Prof. James B. Spicer Profile

Prof. James B. Spicer

at Johns Hopkins Univ

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (22)

SPIE Journal Paper | 12 August 2020

Weak absorption and scattering losses from the visible to the near-infrared in single-crystal sapphire materials

Jessica Ma, Michael Thomas, Patricia McGuiggan, James Spicer

OE, Vol. 59, Issue 08, 087101, (August 2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.OE.59.8.087101

KEYWORDS: Absorption, Scattering, Sapphire, Surface finishing, Particles, Crystals, Data modeling, Optical engineering, Laser scattering

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Durable window materials with minimal optical loss are important for future high-energy laser (HEL) systems that will operate at or near the megawatt level. Sapphire is recognized as a promising HEL window candidate due to its outstanding optical transparency and mechanical properties. However, its weak scattering characteristics and absorption levels near the 1-μm wavelength region need to be lowered further for future HEL applications. In our study, the weak absorption and scattering of sapphire samples provided by three vendors were measured. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy measurements were made in the wavelength range 190 to 600 nm and several absorption bands due to vacancies and impurities were detected. The bulk absorption of several samples at wavelengths of 355, 532, and 1064 nm were measured using photothermal common-path interferometry and the absorption coefficient values obtained were in the range of 10 − 5 to 10 − 2 cm − 1 and increased as the wavelength decreased. An empirical weak absorption tail model was used to fit the measured data. In addition, scattering measurements on all samples were made at 405, 532, 633, 1064, and 1550 nm using an instrument developed to assess the bidirectional scatterance probability distribution function. The total integrated scatterance was in the range of 10 − 4 to 10 − 2 and increased for all samples as the wavelength decreased. Surface roughness was found to contribute insignificantly to the scattering loss, while bulk defects along with subsurface damage have major impact. A simple single-scatter model was developed and applied to the measured bulk scattering data. The model suggests that impurity particles, porosity, and other density variations exist with a range of sizes that contribute to scattering. Overall, the measurements indicate that both weak absorption and scattering losses are strongly related to defect structures such as lattice disorder and impurities that were introduced during crystal growth or postgrowth processing. Understanding these defects and their contributions to optical loss can lead to improved manufacturing and processing methods.

Proceedings Article | 13 May 2019 Paper

Measurements of weak scattering and absorption in spinel and sapphire from the near infrared to the visible

J. Ma, M. Airola, M. Thomas, J. Spicer

Proceedings Volume 10985, 1098502 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2518957

KEYWORDS: Absorption, Sapphire, Scattering, Spinel, Transmittance, Crystals, Reflectivity, Scatter measurement, Laser scattering, Laser beam diagnostics

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Proceedings Article | 20 August 2015 Presentation + Paper

Linear and nonlinear optical processing of polymer matrix nanocomposites

Travis DeJournett, Karen Han, Lauren Olasov, Fan Zeng, Brennan Lee, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 9556, 95560V (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2187113

KEYWORDS: Particles, Nanoparticles, Polymers, Nanocomposites, Silver, Palladium, Nanostructures, Transmission electron microscopy, Absorption, Oxides

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Proceedings Article | 12 May 2015 Paper

Characterization of nuclear graphite elastic properties using laser ultrasonic methods

Fan Zeng, Karen Han, Lauren Olasov, Nidia Gallego, Cristian Contescu, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 9485, 948511 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2176885

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Birefringence, Polarization, Anisotropy, Receivers, Wave propagation, Manufacturing, Transducers, Nondestructive evaluation, Ultrasonography

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Proceedings Article | 17 April 2013 Paper

Studies of texture in nuclear graphites using laser ultrasonic line source measurements

James Spicer, Lindsey Lindamood

Proceedings Volume 8695, 86952B (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2009774

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Wave propagation, Polarization, Birefringence, Anisotropy, Absorption, Receivers, Spherical lenses, Ultrasonography, Laser sources

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Proceedings Article | 9 June 2011 Paper

Detection of microwave emission from solid targets ablated with an ultrashort pulsed laser

Joseph Miragliotta, Benjamin Brawley, Caroline Sailor, James Spicer, Jane W. Spicer

Proceedings Volume 8037, 80370N (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.884003

KEYWORDS: Pulsed laser operation, Plasma, Microwave radiation, Aluminum, Femtosecond phenomena, Laser energy, Laser ablation, Solids, Antennas, Target detection

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Proceedings Article | 2 March 2011 Paper

