Measurement of a broad range of Gaussian laser beam diameters using various periodic and aperiodic rulings

A novel analytical approach is proposed for an accurate estimation of a broad range of Gaussian laser beam diameters. The new approach, based on the Fourier transform and the convolution operations, is used to study the performance of most recently proposed periodic and aperiodic rulings. Further, for applications that require extremely small beam diameter measurements, a new Ronchi-like ruling is proposed; while for applications requiring large beam diameters measurements, various aperiodic non-Ronchi rulings are proposed. Furthermore, for spot-size measurement applications, which range from very small to very large beam diameters, a new single aperiodic exponential ruling is proposed. This new ruling eliminates the necessity of using a large number of rulings for measuring a broad range of beam diameters.     

355 nm nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser profile measurement, metal thin film ablation and thermal simulation

Laser ablation of nickel, gold and copper thin film on glass substrates has been investigated using a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 355 nm in air with a Gaussian intensity profile. The exact beam profile was measured through mechanical scanning with a photodiode. A small beam defect was observed, which can affect the machining performance at higher pulse energies. The ablation thresholds of the films were calculated from the crater diameter values. The effect of the pulse repetition rate and the film thickness was also studied. At high pulse repetition rates heat accumulation was observed and the ablation threshold decreased with the film thickness. Both cases resulted in higher diameters.     

光镊系统中光放大倍数对测量结果的影响

从实验和理论两方面，讨论了在光镊系统中，光放大倍数在500—1000倍、间隔为100倍的范围内，对四象限探测器位移测量信号的幅值及其线性度的影响.实验结果与理论结果符合很好，得出相同的结论：当微粒的影像半径约为四象限探测器探头半径(50—60)%时，可以得到幅值大、线性好的输出信号. 关键词： 光镊系统 放大倍数 四象限探测器     

Measurement of the diameter of a laser beam

A new and simple technique for measuring the effective diameter of a laser beam used in material processing is described. The time for the temperature of a spot heated by the laser beam to rise to 90% of equilibrium is compared with that predicted theoretically for a Gaussian TEM₀₀ laser beam. A Gaussian beam diameter equivalent is thus deduced. This calculated diameter is of particular relevance to applications where the laser is used as a heat source.     

Laser forming of a bowl shaped surface with a stationary laser beam

Despite a lot of research done in the field of laser forming, generation of a symmetric bowl shaped surface by this process is still a challenge mainly because only a portion of the sheet is momentarily deformed in this process, unlike conventional sheet metal forming like deep drawing where the entire blank undergoes forming simultaneously reducing asymmetry to a minimum. The motion of laser beam also makes the process asymmetric. To counter these limitations this work proposes a new approach for laser forming of a bowl shaped surface by irradiating the centre of a flat circular blank with a stationary laser beam. With high power lasers, power density sufficient for laser forming, can be availed at reasonably large spot sizes. This advantage is exploited in this technique. Effects of duration of laser irradiation and beam spot diameter on the amount of bending and asymmetry in the formed surface were investigated. Laser power was kept constant while varying irradiation time. While varying laser spot diameter laser power was chosen so as to keep the surface temperature nearly constant at just below melting. Experimental conditions promoted almost uniform heating through sheet thickness. The amount of bending increased with irradiation time and spot diameter. It was interesting to observe that blanks bent towards the laser beam for smaller laser beam diameters and the reverse happened for larger spot diameters (~10 times of the sheet thickness). Effect of spot diameter variation has been explained with the help of coupled thermal-structural finite element simulations.     

An approach to achieve lateral superresolution for small probe confocal measurement system and its element

A shaped annular beam superresolution approach is proposed to improve a lateral resolution of a small probe laser confocal measurement system (LCMS). The approach proposed enables lateral superresolution measurement of LCMS to be achieved by using a binary optical diffractive element to shape a He–Ne Gaussian laser beam into an annular beam with an inner diameter of 0.87 mm and an outer diameter of 1.8 mm required for superresolution measurement, and shift the beam spatial frequency from low to high. And a binary optical element (BOE) with 16 phase levels is designed and fabricated to shape a Gaussian laser beam into an annular beam. Preliminary experimental results indicate that an intensity distribution of a shaped annular beam is in agreement with simulation results, the diffractive efficiency is 87.2%; LCMS lateral and axial resolutions of 0.2 μm and 3 nm are achieved, respectively, and its measurement range is expanded nearly to double, when BOE is used in LCMS and , NA=0.85.     

