Results for “BEAM OPTICS” — Page 3

NASA NTRS2012

Lidar Electro-Optic Beam Switch with a Liquid Crystal Variable Retarder

A document discusses a liquid crystal variable retarder, an electro-optic element that changes the polarization of an optical beam in response to a low-voltage electronic signal. This device can be fabricated so that the element creates, among other states, a half-wave of retardance that can be reduced to a very small retardance. When aligned to a polarized source, this can act to rotate the polarization by 90 in one state, but generate no rotation in the other state. If the beam is then incident on a polarization beam splitter, it will efficiently switch from one path to the other when the voltage is applied. The laser beam switching system has no moving parts, improving reliability over mechanical switching. It is low cost, tolerant of high laser power density, and needs only simple drive electronics, minimizing the required system resources.

Baer, James↗

DOE OSTI2025

Beam optics design of a prototype 20 kW conduction-cooled SRF accelerator for medical sterilization

Superconducting technology has significantly advanced the capabilities of particle accelerators, facilitating higher beam-power operations for fundamental research at a comparatively lower cost. However, the conventional implementation of superconducting technology introduces complexities in the form of cryogenic plants, cryogenic distribution systems and substantial construction and operational cost. In response to these challenges, recent research efforts at Fermilab have been dedicated to the development of a cryogen-free, conduction-cooled Nb3Sn-based superconducting technology. This paper outlines the beam optics design of a 20-kW conduction-cooled compact superconducting accelerator for medical sterilization. The paper reviews both the physics and practical constraints associated with high beam-power operation within the context of industrial applications. The focus is on providing insights into the potential of this innovative technology to overcome existing challenges and pave the way for more accessible and efficient industrial particle accelerators.

Saini, A. [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2024

Beam Optics Design of A Prototype 20 kW Conduction-Cooled SRF Accelerator for Medical Sterilization

Superconducting technology has significantly advanced the capabilities of particle accelerators, facilitating higher beam-power operations for fundamental research at a comparatively lower cost. However, the conventional implementation of superconducting technology introduces complexities in the form of cryogenic plants, cryogenic distribution systems and substantial construction and operational cost. In response to these challenges, recent research efforts at Fermilab have been dedicated to the development of a cryogen-free, conduction-cooled Nb3Sn-based superconducting technology. This paper outlines the beam optics design of a 20-kW conduction-cooled compact superconducting accelerator for medical sterilization. The paper reviews both the physics and practical constraints associated with high beam-power operation within the context of industrial applications. The focus is on providing insights into the potential of this innovative technology to overcome existing challenges and pave the way for more accessible and efficient industrial particle accelerators.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Beam Optics Design of a Prototype 20 KW Conduction-cooled SRF Accelerator for Medical Sterilization

Superconducting technology has significantly advanced the capabilities of particle accelerators, facilitating higher beam-power operations for fundamental research at a comparatively lower cost. However, the conventional implementation of superconducting technology introduces complexities in the form of cryogenic plants, cryogenic distribution systems and substantial construction and operational cost. In response to these challenges, recent research efforts at Fermilab have been dedicated to the development of a cryogen-free, conduction-cooled Nb3Sn-based superconducting technology. This paper outlines the beam optics design of a 20-kW conduction-cooled compact superconducting accelerator for medical sterilization. The paper reviews both the physics and practical constraints associated with high beam-power operation within the context of industrial applications. The focus is on providing insights into the potential of this innovative technology to overcome existing challenges and pave the way for more accessible and efficient industrial particle accelerators.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

NASA NTRS1986

Lateral shift of an optical beam due to leaky surface-plasmon excitations

A leaky-wave theory is applied to the study of the lateral shift of a bounded optical beam reflected from a prism-air-metal (and prism-metal-air) layered configuration with surface-plasmon excitations. The locations of the pole and the zero of the reflection coefficient for the leaky surface-plasmon mode are calculated as one varies the thickness of the center layer. The excited surface-plasmon mode is leaky because of the presence of the prism. Both the real part and the imaginary part of the pole are affected by the energy leakage. The detailed structure of the reflected intensity and the forward and backward shifts of the reflected beam are illustrated.

