High-Power Continuous-Wave Diode-End-Pumped Intracavity Frequency Doubled Nd：YVO4 Laser at 671 nm with a Compact Three-Element Cavity

We report a high-power high-efficient continuous-wave （cw） diode-end-pumped Nd：YVO4 1342-nm laser with a short plane-parallel cavity and an efficient cw intracavity frequency-doubled red laser at 671 nm with a compact three-element cavity. At incident pump power of 20.6 W, a maximum output power of 7 W at 1342 nm is obtained with a slope effciency of 37.3%. By inserting a type-Ⅰ critical phase-matched LBO crystal as intracavity frequencydoubler, a cw red output as much as 2.85-W is achieved with an incident pump power of 16.9 W, inducing an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 16.9%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output of diodepumped solid-state Nd：YVO4 red laser. During half an hour, the red output is very stable, and the instability of output power is less than 1%.

The thermal effect in diode-end-pumped continuous-wave 914-nm Nd:YVO_4 laser

The thermal effect and the heat generation in diode-end-pumped continuous-wave 914-nm Nd：YVO4 lasers are investigated in detail. A theoretical model of a diode end-pumped solid-state laser is constructed to analyse the influence of fractional thermal loading on the thermal effect in the Nd：YVO4 laser based on finite element analysis. The thermal focal lengths and the end-surface deformations of laser rods in Nd：YVO4 quasi-three-level and four-level lasers are measured and compared with the results obtained by ordinary interferometry for the demonstration of higher thermal loading in 914-nm laser. Finally the fractional thermal loading in the Nd：YVO4 quasi-three-level laser is calculated by matching the experimental and the simulated end deformations.

Compact,efficient diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO_4 slab continuous-wave 912-nm laser

A fiber-coupled laser-diode （LD） end-pumped Nd：GdVO4 slab continuous-wave （CW） 912-nm laser and an LD bar end-pumped Nd：GdVO4 slab CW 912-nm laser are both demonstrated in this paper. Using the fiber-coupled LD of end-pumped type, a highest CW 912-nm laser output power of 10.17 W is obtained with a high optical to-optical conversion efficiency of 24.6% and a slope efficiency of 34.5%. The measured M2 factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 5.3 and 5.1, respectively. Besides, an LD bar of end-pumped type is used to realize CW 912-nm laser output, which has the advantages of compactness and low cost. When the pump power is 38.8 W, the output power is 8.87 W and the measured M^2 factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 16 and 1.31, respectively. In order to improve the beam quality of the 912-nm laser at x direction, a new quasi-concentric laser resonator will be designed, and an LD bar end-pumped Nd：GdVO4 slab high-power CW 912-nm TEM00 laser will be realized in the future.

Efficient Diode-End-Pumped Actively Q-Switched Nd:YLF/SrWO4 Raman Laser

An efficient diode-end-pumped actively Q-switched Nd：YLF/SrW04 Raman laser is demonstrated. The fun- damental wave is 1047.0nm and the corresponding first-Stocks wave is 1158.7nm. With a pumping power of 10.5 W, the average output power of 2.2 W at 1158.7nm is obtained, with the corresponding optical conversion efficiency of 20.9%. At a repetition rate of 6 kHz, the pulse width of the Raman laser is 8. 7ns and the peak power is calculated to be 42.1 kW. The beam quality factors M2 in horizontal and vertical directions are 1.3 and 1.5, respectively.

Influence of laser shock peening on microstructure and high-temperature oxidation resistance of Ti45Al8Nb alloy fabricated via laser melting deposition

Laser shock peening(LSP)was used to enhance the high-temperature oxidation resistance of laser melting deposited Ti45Al8Nb alloy.The microstructure and high-temperature oxidation behavior of the as-deposited Ti45Al8Nb alloy before and after LSP were investigated by scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,and electron backscatter diffraction.The results indicated that the rate of mass gain in the as-deposited sample after LSP exhibited a decrease when exposed to an oxidation temperature of 900℃,implying that LSP-treated samples exhibited superior oxidation resistance at high temperatures.A gradient structure with a fine-grain layer,a deformed-grain layer,and a coarse-grain layer was formed in the LSP-treated sample,which facilitated the diffusion of the Al atom during oxidation,leading to the formation of a dense Al_(2)O_(3)layer on the surface.The mechanism of improvement in the oxidation resistance of the as-deposited Ti45Al8Nb alloy via LSP was discussed.

