Pulsed Laser Line Research Articles

Retrieving mesopause temperature and line-of-sight wind from full-diurnal-cycle Na lidar observations.

Narrowband Na lidar measurement of mesopause region temperatures were pioneered by Fricke and von Zahn in 1985, in 1990 by She et al. at Colorado State University (CSU), with upgrades to measure both temperature and wind in 1994, and under sunlit conditions in 1996 with 24 h continuous observational capability in 2002. This paper details the assumptions and procedures for the retrieval of mesopause region temperatures, line-of-sight winds, and sodium densities from day and night signals from the CSU narrowband Na lidar. The Hanle effect and the effect of the pulsed laser line shape function on the accuracy of temperature and LOS wind retrieval are also discussed.

Thin film interface stresses produced by high amplitude laser generated surface acoustic waves

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) have been explored for nondestructive metrology of thin film elastic properties and thickness due to confinement of their energy within a shallow depth from a material surface. In this paper, we study the dynamic interfacial stresses produced by high amplitude SAWs generated by a strongly ablative source in a thin film-substrate system, with the goal of investigating the possibility of inducing thin film delamination at high loading rates. For modeling purposes, we represent the mechanical loading resulting from the pulsed laser-sample interaction in the ablative regime by an equivalent compressive surface load, and the resulting stresses and particle velocities induced by the generated SAWs are calculated using a linear finite element model. We explore the numerical model to study the dependence of the film-substrate interface tractions on the ratio of the film thickness and SAW wavelength for a soft film on a stiff substrate. Furthermore, by matching the numerical results obtained from the finite element model with experimental results, we are able to predict the dynamic interfacial stresses for a copper film on a fused silica substrate produced by SAWs excited by a high power pulsed laser line source. This study has implications for exploring SAWs in the characterization of interfacial failure in thin-film substrate systems.

Underwater modulated pulse laser imaging system

The detection and identification of underwater threats in coastal areas are of interest to the Navy. When identifying a potential target, both two-dimensional (amplitude versus position) and three-dimensional (amplitude and range versus position) information are important. Laser imaging in turbid coastal waters makes this task challenging due to absorption and scattering in both the forward and backward directions. Conventional imaging approaches to suppress scatter rely on a pulsed laser and a range-gated receiver or an intensity-modulated continuous wave laser and a coherent RF receiver. The modulated pulsed laser imaging system is a hybrid of these two approaches and uses RF intensity modulation on a short optical pulse. The result is an imaging system capable of simultaneously acquiring high-contrast images along with high-precision unambiguous ranges. A working modulated pulsed laser line scanner was constructed and tested with a custom-built transmitter, a large-bandwidth optical receiver, and a high-speed digitizing oscilloscope. The effectiveness of the modulation to suppress both backscatter and forward scatter, as applied to both magnitude and range images, is discussed.

Adaptive pulsed laser line extraction for terrain reconstruction using a dynamic vision sensor

Mobile robots need to know the terrain in which they are moving for path planning and obstacle avoidance. This paper proposes the combination of a bio-inspired, redundancy-suppressing dynamic vision sensor (DVS) with a pulsed line laser to allow fast terrain reconstruction. A stable laser stripe extraction is achieved by exploiting the sensor's ability to capture the temporal dynamics in a scene. An adaptive temporal filter for the sensor output allows a reliable reconstruction of 3D terrain surfaces. Laser stripe extractions up to pulsing frequencies of 500 Hz were achieved using a line laser of 3 mW at a distance of 45 cm using an event-based algorithm that exploits the sparseness of the sensor output. As a proof of concept, unstructured rapid prototype terrain samples have been successfully reconstructed with an accuracy of 2 mm.