Chuang, S. L.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Cryogenic optical beam steering for superconducting device calibration

We have developed a calibration system based on a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror that is capable of delivering an optical beam over a wavelength range of 180 -- 2000 nm (0.62 -- 6.89 eV) in a sub-Kelvin environment. This portable, integrated system can steer the beam over a $\sim$3 cm $\times$ 3 cm area on the surface of any sensor with a precision of $\sim$100 $μ$m, enabling characterization of device response as a function of position. This fills a critical need in the landscape of calibration tools for sub-Kelvin devices, including those used for dark matter detection and quantum computing. These communities have a shared goal of understanding the impact of ionizing radiation on device performance, which can be pursued with our system. This paper describes the design of the first-generation calibration system and the results from successfully testing its performance at room temperature and 20 mK.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Optical beam induced current measurements based on two-photon absorption process in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes

Using a pulsed green laser with a wavelength of 532 nm, a duration pulse of ∼1 ns, and a mean power varying between 1 and 100 mW, induced photocurrents have been measured in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes. Considering the photon energy (2.33 eV) and the bandgap of 4H-SiC (3.2 eV), the generation of electron-hole pair by the conventional single photon absorption process should be negligible. The intensity of the measured photocurrents depends quadratically on the power beam intensity. This clearly shows that they are generated using two-photon absorption process. As in conventional OBIC (Optical Beam Induced Current), the measurements give an image of the electric field distribution in the structure under test, and the minority carrier lifetime can be extracted from the decrease of the photocurrent at the edge of the structure. The extracted minority carrier lifetime of 210 ns is consistent with results obtained in case of single photon absorption.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2015

Quantitative measurements of electromechanical response with a combined optical beam and interferometric atomic force microscope

An ongoing challenge in atomic force microscope (AFM) experiments is the quantitative measurement of cantilever motion. The vast majority of AFMs use the optical beam deflection (OBD) method to infer the deflection of the cantilever. The OBD method is easy to implement, has impressive noise performance, and tends to be mechanically robust. However, it represents an indirect measurement of the cantilever displacement, since it is fundamentally an angular rather than a displacement measurement. Here, we demonstrate a metrological AFM that combines an OBD sensor with a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) to enable accurate measurements of the cantilever velocity and displacement. The OBD/LDV AFM allows a host of quantitative measurements to be performed, including in-situ measurements of cantilever oscillation modes in piezoresponse force microscopy. As an example application, we demonstrate how this instrument can be used for accurate quantification of piezoelectric sensitivity—a longstanding goal in the electromechanical community.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2013

A two-axis in-plane motion measurement system based on optical beam deflection

Measurement of in-plane motion with high resolution and large bandwidth enables model-identification and real-time control of motion-stages. This paper presents an optical beam deflection based system for measurement of in-plane motion of both macro- and micro-scale motion stages. A curved reflector is integrated with the motion stage to achieve sensitivity to in-plane translational motion along two axes. Under optimal settings, the measurement system is shown to theoretically achieve sub-angstrom measurement resolution over a bandwidth in excess of 1 kHz and negligible cross-sensitivity to linear motion. Subsequently, the proposed technique is experimentally demonstrated by measuring the in-plane motion of a piezo flexure stage and a scanning probe microcantilever. For the former case, reflective spherical balls of different radii are employed to measure the in-plane motion and the measured sensitivities are shown to agree with theoretical values, on average, to within 8.3%. For the latter case, a prototype polydimethylsiloxane micro-reflector is integrated with the microcantilever. The measured in-plane motion of the microcantilever probe is used to identify nonlinearities and the transient dynamics of the piezo-stage upon which the probe is mounted. These are subsequently compensated by means of feedback control.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2016

Delayed photo-emission model for beam optics codes

Future advanced light sources and x-ray free electron lasers require fast response from the photocathode to enable short electron pulse durations as well as pulse shaping, and so the ability to model delays in emission is needed for beam optics codes. The development of a time-dependent emission model accounting for delayed photoemission due to transport and scattering is given, and its inclusion in the particle-in-cell code MICHELLE results in changes to the pulse shape that are described. The model is applied to pulse elongation of a bunch traversing an rf injector, and to the smoothing of laser jitter on a short pulse.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2015

Study of negative hydrogen ion beam optics using the 3D3V PIC model

The mechanism of negative ion extraction under real conditions with the complex magnetic field is studied by using the 3D PIC simulation code. The extraction region of the negative ion source for the negative ion based neutral beam injection system in fusion reactors is modelled. It is shown that the E x B drift of electrons is caused by the magnetic filter and the electron suppression magnetic field, and the resultant asymmetry of the plasma meniscus. Furthermore, it is indicated that that the asymmetry of the plasma meniscus results in the asymmetry of negative ion beam profile including the beam halo. It could be demonstrated theoretically that the E x B drift is not significantly weakened by the elastic collisions of the electrons with neutral particles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2014

Force feedback microscopy based on an optical beam deflection scheme

Force feedback microscopy circumvents the jump to contact in atomic force microscopy when using soft cantilevers and quantitatively measures the interaction properties at the nanoscale by simultaneously providing force, force gradient, and dissipation. The force feedback microscope developed so far used an optical cavity to measure the tip displacement. In this Letter, we show that the more conventional optical beam deflection scheme can be used to the same purpose. With this instrument, we have followed the evolution of the Brownian motion of the tip under the influence of a water bridge.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Simulations of Beam Optics and Bremsstrahlung for High Intensity and Brightness Channeling Radiation

