The new sandwich concept for absolute photo-thermal absorption measurements using the laser induced deflection (LID)
technique is introduced and tested in comparison to the standard LID concept.
The sandwich concept’s idea is the decoupling of the optical materials for the pump and probe beams by placing a
sample of investigation in between two optical (sandwich) plates. The pump beam is guided through the sample whereas
the probe beams are deflected within the sandwich plates by the thermal lens that is generated by heat transfer from the
irradiated sample.
Electrical simulation and laser experiments reveal that using appropriate optical materials for the sandwich plates, the
absorption detection limit for photo-thermally insensitive materials can be lowered by up to two orders of magnitude.
Another advantage of the sandwich concept, the shrinking of the currently required minimum sample size, was used to
investigate the laser induced absorption change in a Nd:YVO4 crystal at 1030nm. It was found that the absorption in
Nd:YVO4 lowers due to the laser irradiation but partially recovers during irradiation breaks. Furthermore, absorption
spectroscopy has been performed at two LBO crystals in the wavelength range 410...600nm to study the absorption
structure around the SHG wavelengths of common high power lasers based on Neodymium doped laser crystals.
We report on the characterization of AR coatings on fused silica as well as AR coated LBO crystals used in high power
NIR/VIS laser applications, mainly by means of LID (laser induced deflection) absorption measurements. The
comparison of different LBO crystals shows that there are significant differences in both, the AR coating and the LBO
bulk absorption. These differences are much larger at 515 nm than at 1030 nm. Results from first absorption
spectroscopy measurements combining LID technique with a high power OPO laser system indicate that the coating
process affects the LBO bulk absorption properties.
Additionally, an emphasis is placed on the importance of the independent calibration procedure. Here, the electrical
calibration is compared to two other approaches that use either doped samples or highly absorptive reference samples in
combination with numerical simulations. As example, LBO crystals and fused silica are taken to show the complexity
and the existing diversity of the material's photo-thermal response and its influence on choosing the appropriate
measurement concept.
Finally, a new concept is introduced to significantly increase the LID sensitivity for optical materials featuring a low
photo-thermal response. In the case of CaF2, a sensitivity enhancement of larger than factor 6 is obtained.
In general losses of optical of less than 1 % cannot be measured precisely with the best-established techniques (e.q.
two-beam spectroscopy). However, it is possible to measure losses in the 0.0001 - 0.5 % range with high accuracy using
cavity enhanced spectroscopy (CES) methods. Such low losses can be measured with CES, due to an increased
interaction path way with the object. The Cavity Ring-Down (CRD) technique takes advantage of the CES method and
transforms the optical loss information into the time domain.
Two types of CRD setups for spectrally resolved loss measurement of laser mirrors will be presented. The first setup
uses a tunable laser system for serial detection of the reflectivity spectra. The second method determines the spectral
losses using a super continuum source. Here, simultaneous excitation and a spectrometer based camera system for
separate detection of several wavelengths is used. Results will be shown and compared with direct absorption
measurements of the same sample.
We use optimized concepts to measure directly low absorption in optical materials and thin films at various laser
wavelengths by the laser induced deflection (LID) technique. An independent absolute calibration, using electrical
heaters, is applied to obtain absolute absorption data without the actual knowledge of the photo-thermal material
properties. Verification of the absolute calibration is obtained by measuring different silicon samples at 633 nm where all
laser light, apart from the measured reflection/scattering, is absorbed. Various experimental results for bulk materials and
thin films are presented including measurements of fused silica and CaF2 at 193 nm, nonlinear crystals (LBO) for
frequency conversion and AR coated fused silica for high power material processing at 1030 nm and Yb-doped silica
raw materials for high power fiber lasers at 1550 nm. In particular for LBO the need of an independent calibration is
demonstrated since thermal lens generation is dominated by stress-induced refractive index change which is in contrast
to most of the common optical materials. The measured results are proven by numerical simulations and their influence
on the measurement strategy and the obtained accuracy are shown.
For special applications in spectroscopy, tunable single-frequency lasers are required to excite selectively relevant
molecules. Amplified Yb:YAG disk lasers provide one opportunity for such lasers with a number of advantageous
properties. Nevertheless, changing the wavelength from shot to shot at kHz repetition rates - desired e.g. for background
subtraction or two-wavelength methods - remains challenging.
