A new technique for spatially resolved thermal lensing measurements

A new method is presented for spatially resolved thermal lensing measurements using multiple narrow probe beams and a two-dimensional array detector. The method is applied to an Er, Tm, Ho: YAG laser rod. No significant deviation from a parabolic temperature profile has been found although there is extraordinarily strong thermal lensing in the crystal. Thermo-optical constants of the material are reported.     

低功率泵浦Ti：Al2O3自锁模激光器

本文报道了低功率泵浦的Ｔｉ：Ａｌ２Ｏ３激光器实现了稳定的自锁模运转，锁模脉冲宽度为１８０ｆｓ。分析了激光器的结构及工作特性。     

Thermal conductivity of poly(vinyl chloride)/polycaprolactone blends

Thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and density of polyvinyl chloride/polycaprolactone (PVC/PCL) blends were measured by the laser flash method, DSC, and pycnometry, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the PVC/PCL blends was determined from the results. The miscibility of the blend and crystallinity of PCL were determined by DSC. The effect of blend structure on thermal conductivity is discussed. The phase compositions of the PVC/PCL blends are of three types depending on PCL content: i.e., up to 33%, from 33 to 70%, and above 70% PCL by weight. Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and heat capacity of the PVC/PCL blends are strongly affected by the phase composition of the blend, which changes in a complicated way with PCL content. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Flame Temperature Effect on the Structure of SiC Nanoparticles Grown by Laser Pyrolysis

Small SiC nanoparticles (10 nm diameter) have been grown in a flow reactor by CO₂ laser pyrolysis from a C₂H₂ and SiH₄ mixture. The laser radiation is strongly absorbed by SiH₄ vibration. The energy is transferred to the reactive medium and leads to the dissociation of molecules and the subsequent growth of the nanoparticles. The reaction happens with a flame. The purpose of the experiments reported in this paper is to limit the size of the growing particles to the nanometric scale for which specific properties are expected to appear. Therefore the effects of experimental parameters on the structure and chemical composition of nanoparticles have been investigated. For a given reactive mixture and gas velocity, the flame temperature is governed by the laser power. In this study, the temperature was varied from 875°C to 1100°C. The chemical analysis of the products indicate that their composition is a function of the temperature. For the same C/Si atomic ratio in the gaseous phase, the C/Si ratio in the powder increases from 0.7 at 875°C up to 1.02 at 1100°C, indicating a growth mechanism limited by C₂H₂ dissociation. As expected, X-ray diffraction has shown an improved crystallisation with increasing temperature. Transmission electron microscopy observations have revealed the formation of 10 nm grains for all values of laser power (or flame temperature). These grains appear amorphous at low temperature, whereas they contain an increasing number of nanocrystals (2 nm diameter) when the temperature increases. These results pave the way to a better control of the structure and chemical composition of laser synthesised SiC nanoparticles in the 10 nm range.     

Gain competition effect in dual-wavelength dye lasers

In this paper, we present a theoretical model for the gain competition in dual-wavelength dye lasers. For this purpose the rate equations under the steady-state conditions have been used. The degree of the gain competition is shown to depend on the polarization of the two laser beams. The dependence of the gain competition on various working parameters such as pumping power, dye concentration and the reorientation rate of the molecules or solvent viscosity is studied for two different cases of parallel and orthogonal polarizations. The results of our model show dramatically different behaviors in the two proposed cases.     

FexNi100−x nanometric films deposited by laser ablation on SiO2/Si substrates

Fe_xNi_100−x nanometric films were deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates at room temperature using the pulsed laser deposition technique. The targets were Fe-Ni amorphous magnetic foils with composition Fe₅₀Ni₅₀, Fe₃₅Ni₆₅ and Fe₂₂Ni₇₈. Morphological and structural properties of the deposited films were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectivity. Electrical and magnetic characteristics of the films were investigated by using the four-point probe and the magneto-optic Kerr effect techniques, respectively. The film properties are strictly dependent on the Fe-Ni compositional ratio.     

Anomalies in the Absorption and Reflection of a High-Power Ultrashort Laser Pulse by a Plasma with a Solid-State Density

The patterns of absorption and reflection of an ultrashort laser pulse by a plasma with a solid-state density, which are realized in the mode of the normal skin effect, are studied. It is shown that a decrease in low-power pulse duration shorter than the period corresponding to the fundamental frequency of radiation leads to an increase in the absorption coefficient. If the pulse power is so high as to provide electron heating during a time shorter than the reciprocal fundamental frequency, nonlinear suppression of absorption takes place and the spectrum of the reflected radiation contains odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency.     

Laser Annealing of Thin-Film Ferroelectric Heterostructures

Preliminary experiments on laser annealing of ferroelectric samples by ultraviolet radiation of a KrF laser are carried out. In principle, laser annealing allows one to reduce appreciably the duration of thermal action, minimize the size of the samples treated, and control the crystallization processes in the samples. A special focussing system was employed to provide homogeneous irradiation of the spot with dimensions of ~1×1 cm² within a broad energy range from 0.1 to 10~J per pulse. The range of energy densities leading to phase transitions in thin films is determined.     

Renormalization Effects in the Spectrum of a Coherently Driven Exciton–Biexciton System

Starting from the total Hamiltonian of an excited exciton–biexciton system, nonresonant renormalizations in the electronic spectrum of a coherently driven direct semiconductor are considered. Stringent group-theoretical inclusion of the particle spin in the Hamiltonian allows one to account for the dependence of different renormalization effects on polarizations of the incident laser fields. On the example of circularly polarized driving and probing pulses it is shown that the kind of observed renormalization is defined by the pump-and-probe polarization geometry. Thus, the exciton optical Stark effect must appear in the case of co-circular pump-and-probe, whereas a mixing of the polariton and biexciton spectra is possible only in the case of counter-circular pump-and-probe. The polariton--biexciton dispersion renormalization may manifest itself as synchronous splittings of the exciton--polariton and biexciton spectra under resonant pumping at a frequency of the polariton--biexciton transition, or in their shifts in opposite directions under near-resonant pumping. The mechanisms of both kinds of renormalization effects are analyzed, and the dependence of their characteristics on the pump parameters and microscopic parameters of the exciton–biexciton–photon system is established. An evaluation of the characteristics shows that the effect of polariton–biexciton dispersion renormalization dominates in the spectra of semiconductors with stable biexciton formation. Results of the theoretical study provide an adequate explanation of available experimental data.     

A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO2 laser using high frequency pre-ionization technique

High power industrial multibeam CO₂ lasers consist of a large number of closely packed parallel glass discharge tubes sharing a common plane parallel resonator. Every discharge tube forms an independent resonator. When discharge tubes of smaller diameter are used and the Fresnel numberN ≪ 1 for all resonators, they operate in waveguide mode. Waveguide modes have excellent discrimination of higher order modes. A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ laser is reported having six glass discharge tubes. Simultaneous excitation of DC discharge in all sections is achieved by producing pre-ionization using an auxiliary high frequency pulsed discharge along with its other advantages. Maximum 170 W output power is obtained with all beams operating in EH₁₁ waveguide mode. The specific power of 28 W/m is much higher as compared to similar AC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ lasers. Theoretical analysis shows that all resonators of this laser will support only EH₁₁ mode. This laser is successfully used for woodcutting