This paper presents X-ray spectra of channeling radiation expected at the FAST (Fermi Accelerator Science and Technology) facility in Fermilab. Our purpose is to produce high brightness quasi-monochromatic X-rays in an energy range from 40 keV to 110 keV. We will use a diamond crystal and low emittance electrons with an energy of around 43 MeV. The quality of emitted X-rays depends on parameters of the electron beam at the crystal. We present simulations of the beam optics for high brightness and high yield operations for a range of bunch charges. We estimate the X-ray spectra including bremsstrahlung background. We discuss how the electron beam distributions after the diamond crystal are affected by channeling. Here, we discuss an X-ray detector system to avoid pile-up effects during high charge operations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2019

The eRHIC spin rotator and the beam optics of the 400 MeV transfer line to RCS

The 400 MeV LINAC 1 of the proposed eRHIC collider 1 is the first acceleration stage of the 18 GeV electron accelerator. The second acceleration stage of the electron accelerator is the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS), which can increase the energy of the electron bunches to 18 GeV and subsequently extract transfer and inject the 18 GeV electron bunches into the 18 GeV electron Storage Ring (SR) to collide with the hadron bunches of the existing (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)) accelerator. This paper describes the beam optics of the transfer line between the 400 MeV LINAC and the RCS accelerator (LtRCS). The function of the LtRCS line is twofold, first to transfer the electron beam from the exit of the 400 MeV LINAC to the injection point of the RCS 1 and second to rotate the stable spin direction of the polarized electrons from the longitudinal direction to the vertical. A detailed description of the constraints to be satisfied by the LtRCS transfer line will be given. Finally, a section will also be devoted to discuss the spin rotator 2 .

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2016

A simple multipurpose double-beam optical image analyzer

In the paper we present a low cost optical device which splits the light in the focal plane into two separate optical paths and collimates it back into a single image plane, and where a selective information processing can be carried out. The optical system is straightforward and easily implementable as it consists of only three lenses and two mirrors. The system is dedicated for imaging in low-light-level conditions in which widely used optical devices, based on beam splitters or dichroic mirrors, suffer from light loss. We expose examples of applications of our device, using a prototype model. The proposed optical system may be employed for: monitoring the objects located at different distances from observer (1), creating regions of different magnification within a single image plane (2), high dynamic range photometry (3), or imaging in two wavelength bands simultaneously (4).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Quasi-optical beam tracing module development for millimeter-wave high-wavenumber collective scattering on the NSTX-U and EAST tokamaks

A Python3-based beam tracing code utilizing Quasi-Optics has been developed to track both incident and receiving beams in high-k collective millimeter wave scattering systems within magnetic fusion plasmas. In contrast to existing ray tracing codes that solely consider refraction, this beam tracing code incorporates diffraction phenomena, providing a more comprehensive calculation. Here, this enhanced capability allows for a more accurate calculation of the scattering volume and spatial resolution in high-k collective scattering systems, crucial for evaluating system performance and facilitating data analysis. Unlike Geometrical Optics, Quasi-Optics employs the complex eikonal method, representing a Gaussian beam as a collection of coupled rays to accurately preserve diffraction characteristics. The developed code is intended for application in NSTX-Upgrade and EAST high-k beam tracing analyses, targeting frequencies of 693 GHz and 270 GHz, respectively. The high-k system's primary objective is the observation of electron-scale instabilities. Employing a symplectic integrator, the code ensures numerical accuracy, assessed through the conservation of the Hamiltonian. With its precision and efficiency, the code facilitates rapid inter-shot analyses.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Time-varying gradient metasurface with applications in all-optical beam steering

Integrating the large, subpicosecond nonlinear optical response of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials with the broad design freedoms of plasmonic metasurfaces shows potential for creating rapidly modulated optical devices with possible applications in telecommunications, sensing, and reactive beam steering. In this work, we experimentally investigate a metasurface consisting of a plasmonic gradient array on a thin layer of indium tin oxide (ITO), characterize how incident probe pulses diffract from a system as it is being dynamically modulated by a pump pulse at wavelengths near the ENZ region. Angular shifts in the diffraction orders are observed and can be principally attributed to the adiabatic wavelength conversion of the probe as it witnesses the temporal change of index induced by the pump. Of note, the asymmetric gradient metasurface, considered to be a blazed diffraction grating, shows significantly different dynamic responses for different diffraction orders. The free-space wavelength shift to +1 and -1 diffraction orders is 6 and 12 nm, resulting in steering angle changes of 0.65 and 1.5°, respectively.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2017

Collapse events of two-color optical beams

Here in this work, we study optical self-focusing that leads to collapse events for the time-independent model of copropagating beams with different wavelengths. We show that collapse events depend on the combined critical power of two beams for fundamental, vortex, and mixed configurations as well as on the ratio of their individual powers.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