative approach to non-destructive evaluation (NDE) must be based on models of the measurement processes. A model's purpose is to predict, from first principles, the measurement system's response to material properties and anomalies in a material or structure. For the ultrasonic case a measurement model should include modeling of the generation, propagation and reception of ultrasonic signals, and the ultrasonic interactions that generate the system's response function. A measurement model has many benefits, which are discussed in the paper. Three examples of the productive use of quantitative modeling in conjunction with measured data are presented: the detection and sizing of fatigue cracks which emanate from weep holes in the risers of wing panels in the interior of an aircraft wing by the use of ultrasound generated on the exterior surface of the wing, the determination of the elastic constants of anisotropic thin films deposited on a substrate, and the detection and sizing of surface-breaking cracks by the use of the laser-source scanning technique for laser generated and detected ultrasound.     

Line source representation for laser-generated ultrasound in aluminum

Modeling the ultrasound generated by a laser source is critical for using noncontact laser-generated ultrasonic systems for the characterization of material properties. In this work, a laser line source was modeled and verified experimentally by measuring the ultrasonic shear wave signal generated in aluminum with a broadband laser generation/electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT)-detection system. Results of calculations and experiments show that the amplitude directivity of a laser line source is identical to that of a point source in the plane perpendicular to the line axis while the temporal dependence differs.     

Spectral phase distribution retrieval through coherent control of harmonic generation

The temporal intensity distribution of the third harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser generated in Xe gas is fully reconstructed from its spectral phase and amplitude distributions. The spectral phases are retrieved by cross correlating the fundamental laser frequency field with that of the third harmonic, in a three laser versus one harmonic photon coupling scheme. The third harmonic spectral amplitude distribution is extracted from its field autocorrelation. The measured pulse duration is found to be in agreement with that expected from lowest order perturbation theory both for unstretched and chirped pulses.     

Ultrasound diffusion for crack depth determination in concrete

The determination of the depth of surface-breaking cracks in concrete specimens using an ultrasound diffusion technique is discussed. Experiments were carried out on precracked concrete specimens of varying crack depths (0%-40% of the specimen thickness). Contact transducers were placed at the specimen surface with source and receiver separated by the crack. Tone-burst excitations over a frequency range of 400-600 kHz were used. At these frequencies, ultrasound is scattered considerably by the heterogeneities in the concrete. In the limit of many scattering events, the evolution of energy may be modeled as a diffusion process. The arrival of the peak diffuse energy at the receiver is delayed due to the presence of crack. This delay is the prime indicator used for determining crack depth. Numerical and analytical analyses were also used for comparison. These results are in basic agreement with the experiments. In addition, these analyses are used to study the limits of this technique. In particular, it is shown that this technique is applicable to cracks greater than the scattering mean-free path, which is estimated at about 1 cm for these specimens. Aspects of practical implementation are also discussed.     

Numerical simulation of evaluation of surface breaking cracks by array-lasers generated narrow-band SAW

Most of the factors limiting the extensive application of laser-based ultrasonic for nondestructive evaluation of surface breaking crack are its poor sensitivity, low efficiency relative to conventional contact ultrasonic methods and limit on the dimension of the cracks. For this reason, a new technique that multiplepulse narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays has been proposed. It is found that crack detection dependent on spectrum of narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays can be operated with low amplitude requirements. In this paper, the narrow-band ultrasound generated by pulse laser arrays interacting with surface breaking cracks has been simulated in detail by the finite element method (FEM) according to the thermoelastic theory. The pulsed array lasers were assumed to be transient heat source, and the surface acoustic wave (SAW) which propagating on the top of the plate was computed based on thermoelastic theory. Then the frequency spectrums of both reflected waves by crack and transmission ones through crack were compared with the direct waves. Results demonstrate that multiple-frequency components of the narrow-band ultrasound were varied with change of the depth of surface breaking cracks significantly, which provides the possibility for precise evaluation of surface breaking cracks.     