Analysis of laser generated ultrasonic wave frequency characteristics induced by a partially closed surface-breaking crack

This research focuses on analyzing the frequency characteristics of ultrasonic waves induced by a partially closed surface-breaking crack. When acoustic waves interact with the crack, transmission, reflection, and mode conversions occur and the frequency characteristics of signals perform obvious changes. A pulsed laser line source is used to generate ultrasonic waves in the sample with a partially closed surface-breaking crack, and one can see how the frequency characteristics of detected signals change as the pulsed laser beam scans across the sample surface. The optical deflection beam method is developed to detect the ultrasonic signals experimentally. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) is used to analyze the time-domain data, and the FFT data are visualized by a B-scan plot. A clear disruption in the B-scan can be observed when the laser beam illuminates directly onto the crack, which is due to the changes of frequency characteristics induced by the partially closed crack. A frequency-domain B-scan of numerical simulation results is presented, and the clear disruption can also be observed clearly.

Avoiding trap states in poly(n-vinylcarbazole) thin films

Optical properties of poly(n-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) thin films are revisited. Steady-state emission spectra put in evidence a strong red band whose intensity increases with decreasing temperature when the solid state PVK film is excited by a continuous 375nm laser line. This red band is assigned to the emission from PVK aggregate states which act as trap states for the monomeric PVK triplet high energy (blue) excitons. At the same low temperatures, these trap states can be avoided when the excitation of the PVK film is made by a 355nm pulsed laser line with 10Hz repetition rate. The red band was also observed to compete with the emission of guest poly(3-octadecylthiophene) (PODT) molecules in a PVK/PODT sequential bilayer structure. Different optical geometries enabled us to show that the exciton energy transfer effect from PVK donor to PODT acceptor states dominates the scenario in the bilayer structure, suppressing almost completely the trap state emissions.

A Four-Quadrant PVDF Transducer for Surface Acoustic Wave Detection

In this paper, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric transducer was developed to detect laser-induced surface acoustic waves in a SiO2-thin film–Si-substrate structure. In order to solve the problems related to, firstly, the position of the probe, and secondly, the fact that signals at different points cannot be detected simultaneously during the detection process, a four-quadrant surface acoustic wave PVDF transducer was designed and constructed for the purpose of detecting surface acoustic waves excited by a pulse laser line source. The experimental results of the four-quadrant piezoelectric detection in comparison with the commercial nanoindentation technology were consistent, the relative error is 0.56%, and the system eliminates the piezoelectric surface wave detection direction deviation errors, improves the accuracy of the testing system by 1.30%, achieving the acquisition at the same time at different testing positions of the sample.

Intrinsic timing jitter of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

We report on an experimental investigation of the timing jitter (TJ) in a fiber-coupled detection system based on a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD). We used a picosecond pulsed laser and fiber delay lines to generate subsequent optical pulsed pairs in each period and measured the TJ between the pulses. Because only the interval time between two pulses in each period was interested, we did not need to know the absolute time of every pulse. Therefore, the TJ from laser and trigger signal can be removed. In order to estimate the intrinsic TJ of SNSPD, we analyzed the TJ caused by time distribution of optical pulse, electronic components, readout noise, kinetic inductance and dispersion in fiber channel. Finally, we obtained the intrinsic TJs for two kinds of detectors considering these impacts.

Bulk waves excited by a laser line pulse in a bi-layer cylinder

In this paper, the transient displacement excited by a laser line source is calculated for a bi-layer cylinder made of homogeneous and isotropic materials. A sample made by welding tin in a copper tube and a sample of cooper rod are considered. Experimental displacements are observed by the laser ultrasonic technique, and corresponding theoretical waveforms are calculated. Good agreement is found in the arrival time, shape and relative amplitude of various longitudinal and shear bulk waves propagating through the sample or reflected by the interface.

Bulk waves excited by a laser line pulse in a two-layered cylinder

The acoustic displacements excited by a laser line source under either the ablation or thermoelastic regime are calculated for a two-layered cylinder made of homogeneous and isotropic materials. Two samples made by welding tin in two different copper tubes are considered. Experimental displacements are observed by the laser ultrasonic technique, and corresponding theoretical waveforms are calculated. Good agreement is found in the arrival time, shape, and relative amplitude of various longitudinal and shear bulk waves propagating in the two-layered cylinders, and the waves reflected by the interface are further identified by the ray trajectory analysis. The longitudinal wave reflected at the interface may be used for the nondestructive evaluation of the interface quality.

