Laser beam pointing tests
Argon-ion laser beam for pinpointing specific locations on lunar surface by using detection sensitivity of Surveyor 7 vidicon camera operating in integration mode
Alley, C. O.↗
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Results for “Laser beams”
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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Laser Beam Expander with Adjustable Collimation
A laser beam expander has at least two negative lenses with adjustable collimation. The amount of required motion can be reduced by an order of magnitude over single negative lens approaches by splitting the input lens in two and adjusting the small remaining air gap between the lenses. The change in collimation may be accomplished by heating/cooling (i.e., thermal), mechanical motion (e.g., motors), electro-optical means (e.g., applying or reducing an electric current), any combination thereof, or any other suitable mechanism.
Ramos-Izquierdo, Luis A.↗
Intense laser beams; Proceedings of the Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 23, 24, 1992
Various papers on intense laser beams are presented. Individual topics addressed include: novel methods of copper vapor laser excitation, UCLA IR FEL, lasing characteristics of a large-bore copper vapor laser (CVL), copper density measurement of a large-bore CVL, high-power XeCl excimer laser, solid state direct-drive circuit for pumping gas lasers, united energy model for FELs, intensity and frequency instabilities in double-mode CO2 lasers, comparison of output power stabilities of CO and CO2 lasers, increasing efficiency of sealed-off CO lasers, thermal effects in singlet delta oxygen generation, optical extraction from the chemical oxygen-iodine laser medium, generation and laser diagnostic analysis of bismuth fluoride. Also discussed are: high-Q resonator design for an HF overtone chemical lasers, improved coatings for HF overtone lasers, scaled atmospheric blooming experiment, simulation on producing conjugate field using deformable mirrors, paraxial theory of amplitude correction, potential capabilities of adaptive optical systems in the atmosphere, power beaming research at NASA, system evaluations of laser power beaming options, performance projections for laser beam power to space, independent assessment of laser power beaming options, removal of atmospheric CFCs by lasers, efficiency of vaporization cutting by CVL.
Wade, Richard C.↗
Laser beam manifold and particle photography system for use in fluid velocity measurements
A laser beam manifold and particle photography system has been developed for use in fluid velocity measurements. The laser manifold is a device which transforms a single laser beam into several uniform parallel beams. By orienting two manifolds mutually perpendicular, an optical grid can be formed which acts as a reference for fluid velocity measurements. This optical grid is for all practical purposes totally nonperturbing to the flow. Tracer particles moving in the plane of the grid are then photographed to yield fluid velocities that can be measured relative to the optical grid. System construction and theory are presented.
Owen, R. B.↗
Digital laser-beam deflection sensor
Sensor automatically and accurately measures the two-dimensional deflection angles of a laser beam to provide closed-loop servomechanism control of laser beam directivity.
Fowler, V. J.↗
Wedged Fibers Suppress Feedback of Laser Beam
When injected laser is coupled into optical fiber, emission instabilities arise because of optical feedback losses from fiber into laser. Coupling efficiencies as high as 80 percent, however, obtained by shaping end of multimode fiber into obtuse-angled wedge. Because slanted sides eliminate back reflection, such wedged fiber achieves high coupling efficiency.
Ladany, I.↗
Investigation of electro-optical techniques for controlling the direction of a laser beam. Part one - Beam deflector devices. Part two - Beam deflector systems Interim report
Piezoelectrically powered laser beam waveguide for electro-optical acquisition and tracking
OPTICAL TRACKING↗
Photovoltaic receivers for laser beamed power in space
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in the use of beamed power to support space exploration activities. One of the most promising beamed power concepts uses a laser beam to transmit power to a remote photovoltaic array. Large lasers can be located on cloud-free sites at one or more ground locations and illuminate solar arrays to a level sufficient to provide operating power. Issues involved in providing photovoltaic receivers for such applications are discussed.
Landis, Geoffrey A.↗
Photovoltaic receivers for laser beamed power in space
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in the use of beamed power to support space exploration activities. One of the most promising beamed power concepts uses a laser beam to transmit power to a remote photovoltaic array. Large lasers can be located on cloud-free sites at one or more ground locations and illuminate solar arrays to a level sufficient to provide operating power. Issues involved in providing photovoltaic receivers for such applications are discussed.
Landis, Geoffrey A.↗
Laser Beam Welding for in-Space Joining Demonstrated Under Vacuum on the Ground and By Parabolic Flight Experiments
High energy density electron beam welding enabled the first and, to date, only American weld performed in space during the M551 experiment on Skylab in 1973. Though welding is critical to 90% of durable goods manufacturing in America, there is not yet regular and reliable application of welding processes to the In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) sector. Fundamental studies are needed to develop basic capabilities and to enhance fundamental process knowledge, which will support follow-on efforts to mature in-space welding for use in commercial, defense, and other aerospace applications. The current work seeks to build on past flights and improve understanding and quantification of materials joining in space conditions using laser beam welding (LBW). LBW offers several advantages over the electron beam welding of Skylab, amongst others: reduced electromagnetic interference, less exposure of operators to ionizing radiation, and flexible delivery through optical fibers supporting unique workpieces and joints. Since there is no orbital laboratory to mature laser beam welding for space, the current effort addresses maturation of laser beam welding through parabolic flights augmented with data collection to enable numerical modeling efforts that capture the physical effects of the space environment. This team has retrofitted an LBW experimental apparatus that can simulate the vacuum and, during a parabolic flight, the reduced gravity & microgravity conditions of in-space welding. A team of Capstone students modified the setup, originally developed by NASA Langley Research Center for electron beam free-form fabrication, to replace its electron gun with a 1 kW, 1070 nm Yb fiber laser. The apparatus was further instrumented with temperature sensing and high-speed welding cameras to monitor and record changes in the thermal state of the workpiece, the melt pool, the laser penetration level, and the development and orientation of spatter & plumes. The system will operate autonomously, demonstrating its utility to uncrewed missions. During upcoming parabolic flight campaigns expected summer 2024, this LBW equipment will weld common aerospace alloys of aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium under conditions representative of the space environment. This data will guide future computational modeling efforts of laser welding in space and help to qualify in-space welding as a viable ISAM technique.
