High Pulse Repetition Rate Laser Research Articles

A fiber-coupled laser diode design for reflection mode optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy

Pulsed Laser Diodes (PLD) are compact and high pulse repetition rate laser sources that show a great potential for low-cost Optical Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopes (OR-PAM). Nevertheless, their non-uniform multimode laser beams are of low quality so that high lateral resolutions with tightly focused beams are difficult to realize at long focusing distances, as required for reflection mode OR-PAM devices of clinical application. A new strategy based on homogenizing and shaping the laser diode beam with a square-core multimode optical fiber allowed to attain competitive lateral resolutions while keeping one centimeter working distance. The theoretical expressions for the laser spot size, determining optical lateral resolution, and the depth of focus are also written for general multimode beams. An OR-PAM system was built in confocal reflection mode with a linear phased-array as the ultrasound receiver in order to test its performance, first, on a resolution test target and, afterwards, on ex vivo rabbit ears to show the system potential for subcutaneous imaging of blood vessels and hair follicles.

Application of 150 kHz Laser for High-Order Harmonic Generation in Different Plasmas

Application of high pulse repetition rate lasers opens the way for increasing the average flux of the high-order harmonics generating in the ions- and nanoparticles-containing plasmas ablated on the surfaces of various metal targets. We demonstrate the harmonic generation of 37 fs, 150 kHz, 1030 nm, 0.5 mJ pulses in different plasmas. The formation of plasma plumes on the surfaces of carbon, titanium, boron, zinc, and manganese targets was performed during laser ablation, using 250 fs pulses from the same laser. The ablation of the mixed powder of boron nanoparticles and silver microparticles was used for generation of harmonics with high yield. Harmonics up to the fortieth orders from the carbon plasma were obtained. The estimated conversion efficiencies in laser-produced plasmas were ≤10−5. The photon flux for a single harmonic generating in carbon plasma was estimated to be 8 × 1013 photons/s.

Third and fifth harmonics generation in air and nanoparticle-containing plasmas using 150-kHz fiber laser

High-pulse repetition rate lasers allow significant enhancement in the average power of the low-order harmonics generation in isotropic media. We report on the third (343-nm) and fifth (206-nm) harmonics generating in air and different nanoparticle-containing laser-produced plasmas by applying Yb-doped fiber laser delivering 37-fs, 100-kHz, 1030-nm, 0.5-mJ pulses. Different characteristics of these processes (power and density dependences, influence of impeding processes, role of synthesized nanoparticles, variations of the spectral modulation of driving pulses, etc.) are analyzed. We compare the formation of the plasmas on the surfaces of aluminum, carbon, manganese, and titanium bulk species, as well as quantum dots of metal sulfides as the media for low-order harmonics generation, using 250-fs (1030-nm) and 5-ns (1064-nm) heating pulses at different delays between the heating and driving pulses. Average power of about 20 mW was estimated for the third harmonic emission from metal plasmas, with 3 × 1016 UV photons (343 nm) emitted per second.

In vivo photoacoustic flow cytometry for early malaria diagnosis.

In vivo photoacoustic (PA) flow cytometry (PAFC) has already demonstrated a great potential for the diagnosis of deadly diseases through ultrasensitive detection of rare disease-associated circulating markers in whole blood volume. Here, we demonstrate the first application of this powerful technique for early diagnosis of malaria through label-free detection of malaria parasite-produced hemozoin in infected red blood cells (iRBCs) as high-contrast PA agent. The existing malaria tests using blood smears can detect the disease at 0.001-0.1% of parasitemia. On the contrary, linear PAFC showed a potential for noninvasive malaria diagnosis at an extremely low level of parasitemia of 0.0000001%, which is ∼10(3) times better than the existing tests. Multicolor time-of-flight PAFC with high-pulse repetition rate lasers at wavelengths of 532, 671, and 820 nm demonstrated rapid spectral and spatial identification and quantitative enumeration of individual iRBCs. Integration of PAFC with fluorescence flow cytometry (FFC) provided real-time simultaneous detection of single iRBCs and parasites expressing green fluorescence proteins, respectively. A combination of linear and nonlinear nanobubble-based multicolor PAFC showed capability to real-time control therapy efficiency by counting of iRBCs before, during, and after treatment. Our results suggest that high-sensitivity, high-resolution ultrafast PAFC-FFC platform represents a powerful research tool to provide the insight on malaria progression through dynamic study of parasite-cell interactions directly in bloodstream, whereas portable hand-worn PAFC device could be broadly used in humans for early malaria diagnosis. © 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Advantages of plasma harmonic generation using high pulse repetition rate lasers: Review of recent studies

The studies of coherence properties of the harmonics generating in laser-produced plasmas, the analysis of the optical nonlinearities of deoxyribonucleic acid components, the resonance enhancement of harmonic in the cases of excitation of indium plasma by multi- and few-cycle pulses, and the application of nanoparticle-based emitters of harmonics using high-pulse repetition rate lasers are reviewed. The analysis of various aspects of plasma harmonic generation at the conditions of optimal excitation of the ablated targets irradiating by 1 kHz lasers is presented. The growth of plasma harmonic conversion efficiency, single harmonic emission, nonlinear spectroscopy of complex organic components, as well as high coherency of harmonic radiation show the advantages of using plasma harmonic technique for optimization of the sources of coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation and for the material science studies. These studies allowed a significant growth of the average power of harmonics compared with the case of 10 Hz lasers.

