Propagation of a beam of gamma rays in the field of a monochromatic laser wave

The head-on propagation of a beam of γ grays through the field of a laser wave is investigated. The optical properties of the laser wave (as a medium) are described by the dielectric tensor. The refractive indices are determined, and the polarization characteristics of electromagnetic normal modes capable of propagating in such a medium are investigated. Relations are derived to describe the variation of the initial polarization and intensity of a γ-ray beam as it propagates in a laser field. The influence of laser intensity on the investigated process is discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 2016–2029 (December 1997)     

Dispersive solid-state dye laser oscillators

Narrow-linewidth multiple-prism grating solid-state dye laser oscillators are analysed using ray transfer matrices. Attention is given to beam divergence measurements and the effect on them of thermal lensing, at the solid-state gain medium. It is found that although thermal lensing leads to an increment of beam divergence, it induces oscillation in the unstable resonator regime, thus contributing to the attainment of TEM00 beam profiles. In addition, narrow-linewidth emission in dispersive oscillators, incorporating rhodamine 6 G doped HEMA:MMA gain media, is reported for the first time. Laser efficiency is 4–5% at a laser linewidth ≤1.8 GHz for double-longitudinal-mode emission. Beam divergence is measured in the 2–2.3 mrad range, in good agreement with theory. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Formation of laser beams with a minimum divergence in the UV spectral region

The results of investigations of the divergence of an amplified diffracted beam of diameter from 1.5 to 150 mm produced by a XeCl laser are presented. It has been shown that if the intensity distribution of the amplified radiation is spatially nonuniform, the wave front in the active medium changes substantially due to the diffraction of the radiation at a small-diameter diaphragm. The active medium of the amplifier excited by an electron beam makes it possible to amplify without visible distortions a laser beam with a divergence of ≈10 μrad. Institute of High-Current Electronics, Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 64–68, April, 2000.     

Allowance for angular divergence in the generation of the second harmonic in crystals with a regular domain structure

We obtained basic analytical expressions for the efficiency of the second harmonic in nonlinear crystals with a regular domain structure; in these expressions we took into account the angular divergence of the laser beam. The calculation was done in the geometric-optics approximation of the given field of laser radiation. We show that the expressions obtained are similar to the corresponding expressions for homogeneous nonlinear crystals. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 134–138, January–February, 2000.     

Partially coherent elegant Hermite–Gaussian beam in turbulent atmosphere

Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel integral, analytical formulas for the cross-spectral density, mean-squared beam width and angular spread of a partially coherent elegant Hermite–Gaussian (HG) beam in turbulent atmosphere are derived. The evolution properties of the average intensity, spreading and directionality of a partially coherent elegant HG beam in turbulent atmosphere are studied numerically. It is found that the partially coherent elegant HG beam with smaller initial coherence width, larger beam order and longer wavelength is less affected by the atmospheric turbulence. Compared to the partially coherent standard HG beam, the partially coherent elegant HG beam is less affected by turbulence under the same condition. Furthermore, it is found that there exist equivalent partially coherent standard and elegant HG beams, equivalent fully coherent standard and elegant HG beams, and an equivalent Gaussian–Schell-model beam may have the same directionality as a fully coherent Gaussian beam whether in free space or in turbulent atmosphere. Our results can be utilized in short and long atmospheric optical communication systems.     

Characteristic features of light scattering by a thick volume hologram

A mathematical model is proposed for the optical transfer function of a thick two-dimensional volume hologram bounded by a rectangular periphery. It is shown that the hologram is made up of two parts. The first part is formed by a point reference beam which reads out the hologram through the longitudinal boundary, while the second part is formed when it is read out through its transverse boundary. It is established that the principal features of light scattering by a thick hologram involve the second component of the optical transfer function. It is shown that under conditions of phase detuning the angular dependence of this component fails to coincide with the corresponding dependence of the first part, and this greatly complicates the structure of the angular intensity of the reconstructed light beam. This conclusion is confirmed by the experimental results given which were obtained when investigating holograms of a divergent light beam recorded in a lithium niobate photorefractive crystal. The results are given of a calculation using the mathematical model discussed as applied to the experimental situation considered. State University of Control Systems and Electronics, Tomsk. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 114–120, July, 1998.     