laser beam welding↗
Partial-Wave Representations of Laser Beams for Use in Light-Scattering Calculations
In the framework of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory, laser beams are described by sets of beam-shape coefficients. The modified localized approximation to evaluate these coefficients for a focused Gaussian beam is presented. A new description of Gaussian beams, called standard beams, is introduced. A comparison is made between the values of the beam-shape coefficients in the framework of the localized approximation and the beam-shape coefficients of standard beams. This comparison leads to new insights concerning the electromagnetic description of laser beams. The relevance of our discussion is enhanced by a demonstration that the localized approximation provides a very satisfactory description of top-hat beams as well.
Gouesbet, Gerard↗
Contribution of High-Order Rainbows to the Scattering of a Gaussian Laser Beam by a Spherical Particle
I review the theory of the scattering of a Gaussian laser beam by a dielectric spherical particle and give the details for constructing a computer program to implement the theory. Computational results indicate that if the width of the laser beam is much less than the diameter of the particle and if the axis of the beam is incident near the edge of the particle, the fifth-, sixth-, and ninth-order rainbows should be evident in the far-field scattered intensity. I performed an experiment that yielded tentative evidence for the presence of the sixth- order rainbow.
Lock, James A.↗
Laser beam collimation using a phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer
This paper presents an improved technique for testing laser beam collimation using a phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer. The technique is useful for measuring laser beam divergence. It is possible using this technique to detect the defocusing of the order of one micrometer for a well corrected collimating lens. A relation is derived for the defocusing that can be detected by the phase conjugate interferometer.
Shukla, R. P.↗
Development of Laser Beam Transmission Strategies for Future Ground-to-Space Optical Communications
Optical communications is a key technology to meet the bandwidth expansion required in the global information grid. High bandwidth bi-directional links between sub-orbital platforms and ground and space terminals can provide a seamless interconnectivity for rapid return of critical data to analysts. The JPL Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) is located in Wrightwood California at an altitude of 2.2.km. This 200 sq-m facility houses a state-of- the-art 1-m telescope and is used to develop operational strategies for ground-to-space laser beam propagation that include safe beam transmission through navigable air space, adaptive optics correction and multi-beam scintillation mitigation, and line of sight optical attenuation monitoring. JPL has received authorization from international satellite owners to transmit laser beams to more than twenty retro-reflecting satellites. This paper presents recent progress in the development of these operational strategies tested by narrow laser beam transmissions from the OCTL to retro-reflecting satellites. We present experimental results and compare our measurements with predicted performance for a variety of atmospheric conditions.
optical communications↗
Small-scale trapped filaments in intense laser beams.
Small trapped filaments properties in intense laser beams transmitted through various liquids, discussing power and diameters relationships to Kerr effect
Brewer, R. G.↗
Laser beam propagation in atmospheric turbulence
The optical effects of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of low power laser beams are reviewed in this paper. The optical effects are produced by the temperature fluctuations which result in fluctuations of the refractive index of air. The commonly-used models of index-of-refraction fluctuations are presented. Laser beams experience fluctuations of beam size, beam position, and intensity distribution within the beam due to refractive turbulence. Some of the observed effects are qualitatively explained by treating the turbulent atmosphere as a collection of moving gaseous lenses of various sizes. Analytical results and experimental verifications of the variance, covariance and probability distribution of intensity fluctuations in weak turbulence are presented. For stronger turbulence, a saturation of the optical scintillations is observed. The saturation of scintillations involves a progressive break-up of the beam into multiple patches; the beam loses some of its lateral coherence. Heterodyne systems operating in a turbulent atmosphere experience a loss of heterodyne signal due to the destruction of coherence.
Murty, S. S. R.↗
Laser Beam Welding Benchmark Experiments Performed in Reduced Gravity and Vacuum
Laser beam welding (LBW) is affected by the extreme temperatures, reduced pressure, and reduced gravity present in space environments. Gravity and pressure especially influence its melt pool and solidification dynamics. A compact, modular vacuum chamber adaptable to flight platforms from parabolic to orbital currently hosts an experiment to investigate the combined influence of reduced gravity and pressure on LBW. A swappable cartridge contains a rotating platen on which customizable workpieces can be welded under vacuum, greatly increasing experimental throughput. Instrumentation includes weld and thermal cameras observing the process, thermocouples placed on workpieces, accelerometers, and vacuum sensors. Experimental data gathered during the welding process will be combined with post-flight nondestructive evaluation, metallography, and mechanical testing to provide validation datasets for computational modeling. Phase I of this effort involves a parabolic flight campaign in low gravity while an anticipated Phase II would proceed to in-space demonstration to access extended duration microgravity.
in-space welding↗
Satellites Would Transmit Power By Laser Beams
Arrays of diode lasers concentrate power into narrow beams. Baseline design of system formulated with regard to two particular missions that differ greatly in power requirements, thus showing scalability and attributes of basic system. Satellite system features large-scale array amplifier of high efficiency, injection-locked amplifiers, coherent combination of beams, and use of advanced lithographic technology to fabricate diode lasers in array. Extremely rapid development of applicable technologies make features realizable within decade.
Williams, M. D.↗