Power optics

By using the theory we developed in the early 1970s, a broad range of phenomena is considered for an optical surface of a solid body that is exposed to radiation arbitrarily varying in time and producing temperature fields, thermoelastic stresses and thermal deformations on the surface layer. The examination is based on the relations (which are similar to Duhamel's integral formula from the theory of heat conduction) between the quantities characterising the thermal stress state in any nonstationary regimes of energy input into a solid. A peculiar feature of the analysis of the thermal stress state in this case consists in the fact that this relation comprises time as a parameter, which in turn is a consequence of incoherence of the quasi-stationary problem of thermoelasticity. This phenomenon is particularly important for the optics of high-power, high-pulse repetition rate lasers, which are being actively developed. In the review, we have recently published in Laser Physics, the thermal stress state of a solid is analysed. In this state, time is treated as an independent variable used in differentiation. Such an approach greatly reduces the applicability of the method. The review published contains data on the use of capillary porous structures made of various materials with different degrees of the surface development. Moreover, such structures can be efficiently employed to increase the heat exchange at a temperature below the boiling point of the coolant. In the present review we discuss the dependences of the limiting laser intensities on the duration of a pulse or a pulse train, corresponding to the three stages of the state of the reflecting surface and leading to unacceptable elastic deformations of the surface, to the plastic yield of the material accompanied by the formation of residual stresses and to the melting of the surface layer. We also analyse the problem of heat exchange in the surface layer with a liquid metal coolant pumped through it. The theoretical estimates are compared with the experimental data. We discuss the issues related to the technology of fabrication of power optics elements based on materials with a porous structure, of lightweight highly stable large optics based on highly porous materials, multi-layer honeycomb structures and silicon carbide, as well as problems of application of physical and technical fundamentals of power optics in modern cutting-edge technology.

Direct laser writing of microstructures on optically opaque and reflective surfaces

Direct laser writing (DLW) based on ultra-localized polymerization is an efficient way to produce three-dimensional (3D) micro/nano-structures for diverse applications in science and industry. It is attractive for its flexibility to materialize CAD models out of wide spectrum of materials on the desired substrates. In case of direct laser lithography, photo-crosslinking can be achieved by tightly focusing ultrashort laser pulses to a photo- or thermo-polymers. Selectively exposing material to laser radiation allows creating fully 3D structures with submicrometer spatial resolution. In this paper we present DLW results of hybrid organic–inorganic material SZ2080 on optically opaque and reflective surfaces, such as silicon and various metals (Cr, Ti, Au). Our studies prove that one can precisely fabricate 2D and 3D structures with lower than 1μm spatial resolution even on glossy or rough surfaces (surface roughness rms 0.068–0.670μm) using sample translation velocities of up to 1mm/s. Using femtosecond high pulse repetition rate laser, sample translation velocity can reach over 1mm/s ensuring repeatable submicrometer structuring resolution.

High-order harmonic generation in laser plasma: Recent achievements

Recent studies of high-order harmonic generation of laser radiation in laser-produced plasma show new attractive developments in this field. Those include generation of extended harmonics in plasma plumes, new approaches in application of two-color pump, generation of extremely broadened harmonics, further developments in harmonic generation in clusters (fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, in-situ produced nanoparticles), destructive interference of harmonics from different emitters, resonance-induced enhancement of harmonics, applications of high pulse repetition rate lasers for the enhancement of average power of generating harmonics, observation of quantum path signatures, etc. We review some of these recent developments.

In vivo ultra‐fast photoacoustic flow cytometry of circulating human melanoma cells using near‐infrared high‐pulse rate lasers

The circulating tumor cells (CTCs) appear to be a marker of metastasis development, especially, for highly aggressive and epidemically growing melanoma malignancy that is often metastatic at early stages. Recently, we introduced in vivo photoacoustic (PA) flow cytometry (PAFC) for label-free detection of mouse B16F10 CTCs in melanoma-bearing mice using melanin as an intrinsic marker. Here, we significantly improve the speed of PAFC by using a high-pulse repetition rate laser operating at 820 and 1064 nm wavelengths. This platform was used in preclinical studies for label-free PA detection of low-pigmented human CTCs. Demonstrated label-free PAFC detection, low level of background signals, and favorable safety standards for near-infrared irradiation suggest that a fiber laser operating at 1064 nm at pulse repetition rates up to 0.5 MHz could be a promising source for portable clinical PAFC devices. The possible applications can include early diagnosis of melanoma at the parallel progression of primary tumor and CTCs, detection of cancer recurrence, residual disease and real-time monitoring of therapy efficiency by counting CTCs before, during, and after therapeutic intervention. Herewith, we also address sensitivity of label-free detection of melanoma CTCs and introduce in vivo CTC targeting by magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with specific antibody and magnetic cells enrichment.

High-order harmonic generation from metal plasmas using 1 kHz laser pulses

High-order harmonic generation in laser-produced plasma was demonstrated on metal surfaces using a high pulse repetition rate laser (1 kHz). It was found that if sufficiently thick bulk targets were used thermal conduction was sufficient to prevent any deterioration in the metal plasma plume production at this repetition rate. Under appropriate conditions harmonic yields were found to remain stable for >105 laser shots without the need to move the target. The high repetition rate allowed both short and long electron trajectories to be clearly identified during harmonic generation from the metal plasmas.