High power laser beam delivery monitoring for laser safety

The output of high power lasers used for material processing presents extreme radiation hazards. In normal operation this hazard is removed by the use of local shielding to prevent accidental exposure and system design to ensure efficient coupling of radiation into the workpiece. Faults in laser beam delivery or utilization can give rise to hazardous levels of laser radiation. A passive hazard control strategy requires that the laser system be enclosed such that the full laser power cannot burn through the housing under fault conditions. Usually this approach is too restrictive. Instead, active control strategies can be used in which a fault condition is detected and the laser cut off. This reduces the requirements for protective housing. In this work a distinction is drawn between reactive and proactive strategies. Reactive strategies rely on detecting the effects of an errant laser beam, whereas proactive strategies can anticipate as well as detect fault conditions. This can avoid the need for a hazardous situation to exist. A proactive strategy in which the laser beam is sampled at the final turning mirror is described in this work. Two control systems have been demonstrated; the first checks that beam power is within preset limits, the second monitors incoming beam power and position, and the radiation reflected back from the cutting head. In addition to their safety functions the accurate monitoring of power provides an additional benefit to the laser user.     

In-plane electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometry

An analysis of the out-of-plane shearing interferometer has been performed which shows that production of in-plane strain partial derivatives is possible, which are not affected by out-of-plane displacement function components. The in-plane data are represented as subtraction correlation fringes. This interferometer employs a single diverging illumination beam and is applicable to object plane stress and plane strain loading conditions. The interferometer was tested and compared using a compact tension crack specimen and the results are correlated with finite element software predictions of strain distributions across modelled specimens. This experimental validation was chosen because we had an existing test rig and finite element models which had been independently verified.     

THE AVAILABILITY OF SOLAR RADIATION BELOW 290 nm AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN PHOTOMODIFICATION OF POLYMERS

Abstract— On a percentage basis, ozone is a very minor component of the atmosphere; at STP it would make a layer only about 2 mm thick. On almost every other basis (biological, meteorological, paleontological, photochemical, etc.) it is a major component, due mainly to the tremendous reduction in solar ultraviolet flux which it causes in the 220–290 nm region. Since no data are available for Λ < 285 nm, a rational basis for estimating the flux reaching the earth's surface in this region is discussed. Variations in ozone concentration are of great importance, and it is possible to have more radiation with Λ < 270 nm fall on a surface in one extreme day than in several years of typical days. Often, persons involved in studies of polymer degradation by sunlight mention that a negligible fraction (1 ppm) of the radiant flux reaching the earth's surface is associated with wavelengths below 290 nm and infer that studies at shorter wavelengths will not be of much practical value. Such inferences are questionable for at least two reasons. (1) The quantum flux density below 290 nm is about 10¹⁶ photons cm^-2 month^-1, so that considerable long-term damage is possible since most of the flux will be absorbed in a layer only a few microns thick. (2) Even if solar radiation below 290 nm were completely absent, the existence of correlations between absorption peaks in the near ultraviolet and visible, and in the infrared with ionization potentials typically 6–12 eV or 200-100 nm) is evidence that we may expect studies in the ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to provide important clues to the problem of improving the resistance of polymers to sunlight.     

EFFECT OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION ON THE ENERGY METABOLISM OF THE CORNEAL EPITHELIUM OF THE RABBIT

The present research was directed at quantifying possible alterations in corneal epithelial metabolic activity secondary to in vivo exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Microfluorometric energy metabolite assays on microgram (microgram) sized, freeze-dried tissue samples were used as an in vitro means of assessing overall metabolic activity in the epithelium of control rabbit corneas and in the epithelium of UVR-exposed rabbit corneas 2 min after discontinuation of exposure. The specific assays were for glucose, glycogen, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and phosphocreatine (PCr). The radiant exposures were kept constant at 0.05 J cm-2 for all UVR wavelengths utilized (290, 300, 310 and 360 nm). Experimental UVR exposure conditions served to increase epithelial glucose and glycogen concentrations. Although the epithelial ATP concentrations were unchanged, the epithelial PCr concentrations (a high energy phosphate bond reservoir) decreased as a result of UVR exposure. Overall, the data demonstrate a decrease in corneal epithelial metabolic activity, which may be wavelength-dependent, as a result of UVR exposure. It is suggested that immediate metabolic stress can be responsible for the pattern of epithelial cell loss seen in photokeratitis.     

CHANGES IN TOTAL DIFFUSE SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE OF AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEINS AFTER ULTRAVIOLET IRRADIATION

Abstract— Total diffuse reflectance spectra of air-dried surfaces of free and neutralized amino acid preparations before and after irradiation in vitro are reported. It was found that some free or neutralized amino acid surfaces underwent modification which resulted in changes in the diffuse reflectance spectra after U.V. exposure. It is suggested that these reflectance changes result from transformations in the side chains of the amino acids and that the transformations may differ from those occurring when amino acids in solution are irradiated. Histidine, cystine, hydroxyproline and some protein surfaces showed changes in reflectance of 330–400 nm light similar to those reported in skin after U.V. irradiation in viuo.