Experimental and theoretical study of acoustic waves generated by a laser line pulse in an optically absorptive isotropic cylinder

The generation of acoustic waves by a line-focused laser pulse in an optically absorptive cylinder is studied experimentally and theoretically. Experiments are performed on a 5 mm diameter NG5 colored glass rod using Nd:yttrium aluminum garnet laser, which delivers 5 ns pulses. The numerical simulation is based on the semi-analytical model of a radially distributed thermoelastic source, which takes into account penetration of laser energy into the bulk of the sample. Good agreement between the experimental and calculated wave forms is observed. Comparison of these wave forms with an auxiliary simulation, which assumes the model of a dipole source located at the cylinder surface, reveals the effect of optical penetration on the shape of the wave form and also on the relative amplitude of bulk and surface waves.

Performance considerations for continuous-wave and pulsed laser line scan (LLS) imaging systems

Extended range underwater optical imaging techniques can be classified into one of two broad categories; those which use synchronously scanned narrow source and receiver paths to restrict both back-scattered and forward-scattered light reaching the receiver (continuouswave laser line scan); and those which use pulsed sources and time-gating to remove back-scatter noise (pulsed laser line scan and pulse-gated laser line scan). Laser line scan systems are observed to perform at up to 5 to 6 optical attenuation lengths, but greater standoff distances are desirable for seabed imaging using the growing fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Currently, a moderate physical separation between laser and receiver is necessary to reject near-field multiple back-scatter, which imposes restrictions on AUV miniaturization. Recent experiments and theoretical modeling reveal that significant imaging improvements are possible over the existing continuous-wave laser line scan systems (LLS), by using a pulsed-gated version of the LLS (PG-LLS). However, the use of such a technique has a greater advantage in reducing the overall form factor over conventional LLS imaging system, as well as providing greater depth-of-field. In this paper, we present experimental results comparing both LLS and PG-LLS systems for several source-receiver separations and standoff distances. These results compare favorably with images obtained from validated LLS image simulation tools, and indicate the potential for reducing the source-receiver separation and therefore the system size.

Semi-analytical model of acoustic-wave generation by a laser line pulse in an optically absorptive isotropic cylinder

Semi-analytical model for calculating acoustic response to a line-focused laser pulse in an optically absorptive isotropic cylinder is proposed and implemented. It is assumed that the laser input is absorbed over the volume and thus creates a radially distributed thermoelastic source. Closed-form solution is obtained in the Fourier domain. Two inverse Fourier transforms in frequency and circumferential wave number yield the sought waveforms of acoustic response in the time-space domain. Numerical simulation is compared to the calculation based on a surface dipole source. The two signals have essentially different shapes of the wave-arrival peaks when the optical penetration is large enough.

Ultrasounds Excited by a Laser Line Pulse in a Liquid-Filled Tube

In this paper, a physical model is proposed to describe the propagation of ultrasounds, which are excited in a homogeneous, isotropic, and liquid-filled tube by a laser line source under either the ablation or thermoelastic regime. Since a metal tube is considered, the thermal diffusion and the optical penetration depth are neglected in this modeling. The Fourier series expansion is introduced for a spatial coordinate to provide the transient response of the structure. Theoretical displacements are obtained for aluminum tubes filled with glycerol or air. The corresponding displacements are observed experimentally by the laser ultrasonic technique. Good agreement is found in the arrival time, shape and relative amplitude of various longitudinal and shear bulk waves propagating in the solid and liquid media. These ultrasonic waves are further identified by the ray trajectory analysis.

