A metastable argon laser operating at 912 nm has been demonstrated by optically pumping with a pulsed titanium sapphire laser to investigate the temporal dynamics of an Advanced Noble Gas Laser (ANGL). Metastable argon concentrations on the order of 1011 cm-3 were maintained with the use of a radio frequency (RF) capacitively coupled discharge. The end-pumped laser produced output powers under 2 mW of average power with pulse lengths on the order of 100 ns. A comparison between empirical results and a four level laser model using longitudinally average pump and inter-cavity intensities is made. An alternative, highly-efficient method of argon metastable production for ANGL was explored using carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers.
This article [J. Nanophoton.. 8, (1 ), 083890 ( Feb 5 , 2014)] mistakenly appeared in the Special Section on Metamaterials and Photonic Nanostructures. It was republished in the Special Section on Nanostructured Thin Films VI with a corrected CID on 10 February 2014. The updated citation is shown below:
Pulsed laser deposition is an energetic deposition technique in which thin films are deposited when a laser pulse at 248-nm wavelength strikes a target and material is subsequently deposited onto a substrate with ideally the same stoichiometry. By synchronizing a high-speed mirror system with the pulsing of the laser, and using two separate targets, thin films having tunable stoichiometry have been deposited. Depositions were performed in a high vacuum environment to obtain as much kinetic energy as possible during growth. Typically, some 150 pulses at 300 mJ/pulse were required to deposit 1 nm. Island growth must occur on a per pulse basis since over 100 pulses are required to deposit a 1 nm film thickness. Films were deposited to ∼100-nm thickness, and in situ ellipsometry data were modeled to calculate thickness, n and k . X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were all performed on each of the films. XPS demonstrated change in film composition with change in laser pulse ratio; ellipsometry displayed thickness from the model generated as well as the optical properties from 370 to 1690 nm. AFM thickness measurements were in agreement with independently modeled ellipsometry thickness values.
Chemical lasers offer the highest powers necessary for many weapons applications, but require significant logistical support in the delivery of specialized fuels to the battlefield. In the Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL), which is the weapon aboard the Airborne Laser (ABL), gaseous chlorine and liquid basic hydrogen peroxide are used to generate the singlet oxygen energy reservoir. The goal of the current multi-university research program is to demonstrate an oxygen-iodine laser with electrical discharge production of singlet oxygen. Typically, oxygen discharges are limited to about 15% yield for singlet oxygen. The electron excitation cross-sections as a function of E/N are well established. However, the kinetics for electron and singlet oxygen interactions is considerably more difficult to study. Optical diagnostics for O2(a, b), and O, have been applied to a double microwave discharge flow tube. By examining the difference in singlet oxygen kinetics between the two discharges in series, considerable information regarding the excited-state, excited-state interactions is obtained. Under certain discharge conditions, the O2(a) concentration significantly increases outside of the discharge, even after thermal effects are accounted.
One of the critical elements in the manufacture of long lengths of high temperature superconducting wires is the development of deposition diagnostics correlated with the quality of deposited material for process control. Fast imagery, emission spectroscopy, and time-of-flight spectroscopy of the very energetic plumes resulting from the pulsed laser deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-x have been recorded for a wide range of deposition conditions at four military, DoE, and industrial facilities. Several optical signatures that are strongly correlated with the deposited critical currents have been identified with strong potential for process control. In addition, the partioning of energy among translation, electronic and ro-vibrational degrees of freedom as a function of laser fluence, chamber pressure, and position in the plume have been characterized.
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