Photoacoustic imaging of prostate brachytherapy seeds in ex vivo prostate

Nathanael Kuo, Hyun Jae Kang, Travis DeJournett, James Spicer, Emad Boctor

Proceedings Volume 7964, 796409 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.878041

KEYWORDS: Prostate, Photoacoustic imaging, Ultrasonography, Visualization, Prostate cancer, Tissue optics, Photoacoustic spectroscopy, Data acquisition, Cancer, Neodymium

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Proceedings Article | 17 April 2009 Paper

A comparative study of fatigue damage sensing in aluminum alloys using electrical impedance and laser ultrasonic methods

Lindsey Channels, Debejyo Chakraborty, Brad Butrym, Narayan Kovvali, James Spicer, Antonia Papandreou-Suppappola, Mana Afshari, Daniel Inman, Aditi Chattopadhyay

Proceedings Volume 7295, 72950Q (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.815980

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Aluminum, Signal attenuation, Time-frequency analysis, Stochastic processes, Chemical species, Associative arrays, Algorithm development, Transducers, Data acquisition

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Proceedings Article | 29 April 2008 Paper

Caroline McEnnis, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 6953, 695309 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782301

KEYWORDS: Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, Femtosecond phenomena, Aluminum, Explosives, Glasses, Pulsed laser operation, Metals, Polymers, Spectroscopy, Plasma

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Proceedings Article | 3 April 2008 Paper

Ultrasonic sensing and time-frequency analysis for detecting plastic deformation in an aluminum plate

Lindsey Channels, Debejyo Chakraborty, Donna Simon, Narayan Kovvali, James Spicer, Antonia Papandreou-Suppappola, Douglas Cochran, Pedro Peralta, Aditi Chattopadhyay

Proceedings Volume 6926, 69260P (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.776625

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Time-frequency analysis, Associative arrays, Aluminum, Ultrasonography, Transducers, Chemical species, Signal attenuation, Interferometers, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 18 May 2006 Paper

Investigation of the fragmentation of explosives by femtosecond laser mass spectrometry

Caroline McEnnis, Yamac Dikmelik, Timothy Cornish, Miquel Antoine, Plamen Demirev, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 6217, 621729 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672147

KEYWORDS: Femtosecond phenomena, Explosives, Ions, Pulsed laser operation, Mass spectrometry, Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, Molecules, Spectroscopy, Solids, Ionization

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Proceedings Article | 18 May 2006 Paper

Femtosecond-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of explosives

Yamac Dikmelik, Caroline McEnnis, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 6217, 62172A (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672886

KEYWORDS: Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, Femtosecond phenomena, Explosives, Aluminum, Glasses, Plasma, Spectroscopy, Laser ablation, Calcium, Absorption

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Proceedings Article | 10 June 2005 Paper

Femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of explosives and explosive-related compounds

Yamac Dikmelik, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 5794, (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.607794

KEYWORDS: Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, Femtosecond phenomena, Explosives, Plasma, Molybdenum, Pulsed laser operation, Cameras, Ultraviolet radiation, Aluminum, Spectroscopy

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Proceedings Article | 18 May 2005 Paper

THz diffuse reflectance spectra of selected explosives and related compounds

Yunqing Chen, Haibo Liu, Michael Fitch, Robert Osiander, James Spicer, Michael Shur, X.-C. Zhang

Proceedings Volume 5790, (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.602959

KEYWORDS: Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Terahertz radiation, Explosives, Absorption, Sensors, FT-IR spectroscopy, Far infrared, Reflection, Absorbance, Infrared radiation

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Proceedings Article | 18 May 2005 Paper

Terahertz imaging for antipersonnel mine detection

Caroline Dodson, Michael Fitch, Robert Osiander, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 5790, (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.604751

KEYWORDS: Terahertz radiation, Land mines, Dielectrics, Particles, Foam, Scattering, Spectroscopy, Soil science, Rayleigh scattering, Explosives

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Proceedings Article | 8 September 2004 Paper

Spectroscopic characterization of explosives in the far-infrared region

Yunqing Chen, Haibo Liu, Yanqing Deng, Dmitry Veksler, Michael Shur, Xi-Cheng Zhang, Dunja Schauki, Michael Fitch, Robert Osiander, Caroline Dodson, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 5411, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.540945

KEYWORDS: Terahertz radiation, Explosives, Spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, Absorption, Far infrared, Land mines, Beam splitters, Raman spectroscopy, Infrared spectroscopy

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Proceedings Article | 11 September 2003 Paper

