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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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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of 2.1-micron lasing properties of Ho:Tm:Cr:YAG crystals under flash-lamp pumping at various operating conditions

Flash-lamp-pumped normal-mode and Q-switched 2.1-micron laser operations of Ho:Tm:Cr:YAG crystals have been evaluated under a wide variety of experimental conditions in order to determine an optimum lasing condition and to characterize the laser outputs. Q-switched laser-output energies equal to, or in some cases exceeding the normal-mode laser energies, were obtained in the form of a strong single spike through an optimization of the opening time of a lithium niobate Q switch. The increase of the normal-mode laser slope efficiency was observed with the increase of the Tm concentration from 2.5 to 4.5 at. pct at operating temperatures from 120 K to near room temperature. Laser transitions were observed only at 2.098 and 2.091 microns under various conditions. The 2.091-micron laser transition appeared to be dominant at high-temperature operations with low-reflective-output couplers.

Kim, Kyong H.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Tropospheric Wind Profile Measurements with a Direct Detection Doppler Lidar

Research has established the importance of global tropospheric wind measurements for large scale improvements in numerical weather prediction. In addition, global wind measurements provide data that are fundamental to the understanding and prediction of global climate change. These tasks are closely linked with the goals of the NASA Earth Science Enterprise and Global Climate Change programs. NASA Goddard has been actively involved in the development of direct detection Doppler lidar methods and technologies to meet the wind observing needs of the atmospheric science community. In this paper we describe a recently developed prototype wind lidar system using a direct detection Doppler technique for measuring wind profiles from the surface through the troposphere. This system uses a pulsed ND:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm as the transmitter. The laser pulse is directed to the atmosphere using a 40 cm diameter scan mirror. The portion of the laser energy backscattered from aerosols and molecules is collected by a 40 cm diameter telescope and coupled via fiber optics into the Doppler receiver. Single photon counting APD's are used to detect the atmospheric backscattered signal. The principle element of the receiver is a dual bandpass tunable Fabry Perot etalon which analyzes the Doppler shift of the incoming laser signal using the double edge technique. The double edge technique uses two high resolution optical filters having bandpasses offset relative to one another such that the 'edge' of the first filter's transmission function crosses that of the second at the half power point. The outgoing laser frequency is located approximately at the crossover point. Due to the opposite going slopes of the edges, a Doppler shift in the atmospheric backscattered laser frequency produces a positive change in signal for one filter and a negative change in the second filter. Taking the ratio of the two edge channel signals yields a result which is directly proportional to the component of the wind along the line-of-sight of the laser. Measuring the radial wind in several directions provides sufficient information to determine the true wind speed and direction. The lidar has operated from our laboratory at Goddard since June, 1997. Wind profiles have been obtained to altitudes of 12 km with a vertical resolution of 330 in. Vector wind data are obtained by rotating the scan mirror to measure line-of-sight wind profiles for at least two azimuth angles at an elevation angle of 45 degrees. The precision of the data as determined from the standard deviation of multiple independent lidar profiles is in the range of 1 to 3 m/sec up to 10 km. Good agreement is obtained when the lidar data are compared with the upper air rawinsonde soundings taken at Dulles airport. Examples of the wind lidar data will be presented along with a description of the instrument and future developments.

Gentry, Bruce M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Semiconductor lasers beyond the fiber optics telecommunication wavelength

Semiconductor lasers emitting at 1.55 microns are the cornerstone of the high bandwidth optical communications industry. Semiconductor lasers operating at this and other wavelengths are also used in the engineering, biology, chemistry and medical fields. The light emission in most semiconductor lasers is due to the optical transition between the valence and conduction bands of the semiconductor active material. This means that the intrinsic properties of the semiconductor active material i.e., the bandgap energy dictates the emission wavelength. This limits the efficient operation of these lasers at wavelengths above 3 microns. In the mid 1990s this limitation was overcome with the emergence of new laser architectures, such as the intersubband and interband Quantum Cascade (QC) lasers

