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At least 253 records · Page 14

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NASA NTRS1975

Development of an airborne laser bathymeter

An airborne laser depth sounding system was built and taken through a complete series of field tests. Two green laser sources were tried: a pulsed neon laser at 540 nm and a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG transmitter at 532 nm. To obtain a depth resolution of better than 20 cm, the pulses had a duration of 5 to 7 nanoseconds and could be fired up to at rates of 50 pulses per second. In the receiver, the signal was detected by a photomultiplier tube connected to a 28 cm diameter Cassegrainian telescope that was aimed vertically downward. Oscilloscopic traces of the signal reflected from the sea surface and the ocean floor could either be recorded by a movie camera on 35 mm film or digitized into 500 discrete channels of information and stored on magnetic tape, from which depth information could be extracted. An aerial color movie camera recorded the geographic footprint while a boat crew of oceanographers measured depth and other relevant water parameters. About two hundred hours of flight time on the NASA C-54 airplane in the area of Chincoteague, Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay, and in Key West, Florida, have yielded information on the actual operating conditions of such a system and helped to optimize the design. One can predict the maximum depth attainable in a mission by measuring the effective attenuation coefficient in flight. This quantity is four times smaller than the usual narrow beam attenuation coefficient. Several square miles of a varied underwater landscape were also mapped.

Kim, H., H.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Heterojunction III-V alloy photodetectors for high-sensitivity 1.06-micrometers optical receivers

It is pointed out that currently promising technical developments related to the Nd-YAG laser technology at 1.06 micrometers cannot be implemented because of the absence of a suitable detector. Such a detector could possibly be provided in connection with new advances related to the development of the heterojunction III-V alloy photodiode. Details of detector requirements for the considered applications are discussed along with approaches to satisfy these requirements by an appropriate detector design.

Eden, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Momentum modulation of a free electron beam with a laser

A Nd:YAG laser has been used to modulate the energy of a free electron beam. With a single pass of the 2-MW laser light through the 100-MeV electrons we have measured a 37-keV increase in the width of the energy spectrum for the particles. The interaction occurred in helium at standard temperature and pressure over a distance corresponding to 100,000 optical wavelengths, and a phase synchronism condition was maintained by means of the inverse Cerenkov effect. That is, along the direction of motion of the electrons the phase velocity of the electromagnetic wave equaled the electron velocity. Therefore, the electrons remained in an electric field of constant phase, resulting in significant energy exchange.

Piestrup, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Four-photon photoemission from tungsten

Four-photon photoemission is observed from tungsten using carefully controlled and calibrated single pulses produced by a passively mode-locked Nd:YAG laser system. The results are shown to be in quantitative agreement with a four-photon generalization of the Fowler and DuBridge theories of photoemission.

Bechtel, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Applications of lasers for space communications

The laser seems to have excellent possibilities for a use in space communication systems. However, there exist major difficulties which have to be overcome before these possibilities can be implemented. Of the various types of lasers the carbon dioxide and the Nd:YAG laser appear attractive because of a combination of favorable properties. Systems based upon these two lasers are discussed.

Furfine, A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Epitaxial growth of Ga1-xAlxAs on GaP

Technique, suitable for monolithic device fabrication methods, permits growth of LED structures on GaP substrates by liquid-phase epitaxial method, thus obviating needs for growing thick layers and for removing substrates. High efficiency infrared LED's can be developed as pumping sources for Nd:YAG lasers.

Woodall, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Laser-electron beam interaction applied to optical amplifiers and oscillators

Momentum modulation of a relativistic electron beam by a Nd:YAG laser is demonstrated. The electrons, at 100 MeV energy, interact with the laser light in helium gas at standard temperature and pressure. At an angle of 6.55 mrad between the two wavevectors, corresponding to the Cerenkov angle, a given electron remains in a field of constant phase as it passes through the light beam. The experimental arrangement is illustrated showing the trajectories of the electron and light. The particle momentum is measured by a mass spectrometer, and the angle between the wavevectors is controlled by a rotatable mirror. Experimental results indicate that momentum modulation of an electron beam may be used for amplification. A possible configuration for an optical klystron is illustrated.

