Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Ultrashort pulses”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Ultrashort pulse generation in semiconductor lasers

Techniques to generate picosecond optical pulses from semiconductor lasers are reviewed. Experimental methods and results of theoretical analysis of active modelocking are presented. It is shown that modelocking will achieve the shortest pulses; but the use of a cumbersome external cavity will probably limit its practical use. Short pulses produced by direct modulation such as gain switching are considerably broader than those obtained by passive modelocking. However, no external cavity is needed; and the simplicity of this method makes it important to be explored further. Recent experimental results are discussed where picosecond pulses from a buried heterostructure laser diode with ultrashort current pulses obtained from a comb generator are generated. Also, 28 ps pulses were obtained at 2.5 GHz repetition frequency, using the gain switching method. An analytical analysis based on the rate equations shows qualitative agreement with our experimental results.

Auyeung, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Treatment: A Novel Sterilization Method for Planetary Protection

Introduction: On missions seeking signs of potential life elsewhere in the solar system, we have an obligation not to bring our own Earthly life with us. Reducing the bioburden (number of living microbes) on spacecraft is therefore required by the COSPAR Policy on Planetary Protection to target bodies that are of interest for understanding the origins of life (such as Mars). The method of spacecraft sterilization predominantly used by NASA is Heat Microbial Reduction, which is typically incompatible with heat-sensitive components such as optics and electronics, and is expensive and time-consuming. Here, we present preliminary results on a novel method for spacecraft hardware sterilization: high-intensity ultrashort (femtosecond) pulsed laser illumination. Femtosecond lasers use extremely high photon fluxes (10^29 photons/sec*cm^2, ~0.03 J/cm^2) in extremely short pulses, which can inactivate even stress-tolerant microbial spores with minimal damage to the spacecraft surface. This rapid sterilization technique could be carried out in situ in a spacecraft assembly clean room using high-speed surface scanning, saving critical time and resources. It also can potentially remove or reduce debris from inactivated cells and spores. Methods: To develop optimal laser processing parameters for inactivating planetary protection-relevant organisms on metal surfaces, we inoculated 1-cm^2 mirror-polished aluminum coupons with Bacillus subtilis spores (2x10^5 spores/coupon) and tested the effect of several parameters, including pulse count and fluence. Sterilization effectiveness was measured by recovering spores using a PVA (polyvinyl acetate) peel and conducting serial dilution and plating for colony-forming units (CFUs). Results: Our results show that pulse count and fluence both affect sterilization effectiveness and that within a certain pulse count range, increasing fluence increases effectiveness. We have demonstrated the ability to reduce viable microbial counts by at least 10^-4. Future work will include testing higher abundances and different species of microorganisms, effectiveness on complex surfaces, compatibility with sensitive surfaces, and quantification of cell debris removal. Femtosecond pulsed laser illumination has the potential to provide dramatic savings in both cost and schedule over current methods of bioburden reduction to prevent forward contamination. It may also have the potential for use in surface sterilization of returned samples to prevent back contamination.

Planetary Protection; Lasers; Sterilization; Bacil↗
NASA NTRS1979

Ultrashort pulse solid-state transmitter development

A pulsed, actively mode-locked, pulse-transmission-mode (PTM) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser has been developed for a planned NASA spaceborne precision ranging system. The laser emits single, 150-psec, 20-mJ pulses at 10 pulses per second at 1.064 micrometers.

Harper, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

On the Theory of High-Power Ultrashort Pulse Propagation in Raman-Active Media

The propagation of an intense femtosecond pulse in a Raman-active medium is analyzed. An analytic solution which describes in explicit form the evolution of the light pulse is derived. The field of an intense light wave undergoes a substantial transformation as the wave propagates through the medium. The nature of this transformation can change over time scales comparable to the period of the optical oscillations. As a result, the pulse of sufficiently high energy divides into stretched and compressed domains where the field decreases and increases respectively.

Belenov, E. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ultrashort Pulse Laser Surface Processing Techniques for Sterilization of Metal Surfaces for Planetary Protection

To prevent forward contamination from microbes aboard spacecraft intended to search for extraterrestrial life, there is a need for effective sterilization methods. However, current techniques are both time-consuming and expensive. For example, dry heat sterilization requires removal from the assembly site and several days of treatment. Furthermore, some components such as optics and electronics are not compatible with current sterilization techniques. Here, we report the latest results in our development of a novel femtosecond laser processing technique for the rapid sterilization of spacecraft hardware. Femtosecond lasers produce extremely high photon fluxes (10^29 photons/sec*cm^2, ~0.03 J/cm^2) in extremely short pulses, which can inactivate even stress-tolerant microbial spores with minimal damage to the spacecraft surface. Aluminum coupons were inoculated with specific densities of Bacillus subtilis bacterial endospores. These coupons were treated with various laser illumination parameters. Afterward, metal coupon samples were assayed for viable spores using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) peel, serial dilution, and plating for colony-forming units (CFU). Results indicate that with high enough energy density and pulse counts, most bacterial spores are inactivated with minimal damage to the metal. The sterilization is dependent on both the fluence and pulse count. In addition, femtosecond pulses are more effective than longer pulses for inactivation. These experiments have consistently achieved 4-log reduction in viable spores. Sterilization has been achieved on both flat metal coupons and non-flat surfaces with microchannels, with a slight reduction in sterilization efficiency on the uneven surface. The application of air flow during laser processing was also investigated as a way to remove spores that are dislodged from the surface by the laser illumination, which would contribute to the reduction of spacecraft bioburden. With laser processing technology rapidly evolving, our results support the possibility of an extremely rapid, in-situ surface sterilization method for use in spacecraft assembly clean rooms.