Forouhar, Siamak↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Performance of a 40W Uplink Laser Transmitter for NASA's O2O Laser Communications Mission

NASA’s Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O) will provide operational laser communications between the ground and lunar orbit for the Artemis II crewed mission. In this work we describe a 40W ground-based laser transmitter for the O2O system. The uplink transmitter operates in the optical C-band and uses an energy-efficient 32-PPM modulation format. Four spatial diversity channels are time-aligned and combined in the far field. Each channel produces up to 10 W of output power and contains both the communications signal and the 7kHz modulated beacon signal required for acquisition. The transmitter delivers data at 10 Mbits/s and 20 Mbits/s channel rates, corresponding to the 250 MHz and 500 MHz slot rates respectively.

free-space optical communications↗
NASA NTRS1987

Bichromatic emission in a ring dye laser

An experimental study of a high-Q Rhodamine 6G ring dye laser has been performed, and bichromatic emission (BE) with wavelength spacings as large as 110 A when the laser operated bidirectionally has been measured. The BE vanished at all excitations when the laser was forced into unidirectional operation using a Faraday isolator. However, when a weak reflected beam was allowed to make a single pass in the direction opposite to that allowed by the Faraday device, BE is recovered at the higher pump powers.

Lawandy, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Design of catalytic monoliths for closed-cycle carbon dioxide lasers

Pulsed carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers have many applications in aeronautics, space research, weather monitoring and other areas. Full exploitation of the potential of these lasers in hampered by the dissociation of CO2 that occurs during laser operation. The development of closed-cycle CO2 lasers requires active CO-O2 recombination (CO oxidation) catalyst and design methods for implementation of catalysts in CO2 laser systems. A monolith catalyst section model and associated design computer program, LASCAT, are presented to assist in the design of a monolith catalyst section of a closed cycle CO2 laser system. Using LASCAT,the designer is able to specify a number of system parameters and determine the monolith section performance. Trade-offs between the catalyst activity, catalyst dimensions, monolith dimensions, pressure drop, O2 conversion, and other variables can be explored and adjusted to meet system design specifications. An introduction describes a typical closed-cycle CO2 system, and indicates some advantages of a closed cycle laser system over an open cycle system and some advantages of monolith support over other types of supports. The development and use of a monolith catalyst model is presented. The results of a design study and a discussion of general design rules are given.

Herz, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Header For Laser Diode

Header designed to contain laser diode. Output combined incoherently with outputs of other laser diodes in grating laser-beam combiner in optical communication system. Provides electrical connections to laser diode, cooling to thermally stabilize laser operation, and optomechanical adjustments that steer and focus laser beam. Range of adjustments provides for correction of worst-case decentering and defocusing of laser beam encountered with laser diodes. Mechanical configuration made simple to promote stability and keep cost low.

Rall, Jonathan A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A computer program for the design of optimum catalytic monoliths for CO2 lasers

Pulsed CO2 lasers have many applications in aeronautics, space research, weather monitoring and other areas. Full exploitation of the potential of these lasers is hampered by the dissociation of CO2 that occurs during laser operation. The development of closed-cycle CO2 lasers requires active CO-O2 recombination (CO oxidation) catalysts and design methods for implementation of catalysts inside lasers. The performance criteria and constraints involved in the design of catalyst configurations for use in a closed-cycle laser are discussed, and several design studies performed with a computerized design program that was written are presented. Trade-offs between catalyst activity and dimensions, flow channel dimensions, pressure drop, O2 conversion and other variables are discussed.

