SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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A carbon dioxide laser system was constructed for the demonstration of heat pump processes induced by laser radiation. The system consisted of a frequency doubling stage, a gas reaction cell with its vacuum and high purity gas supply system, and provisions to measure the temperature changes by pressure, or alternatively, by density changes. The theoretical considerations for the choice of designs and components are dicussed.
The second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency for cw Yb-doped fibre laser radiation, which is characterised by many longitudinal modes with random phases, is compared with the SHG efficiency for amplified single-frequency Nd : YAG laser radiation in ppLN and KTP crystals, characterised by the type-I and type-IIphase matching, respectively. It is shown that the conversion efficiency into the second harmonic in the multifrequency regime for both crystals is higher by a factor of about 1.6, a value close to the calculated enhancement (2 for the Gaussian mode statistics). This difference is explained by possible deviation of the statistics of the Yb-doped fibre laser radiation from Gaussian, which is confirmed by measurements of the laser temporal dynamics. (laser optics 2012)
The results of experiments on the interaction of nanosecond laser radiation with low-density volume-structured targets of different density and thickness are reported. The targets were irradiated by laser radiation with controllable coherence. The primary objective was to investigate the effect of target parameters on the characteristics of radiation scattered by the plasma. The spectral characteristics of the radiation scattered by the plasma in the backward direction and in the direction of laser beam propagation were obtained. Also the radiation scattering patterns were recorded. (paper)
A method is developed for measurements of laser radiation scattering by wires and fibers in different types of imploding arrays in the initial stage of plasma production at discharge currents per wire of up to 2 kA for aluminum arrays and up to 8 kA for tungsten arrays. The experiments were carried out on the Angara-5-1 facility at a current density in the wires of 10{sup 8} A/cm{sup 2} and current growth rate of {approx}10{sup 13} A/s. It is found that the indicatrix of laser radiation reflected from the wires (fibers) in cylindrical and conical arrays is modified at currents of 0.1-10 kA per wire (fiber). The experimental data on the reflection and scattering of laser radiation from wires and fibers are compared with the results of numerical simulations of their electric explosion in vacuum. It is proposed that the change in the reflection indicatrix of laser radiation is caused by the onset of thermal instabilities. The typical size of density and temperature inhomogeneities on the wire surface is in a range of 10-20 {mu}m, which probably results in a transition from specular to diffuse reflection of laser radiation. A simultaneous abrupt (over 2-3 ns) reduction in the reflection intensity from several wires of an array indicates a homogeneous distribution of the discharge current over the irradiated wires. This closes the issue of the quality of the contact between the wires and the electrodes. The obtained experimental information is of considerable importance for the development of numerical codes for simulations of the implosion of wire arrays and the refinement of the wire parameters in the initial stage of plasma production.
We consider a 3D cellular model of human tooth enamel and a photomechanical cellular model of enamel ablation by erbium laser radiation, taking into account the structural peculiarities of enamel, energy distribution in the laser beam cross section and attenuation of laser energy in biological tissue. The surface area of the texture in enamel is calculated after its micromachining by erbium laser radiation. The influence of the surface area on the bond strength of enamel with dental filling materials is discussed. A good correlation between the computer simulation of the total work of adhesion and experimentally measured bond strength between the dental filling material and the tooth enamel after its micromachining by means of YAG : Er laser radiation is attained. (laser biophotonics)
Highlights: • Single and multiple tracks on a loose bulk powder substrate were generated. • Understanding of the microstructure development during SLM was achieved. • Single tracks reveal a nearly symmetrical crystallography with elongated grains. • Multiple tracks show elongated grains perpendicular to the build direction. - Abstract: During selective laser melting (SLM), a complex heat state develops that leads to a characteristic crystallography and microstructure of the processed materials. Depending on the geometry of the processed part, most scan tracks of a new layer, so-called hatches, are located above a dense substrate or already solidified structures whereas others are located above loose powder. This is, inter alia, the case for overhanging structures. Attributable to the lower thermal conductivity of loose powder, temperature gradients and cooling rates of the melt pool differentiate in these areas, resulting in a different microstructural build-up. In this work, the microstructure and the crystallographic orientation of grade 316L austenitic stainless steel processed by SLM was investigated to understand the interaction between the laser radiation and the metallic powder during SLM-processing and to investigate the remelting of a track on a previous SLM-densified track. Single and multiple tracks on a loose bulk powder substrate, as well as single tracks on a dense substrate plate, were generated. A parameter study revealed that high energy densities are necessary to build continuous tracks on a loose bulk powder substrate. In addition, the amount of adhered particles, which are sintered on the fully melted and solidified tracks, is determined in comparison to the melted powder because the sintered particles strongly influence the surface roughness. To understand the microstructure development and, particularly, the influence of adjacent hatches during SLM-processing, investigations on the resulting microstructure and crystallographic orientation of a single track and two connected multiple tracks were carried out. During SLM processing of the tracks, the substrate plate and the solidified structures influence the temperature gradient and cooling rate of the melt pool, thus directionally solidified and elongated grains occur. Furthermore, the solidification is characterized by an epitaxial growth due to a distinct thermal gradient between the melt pool and the surrounding elements.