Simulation on thermoelastic stress field and laser ultrasound waveform in non-metallic materials by using FEM

The thermoelastically generated stress and ultrasound fields in non-metallic materials by laser illumination are presented by using finite element method (FEM). The model accounts for the effects of thermal diffusion and optical penetration, as well as the finite width and duration of the laser source. The numerical results show that the strength and feature of the force source can be related to the heat input and certain material properties. The relationships between the stress waves and the ultrasound waveforms, particularly the precursor, are analyzed. The typical surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and the bulk waveforms at the epicenter are presented to illustrate the generated field and provide insight to the relevance of different mechanism taken into account in the model. PACS 02.70.Dh; 43.35.+d; 42.62.-b     

Novel Scheme for Multiple Channel Pulse Generation from a Single Laser Diodefor 10 Gbit/s Based WDM Systems Using RZ Modulation Format

A new technique for the generation of multi-channel optical pulse from a single laser diode (LD) is presented in this paper. 35 channel pulse source with 6.5 GHz repetition rate per channel and 32.5 GHz channel spacing was generated from a subharmonically hybrid mode-locked two section monolithic laser with enhanced amplitude modulation. The obtained pulse source exhibits high extinction ratio (＞10 dB) and low level of root mean square (RMS)phase noise (＜0.11 rad) over all channels from 1556 nm to 1565 nm.     

Electrooptical modulation of broadband light with Gaussian amplitude distribution over the spectrum

Physical principles of the operation of an optical modulator that employs, as a light source, a laser or light-emitting diode with a spectral width up to several tens of nanometers are considered. The half-wave voltage and modulation depth of the light are found with allowance for the spectral distribution of the amplitude and refractive index dispersion.     

Doppler ultrasound signals simulation from vessels with various stenosis degrees

As a non-invasive method, the Doppler ultrasound technique is used to detect the vessel stenosis. To search for characteristics of Doppler ultrasound signals sensitive to the stenosis, a computer simulation approach is proposed in this paper to generate Doppler ultrasound signals from vessels with various stenosis degrees. The blood flow velocity distribution in a stenosed vessel is firstly calculated using the transient finite element method (FEM). Then the power spectral density of Doppler signals is estimated using the overall-distribution nonparametric estimation method. Finally Doppler signals are generated using the cosine-superposed method. The proposed approach is proved to be useful for simulating Doppler ultrasound signals from vessels with various stenosis degrees. It is also shown that characteristics of Doppler ultrasound signals may be used to estimate the vessel's stenosis degree.     

Numerical modeling of thermoelastic generation of ultrasound by laser irradiation in the coupled thermoelasticity

Laser-generation of ultrasound is investigated in the coupled dynamical thermoelasticity in the presented paper. The coupled heat conduction and wave equations are solved using finite differences. It is shown that the application of staggered grids in combination with explicit integration of the wave equation facilitates the decoupling of the solution and enables the application of a combination of implicit and explicit numerical integration techniques. The presented solution is applied to model the generation of ultrasound by a laser source in isotropic and transversely isotropic materials. The influence of the coupling of the generalized thermoelasticity is investigated and it will be shown, that for ultra high frequency waves (i.e. 100 GHz) generated by laser pulses with duration in the picosecond range, the thermal feedback becomes considerable leading to a strong attenuation of the longitudinal bulk wave. Moreover, the coupling leads to dispersion influencing the wave velocities at low frequencies. The numerical simulations are compared to theoretical results available in the literature. Wave fields generated by a line focused laser source are presented by the numerical model for isotropic and for transversely isotropic materials.     

Tunable two-dimensional femtosecond spectroscopy

We have developed a two-dimensional (2D) Fourier-transform femtosecond spectroscopy technique for the visible spectral region. Three-pulse photon echo signals are generated in a phase-matched noncollinear four-wave mixing box geometry that employs a 3-kHz repetition-rate laser system and optical parametric amplification. Nonlinear signals are fully characterized in amplitude and phase by spectral interferometry. Unlike for previous setups, we achieve long-term phase stability by employing diffractive optics and interferometric accuracy of excitation-pulse time delays by using movable glass wedges. As an example of this technique, 2D correlation and relaxation spectra at 600 nm are shown for a solution of Nile Blue dye in acetonitrile.     

Active mode-locking of lasers using GaAs and GaP picosecond switches

Active mode-locking of coumarin dye lasers has been achieved using either a GaAs or GaP picosecond high voltage switch to drive an intra cavity Pockels cell in a Q modulation technique. Pulses of 30–50 ps were generated with a peak power of ≈500 kW, while pulses as short as 20 ps were observed. The method can be generally applied to various laser systems over wide spectral ranges.     