Acoustic waves generated by a laser line pulse in a hollow cylinder

A theoretical solution is proposed to predict acoustic waves generated in a homogeneous and isotropic hollow cylinder by a laser line source under either ablation or thermoelastic regime. The Fourier series expansion is introduced for one spatial coordinate to solve this transient response problem. Theoretical displacements are obtained in both regimes for aluminum hollow cylinders with various thickness including a rod of the same size. The corresponding displacements are observed experimentally by the laser ultrasonic technique. Agreement has been found in the time arrival, shape and relative amplitude of surface waves and various longitudinal and transverse bulk waves. These acoustic waves are further identified by the ray trajectory analysis. This work will be helpful when dealing with the inverse problem of the nondestructive evaluation of hollow cylindrical parts.

Simulation on laser-induced surface acoustic wave on isotropic cylinders by finite element method

Based on the thermoelastic theory, a finite element model is developed to simulate the process of laser inducing ultrasonic field in isotropic cylinders, which can take the temperature dependence of thermal parameters into account. Using the finite element model, we have simulated the ultrasonic fields induced by a pulse laser line source impacting on the generatrix of aluminum cylinders with different diameters. And the intact waveforms of surface acoustic wave (SAW including cylindrical Rayleigh and Whispering gallery (WG) modes) are presented, which are in very good agreement with the calculated and experimental waveforms in other literatures. Furthermore, the dispersion properties of cylindrical Rayleigh waves are analyzed by the method of phase spectral analysis, and the results show that with the increasing frequency, the phase velocity of cylindrical Rayleigh wave rapidly increases to the maximum value, and then gradually decreases to that of plane Rayleigh wave. With the diameter of cylinder decreasing, the maximum value of phase velocity and the corresponding frequency increase.

Identification of laser-generated ultrasounds in the response of the cylinder over time and space

A theoretical solution is presented to identify laser-generated ultrasounds in the transient response over time and space of a cylinder impacted by a laser line pulse. Theoretical radial displacements at various observation angles are obtained for an aluminum cylinder under thermoelastic regime. The corresponding displacements are observed experimentally by the laser ultrasonic technique. Good agreement is found in the time arrival, shape and relative amplitude of surface waves and various longitudinal and transverse bulk waves. These laser-generated ultrasounds are further identified by the ray trajectory analysis. This work will be helpful for the inverse problem of the nondestructive evaluation of cylinder parts.

Acoustic field excited by a pulsed laser line source in a cylinder

The excitation and propagation of the acoustic waves in an elastic cylinder are studied by laser ultrasonics both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis of the two-dimensional acoustic field excited by a pulsed laser line source impacting on the generatrix of an elastic cylinder is presented. The dispersive properties for both cylindrical Rayleigh wave and the higher modes – whispering gallery (WG) modes are analyzed in detail. The numerical transient displacement waveforms for a detecting point located another terminal of the cylinder diameter opposite the source are calculated. The experimental excitation and detection of the acoustic waves in an aluminum cylinder are carried out on a laser ultrasonic system, which mainly consists of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and a laser interferometer. The wave components of bulk waves and surface waves (cylindrical Rayleigh waves and WG modes) are analyzed by comparing the numerical and experimental waveforms. The results are in good agreement.

Thermoelastic generation of cylindrical Rayleigh waves and whispering gallery modes by pulsed-laser excitation

An analytical model of cylindrical surface waves excited thermoelastically by a pulsed-laser line source is presented. The laser-generated transient response of the cylindrical Rayleigh wave and the first three whispering gallery (WG) modes of an aluminum cylinder are calculated from the model using residue theory and the fast Fourier transform technique. The superposed wave form of the four transient modes is in excellent agreement with the wave form obtained from experiment and reveals that the peaks observed in experimental data are the result of wave-form interference from the superposition of all WG modes.

Propagating Properties of Cylindrical Rayleigh Waves Generatedby a Pulsed Laser Line Source

A two-dimensional theoretical model is used to analyse the acousticfield of cylindrical surface waves generated by a pulsed laser linesource in the ablation regime. The complete dispersive curves forcylindrical Rayleigh wave are presented. The laser-generated transientacoustic field of cylindrical Rayleigh waves is calculated and thecorresponding laser ultrasonic experiments are carried out. Both thenumerical and experimental results are in good agreement.