It is shown that in resistive Ag/Pd films manufactured according to the thick-film technology, in the case of oblique incidence of laser radiation of nanosecond duration at a wavelengths of 1350 – 2100 nm, a photon-drag photocurrent arises in the direction perpendicular to the plane of incidence, dependent on the ellipticity and sign of circular polarisation of incident radiation. This photocurrent consists of the so-called circular and linear contributions, which are, respectively, dependent on and independent of the sign of circular polarisation. In this wavelength range, the amplitude of the circular contribution is many times greater than that of the linear contribution. The results allow the use of resistive Ag/Pd films for the development and manufacture of innovative sensors of the sign of circular polarisation of pulsed laser radiation, operating in a wide spectral range. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)
Laser radiation absorbed along slant paths, spectral line overlapping and center line shift with pressure variation
The effect of NIR laser radiation (808 nm) and gold nanorods on the cells of two strains of Staphylococcus aureus, one of them being methicillin-sensitive and the other being methicillinresistant, is studied. Nanorods having the dimensions 10 × 44 nm with the absorption maximum in the NIR spectral region, functionalised with human immunoglobulins IgA and IgG, are synthesised. It is shown that the use of nanoparticles in combination with NIR irradiation leads to killing up to 97% of the population of microorganisms. (laser biophotonics)
The optical quality of the eye cornea surface after performing the laser vision correction essentially depends on the characteristic roughness scale (CRS) of the ablated surface, which is mainly determined by the absorption coefficient of the cornea at the laser wavelength. Thus, in the case of using an excimer ArF laser (λ = 193 nm) the absorption coefficient is equal to 39000 cm{sup -1}, the darkening by the dissociation products takes place, and the depth of the roughness relief can be as large as 0.23 mm. Under irradiation with the Er : YAG laser (λ = 2940 nm) the clearing is observed due to the rupture of hydrogen bonds in water, and the relief depth exceeds 1 μm. It is shown that the process of reepithelization that occurs after performing the laser vision correction leads to the improvement of the optical quality of the cornea surface. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)
The effect of intense femtosecond laser radiation on single-layer graphene fixed on a copper fine-meshed grid is studied using a compact femtosecond electron diffractometer. A modification of the graphene – copper substrate is found. The composition of the resulting compounds is analysed. It is shown that the main new products are copper oxides. The prospects of using such a substrate in the method of ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy are analysed. (paper)
A system of precise frequency modulation of laser radiation by an acousto-optic modulator, which makes it possible to stabilise the radiation power and simultaneously suppress the residual amplitude modulation to a level of 10{sup -8} of the total laser power at the third harmonic of modulation frequency (∼500 Hz), is presented. The use of this system for the Nd : YAG/I{sub 2} optical frequency standard and application of digital signal synthesis and processing methods provided a level of frequency standard instability as small as ∼10{sup -15} for ∼6 × 10{sup 4} s. (frequency standards)
We propose a probing regime, in which the backscattered signal energy is independent of the distance from the surface of a scattering object. This regime is implemented using a part of the laser radiation power. With respect to the efficiency of using the laser during one measurement, the proposed regime is close to the pseudorandom noise continuous wave lidar regime. Using diode lasers, the regime of the degenerate energy response function and the lidar regime can be implemented in a single device. The relations between the geometric parameters of the probing scheme and the modulation parameters of laser radiation are obtained. The dependence of the linearity range of the diode laser on the relation between the length of the receiving channel near-field zone and the length of the probed trace is substantiated. (control of laser radiation parameters)
It was found that strongly absorbed Nd:YAG laser radiation leads to a non-monotonous dependence of microhardness of p- and n-type Si crystals on laser radiation. This dependence is characterized by two maxima for p-Si and one maximum for n-Si crystals. In both cases the increase of microhardness at higher laser intensity is explained by formation of mechanically compressed layer at the irradiated surface due to concentration of the interstitial atoms of Si at the surface in temperature gradient field. The decrease of the microhardness is explained by formation of nano-cones as a result of plastic deformation of the mechanically stressed layer. The additional maximum at lower laser intensity for p-Si crystal is explained by p-n type inversion of Si conductivity.