Linearity of quadrant avalanche photodiode in laser tracking system

The tracking precision of laser tracking system is affected by the angular resolution of quadrant avalanche photodiode. According to the detecting principle of quadrant avalanche photodiode, the light spot area, the optical intensity distribution, the non-uniformity of response, and the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） that affect the linearity of the detector are studied. The light optical spot area and the optical intensity distribution can be adjusted through software. The non-uniformity of response and the SNR are influenced by the noise of the detector. Because the noise is affected by the optical intensity of the incident laser, it is difficult to obtain the law of the linearity caused by noise. When the light spot area and the optical intensity distribution are fixed, the other factors can be measured. With the detector scanned in raster scanning mode, the non-uniformity of response is measured at different SNRs. The linearity of detector is measured by a moving target that can reflect the illuminating laser to the detector in diffuse reflection mode. The nonlinear error of the linearity of detector can be minimized by increasing the SNR.     

Measurements of cavitation bubble dynamics based on a beam-deflection probe

We present an optodynamic measurement of a laser-induced cavitation bubble and its oscillations based on a scanning technique using a laser beam-deflection probe. The deflection of the beam was detected with a fast quadrant photodiode which was built into the optical probe. The applied experimental setup enabled us to carry out one- or two-dimensional scanning of the cavitation bubble, automatic control of the experiment, data acquisition and data processing. Shadow photography was used as a comparative method during the experiments.     

Interference wedge properties relevant to laser applications: transmission and reflection of restricted light beams

The optical properties of the interference wedge are analysed for the case of restricted laser beam illumination. By further development of Brossel's method, equations describing this case are derived and used to calculate the reflected and transmitted beam profiles for typical intracavity laser beam diameters (0.2–0.6 mm) for Gaussian and uniform intensity distributions. In particular, the experimentally observed formation of bright fringes outside the beam impact area at resonant wavelengths is explained. some useful dependencies concerning the wedge reflection and transmission for laser applications are obtained and experimentally demonstrated.     

A straightness measurement system using a single-mode fiber-coupled laser module

In this paper, a quite simple and novel straightness measurement system is proposed. The laser beam from a single-mode fiber-coupled laser module is highly stable, and can be used as the reference line for straightness measurements of any mechanical system. A corner retro-reflector is used as the moving target in the system in order to sense the straightness error and to reflect laser beam from measurement head back to it. In this way, there is no cable connection in the moving target, which is necessary for straightness measurements in workshop. At the same time, relationship between voltage output from a quadrant photodiode detector and its displacement was analyzed, and the theoretical analysis shows a good consistence with practical measurement results, which gives a way to enlarge the measurement range of the system. Comparative results of straightness measurement with a dual frequency laser interferometer were given, and repeatability with one micrometer at the distance of 1 m was gotten by the system.     

平顶飞秒激光经圆锥透镜在熔融石英中成丝及超连续辐射

实验研究了平顶飞秒激光经圆锥透镜后在熔融石英中的成丝及超连续辐射.与高斯飞秒激光的成丝对比发现,平顶飞秒激光可以获得在圆锥透镜焦深区域内强度分布更为均匀的等离子体细丝,这一特征更有利于飞秒激光在固体介质中进行微纳加工等领域的应用.并且,在不损伤熔融石英的条件下,平顶飞秒激光成丝可以获得更高能量、更高转换效率的超连续辐射,这是因为若产生光强相近的细丝,平顶飞秒激光所需的初始激光能量更高,此激光能量下产生的细丝长度更长、均匀性更好.     

高斯光束与谐振腔基模模式光路谐振匹配的分析与校准

为了降低高斯光束与谐振腔耦合过程中失调量和失配量对基于无源谐振腔测量技术精度的影响, 采用高斯光束变换规律、模式耦合有关理论以及光束传播坐标变换等相关理论, 就失调量和失配量对基模耦合效率的影响分别进行分析和模拟, 并据此给出了一般情况下两个参考量同时存在时基模耦合效率的表达式. 分析表明: 失配量的存在主要影响激光器与谐振腔的耦合效率, 而对高阶模式的激发影响较小, 因此对谐振腔的衰减线型影响较小; 失调量的存在对谐振腔高阶模式的激发起主要作用, 给测量带来严重误差. 该结论为利用腔出射光信号来确定误调参量值的实验方案提供了依据. 因此, 在考虑光源光谱线宽的情况下, 就光源光谱线宽的特性提出两种装调校准方案: 基于法布里-珀罗干涉仪法和基于多维象限探测器探测谐振腔出射光的调节回路, 这将为分析基于无源谐振腔的相关技术测量误差来源以及实现测量系统的高精度装调提供理论指导.     

Interference model for back-focal-plane displacement detection in optical tweezers

The lateral position of an optically trapped object in a microscope can be monitored with a quadrant photodiode to within nanometers or better by measurement of intensity shifts in the back focal plane of the lens that is collimating the outgoing laser light. This detection is largely independent of the position of the trap in the field of view. We provide a model for the essential mechanism of this type of detection, giving a simple, closed-form analytic solution with simplifying assumptions. We identify intensity shifts as first-order far-field interference between the outgoing laser beam and scattered light from the trapped particle, where the latter is phase advanced owing to the Gouy phase anomaly. This interference also reflects momentum transfer to the particle, giving the spring constant of the trap. Our response formula is compared with the results of experiments.     