Overview: MURI Center on spectroscopic and time domain detection of trace explosives in condensed and vapor phases

James Spicer, Paul Dagdigian, Robert Osiander, Joseph Miragliotta, Xi-Cheng Zhang, Roland Kersting, David Crosley, Ronald Hanson, Jay Jeffries

Proceedings Volume 5089, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.487531

KEYWORDS: Explosives, Terahertz radiation, Spectroscopy, Laser induced plasma spectroscopy, Explosives detection, Absorption, Pulsed laser operation, Imaging spectroscopy, Ionization, Plasmas

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Proceedings Article | 5 December 2001 Paper

Sub-micron elastic property characterization of materials using a near-field scanning optical microscope

David Blodgett, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 4456, (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.449527

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Near field, Ultrasonography, Near field optics, Transducers, Near field scanning optical microscopy, Spatial resolution, Copper, Wave propagation, Microscopes

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The ability to characterize the sub-surface mechanical properties of a bulk or thin film material at the sub-micron level has applications in the microelectronics and thin film industries. In the microelectronics industry, with the decrease of line widths and the increase of component densities, sub-surface voids have become increasingly detrimental. Any voids along an integrated circuit (IC) line can lead to improper electrical connections between components and can cause failure of the device. In the thin film industry, the detection of impurities is also important. Any impurities can detract from the film's desired optical, electrical, or mechanical properties. Just as important as the detection of voids and impurities, is the measurement of the elastic properties of a material on the nanometer scale. These elastic measurements provide insight into the microstructural properties of the material. We have been investigating a technique that couples the high-resolution surface imaging capabilities of the apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope (ANSOM) with the sub-surface characterization strengths of high-frequency ultrasound. As an ultrasonic wave propagates, the amplitude decreases due to geometrical spreading, attenuation from absorption, and scattering from discontinuities. Measurement of wave speeds and attenuation provides the information needed to quantify the bulk or surface properties of a material. The arrival of an ultrasonic wave at or along the surface of a material is accompanied with a small surface displacement. Conventional methods for the ultrasound detection rely on either a contact transducer or optical technique (interferometric, beam deflection, etc.). However, each of these methods is limited by the spatial resolution dictated by the detection footprint. As the footprint size increases, variations across the ultrasonic wavefront are effectively averaged, masking the presence of any nanometer-scale sub-surface or surface mechanical property variations. The use of an ANSOM for sensing ultrasonic wave arrivals reduces the detection footprint allowing any nanometer scale variations in the microstructure of a material to be detected. In an ANSOM, the ultrasonic displacement is manifested as perturbations on the near-field signal due to the small variations in the tip-sample caused by the wave arrival. Due to the linear dependence of the near-field signal on tip-sample separation, these perturbations can be interpreted using methods identical to those for conventional ultrasonic techniques. In this paper, we report results using both contact transducer (5 MHz) and laser-generated ultrasound.

Proceedings Article | 13 May 2000 Paper

Localized temperature control of microwave-assisted cure in SCRIMP-manufactured composites

Peter Shull, John Champion, Jane Maclachlan Spicer, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 3993, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.385502

KEYWORDS: Microwave radiation, Composites, Polymers, Receivers, Thermography, Infrared cameras, Glasses, Control systems, Manufacturing, Composite resins

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Proceedings Article | 15 November 1996 Paper

Laser ultrasonics for process control: issues for implementation

Michael Ehrlich, Todd Murray, James Wagner, Kevin Baldwin, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 2948, (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259213

KEYWORDS: Ultrasonics, Signal detection, Signal to noise ratio, Interferometers, Pulsed laser operation, Ultrasonography, Inspection, Modulation, Laser systems engineering, Process control

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Proceedings Article | 7 July 1995 Paper

Thermal stressing techniques for flaw characterization with shearography

Jane Maclachlan Spicer, John Champion, Robert Osiander, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 2455, (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.213539

KEYWORDS: Shearography, Thermography, Interfaces, Infrared radiation, Fringe analysis, Defect detection, Radiometry, Infrared imaging, Calibration, Applied physics

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Proceedings Article | 1 January 1991 Paper

Laser ultrasonics: generation and detection considerations for improved signal-to-noise ratio

James Wagner, John Deaton, Andrew McKie, James Spicer

Proceedings Volume 1332, (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.51098

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Acoustics, Pulsed laser operation, Signal detection, Ultrasonics, Laser systems engineering, Modulation, Signal generators, Optical testing, Mirrors

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Showing 5 of 22 publications

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