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At least 469 records · Page 26

A metal-ceramic coaxial cable with multipoint Fabry-Pérot interferometers for monitoring distributed high temperature

A metal ceramic coaxial cable (MCCC) sensor containing multiple Fabry-Pérot interferometers (FPIs) has been designed, fabricated, and evaluated for measuring distributed high temperatures. The MCCC sensor demonstrated here consists of stainless steel tube and wire conductors, alumina tube insulator, and three pairs of air gap reflectors distributed along the cable. The multipoint sensor operation is realized by the joint time-frequency domain technique, which combines the functions of time-domain reflectometry and frequency division multiplexing to enable the measurement of spatially distributed temperature. The 3-point MCCC-FPI sensor has been demonstrated for distributed temperature measurements between 250 and 550 °C and operability up to 1000 °C. The sensor offers high sensitivity of >0.18 MHz/°C with a measurement resolution of 1 Hz and reasonably small high temperature measurement error range of ±3 °C.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot microwave interferometer for monitoring fluid dielectric constant

We report a metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot interferometer (MCCC-FPI) has been developed as a new microwave sensor and demonstrated for fast and reliably measuring and continuously monitoring dielectric constants for pure and mixed liquids. The sensor only requires a simple reference scan of the interferogram for the FPI with its sensing chamber filled with air or under vacuum to determine the actual inter-reflector length. The sensor is validated by measuring room temperature dielectric constant (εr) at high frequencies around 1.4–4.7 GHz for three vegetable oils (corn, sesame, and olive), the synthetic Mobil ® -1 engine oil, and mixtures containing sesame oil and water. The sensor has been also successfully demonstrated for determining εr values for the Mobil-1 oil at various temperatures and for the well-dispersed sesame oil-water mixtures of different compositions. The Bottcher’s model of effective medium theory is shown to be better suited for predicting the ε r of the sesame oil-water mixture than the Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman equations of spherical solutions.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Multiplexable intrinsic Fabry-Pérot interferometers inscribed by femtosecond laser for vibration measurement in high temperature environments

This article reports fabrication technique and demodulation algorithm developments to use multiplexable intrinsic Fabry-Pérot interferometer (IFPI) fiber sensor array for distributed vibration measurements at high temperatures. Using femtosecond laser direct writing scheme, IFPI array were fabricated through laser-induced Type II scattering points in single mode fiber cores. Reflection spectra of IFPI array were demodulated in real-time using modified Bunemen frequency analysis. The demodulation algorithm, which was implemented using a photodetector-array spectrometer, achieves 64-nε dynamic strain resolution at 1-kHz spectral acquisition rate and 2-kHz maximum vibration bandwidth. Performance and stabilities of IFPI sensor array were characterized from room temperatures to 800 °C. The static strain resolution was 0.6 με and the minimum detectable dynamic strain amplitude was 23 nε/√Hz at 800 °C. The multiplex performance was also tested by measuring dynamic strain in time domain through six IFPI sensor array fabricated in one fiber. This paper presents an integrated and low-cost sensing solution to perform distributed vibration measurements in harsh environments.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The implementation and data analysis of an interferometer for intense short pulse laser experiments

We present an interferometry setup and the detailed fringe analysis method for intense short pulse (SP) laser experiments. The interferometry scheme was refined through multiple campaigns to investigate the effects of pre-plasmas on energetic electrons at the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The interferometer used a frequency doubled ( ${\it\lambda}=0.527~{\rm\mu}\text{m}$ ) 0.5 ps long optical probe beam to measure the pre-plasma density, an invaluable parameter to better understand how varying pre-plasma conditions affect the characteristics of the energetic electrons. The hardware of the diagnostic, data analysis and example data are presented. Here, the diagnostic setup and the analysis procedure can be employed for any other SP laser experiments and interferograms, respectively.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Wide single-mode tuning in quantum cascade lasers with asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer type cavities with separately biased arms

We report on the experimental demonstration of a widely tunable single mode quantum cascade laser with Asymmetric Mach-Zehnder (AMZ) interferometer type cavities with separately biased arms. Current and, consequently, temperature tuning of the two arms of the AMZ type cavity resulted in a single mode tuning range of 20 cm{sup −1} at 80 K in continuous-wave mode operation, a ten-fold improvement from the lasers under a single bias current. In addition, we also observed a five fold increase in the tuning rate as compared to the AMZ cavities controlled by one bias current.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Multichannel microwave interferometer with an antenna switching system for electron density measurement in a laboratory plasma experiment