利用4400系统构造具有光学多道分析功能的信号处理系统

基于4400系统,通过引入光电二极管列阵作为传感器,构造了具有光学多道分析功能的信号处理系统。利用该系统对实际的激光空间分布进行了描绘,给出了高斯场分布的相应参数。通过进一步观测p偏振光在K9玻璃上下表面反射光强比(γ)的角度调制曲线,获得了玻璃表面层的光学参数。实验结果表明,该系统测量精度高,可应用在激光时间信号及空间场分布的表征与测量领域。     

Study of high precise measurement of large diameters by a dual frequency laser interferometer

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Construction of an optical tweezer for nanometer scale rheology

The optical tweezer is a versatile set-up that can be employed in a wide variety of studies investigating the microscopic properties of materials. In particular, this set-up has in recent times been gainfully employed in probing rheological properties of materials that exhibit viscoelasticity. These measurements can provide data at the micro and nanometer scales, not normally accessible by rheometers that are used for measurements on bulk samples. In this work we describe a single laser beam optical tweezer set-up, which is built around an inverted open microscope. The trapped polystyrene particle bead’s deviation from the trap potential minimum is monitored by laser backscattering technique and the bead position measured by a quadrant photodiode detector. Additionally, a provision is made for video microscopic studies on dispersed beads using a CCD camera. A single particle microrheological experiment that can be performed using the set-up is described with relevant calculations.     

Design and evaluation of a Blu-ray pickup head system for determining the tilt angle and displacement of the test plane

We present an optical system design for determining the tilt angle and displacement of the test plane. The proposed optical system consists of a Blu-ray pickup head and a pigtailed laser diode with a uniform Gaussian beam. The optical system is evaluated by two optical design software packages, Code V and LightTools. A quadrant detector is used to detect the relative relationship of the V_A, V_B, V_C and V_D output signals, which can be used to measure the tilt angle and displacement on the test plane. Both the tilt angle and displacement on the test plane can be determined from the change in the beam shape on the quadrant detector. The proposed system can generate a circular uniform beam shape to reduce the misjudgment and to enhance the measurement accuracy. Various simulation cases are presented in detail to show the feasibility of the proposed system.     

Measurement of fiber-cladding diameter uniformity by use of whispering-gallery modes: nanometer resolution in diameter variations along millimeter to centimeter lengths

Variations in fiber-cladding diameter on a nanometer scale were measured along millimeter to centimeter lengths by use of whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) in the elastic scattering of the fiber. The fiber was side coupled with a wavelength-tunable Gaussian beam. The scattered light was imaged approximately 1:1 onto a multichannel photodiode array detector. Based on the WGM wavelength shifts along the fiber, the taper of the fiber cladding's diameter was measured on a nanometer/millimeter scale. The fiber's surface roughness amplitude (in nanometers) and granular size ( approximately 100 microm) along centimeter-length fibers could also be revealed by use of higher- Q resonances.     

Self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam in collisionless plasma and its effect on stimulated Raman scattering process

This paper presents an investigation of self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam in collisionless plasma and its effect on stimulated Raman scattering process. The pump beam interacts with a pre-excited electron plasma wave thereby generating a back-scattered wave. On account of Gaussian intensity distribution of laser beam, the time independent component of the ponderomotive force along a direction perpendicular to the beam propagation becomes finite, which modifies the background plasma density profile in a direction transverse to pump beam axis. This modification in density affects the incident laser beam, electron plasma wave and back-scattered beam. We have set up the non-linear differential equations for the beam width parameters of the main beam, electron plasma wave, back-scattered wave and SRS-reflectivity by taking full non-linear part of the dielectric constant of collisionless plasma with the help of moment theory approach. It is observed from the analysis that focusing of waves greatly enhances the SRS reflectivity.     

飞秒平顶光束经微透镜阵列在熔融石英中的成丝及其超连续辐射

实验研究了平顶激光光束经微透镜阵列在熔融石英中成丝的演化以及超连续辐射的产生,并进一步与高斯光束的成丝和超连续辐射进行了对比研究.分别对这两种光束的多丝传输进行了横向和纵向成像.结果表明,使用平顶光束可以获得更为均匀的多丝分布,成丝的起点也更为一致;尤其重要的是,相对于高斯光束,平顶光束可以使用更高的入射激光脉冲能量而不会造成介质的损伤,从而可以获得更高脉冲能量和更高转换效率的超连续辐射.