A compact formula for the coupling efficiency associated with mirrors in waveguide lasers

This paper presents a simple theory based on the diffraction integral approach for calculating the coupling efficiency in waveguide lasers which employ plane or spherical mirrors. The results obtained differ only slightly from a full rigorous approach, due to the fact that only less than one percent of the beam energy lies outside the waveguide aperture. The infinite aperture approximation employed here leads to an explicit compact formula for the coupling efficiency, whereas exact calculations lead to expressions requiring numerical integration for their evaluation.     

Improved measurements and analysis of the far-infrared spectrum of methanol-D1 (CH2DOH) arising from trans- (e0) to gauche- (e1 & o1) states

In this work the millimeter-wave (MMW) and far infrared (FIR) absorption spectrum for the asymmetrically deuterated Methanol (CH₂DOH) species measured recently at a temperature of −60 °C with better accuracy and signal/noise (S/N) ratio than known before has been assigned for transitions originating at the lowest lying trans- to gauche-states. The entire spectrum for 50–1200 cm⁻¹ has been re-recorded recently using the Synchrotron Radiation Source coupled with the Bruker Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer with a resolution of about 0.001 cm⁻¹ or better. Complete spectrum has not been exploited a great deal but it helped to entangle overlapping lines in the present work. This also fills the gap remaining in the usual FTIR in the range 400–500 cm⁻¹. Hence it is expected to help the interacting partner for the Coriolis interaction encountered earlier. The assigned transitions mostly for the axial rotational angular momentum quantum number K + 1 ← K, both for R- and Q-sub bands for wide range of rotational angular momentum quantum number. The MMW spectrum has been recalibrated and assigned for a number of Q-branches. The assignments are confirmed rigorously using closed loop residual technique. The assigned ^rR and ^rQ lines have been analyzed in terms of polynomial expansion parameters. The new assignments are presented for about 750 transitions and a grand atlas of more than 1000 lines has been prepared which will be made available through the open source server at “research gate”. The present work should be useful in the area of astrophysical detection and further understanding of the energy relaxation pathways in the molecule.     

Passive synthesis rules of coupled-cavity quantum cascade lasers

A new approach to passive electromagnetic modelling of coupled–cavity quantum cascade lasers is presented in this paper. One of challenges in the rigorous analysis of such eigenvalue problem is its large size as compared to wavelength and a high quality factor, which prompts for substantial computational efforts. For those reasons, it is proposed in this paper to consider such a coupled-cavity Fabry-Perot resonant structure with partially transparent mirrors as a two-port network, which can be considered as a deterministic problem. Thanks to such a novel approach, passive analysis of an electrically long laser can be split into a cascade of relatively short sections having low quality factor, thus, substantially speeding up rigorous electromagnetic analysis of the whole quantum cascade laser. The proposed method allows to determine unequivocally resonant frequencies of the structure and the corresponding spectrum of a threshold gain. Eventually, the proposed method is used to elaborate basic synthesis rules of coupled–cavity quantum cascade lasers.     

The national ignition facility: path to ignition in the laboratory

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam laser facility presently under construction at LLNL. When completed, NIF will be a 1.8-MJ, 500-TW ultraviolet laser system. Its missions are to obtain fusion ignition and to perform high energy density experiments in support of the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Four of the NIF beams have been commissioned to demonstrate laser performance and to commission the target area including target and beam alignment and laser timing. During this time, NIF demonstrated on a single-beam basis that it will meet its performance goals and demonstrated its precision and flexibility for pulse shaping, pointing, timing and beam conditioning. It also performed four important experiments for Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Energy Density Science. Presently, the project is installing production hardware to complete the project in 2009 with the goal to begin ignition experiments in 2010. An integrated plan has been developed including the NIF operations, user equipment such as diagnostics and cryogenic target capability, and experiments and calculations to meet this goal. This talk will provide NIF status, the plan to complete NIF, and the path to ignition.     

Colored LiF: an optical material for all seasons

Colored LiF salt has been always considered a singular optical material among alkali halides and other dielectric crystals for its peculiar characteristics, which in due time have been applied with success in thermoluminescence and laser technology. Lately, while the two previous topics have been revived, new relevant results have been obtained in the optoelectronic field by using both bulk crystals and newly characterized thin films. In practice, miniaturized photoluminescent patterns can be produced rather easily by using low-energy electron beams and soft X-rays. So, LiF salt is becoming a new interesting photonic material with promising developments in basic reasearch and applications as well.     

Notations, Spectroscopic Parameters, Energy Levels and Their Relationship to Effective Hamiltonian Formalism of Diatomic Molecules

This paper presents a part of the culmination of the collective efforts in developing a cohesive and consolidated enunciation of the spectroscopic parameters and their relationship to effective molecular Hamiltonians for diatomic formalism, linear four-atomic formalism and quasi-linearity, Watson Hamiltonian and the complexities in symmetric and asymmetric top spectral structures. All these considered together present a beautiful and consistent picture of molecular spectroscopy. In this paper we deal with the diatomic formalism. This paper forms our tribute to Professor K. Narahari Rao and in the second part of the paper we convoy our gratitude to him with a summary of his more than half century of work and an obituary. We will deal with other forms of molecular species which will be connected to optical pumping and/or interstellar space.     

Electronic Emission from Hg-Atoms and HgCl-Radicals Due to Collisions of Nitrogen Ions and HgCl2/Hg2Cl2 Molecules

Emission spectra of the (B-X), (C-X) and (D-X) band systems of HgCl-radical and mercury atomic lines from highly excited levels to various lower levels have been observed during collisions of N⁺ and N⁺ ₂ ions and HgCl₂/Hg₂Cl₂ molecules at different laboratory kinetic energies of the projectile ions. Emission cross-sections of the most intense mercury atomic lines and the (C-X) band system of the HgCl-radicals, have been measured in the laboratory kinetic energy range of 100–900 eV.     

Thermal lensing of diode side-pumped solid-state lasers

The pump energy distribution in a diode side-pumped solid-state laser, is an overlap of propagating Gaussian beams. A simple model has been developed to calculate the thermal focal length of a diode side-pumped solid-state laser, which is based on a thermal model with a Gaussian heat density in any cross section of a laser rod. It can be seen that as the waists of pump beams increase, the energy distribution tends to be uniform and the thermal focal length tends to be long, which means a smaller thermal focusing.