The effect of ytterbium fibre laser radiation with λ = 1.07 μm on the pressed micropowders of transparent oxides and fluorides (CaF{sub 2}, Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, YSZ, etc.) having low absorption coefficients is theoretically studied. Using the numerical modelling, it is established that the radiation scattering in the medium of particles 0.5 – 4.6 μm in diameter leads to the concentration of radiation in the local regions of the medium, with the intensity level exceeding the intensity of the incident radiation (0.46 MW cm{sup −2}) by many times. It is shown that with the growth of the refractive index n of the material from 1.38 (MgF{sub 2}) to 2.12 (YSZ) the intensity of radiation in the region of the strongest local maximum increases from 3.8 to 31 MW cm{sup −2}. In our opinion, this factor can be dominant in determining the possibility of achieving the ablation of such a medium by means of the radiation having an intensity of no greater than 1 MW cm{sup −2}. This hypothesis is experimentally checked by the example of preparing a nanopowder of CaF{sub 2} (n = 1.43) and 1 % Nd : Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} (n = 1.91) by evaporating the pressed target with the porosity 50 % by the continuous-wave radiation of the ytterbium fibre laser with the power 600 W and the intensity 0.4 MW cm{sup −2}. Inside the CaF{sub 2} target, the scattered radiation intensity is smaller than the optical breakdown threshold, and the target is not evaporated. Under the same conditions, the target made of higher-melting 1 % Nd : Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} evaporates well, and the efficiency of the nanopowder production amounts to 23 g h{sup −1}. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)
The impact of γ radiation of {sup 137}Сs (doses of 1 and 3 Gy), low-intensity laser radiation (λ = 670 nm, 5.3 or 10.6 J/cm{sup 2}) as well as the influence of consecutive laser and γ radiation on peripheral blood and blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, lymphocytes, granulocytes) were studied by analyzing the number of blood cells, blood absorption spectra, and activity of antioxidant defense enzymes. Two series of experiments were performed on four groups of rats. The rats of the control group (group 1) were not exposed to γ or laser radiation. In the experimental groups, single irradiation of the whole body of rats with γ radiation (group 2), three- or four-day over-vein irradiation of blood in the tail vein by low-intensity laser radiation (group 3), and successive three- or four-day irradiation of blood by laser and then a single irradiation of the whole body with γ radiation (group 4) were performed. It was shown that changes of the blood cell content in the experimental groups are accompanied by changes in the spectral characteristics of the blood and the activity of antioxidant defense enzymes. The radioprotective effect of low-intensity laser radiation is manifested as an increase in the average number of leukocytes and lymphocytes in the group as compared with the postradiation, as well as an increase in the activity of antioxidant protection enzymes. The possibility of using low-intensity optical radiation for correction of hematological disorders caused by ionizing radiation is discussed.
A colour-centre structure formed in a LiF crystal under filamentation of a femtosecond mid-IR laser pulse with a power slightly exceeding the critical power for self-focusing has been experimentally and theoretically investigated. Strictly periodic oscillations have been detected for the first time for the density of the colour centres induced in an isotropic LiF crystal under filamentation of a laser beam with a wavelength tuned in the range from 2600 to 3350 nm. The structure period is found to be about 30 μm. With an increase in the laser radiation wavelength, the period of the oscillations decreases and their amplitude increases. The maximum colour centre density, observed under filamentation of a 3100-nm beam, is related to the increased contribution of the direct generation of colour centres as a result of the absorption of an integer number of photons by the exciton band. It is numerically shown that the formation of a periodic colour-centre structure in LiF is due to the periodic change in the light field amplitude in the light bullet (1.5 optical periods long) formed under filamentation. (extreme laser radiation: physics and fundamental applications)
We report an experimental study of ablation of hexagonal boron nitride ceramics irradiated by 193- and 248-nm laser pulses. The dependences of the material removal rate and the crater wall slope on the energy density in the irradiation spot are obtained. An ablation regime is found, when the material removal rate reaches 5 mm per pulse, which is not typical of nanosecond laser radiation. It is shown that at relatively low radiation intensities (about 5–10 J cm{sup −2}), the slope angle of the formed crater wall does not exceed 20°. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)