We present results from two approaches, which in combination allow for fast wavelength switching of the oscillator and
for extension of the tunability range of the laser system. For wavelength switching high voltage (some kV) is applied to a
special birefringent filter (Lyot filter). Polarization rotation induced by the electric field yields losses at the wavelength
emitted without voltage: the laser emits at a "new" wavelength with the highest gain. This new wavelength is determined
by multiples of the free spectral range of the intra-cavity etalon used for single-frequency operation.
The second stage of the laser system comprises an Yb:YAG regenerative amplifier. To ensure that parasitic lasing of this
laser at the gain maximum is suppressed effectively, an additional birefringent filter is inserted into the amplifier.
Adjusting this filter suppresses parasitic lasing and extends the tunability range of the system by a factor of more than 4.
We report on femtosecond (fs) laser experiments yielding the time constants τrel for the non-radiative relaxation from
optically excited high energy MNa** states to the fluorescent MNa* state in CaF2 samples. The values obtained with the
third and second harmonics of the fs laser amount to τrel (262 nm) = (3.0 ± 0.3) ps and to τrel (392 nm) = (1.0 ± 0.1) ps for
the two selected MNa** states at 4.7 eV (262 nm) and 3.2 eV (392 nm) excitation energy, respectively. These time
constants were derived from depletion processes of the fluorescence at 740 nm (MNa* state) using fs laser pulses of the
NIR fundamental wavelength (785 nm) at variable delay relative to the UV fs laser pulses. In addition, photobleaching of
the MNa centers upon UV fs laser irradiation is observed and simulated by assuming a constant fraction of MNa bleaching
per pulse for a given laser fluence. This fraction ranges from 0.14% per pulse at 392 nm and 0.28mJ/cm2 to about 1% per
pulse at about 6 mJ/cm2.
Concentration distributions of formaldehyde were measured in a technical fuel mixing system by Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) using a novel all solid state disk laser system. This compact and efficient laser generates tunable, narrow bandwidth pulses with kHz repetition rate and energies of up to 25 mJ around 1030 nm. After frequency conversion to the UV spectral region, laser pulses with energies of up to 4 mJ excite different combustion relevant species inside of a semi-technical reactor. This reactor generates a homogeneous fuel vapor/air-mixture using the so-called cool flame. Since the mixture of fuel and air is a key factor concerning efficiency of combustion, the fast fuel injection and mixing processes were investigated with this laser system. Directing a light sheet into the reactor and collecting the fluorescence with an intensified CCD camera, we recorded PLIF images of formaldehyde concentration distributions using an excitation wavelength of 343 nm. In this way we characterized the turbulence of the injection process close to the fuel injection nozzle with 1 kHz repetition rate, and proved the excellent homogeneity of the fuel-air mixture close to the end of the reactor, where fuel-air mixture was burned in a hot flame. By means of scattered light from fuel droplets the mean flow velocity could be estimated. In the hot flame above the reactor spectrally resolved LIF of OH radicals could be recorded.
An all solid state disk laser system-named "Advanced Disk Laser (ADL)" -particularly tailored for laser induced fluorescence (LIF) in combustion processes is presented. The system currently under development comprises an Yb:YAG-seedlaser and a regenerative amplifier. Both are based on the disk laser concept as a new laser architecture. This allows a tunable, compact, efficient diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) system with repetition rates in the kHz region. After frequency conversion to the UV-spectral region via third and fourth harmonics generation, this laser-due to its unique properties such as single-frequency operation, wavelength tuneability and excellent beam profile-is well suited for excitation of small molecules such as formaldehyde, OH, NO or O2, which are characteristic for combustion processes.
Using the method of planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) we observed concentration distributions of formaldehyde in cool and hot flames of a specially designed diethyl-ether burner. The images recorded with 1 kHz repetition rate allow visualizing the distribution of formaldehyde on a 1 ms time scale. This demonstrates for the first time the usability of this novel laser for LIF measurements and is the first step towards integration of the ADL into capsules for drop towers and the international space station.
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