Pantell, R. H.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Research on techniques for laser ranging to optical corner reflectors on the moon. Research on laser techniques and single photo-electron detection and timing

Experimental studies using a pulsed LED, Cerenkov source, and a 100 ps laser were made of various photomultipliers and discriminator combinations. In addition, a new type of neodymium-YAG frequency doubled laser was used as the basis for the development of a stable, short pulse, high repetition rate laser system. This laser was then used in conjunction with atomic clocks to study the effect of gravitational potential on elapsed time. Avenues to promote the development of international cooperation in the area of lunar laser ranging were also explored.

Alley, C. O.↗

NASA NTRS1975

The 1.06 micrometer wideband laser modulator: Fabrication and life testing

The design, fabrication, testing and delivery of an optical modulator which will operate with a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser at 1.06 micrometers were performed. The system transfers data at a nominal rate of 400 Mbps. This wideband laser modulator can transmit either Pulse Gated Binary Modulation (PGBM) or Pulse Polarization Binary Modulation (PPBM) formats. The laser beam enters the modulator and passes through both crystals; approximately 1% of the transmitted beam is split from the main beam and analyzed for the AEC signal; the remaining part of the beam exits the modulator. The delivered modulator when initially aligned and integrated with laser and electronics performed very well. The optical transmission was 69.5%. The static extinction ratio was 69:1. A 1000 hour life test was conducted with the delivered modulator. A 63 bit pseudorandom code signal was used as a driver input. At the conclusion of the life test the modulator optical transmission was 71.5% and the static extinction ratio 65:1.

Teague, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Density-dependent frequency shift of the hydrogen S2/1/ quadrupole line

An optical parametric oscillator pumped with an Nd:YAG laser was used in the investigations along with a White cell and a scanning spectrometer. The frequency of the S2(1) line was measured at a temperature of about 293 K over the density range from 1 to 4.3 amagat with the aid of a technique reported by Douglas and Sharma (1953). It was found that the obtained data are in good agreement with measurements conducted by Fink et al. (1965).

Chackerian, C., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1976

A frequency doubled pressure-tunable oscillator-amplifier dye laser system

A tunable high-repetition-rate oscillator-amplifier dye-laser system is reported. The dye laser described was longitudinally pumped with the second harmonic of a Nd-YAG laser operating at 10 Hz. Using three Faraday-Perot etalons and pressure tuning, a maximum fundamental output power of the order of 6 MW with a corresponding spectral width of less than 0.003 nm at 564 nm was obtained. The fundamental at 564 nm was frequency doubled to give a maximum power level of 0.6 MW of second-harmonic output power with a spectral width less than 0.0015 nm at 282 nm. Frequency stability could be maintained to within approximately 15% of the line-width.

Moriarty, A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

The pulsed-laser satellite ranging systems presently being operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center are described along with their range and accuracy capabilities. The major subsystems are outlined, operation of the fixed system and the two mobile systems is discussed, and the performance of all three systems is evaluated. It is noted that these systems have an accuracy of better than 10 cm on a carefully surveyed range as well as in regular satellite ranging operations and are capable of ranging to all currently launched retroreflector-equipped satellites with the exception of Timation III. Future improvements discussed include a third mobile system which will be able to range distant satellites, such as Timation III, with an accuracy of better than 5 cm and the use of a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser in place of the ruby lasers now being employed.

Mcgunigal, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Dielectric breakdown induced by picosecond laser pulses

The damage thresholds of transparent optical materials were investigated. Single picosecond pulses at 1.06 microns, 0.53 microns and 0.35 microns were obtained from a mode locked Nd-YAG oscillator-amplifier-frequency multiplier system. The pulses were Gaussian in space and time and permitted the determination of breakdown thresholds with a reproducibility of 15%. It was shown that the breakdown thresholds are characteristic of the bulk material, which included nine alkali halides, five different laser host materials, KDP, quartz, sapphire and calcium fluoride. The extension of the damage data to the ultraviolet is significant, because some indication was obtained that two- and three-photon absorption processes begin to play a role in determining the threshold. Throughout the visible region of the spectrum the threshold is still an increasing function of frequency, indicating that avalanche ionization is the dominant factor in determining the breakdown threshold. This was confirmed by a detailed study of the damage morphology with a high resolution microscope just above the threshold. The influence of self focusing is discussed, and evidence for beam distortion below the power threshold for complete self focusing is presented, confirming the theory of Marburger.

