We report the synthesis of Ag–Au alloy nanoparticles (NPs) by post-irradiation of mixed colloidal Ag and Au NPs by a nanosecond pulse laser in the presence of an external electric field (EEF). In our study, size, optical, and plasmonic properties of colloidal Ag–Au alloy NPs were investigated. A colloid of individual Ag and Au NPs were separately prepared by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in distilled water. An appropriate volume of these colloidal NPs samples was mixed and post-irradiated with the same pulsed laser beam in the presence of a uniform electric field, resulting in the formation of Ag–Au alloy NPs. The synthesized colloidal alloy NPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that the EEF can reduce significantly the Ag–Au alloy formation time. The results also show that the wavelength of the localized surface plasmon resonance of alloy NPs decreased by the applied electric field.
We investigated the influence of back-reflected pump power in a high-power Yb:YAG thin-disk laser. In such lasers, there is usually a fraction of pump power that is not absorbed in the Yb:YAG crystal reflected back via the initial path and incident on the pumping laser diode. In a high-power laser, such a reflection may cause catastrophic optical damage in laser diodes. The unabsorbed pump power was calculated using rate equations. The experimental results are in agreement with those obtained through calculations. Furthermore, two methods for back-reflected pump power suppression were introduced. We have shown that with a thin-film polarizer and quarter wave plate, unabsorbed power incident on the laser diode can be reduced significantly.
In this research, we investigated the effect of inter-pulse delay times on production of colloidal alumina nanoparticles by collinear double pulse laser ablation. In comparison to single pulse laser ablation, collinear double pulse laser ablation with inter-pulse delay times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 ns results in production of colloidal nanoparticles with smaller mean size and lower variance size distribution. In the case of 5 ns inter-pulse delay time, the highest concentration of nanoparticles was obtained due to more rapid cooling time of the plasma as a result of higher rate of nuclei generation than particle growth. The results also showed that the main pulse and the pre-pulse with 5 ns delay time have significant overlap and consequently such condition leads to maximum influence on the ablation.
In this paper, we propose an asymmetric epitaxial layer structre for designing 808nm diode laser. In this asymmetric sructure, the p-waveguide is reduced in thickness and the p-cladding is doped for increasing the thermal conductivity and consequently better heat extraction. The main purpose of using such design is enhancing the laser gain by reduction of loss in laser cavity, and reduction of electrical and thermal resistivity of the diode laser.
In this paper we study the photoluminescence properties of colloidal silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) in distilled water, with the aim of clarifying the role of surface characteristics on the emission properties. We will show that double-pulse ns laser ablation (DPLA) of a silicon target in water with different inter-pulse delay times of i.e. 5 and 10 ns can result in production of colloidal Si NPs with different PL emission intensities at the visible spectral range of 550-650 nm. The results reveal that DPLA process at the different delay times can induce different oxide related surface characteristics on the Si NPs through the direct surface engineering of the nanoparticles. A detailed analysis of the PL emissions using the stochastic quantum confinement model explained that the different emission behaviors of the colloids are associated with the oxide-related surface states which are contributed as radiative centers in the PL process.
In this paper we investigate the effects of cooling water temperature and pumping diode laser beam profile on the disk laser beam quality. The results show that both issues are important and can influence the beam quality but at the conditions of our experiment these issues do not affect the beam quality significantly.
In this paper optical breakdown process in dielectrics induced by femtosecond pulsed lasers was calculated numerically and 3-dimensional footprint of the breakdown region was simulated. Rate equation was used to calculate the temporal and spatial evolution of free electron density. In these simulations the role of tunneling ionization in free electron generation has been considered. Also absorbed energy from the pulse via multiphoton and inverse bremsstrahlung absorption was calculated numerically. The results show that the absorption of the propagating laser through the initially transparent dielectric is important and its ignorance may results in significant error in estimating the breakdown geometry, and volume. According to the simulation results in compare with our previous calculations, smaller and asymmetrical breakdown footprint is obtained if the absorption is considered in the calculations.
In this paper, we investigate dynamics of optical breakdown in air induced by a pump- probe laser beam technique. The optical breakdown was generated by an Nd:YAG laser beam (operating at 10 ns pulse duration and 1064 nm wavelength). A small part of the beam was separated from the main beam by an optical splitter and was aligned to probe the breakdown plasma transversely. Monitoring the time resolved reflectivity from the breakdown plasma may give information on critical density and together with its transmittivity through the plasma provides information on plasma absorptivity. The results of this experiment can be also used to describe dynamics of breakdown plasma evolution.
In this paper, we present results of experimental investigation of the thermal lens effect in ethanol by a dual beam arrangement. The influence of thermal lens strength on a probe beam passing through this thermal lens medium was analyzed. Thermal lens was induced by focusing the beam of a high power diode laser in ethanol and the profile of a He-Ne laser as a probe beam was inspected. The comparison of the He-Ne laser beam profile in the condition of various diode laser beam powers shows that the beam quality of the probe can be significantly affected and the its deformed profile depends on the strength of thermal lens effect.