Signal enhancement in Rayleigh wave interactions using a laser-ultrasound/EMAT imaging system

Enhancement of signal amplitudes from Rayleigh wave interaction at solid surface features has been investigated when signals were detected by an in-plane electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). A laser-ultrasound system was used to inspect surface-breaking slots, serving as artificial defects. Nd:YAG laser pulses were delivered onto a metal surface via an optical fiber and focused to a line source by a cylindrical lens. An in-plane EMAT receiver detected transient surface acoustic waves. A-scan signals and B-scan images from surface defects revealed increased signal amplitude up to 2.8+/-0.3 depending on the distance of the transducer from a slot. An explanation is based on the interaction of the EMAT sensor with the Rayleigh wave. A supporting computer model was derived to show that experimental signal enhancements were consistent with numerical predictions.     

High-efficiency Q-switched erbium fiber laser using a Bragg grating-based modulator

In this work we analyze the behavior of an erbium-doped fiber laser which is based on a simple scheme. Excitation of the active medium is performed in the 980 nm pump band with a CW semiconductor laser source. Two fiber Bragg gratings acting as mirrors of the Fabry–Perot laser cavity were used. One of these gratings was mounted over a piezoelectric (PZT) element. By applying voltage pulses to the piezoelectric, the laser cavity was temporally modulated and Q-switched laser pulses up to 530 mW peak powers at 3 kHz were obtained. Typical laser emission of 2–3 μs temporal widths and 0.1 nm of optical bandwidth have been achieved when the system was operated at 18.5 kHz repetition rates. Different behaviors were observed depending on the pumping level of the active medium and on the amplitude and frequency of the signal applied on the PZT. Q-switched laser output, in the erbium spectral gain region, with high laser efficiency of energy conversion was generated. Pumping at 76 mW and operating the laser at 18.5 kHz, an efficiency of 26% was obtained.     

Attenuation and dispersion of Rayleigh waves propagating on a cracked surface: an effective field approach

A new effective field approach describing the attenuation and dispersion of a Rayleigh wave propagating on a surface containing a distribution of one-dimensional, surface-breaking cracks is presented. Limited by the validity of the independent scattering approximation, the model utilizes the complex transmission coefficient of a single crack to build expressions for the phase velocity and attenuation coefficient of an effective Rayleigh wave. The model is shown to be able to accommodate the effect of compressive residual stresses that tend to close the distributed cracks at their mouth, and therefore substantially reduce the attenuation and the velocity change caused by an equivalent distribution of open cracks. Wherever possible, the predictions of the new model are compared with those of other approaches and critical remarks are offered which discuss the advantages of the effective field approach over the others. Finally, an extension of this approach to distributions of two-dimensional surface-breaking cracks is outlined.     

气体靶激光等离子体软X-射线源实验研究

介绍了一种无碎屑、高亮度、高工作频率的气体靶激光等离子体软X 射线源。其喷气阀门由压电陶瓷驱动 ,工作频率可达到 40 0Hz。与金属靶激光等离子体软X 射线源相比 ,此光源无碎屑。与喷嘴由电磁阀控制的气体靶激光等离子体软X 射线源相比 ,它有较高的工作频率。一工作在模拟模式的通道电子倍增器被用于探测来自光源的软X 射线辐射 ,其输出信号经过一电荷灵敏前置放大器进一步放大变成电压脉冲信号 ,脉冲幅度与输入电荷灵敏前置放大器的电量成正比。实验测得CO2 ,Xe和Kr在 8～ 2 2nm软X 射线投影光刻常用波段的光谱辐射特性。CO2 光谱包括类锂和类铍离子跃迁形成的线谱 ,Xe光谱是多电荷氙离子 4d 5f,4d 4f,4d 6p和 4d 5p跃迁所形成的光谱。Kr气体靶光谱包括类铜离子、类镍离子、类钴离子和类铁离子跃迁形成的线谱和连续谱。     

Spectral density matrix of a single photon measured

We propose and demonstrate a method for measuring the spectral density matrix of a single photon pulse. The method is based on registering Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between a photon to be measured and a pair of attenuated and suitably delayed laser pulses described by a known spectral amplitude. The density matrix is retrieved from a two-dimensional interferogram of coincidence counts. The method has been implemented for a type-I down-conversion source, pumped by ultrashort laser pulses. The experimental results agree well with a theoretical model which takes into account the temporal as well as spatial effects in the source.