Guinn, K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

'Design of CO-O2 recombination catalysts for closed-cycle CO2 lasers'

Pulsed CO2 lasers have many applications in aeronautics, space research, weather monitoring and other areas. Full exploitation of the potential of these lasers is hampered by the dissociation of CO2 that occurs during laser operation. The development of closed-cycle CO2 lasers requires active CO-O2 recombination (CO oxidation) catalysts and design methods for implementation of catalysts inside lasers. This paper will discuss the performance criteria and constraints involved in the design of monolith catalyst configurations for use in a closed-cycle laser and will present a design study performed with a computerized design program that had been written. Trade-offs between catalyst activity and dimensions, flow channel dimensions, pressure drop, O2 conversion and other variables will be discussed.

Guinn, K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A Developing Multiple-wavelength Lidar for Detecting Mainly Ozone and Aerosol Distributions in the Stratosphere

A multiple wavelength lidar is being developed at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing, China, for measuring mainly ozone and aerosol distributions in the stratosphere. The system is based on a Xecl excimer laser operating at 308nm and an Nd-YAG laser with three wavelengths of 1060nm, 532nm, and 355nm. The specifications of the lidar system are given in tabular form. The system is designed to measure the following parameters: 1) ozone vertical distribution (15-45km); 2) aerosol distribution (6-35km); 3) atmospheric temperature (30-70km); and 4) high clouds. The expected performances of the lidar system are simulated.

Zheng, Siping↗
NASA NTRS1993

Hazard calculations of diffuse reflected laser radiation for the SELENE program

The hazards from diffuse laser light reflections off water clouds, ice clouds, and fog and from possible specular reflections off ice clouds were assessed with the American National Standards (ANSI Z136.1-1986) for the free-electron-laser parameters under consideration for the Segmented Efficient Laser Emission for Non-Nuclear Electricity (SELENE) Program. Diffuse laser reflection hazards exist for water cloud surfaces less than 722 m in altitude and ice cloud surfaces less than 850 m in altitude. Specular reflections from ice crystals in cirrus clouds are not probable; however, any specular reflection is a hazard to ground observers. The hazard to the laser operators and any ground observers during heavy fog conditions is of such significant magnitude that the laser should not be operated in fog.

Miner, Gilda A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Excited state absorption of pump radiation as a loss mechanism in solid-state lasers

The characteristics of optical pumping dynamics in laser-pumped, rare-earth-doped, solid-state laser materials are investigated by using a tunable alexandrite laser to pump Y3Al5O12:Nd(3+) in an optical cavity. It is found that the slope efficiency of the Nd laser operation depends strongly on the wavelength of the pump laser. For pump wavelengths resulting in low slope efficiencies, intense fluorescence emission is observed from the sample in the blue-green spectral region. This is attributed to the excited-state absorption of pump photons which occurs during radiationless relaxation from the pump band to the metastable state. This type of process is an important loss mechanism for monochromatic pumping of laser systems at specific pump wavelengths.

Kliewer, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Circuit Stops Prelasing In A Q-Switched Laser

Protective shutdown circuit stops prelasing in Q-switched laser operating at pulse-repetition rate of about 10 Hz. During normal operation, Q-switch prevents emission of light from laser cavity during application of Q-switch-trigger pulse. When circuit detects prelasing, it triggers relay turning off laser power supply. Circuit integrated into almost any Q-switched-laser system, provided one gains access to laser light, Q-switch-trigger pulse, and safety-interlock line of laser power supply.

Lockard, George E.↗
NASA NTRS1996

High Spectral Resolution Lidar Measurements Using an I2 Absorption Filter

The University of Wisconsin high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) measures optical properties of the atmosphere by separating the Doppler-broadened molecular backscatter return from the unbroadened aerosol return. The HSRL was modified to use an I2 absorption cell The modified HSRL transmitter uses a continuously pumped, Q-switched, injection seeded, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser operating at a 4 kHz pulse repetition rate. This laser is tunable over a 124 GHz frequency range by temperature tuning the seed laser under computer control.