In this paper phase explosion in aluminum targets induced by Nd:YAG pulsed laser beam is studied. The phase
explosion occurs in ablation process when the Nd:YAG laser beam (single pulse) is focused on the surface of target in
ambient air. The phase explosion was investigated by monitoring the transmission of a cw laser probe beam through the
ablating region. Two different aluminum targets were used in this study; a thin film aluminum on a quartz substrate, and
a thick aluminum foil. The results show that the probe beam transmission through the ablated region is enhanced
significantly when the laser fluence is enough for the phase explosion to be occurred.
In this paper, we present experimental results of an investigation in silicon surface morphology induced by nanosecond laser pulses in distilled water. The silicon surface was initially rough at micro-scale and irradiated by nanosecond regime laser at different pulse numbers and fluences. Under the conditions of the experiment, nano-structure cluster morphology was formed on the surface of silicon after exposed to the laser beam. The effective diameter and surface density of clusters were estimated from the SEM images of irradiated silicon. Optical reflectivity of silicon surface was also measured by a probe beam. The reflectivity results present an estimation of the clusters height. The results show that the number of nanoclusters depends effectively on laser fluence and pulse numbers. Moreover, the nanoclusters height is influenced by pulse numbers.
This paper presents the results of experimental investigation of thermal lens effect. The thermal lens effect was induced by Ar ion laser in liquid ethanol, as an absorbing medium. Using a simple model, the focal length of the thermal lens
medium was determined by evaluating the experimental results.
In this paper propagation of beams from positive branch confocal unstable resonator through turbulent atmosphere is
investigated numerically. It was assumed that the resonator has one variable reflecting mirror in one end and an ordinary
uniform reflecting mirror in the other end. Using Huygens-Fresnel integral and iteration method, the dominant transverse
mode of the resonator in near field was calculated. Then by using extended Huygens integral, the propagation of fully
coherent output beam of the resonator through turbulent atmosphere was evaluated. The effects of resonator
characteristics and the atmospheric turbulence parameter as well as propagation distance on the propagated beam were
investigated.
This paper presents the results of numerically studying for the enhancement of the soft continuum x-ray yield emitted
from porous metal targets irradiated by sub-nanosecond high power pulsed laser beam when considering the effect of
plasma opacity. In the calculations, the main emission mechanisms were assumed to be the free–bound and free–free
(bremsstrahlung) transitions at water windows wavelengths ranges 2.3-4.4 nm and also wavelength ranges 12.6-14.6 nm
which is useful for lithography applications. The free-free, and bound–free transitions were also considered for
calculating the opacity. The results show that the opacity may significantly influence the x-ray yield detected by an
observer outside the target.
In this paper shock waves produced by nanosecond pulsed laser were characterized. The shock wave produced by
focusing Q-switched Nd:YAG pulsed laser beam (with energy ~120 mJ, wavelength of λ=532 nm, and pulse duration of
10 ns) in ambient water. Using probe beam deflection technique, the shock velocity was measured around the breakdown
region. The results show that the shock wave velocity near the breakdown region is at order of 7000 m/s, and slows
down to ~1600m/s at further distances. Using the empirical relations the maximum shock pressure was also calculated.
The results show that the shock pressure near the breakdown region is 2×1010 pa, and decreases with increasing distance
from the center of the breakdown.
In this paper, formation of microstructure on the surface of aluminum target is investigated. The target surface was
irradiated by trains of nanosecond Nd:YAG laser in ambient air. The irradiation was performed at trains of 1 to 500 laser
pulses with energies ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 mJ. Such laser pulse energies provided intensities at the order of 107 W/cm2at the target surface. Using optical microscope, the irradiated region of the target surface was characterized by measuring
of microstructures depth and length. In this study the effects of laser pulse energy and the number of pulses in
microstructure formation was inspected. The results show quasi-Gaussian profile for the distributions of microstructure
depth and length.
In this paper line x-ray emission from aluminum plasma at wavelength within range of 5 - 7 angstrom was studied
numerically. The plasma was assumed to be produced by irradiating of aluminum target by long laser pulses
(1000 ps ≥ τp ≥ 50 ps) at intensities up to I = 5×1016Wcm-2. The plasma hydrodynamics was simulated by EHYBRID
code. Using the data from this code and Saha-Boltzmann equation; the x-ray spectrum and total x-ray yield of the plasma
were calculated within the time scale of irradiation. The influences of laser intensity as well as pulse duration on the total
yield of x-ray line emission were investigated. The results show that, the emitted x-ray lines at the above wavelength
range has duration similar to that of the laser pulse and the total x-ray yield can be increased by increasing laser intensity
and pulse duration.
In this paper the dynamics of optical breakdown in dielectrics induced by femtosecond laser pulses was simulated
numerically. Using rate equation and time and space dependent intensity for laser pulse the free electron density in
focusing volume was calculated. In the calculations propagation of laser pulse through the focusing volume was
considered. The temporal and spatial free electron density was used for simulating the footprint of the breakdown region
in the focusing volume. In these calculations the influence of the laser power was investigated. The results and
simulation show that lower laser power can generate asymmetric breakdown trace while the trace becomes more
symmetric if the breakdown is generated by higher laser powers.