This study presents a simple and powerful technique for multichannel measurements of the density profile in laboratory plasmas by microwave interferometry. This technique uses electromechanical microwave switches to temporally switch the connection between multiple receiver antennas and one phase-detection circuit. Using this method, the phase information detected at different positions is rearranged into a time series that can be acquired from a minimum number of data acquisition channels (e.g., two channels in the case of quadrature detection). Our successfully developed multichannel microwave interferometer that uses the antenna switching method was applied to measure the radial electron density profiles in a magnetized plasma experiment. The advantage of the proposed method is its compactness and scalability to multidimensional measurement systems at low cost.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Quantum-enhanced metrology based on Fabry-Perot interferometer by squeezed vacuum and non-Gaussian detection

We have investigated the transmission spectra of a Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) with squeezed vacuum state injection and non-Gaussian detection, including photon number resolving detection and parity detection. In order to show the suitability of the system, parallel studies were made of the performance of two other light sources: coherent state of light and Fock state of light either with classical mean intensity detection or with non-Gaussian detection. This shows that by using the squeezed vacuum state and non-Gaussian detection simultaneously, the resolution of the FPI can go far beyond the cavity standard bandwidth limit based on the current techniques. The sensitivity of the scheme has also been explored and it shows that the minimum detectable sensitivity is better than that of the other schemes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A new method for determining the plasma electron density using optical frequency comb interferometer

A new method of plasma electron density measurement using interferometric phases (fractional fringes) of an optical frequency comb interferometer is proposed. Using the characteristics of the optical frequency comb laser, high density measurement can be achieved without fringe counting errors. Simulations show that the short wavelength and wide wavelength range of the laser source and low noise in interferometric phases measurements are effective to reduce ambiguity of measured density.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer system for current density measurement on EAST

A multichannel far-infrared laser-based POlarimeter-INTerferometer (POINT) system utilizing the three-wave technique is under development for current density and electron density profile measurements in the EAST tokamak. Novel molybdenum retro-reflectors are mounted in the inside wall for the double-pass optical arrangement. A Digital Phase Detector with 250 kHz bandwidth, which will provide real-time Faraday rotation angle and density phase shift output, have been developed for use on the POINT system. Initial calibration indicates the electron line-integrated density resolution is less than 5 × 10{sup 16} m{sup −2} (∼2°), and the Faraday rotation angle rms phase noise is <0.1°.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Optical layout and mechanical structure of polarimeter-interferometer system for Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

A Far-InfaRed (FIR) three-wave POlarimeter-INTerferometer (POINT) system for measurement current density profile and electron density profile is under development for the EAST tokamak. The FIR beams are transmitted from the laser room to the optical tower adjacent to EAST via ∼20 m overmoded dielectric waveguide and then divided into 5 horizontal chords. The optical arrangement was designed using ZEMAX, which provides information on the beam spot size and energy distribution throughout the optical system. ZEMAX calculations used to optimize the optical layout design are combined with the mechanical design from CATIA, providing a 3D visualization of the entire POINT system.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Fringe jump analysis and implementation of polarimetry on the ASDEX Upgrade DCN interferometer

The ASDEX Upgrade tokamak is equipped with a 5-channel DCN interferometer with a probing wavelength of 195 μm. Up to now, phase measurement and density calculation have been accomplished by hard-wired phase counting electronics. Meanwhile, a fast digitizer has been installed which acquires the raw signals. That way, the various causes of counting errors by integer multiples of 2π, so-called fringe jumps, can be analyzed, and phase reconstruction schemes based on digital signal processing can be developed. In addition, a prototype polarimeter setup has been installed on one channel and allows for measurement of the Faraday rotation experienced by the probing beam.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Measuring preheat in laser-drive aluminum using velocity interferometer system for any reflector: Experiment

In this paper, we systematically study preheating in laser-direct-drive shocks by using a velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR). Using the VISAR, we measured free surface velocity histories of Al samples over time, 10–70 μm thick, driven directly by a laser at different frequencies (2ω, 3ω). Analyzing our experimental results, we concluded that the dominant preheating source was X-ray radiation. We also discussed how preheating affected the material initial density and the measurement of Hugoniot data for high-Z materials (such as Au) using impedance matching. To reduce preheating, we proposed and tested three kinds of targets.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

High resolution polarimeter-interferometer system for fast equilibrium dynamics and MHD instability studies on Joint-TEXT tokamak (invited)