Ultrasound diffraction of light beams in gyrotropic crystals

The features of the Bragg diffraction of Gaussian light beams at ultrasound waves in gyrotropic crystals were investigated. The dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the intensity of an ultrasound beam, the cross-section radius of a light beam, and their divergence ratio was found. An asymptotic expression for the transverse distribution of a diffracted beam was derived. The crystal gyrotropy has been found to affect significantly the change in the amplitude profile of the diffracted light at ultrasound frequencies of f ∼ 10²–10³ MHz. The maximum diffraction efficiency in the gyrotropic medium is shown to be reached at a certain ratio between the divergences, ultrasound intensity, and specific gyration of the crystal. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 370–374, May–June, 2000.     

Coherence effects accompanying generation of high-order harmonics

For phase-locked emitters, provided a certain relation exists between the pump wave and atomic beam parameters, a saturation effect is shown to be possible for which the intensity of the high-order harmonics ceases to depend on the atomic density. By means of a simple model that includes variations in the intensity of the pump wave in the plane transverse to the focal axis, an expression is obtained for the optimum atomic density of the medium corresponding to intensity saturation. The dependence of the optimum atomic density on the laser power and harmonic number obtained is found to be in qualitative agreement with recently published experimental data. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1978–1984 (December 1997)     

Modeling of light propagation in turbid medium using Monte Carlo simulation technique

The aim of the current study is to simulate the laser photon through biological tissue during PDT therapy using Monte Carlo simulation technique. The model is coded using MATLAB. Interaction of laser light with turbid medium e.g. human tissue depends on the optical properties of the medium i.e. refractive index n, absorption coefficient μ _a , scattering coefficient μ _s and anisotropy factor g. Laser light transport through tissue is governed by the radiative transport equations based on absorption and scattering. Direct sampling is used for step-size generation before interaction via absorption or scattering with the transmitting medium, for deflection and azimuthal angle (θ and ϕ) when the scattering even occurs. The tissue medium considered is divided into radial, axial and angular grid elements and an infinite narrow beam with normal incidence on the tissue is considered. The laser light absorbance inside the tissue, reflectance at the top boundary of the tissue and transmittance at the bottom are estimated and these quantities are shown varying radially and angularly. Results of reflectance, transmittance and fluence are compared with the already published results to confirm the authenticity of our coding and these results are found to lie at only 3–4% error.     

Ponderomotive action of light in the problem of multiple scattering of light in a randomly inhomogeneous medium

The time correlation function of light reflected diffusely from a semi-infinite randomly inhomogeneous medium is calculated with allowance for the acceleration of the scatterers in the field of the laser beam incident on the medium. An analytical expression is found for the characteristic coherence time due to the ponderomotive action of light. It is shown that even with laser radiation power densities of the order of 1–10 W laser-acceleration effects substantially alter the character of the time autocorrelation function of the scattered light and must be taken into account in theoretical calculations. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 9, 611–615 (10 May 1998)     

Redistribution of intensity in the cross section of a powerful light beam after saturation of absorption

This paper deals with three-dimensional redistribution of intensity over the cross section of a powerful light beam of a ruby laser saturating the absorption in the atmospheric vapor line 694.380 nm. Calculation of the beam contraction near the axis with the initial angular divergence taken into account, was carried out within the framework of the transfer equation for conditions corresponding to nonturbid atmosphere. The change of the effective light beam radius was also considered as a function of path length and initial radiation intensity.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 58–62, March, 1980.     

M<Superscript>2</Superscript> of MOPA CuBr Laser Radiation

The beam propagation factor, M² of the master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) CuBr laser emission compliant with ISO 11146 is studied methodically. Statistical parameters of 2D intensity profile of the near and far fields of MOPA laser radiation are measured by a beam analyzing technique as functions of timing delay between MO and PA. For first time the influence of the gas buffer (causing the radiation profile to change from annular to top-hat and Gaussian-like) and light polarization on CuBr laser beam focusability (M²) was under investigation. The MOPA gain curve is found and the influence of gain on the input signal (from MO into PA) due to the absorption/amplification in PA on the field profiles is shown. For annular radiation M² range is from 13–14 (small delays) to 5–6 (large delays) and for filled-center radiation M² is 6–7 (small delays) and at the end of gain curve is as much as 4. With polarized light, M² drops to 3 at the end of gain curve. The brightness of laser emission with hydrogen goes up 3–5 times and the linearly-polarized beam is at least 40% brighter than that of partial or non-polarized beams.     

