Error analysis of the piston estimation method in dispersed fringe sensor

Dispersed fringe sensor(DFS) is an important phasing sensor of next-generation optical astronomical telescopes. The measurement errors induced by the measurement noise of three piston estimation methods for the DFS including leastsquared fitting(LSF) method, frequency peak location(FPL) method and main peak position(MPP) method, are analyzed theoretically and validated experimentally in this paper. The experimental results coincide well with the theoretical analyses.The MPP, FPL, LSF are used respectively when the DFS operates with broadband light(central wavelength: 706 nm,bandwidth: 23 nm). The corresponding root mean square(RMS) value of estimated piston error can be achieved to be1 nm, 3 nm, 26 nm, respectively. Additionally, the range of DFS with the FPL can be more than 100 μm at the same time. The FPL method can work well both in coarse and fine phasing stages with acceptable accuracy, compared with LSF method and MPP method.     

Short Terahertz Pulse Generation from a Dispersion Compensated Modelocked Semiconductor Laser

Dispersion compensation is vital for the generation of ultrashort and single cycle pulses from modelocked lasers across the electromagnetic spectrum. It is typically based on addition of an extra dispersive element to the laser cavity that introduces a chromatic dispersion opposite to that of the gain medium. To date, however, no dispersion compensation schemes have been successfully applied to terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers for short and stable pulse generation in the THz range. In this work, a monolithic on‐chip compensation scheme is realized for a modelocked QCL, permitting THz pulses to be considerably shortened from 16ps to 4ps. This is based on the realization of a small coupled cavity resonator that acts as an ‘off resonance’ Gires‐Tournois interferometer (GTI), permitting large THz spectral bandwidths to be compensated. This novel application of a GTI opens up a direct and simple route to sub‐picosecond and single cycle pulses in the THz range from a compact semiconductor source.     

A hybrid Gerchberg–Saxton-like algorithm for DOE and CGH calculation

The Gerchberg–Saxton (GS) algorithm is widely used in various disciplines of modern sciences and technologies where phase retrieval is required. However, this legendary algorithm most likely stagnates after a few iterations. Many efforts have been taken to improve this situation. Here we propose to introduce the strategy of gradient descent and weighting technique to the GS algorithm, and demonstrate it using two examples: design of a diffractive optical element (DOE) to achieve off-axis illumination in lithographic tools, and design of a computer generated hologram (CGH) for holographic display. Both numerical simulation and optical experiments are carried out for demonstration.     

Laser welding of glasses using a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser

This work reports on laser welding of two 1 mm thickness borosilicate glasses through the irradiation with a nanosecond pulsed laser, as a novel alternative to the use of ultrashort pulsed lasers for welding of transparent materials. Two different methodologies were investigated and compared in terms of interface quality. In a first approach, the glasses were joined without any absorbing intermediate layer. However, the bond interface possesses defects. To improve the resulting bond interface, the use of a titanium ultrathin intermediate layer was proposed to weld the glasses substrates, acting as a sealant between them. The laser parameters were optimized to achieve the best joining conditions of the Ti film. The use of the Ti layer gives rise to a bond interface more homogeneous and free of damages. As a further step, thin glasses of 86 µm thickness, of great technological value, were joined through the Ti film as well. The joined interfaces were inspected through optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the bond quality was evaluated by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM).     

Laser polishing of additive manufactured Ti alloys

Laser-based additive manufacturing has attracted much attention as a promising 3D printing method for metallic components in recent years. However, surface roughness of additive manufactured components has been considered as a challenge to achieve high performance. In this work, we demonstrate the capability of fiber laser in polishing rough surface of additive manufactured Ti-based alloys as Ti-6Al-4V and TC11. Both as-received surface and laser-polished surfaces as well as cross-section subsurfaces were analyzed carefully by White-Light Interference, Confocal Microscope, Focus Ion Beam, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, and X-ray Diffraction. Results revealed that as-received Ti-based alloys with surface roughness more than 5 µm could be reduce to less than 1 µm through laser polishing process. Moreover, microstructure, microhardness and wear resistance of laser-polished zone was investigated in order to examine the thermal effect of laser polishing processing on the substrate of additive manufactured Ti alloys. This proof-of-concept process has the potential to effectively improve the surface roughness of additive manufactured metallic alloy by local polishing method without damage to the substrate.     

Self-mixing instrument for simultaneous distance and speed measurement

A novel instrument based on Self-mixing interferometry is proposed to simultaneously measure absolute distance and velocity. The measurement method is designed for working directly on each kind of surface, in industrial environment, overcoming also problems due to speckle pattern effect. The laser pump current is modulated at quite high frequency (40 kHz) and the estimation of the induced fringes frequency allows an almost instantaneous measurement (measurement time equal to 25 µs). A real time digital elaboration processes the measurement data and discards unreliable measurements. The simultaneous measurement reaches a relative standard deviation of about 4·10⁻⁴ in absolute distance, and 5·10⁻³ in velocity measurement. Three different laser sources are tested and compared. The instrument shows good performances also in harsh environment, for example measuring the movement of an opaque iron tube rotating under a running water flow.     