A high-performance Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer system has been developed for the J-TEXT tokamak. This system has time response up to 1 μs, phase resolution < 0.1° and minimum spatial resolution ∼15 mm. High resolution permits investigation of fast equilibrium dynamics as well as magnetic and density perturbations associated with intrinsic Magneto-Hydro-Dynamic (MHD) instabilities and external coil-induced Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMP). The 3-wave technique, in which the line-integrated Faraday angle and electron density are measured simultaneously by three laser beams with specific polarizations and frequency offsets, is used. In order to achieve optimum resolution, three frequency-stabilized HCOOH lasers (694 GHz, >35 mW per cavity) and sensitive Planar Schottky Diode mixers are used, providing stable intermediate-frequency signals (0.5–3 MHz) with S/N > 50. The collinear R- and L-wave probe beams, which propagate through the plasma poloidal cross section (a = 0.25–0.27 m) vertically, are expanded using parabolic mirrors to cover the entire plasma column. Sources of systematic errors, e.g., stemming from mechanical vibration, beam non-collinearity, and beam polarization distortion are individually examined and minimized to ensure measurement accuracy. Simultaneous density and Faraday measurements have been successfully achieved for 14 chords. Based on measurements, temporal evolution of safety factor profile, current density profile, and electron density profile are resolved. Core magnetic and density perturbations associated with MHD tearing instabilities are clearly detected. Effects of non-axisymmetric 3D RMP in ohmically heated plasmas are directly observed by polarimetry for the first time.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Velocity Interferometer blanking due to preheating in a double pulse planar experiment

Optical diagnostics, such as VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector) or SOP (Streaked Optical Pyrometry), have become essential in shock timing experiments. Their high precision allows for accurate measurements of shock velocities, chronometry, and brightness temperature. However, in some instances, these measurements can be compromised. In planar shock coalescence experiments recently performed at the LULI facility [Baton et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 195002 (2012)], VISAR signal loss was observed. In these experiments, a strong shock launched by a high-intensity spike catches up with a previously shock launched by an earlier, low-intensity beam. The disappearance of the VISAR signal is attributed to a preheating of the coronal plasma by x-rays generated by the high intensity spike. The signal does not disappear if the high-intensity spike starts after VISAR probe beam begins to reflect off of the first shock. The VISAR diagnostic, modeled using an assessment of the optical index in quartz, compares favorably to experimental results. This provides evidence that x-ray preheating can cause blanking of the VISAR signal in quartz.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Design of a real-time two-color interferometer for MAST Upgrade

A single chord two-color CO{sub 2}/HeNe (10.6/0.633 μm) heterodyne laser interferometer has been designed to measure the line integral electron density along the mid-plane of the MAST Upgrade tokamak, with a typical error of 1 × 10{sup 18} m{sup −3} (∼2° phase error) at 4 MHz temporal resolution. To ensure this diagnostic system can be restored from any failures without stopping MAST Upgrade operations, it has been located outside of the machine area. The final design and initial testing of this system, including details of the optics, vibration isolation, and a novel phase detection scheme are discussed in this paper.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Symmetrical Josephson vortex interferometer as an advanced ballistic single-shot detector

We consider a ballistic detector formed in an interferometer manner which operational principle relies on Josephson vortex scattering at a measurement potential. We propose an approach to symmetrize the detector scheme and explore arising advantages in the signal-to-noise ratio and in the back-action on a measured object by means of recently presented numerical and analytical methods for modeling of a soliton scattering dynamics in the presence of thermal fluctuations. The obtained characteristics for experimentally relevant parameters reveal practical applicability of the considered schemes including possibility of coupling with standard digital rapid single flux quantum circuits.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Two-color interferometer for the study of laser filamentation triggered electric discharges in air

We present a space and time resolved interferometric plasma diagnostic for use on plasmas where neutral-bound electron contribution to the refractive index cannot be neglected. By recording simultaneously the plasma optical index at 532 and 1064 nm, we are able to extract independently the neutral and free electron density profiles. We report a phase resolution of 30 mrad, corresponding to a maximum resolution on the order of 4×10{sup 22} m{sup −3} for the electron density, and of 10{sup 24} m{sup −3} for the neutral density. The interferometer is demonstrated on centimeter-scale sparks triggered by laser filamentation in air with typical currents of a few tens of A.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Light pulse analysis with a multi-state atom interferometer

We present a controllable multi-state cold-atom interferometer that is easy-to-use and fully merged on an atom chip. We demonstrate its applications as a sensor of the fields whose interactions with atoms are state-dependent.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