Eloranta, E. W.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Piezo activated mode tracking system for widely tunable mode-hop-free external cavity mid-IR semiconductor lasers

A widely tunable, mode-hop-free semiconductor laser operating in the mid-IR comprises a QCL laser chip having an effective QCL cavity length, a diffraction grating defining a grating angle and an external cavity length with respect to said chip, and means for controlling the QCL cavity length, the external cavity length, and the grating angle. The laser of claim 1 wherein said chip may be tuned over a range of frequencies even in the absence of an anti-reflective coating. The diffraction grating is controllably pivotable and translatable relative to said chip and the effective QCL cavity length can be adjusted by varying the injection current to the chip. The laser can be used for high resolution spectroscopic applications and multi species trace-gas detection. Mode-hopping is avoided by controlling the effective QCL cavity length, the external cavity length, and the grating angle so as to replicate a virtual pivot point.

Wysocki, Gerard↗
NASA NTRS2007

Diffractive Combiner of Single-Mode Pump Laser-Diode Beams

An optical beam combiner now under development would make it possible to use the outputs of multiple single-mode laser diodes to pump a neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) nonplanar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser while ensuring that the laser operates at only a single desired frequency. Heretofore, an Nd:YAG NPRO like the present one has been pumped by a single multimode laser-diode beam delivered via an optical fiber. It would be desirable to use multiple pump laser diodes to increase reliability beyond that obtainable from a single pump laser diode. However, as explained below, simplistically coupling multiple multimode laser-diode beams through a fiber-optic combiner would entail a significant reduction in coupling efficiency, and lasing would occur at one or more other frequencies in addition to the single desired frequency. Figure 1 schematically illustrates the principle of operation of a laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG NPRO. The laser beam path is confined in a Nd:YAG crystal by means of total internal reflections on the three back facets and a partial-reflection coating on the front facet. The wavelength of the pump beam - 808 nm - is the wavelength most strongly absorbed by the Nd:YAG crystal. The crystal can lase at a wavelength of either 1,064 nm or 1,319 nm - which one depending on the optical coating on the front facet. A thermal lens effect induced by the pump beam enables stable lasing in the lowest-order transverse electromagnetic mode (the TEM00 mode). The frequency of this laser is very stable because of the mechanical stability of the laser crystal and the unidirectional nature of the lasing. The unidirectionality is a result of the combined effects of (1) a Faraday rotation induced by an externally applied magnetic field and (2) polarization associated with non-normal incidence and reflection on the front facet.

Liu, Duncan↗
NASA NTRS2001

Mid-infrared trace gas detection using continuous-wave difference frequency generation in periodically poled RbTiOAsO4

A tunable mid-infrared continuous-wave (cw) spectroscopic source in the 3.4-4.5 micrometers region is reported, based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a quasi-phase-matched periodically poled RbTiOAsO4 (PPRTA) crystal. DFG power levels of 10 microW were generated at approximately 4 micrometers in a 20-mm long PPRTA crystal by mixing two cw single-frequency Ti:Al2O3 lasers operating near 713 nm and 871 nm, respectively, using a laser pump power of 300 mW. A quasi-phase-matched infrared wavelength-tuning bandwidth (FWHM) of ~ 12 cm-1 and a temperature tuning rate of 1.02 cm-1/degree C were achieved. Experimental details regarding the feasibility of trace gas detection based on absorption spectroscopy of CO2 in ambient air using this DFG radiation source are also described.

NASA Discipline Life Sciences Technologies↗
NASA NTRS2008

Nonstoichiometric Laser Materials: Designer Wavelengths in Neodymium Doped Garnets

The tunable nature of lasers provides for a wide range of applications. Most applications rely on finding available laser wavelengths to meet the needs of the research. This article presents the concept of compositional tuning, whereby the laser wavelength is designed by exploiting nonstoichiometry. For research where precise wavelengths are required, such as remote sensing, this is highly advantageous. A theoretical basis for the concept is presented and experimental results in spectroscopic measurements support the theoretical basis. Laser operation nicely demonstrates the validity of the concept of designer lasers.

Walsh, Brian M.↗