Aluminum thin film enhanced IR nanosecond laser-induced frontside etching of transparent materials

Laser processing of glass is of significant commercial interest for microfabrication of precision optical engineering devices. In this work, a laser ablation enhancement mechanism for microstructuring of glass materials is presented. The method consists of depositing a thin film of aluminum on the front surface of the glass material to be etched. The laser beam modifies the glass material by being incident on this front-side. The influence of ablation fluence in the nanosecond regime, in combination with the deposition of the aluminum layer of various thicknesses, is investigated by determining the ablation threshold for different glass materials including soda-lime, borosilicate, fused silica and sapphire. Experiments are performed using single laser pulse per shot in an air environment. The best enhancement in terms of threshold fluence reduction is obtained for a 16 nm thick aluminum layer where a reduction of two orders of magnitude in the ablation threshold fluence is observed for all the glass samples investigated in this work.     

Laser transmission welding of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and biodegradable poly(ethylene terephthalate) – Based blends

Joining of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) PET and its biodegradable derivatives is of high relevance to ensure good productive rate, low cost and operational safety for fabrication of medical and electronic devices, sport equipments as well as for manufacturing of food and drug packaging solutions. In the present investigation, granules of PET and PETs modified by organic additives, which promote biodegradation of the polymeric chains, were prepared by extrusion compounding. The achieved granules were subsequently re-extruded to shape thin (330 μm) flat sheets. Substrates cut from these sheets were joined by Laser Transmission Welding (LTW) with a continuous wave High Power Diode Laser (cw-HPDL). First, based on a qualitative evaluation of the welded joints, the most suitable operational windows for PETs laser joining were identified. Second, characterization of the mechanical properties of the welded joints was performed by tensile tests. Accordingly, Young's modulus of PET and biodegradable PET blends was studied by Takayanagi's model and, based on the experimental results, a novel predicting analytical model derived from the mixture rule was developed. Lastly, material degradation of the polymeric joints was evaluated by FT-IR analysis, thus allowing to identify the main routes to thermal degradation of PET and, especially, of biodegradable PET blends during laser processing.     

Morphologies,microstructures, and mechanical properties of samples produced using laser metal deposition with 316 L stainless steel wire

Laser metal deposition (LMD) with a filler has been demonstrated to be an effective method for additive manufacturing because of its high material deposition efficiency, improved surface quality, reduced material wastage, and cleaner process environment without metal dust pollution. In this study, single beads and samples with ten layers were successfully deposited on a 316 L stainless steel surface under optimized conditions using a 4000 W continuous wave fibre laser and an arc welding machine. The results showed that satisfactory layered samples with a large deposition height and smooth side surface could be achieved under appropriate parameters. The uniform structures had fine cellular and network austenite grains with good metallurgical bonding between layers, showing an austenite solidification mode. Precipitated ferrite at the grain boundaries showed a subgrain structure with fine uniform grain size. A higher microhardness (205–226 HV) was detected in the middle of the deposition area, while the tensile strength of the 50 layer sample reached 669 MPa. In addition, ductile fracturing was proven by the emergence of obvious dimples at the fracture surface.     

基于固体腔扫描法布里-珀罗干涉仪的大气温度绝对探测方法研究

大气温度是描述大气状态的重要基本特征参量之一.目前,基于Rayleigh散射的大气温度探测方法多应用于大气温度的相对探测,即温度反演时需要响应函数和校准程序.本文提出了利用固体腔扫描式法布里-珀罗干涉仪进行大气Rayleigh散射谱型的精细探测方法和残余米散射信号的抑制方法.根据Rayleigh散射谱特点,针对固体腔扫描式法布里-珀罗干涉仪的自由光谱区、固体腔几何长度、腔体介质类型、半高全宽、腔体反射率、扫描间隔等参数进行了优化设计.利用优化参数的固体腔扫描式法布里-珀罗干涉仪获取Rayleigh散射谱上离散点信息,并采用多项式插值方法获得拟合谱型,与根据标准大气模型和S6模型获得的理论谱型进行比对,大气温度探测不确定度小于0.8 K.当信噪比为10时,白天与夜晚的探测距离分别为4.5和7.9 km.该方法可实现大气温度廓线的全天时和高精度绝对探测,并对同类高光谱激光雷达分光系统研究具有借鉴意义,为我国高光谱激光雷达陆基及星载应用提供了一套可行的分光系统解决方案.