This paper presents the experimental results of studying the distribution function of electrons plasma
produced by irradiating aluminum target by nanosecond pulsed laser in vacuum. The laser beam was provided
by second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG pulsed laser with ~10 nsec pulse duration and energy of 70 mJ.
A home made Faraday cup was used for detecting the current signal. From analyzing the time of flight (TOF)
experimental distribution function was determined. Comparing the experimental distribution function with
Maxwell-Boltzamnn and effusion distribution functions, the electron temperature was estimated. From the
experimental results, the velocity of maximum electron flux was determined. In this study the influence of the
probe position and biasing voltage was investigated. The results show that the velocity of maximum electron
flux and associated temperature rises with distance from the target surface. The results also show that effusion
distribution function is more appropriate for modeling such plasma.
The opacity of some low Z plasmas that are in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) was calculated numerically. In
this study spectrally resolved opacities under different temperature and density plasma conditions was calculated. The
calculation results show that by increasing of plasma density, the opacity can be significantly enhanced. It is also shown
that the plasma opacity increase with rising the plasma temperature reaches to a maximum value and then decreases
again with the plasma temperature.
The dynamics of an aluminum plasma plume expanding in atmosphere air was studied experimentally. The plasma was
produced by irradiating a thin film aluminum with a single pulse laser beam in ambient air. The laser pulse was provided
by second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with ~10 nsec pulse duration and ~ 50 mJ energy per pulse. A low
power CW He-Ne laser beam was also used for probing the plasma. Both transmission and reflection of the probe were
monitored temporally during the ablation time scale. For transmission three temporal stages can be distinguished and
there is a substantial reduction in the reflection coefficient when laser ablation occurs.
KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Resonators, Reflectivity, Wavefronts, Inspection, Optical resonators, Confocal microscopy, High power lasers, Near field optics, Near field
In this paper the performance of a positive branch unstable resonator under different conditions has been investigated. Using variable reflective mirror (VRM) in this resonator, wave front phase and electric field are evaluated numerically. Based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral, the phase and intensity across the output mirror were calculated. Gaussian Reflecting Mirror (GRM) as well as super-Gaussian has been considered for the resonator front mirror and the results are compared with those of ordinary hard edge mirror. Variety of geometrical conditions for resonator was considered in these simulations and the behavior of resonator under different Fresnel numbers N and magnification M were evaluated. In the calculations the effect of finite misalignment on the front mirror was also assessed and the beam quality was inspected for each case. The energy extraction was also estimated for each condition by calculating Finesse.
KEYWORDS: Resonators, Mirrors, Laser resonators, Optical resonators, High power lasers, Gaussian beams, Near field, Confocal microscopy, Laser applications, Laser development
In this paper, we have calculated the beam quality of practical unstable resonators under a variety of practical conditions. The effects of resonator geometrical parameters and misalignment were evaluated. Based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral, the two-dimension phase and intensity have been calculated for practical positive branch unstable resonators. Using Second Order Moment (SOM) technique, Μ2 factor for such resonator was estimated. The results show that the beam quality is very sensitive to misalignment of the resonator. We also show that Μ2 factor increases with Fresnell number, while it decreases with magnification.
Thermal blooming is a major effect in high power laser beams transmitting through gaseous medium as well as the atmosphere. Due to this effect, the beam pattern is deformed through the propagation path. In this work, a ring pattern beam from a high-power CO2 laser with an unstable resonator is evaluated when propagating through a high-pressure CO2 gas, and the results are compared with those of the Gaussian beam. The results show that unlike the initial Gaussian beam from which a ring pattern formed when propagating through an absorbing medium, for the initial ring pattern beam, in the absence of the gas flow, a symmetrical two-fold pattern is formed due to the blooming effect. The results also show that such symmetry can be deformed in the presence of gas flow.
Thermal distortion effects of mirrors on wave front phase and electric field are evaluated numerically, in a positive branch unstable active resonator. A main source of distortion in high power lasers mirrors is the thermal effects. Thermal distortion is due to absorption of a portion of laser beam energy and consequence heating of the mirror material as well as thermal induced stress within the film by cooling the mirrors. Such distortion can be calculated according to thermoelasticity theory. Using appropriate boundary conditions, diffusion equation, together with thermoelasticity relations was used to estimate such thermal distortions. Based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral, we have calculated the two-dimension phase and intensity in positive branch unstable resonator with rectangular geometry, but the method is applicable for any type of resonator. A finite non-uniform gain was assumed across the resonator. The spatial phase nad intensity in near and far field for active resonator with such finite gain were assessed. Due to absorption of a fraction of laser energy within the mirrors, thermal distortion will occur that in turn affects both phase and intensity. The results show the induced thermal distortion can affect significatly the phase. An asymmetrical wave fron tin near field has also been obtained due to non-uniform gain.
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