Smith, W. L.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Airborne bathymetric charting using pulsed blue-green lasers

Laboratory and airborne experiments have proven the feasibility and demonstrated the techniques of an airborne pulsed laser system for rapidly mapping coastal water bathymetry. Water depths of 10 plus or minus 0.25 m were recorded in waters having an effective attenuation coefficient of 0.175 m. A 2-MW peak power Nd:YAG pulsed laser was flown at an altitude of 600 m. An advanced system, incorporating a mirror scanner, a high pulsed rate laser, and a good signal processor, could survey coastal zones at the rate of several square miles per hour.

Kim, H. H.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Spectroscopic studies and analysis of the laser states of Nd/3+/ in YVO4

Polarized absorption and dye-laser excited fluorescence spectra of Nd/3+/ in the Y(3+) site of yttrium orthovanadate at 85 and 300 K are presented and analyzed. The absence of allowed transitions and the unusual concentration of line strength into one transition in pi polarization within a given line group is shown by the Judd-Ofelt theory to be a consequence of the D2d symmetry of the site and ion placements in the unit cell. An energy level scheme giving level positions, level identities, and observed transitions is presented. The principal laser line in this group at about 10640.9 A was found to be predominately pi polarized and to have a cross section of 30 x 10 to the 19th/sq cm, which is 4.6 times larger than the laser transition of Nd/3+/ in YAG.

Pappas Yaney, P.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Design and development of equipment for laser wire stripping

Three laser wire strippers have been built for the stripping of Kapton-insulated wire, the baseline wire of the space shuttle orbiter. The strippers are: (1) a bench-model stripper powered with a cw CO2 10.6-micron laser, (2) a hand-held stripper powered with a cw 1.06-micron Nd-YAG laser with an output of 5-7 watts, and (3) a hand-held stripper with a five-inch-long CO2 laser inside the stripping head.

Iceland, W. F.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Prelaunch testing of the laser geodynamic satellite (LAGEOS)

The LAGEOS was extensively tested optically prior to launch. The measurement techniques used are described and resulting data is presented. Principal emphasis was placed on pulse spreading characteristics, range correction for center of mass tracking, and pulse distortion due to coherent effects. A mode-locked freqeuncy doubled Nd:YAG laser with a pulse width of about 60 ps was used as the ranging transmitter and a crossfield photo-multiplier was used in the receiver. High speed sampling electronics were employed to increase receiver bandwidth. LAGEOS reflected pulses typically had a width of 250 ps with a variability in the range correction of less than 2 mm rms. Pulse distortion due to coherent effects was inferred from average waveforms and appears to introduce less than + or - 50 ps jitter in the location of the pulse peak. Analytic results on this effect based on computer simulations are also presented. Theoretical and experimental data on the lidar cross section were developed in order to predict the strength of lidar echoes from the satellite. Cross section was measured using a large aperture laser collimating system to illuminate the LAGEOS. Reflected radiation far-field patterns were measured using the collimator in an autocollimating mode. Data were collected with an optical data digitzer and displayed as a three-dimensional plot of intensity versus the two far-field coordinates. Measurements were made at several wavelengths, for several types of polarizations, and as a function of satellite orientation.

Fitzmaurice, M. W.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Factors affecting laser-trim stability of thick film resistors

Various factors affecting precision of trim and resistor stability were considered. The influence of machine operating parameters on resistor performance was examined and quantified through statistically designed experiments for a Q switched YAG laser system. Laser kerf quality was studied by scanning electron microscopy and related to kerf isolation resistance measurements. A relatively simple production oriented, quality control test is proposed for rapid determination of kerf electrical stability. In addition, the effect of cut design and extent of trim on precision and stability were discussed.

Cote, R. E.↗