A time-dependent,ray-geometrical treatment of the interference fringes within a thermally self-defocused laser beam

A time-dependent theoretical treatment of the intensity distribution within a thermally self-defocused laser beam is presented, based on a ray-geometrical approach. Well-modulated interference fringes are predicted extending over most of the beam. This treatment is applicable to beam propagation in media for which the heat transfer by convection can be neglected when compared with that due to conduction. Numerically determined intensity distributions are given and compared with ones obtained experimentally using a laser beam of 488 nm wavelength and an absorbing medium of glycerol doped with iodine. Good agreement is obtained.     

Experiments and analysis of gold disk targets irradiated by smoothing beams of Xingguang II facilities with 350 nm wavelength

Gold disk targets were irradiated using focusing and beam smoothing methods on Xingguang (XG-II) laser facilities with 350 nm wavelength, 0.6 ns pulse width and 20-80 Joules energies. Laser absorption, light scattering and X-ray conversion were experimentally investigated. The experimental results showed that laser absorption and scattered light were about 90% and 10%, respectively, under focusing irradiation, but the laser absorption increased 5%-10% and the scattered light about 1% under the condition of beam smoothing. Compared with the case of focusing irradiation, the laser absorption was effectively improved and the scattered light remarkably dropped under uniform irradiation; then due to the decrease in laser intensity, X-ray conversion increased. This is highly advantageous to the inertial confinement fusion. However, X-ray conversion mechanism basically did not change and X-ray conversion efficiency under beam smoothing and focusing irradiation was basically the same.     

Characterization of probe lasers for thin-film optical measurements

The peak-power-density stability and beam-wander precision of a probe laser are important factors affecting the inspection results in precise thin-film optical measurements. These factors are also key to evaluating a probe laser for in-line long-time operation of precise thin-film optical measurements. The peak-power density and beam wander of liner helium–neon (He–Ne) lasers, random He–Ne lasers, and diode lasers as functions of time are investigated experimentally using a beam profiler. It is found that the linear polarized He–Ne laser is considered to be a promising candidate for a probe laser employed in precise thin-film optical measurements due to better peak-power-density stability and beam-wander precision. Both the peak-power-density stability and beam-wander precision of He–Ne lasers are usually better than that of diode lasers, but an adequate warm-up of He–Ne laser for 30 min is required before thin-film optical measurements are made. After 12 h operation, the linear polarized He–Ne laser is suitable for precise thin-film optical measurements because both the peak-power-density stability and the beam-wander precision reach the minimum level. A cost-effective system composed of two linear polarized He–Ne lasers for long-term operation is proposed. This system can operate for around 0.5–1.2 years in precise thin-film optical measurements under the normal operating life of a He–Ne laser by switching the probe laser every 18 h.     

Improving the time-averaged thermal efficiency of a laser beam by acoustooptic correction of the directional pattern

Applicability of the acoustooptic method for raising the time-averaged thermal efficiency of laser radiation is substantiated theoretically and confirmed experimentally. The effect produced by laser radiation on materials being processed (laser cutting, welding, engraving, etc.) has a threshold in light intensity. Importantly, a beam with the most frequently used normal (Gaussian) angular distribution of intensity is not optimal from the technological viewpoint. A method proposed for its optimization is based on acoustooptic refraction, i.e., fast nonlinear scanning of the initial beam around its central position, which improves (at certain values of the parameters) the time-averaged angular distribution of the beam intensity. In the experiment, the thermal efficiency of laser radiation is raised by several times.     

Optical activity of a cadmium diphosphide crystal

We have experimentally studied the characteristic features of a laser beam, polarized at angles of ± 45° to the horizontal (vertical), passing through plates of varying thickness cut from a CdP₂ crystal and placed between crossed polarizers, as a function of their angle of rotation relative to the vertical axis. We show that a periodic variation in the intensity is connected with the variation in polarization of the laser beam. We have established that the laser beam remains linearly polarized not only when it passes through the sample along the optic axis, but also when it travels at up to a 17.5° angle to the optic axis. In this case, the specific rotation of the plane of polarization along the optic axis is 68.2 degrees/mm for a thicker plate and 83.3 degrees/mm for a thin plate. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 5, pp. 690–693, September–October, 2006.     

The Effect of the Gaussian Inhomogeneity of Laser Beam Intensity on the Interferometric Measurement Uncertainty

The accuracy of an interference experiment is known to depend on the interference imaging conditions. The effect of the Gaussian inhomogeneity of laser beam intensity on the wave-front reconstruction uncertainty is investigated. The effective size of the illuminating laser beam is shown to influence the measurement uncertainty. The effect is more pronounced in evaluation of the interferograms with a small number of fringes. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 51–55, May, 2005.