Kaleb McQuillan↗
NASA NTRS1997

Maxwell-Bloch Equations Modeling of Ultrashort Optical Pulse Propagation in Semiconductor Materials

An algorithm has been developed that solves the semiconductor Maxwell-Bloch equations, without making the standard slowly-varying envelope (SVEA) and rotating-wave (RWA) approximations. It is applied to study the propagation of ultrashort pulses in semiconductor materials. The results include many-body effects due to the Coulomb interaction among the charge carriers as well as the nonlinear effects resulting from spectral hole-burning.

Goorjian, Peter M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

New methods of generation of ultrashort laser pulses for ranging

To reach the millimeter satellite laser ranging accuracy, the goal for nineties, new laser ranging techniques have to be applied. To increase the laser ranging precision, the application of the ultrashort laser pulses in connection with the new signal detection and processing techniques, is inevitable. The two wavelength laser ranging is one of the ways to measure the atmospheric dispersion to improve the existing atmospheric correction models and hence, to increase the overall system ranging accuracy to the desired value. We are presenting a review of several nonstandard techniques of ultrashort laser pulses generation, which may be utilized for laser ranging: compression of the nanosecond pulses using stimulated Brillouin and Raman backscattering; compression of the mode-locked pulses using Raman backscattering; passive mode-locking technique with nonlinear mirror; and passive mode-locking technique with the negative feedback.

Jelinkova, Helena↗
NASA NTRS1993

Vibrational predissociation of methylnitrite using phase-locked ultrashort laser pulses

We solve numerically the time-dependent Schroedinger equation to study the behavior of a molecule interacting with two phase-locked ultrashort laser pulses. The 2D model used in the calculations mimics the properties of the CH3ONO molecule. The two pulses are identical except for their relative phase and are tuned to excite an upper electronic state of the molecule. After excitation the molecule predissociates, and we calculate the dependence of the NO yield and of the NO vibrational population on the delay time between the pulses.

Dateo, Christopher E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Nonresonant interaction of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses with multilevel quantum systems

Some features of the excitation of multilevel quantum systems under the action of electromagnetic pulses which are shorter than the inverse frequency of interlevel transitions are considered. It is shown that the interaction is characterized by a specific type of selectivity which is not connected with the resonant absorption of radiation. The simplest three-level model displays the inverse population of upper levels. The effect of an ultrashort laser pulse on a multilevel molecule was regarded as an instant reception of the oscillation velocity by the oscillator and this approach showed an effective excitation and dissociation of the molecule. The estimations testify to the fact that these effects can be observed using modern femtosecond lasers.

Belenov, E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Analytical studies of ultrashort optical pulse propagation in a resonant absorbing medium

Resonant absorption in a laser pulse can be reduced to zero if the trailing part induces stimulated emission and returns the absorbed energy back to the pulse. This kind of effect is called Self-Induced Transparency (SIT). Analytic descriptions of short pulse propagation in a resonant medium, based on Slowly Varying Envelope Approximation (SVEA) and in linear media, have been extended in studies of SIT along two principal directions: First, to improve the SVEA by introducing Short Pulse Approximation (SPA); and second, to consider the effect of nonlinear refractive index.

Lee, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Stimulated Raman scattering of light absorbing media excited by ultrashort laser pulses

The fluctuation-dissipation theory of spontaneous and stimulated vibration Raman scattering is worked out taking into account the dissipation losses at frequencies of laser pump and scattering radiation. General expressions are found, which describe the absolute intensities and shape, energy and duration of scattered pulses in terms of the parameters of the medium and the the input laser pulses. The general regularities are analyzed in detail. Conditions are found for the realization of spontaneous or stimulated Raman scattering and its dependence on absorption, pulse duration and other parameters of the problem.

Marchevskiy, F. N.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Applications of ultrashort laser pulses in science and technology; Proceedings of the Meeting, The Hague, Netherlands, Mar. 12, 13, 1990

Topics discussed are on the generation of high-intensity femtosecond lasers, the high-repetition and infrared femtosecond pulses, and physics of semiconductors and applications. Papers are presented on the femtosecond pulse generation at 193 nm; the generation of intense subpicosecond and femtosecond pulses; intense tunable subpicosecond and femtosecond pulses in the visible and infrared, generated by optical parametric oscillators; a high-efficiency high-energy optical amplifier for femtosecond pulses; and the generation of solitons, periodic pulsing, and nonlinearities in GaAs. Other papers are on ultrafast relaxation dynamics of photoexcited carriers in GaAs, high-order optical nonlinear susceptibilities of transparent glasses, subnanosecond risetime high-power pulse generation using photoconductive bulk GaAs devices, femtosecond studies of plasma formation in crystalline and amorphous silicon, and subpicosecond dynamics of hot carrier relaxation in InP and GaAs.

Antonetti, Andre↗