Laser‑Induced Highly Stable Conductive Hydrogels for Robust Bioelectronics

Despite the promising progress in conductive hydrogels made with pure conducting polymer,great challenges remain in the interface adhesion and robustness in longterm monitoring.To address these challenges,Prof.Seung Hwan Ko and Taek-Soo Kim’s team introduced a laserinduced phase separation and adhesion method for fabricating conductive hydrogels consisting of pure poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate on polymer substrates.The laser-induced phase separation and adhesion treated conducting polymers can be selectively transformed into conductive hydrogels that exhibit wet conductivities of 101.4 S cm^(−1) with a spatial resolution down to 5μm.Moreover,they maintain impedance and charge-storage capacity even after 1 h of sonication.The micropatterned electrode arrays demonstrate their potential in long-term in vivo signal recordings,highlighting their promising role in the field of bioelectronics.

Microstructure and Wear/corrosion Resistance of Stainless Steel Laser-alloyed with Mn+W_(2)C, Mn+NiWC and Mn+SiC

In-situ formed high Mn steel coating reinforced by carbides was formed by laser surface alloying(LSA).Laser alloyed layers on 1Cr18Ni9Ti steel with Mn+W_(2)C(specimen A),Mn+NiWC(specimen B)and Mn+SiC(specimen C)powders were fabricated to improve the wear and corrosion behavior of 1Cr18Ni9Ti steel blades in high speed mixers.Microstructure evolution,phases,element distribution,microhardness,wear and corrosion behavior of the laser alloyed layers were investigated.Results indicated that high Mn steel matrix composites with undissolved W_(2)C,WC and other in-situ formed carbides were formed by LSA with Mn+W_(2)C and Mn+NiWC while SiC totally dissolved into the high Mn matrix when adding Mn+SiC.Ni as the binding phase in Ni-WC powder decreased the crack sensitivity of the alloyed layer as compared with the addition of W_(2)C powder.An improvement in average microhardness was achieved in the matrix in specimen A,B and C,with the value of 615,602 and 277 HV_(0.5),while that of the substrate was 212 HV_(0.5).The increase of microhardness,wear and corrosion resistance is highly corelated to microstructure,formed phases,type and content of carbides,micro-hardness and toughness of the alloyed layers.

High-power and high optical conversion efficiency diode-end-pumped laser with multi-segmented Nd：YAG/Nd：YVO-4

A novel flat-flat resonator consisting of two crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） is established for power scaling in a diode-end-pumped solid-state laser. We systematically compare laser characteristics between multi-segmented（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） and conventional composite（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YAG） crystals to demonstrate the feasibility of spectral line matching for output power scale-up in end-pumped lasers. A maximum continuous-wave output power of 79.2 W is reported at 1064 nm, with Mx2= 4.82, My2= 5.48, and a pumping power of 136 W in the multi-segmented crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4）. Compared to conventional composite crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YAG）, the optical-optical conversion efficiency of multi-segmented crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） from 808 nm to 1064 nm is enhanced from 30% to 58.8%,while the laser output sensitivity as affected by the diode-laser temperature is reduced from 55% to 9%.

Diode-End-Pumped Tm:Ho:GdVO_(4) Microchip Laser at Room Temperature

Room-temperature Tm:Ho:GdVO4 microchip laser operated around 2μm is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.At a heat sink temperature of 283K,maximum output power of 29.7m W is obtained by using a 0.25-mm-long crystal at an absorbed pump power of 912mW,corresponding to a slope efficiency of 5.0%.At the temperature to 283K,a single-longitudinal-mode laser as much as 8mW at 2048.5 nm is achieved.The M^(2)factor is measured to be 1.4.

Corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of Ti−3Cu alloy prepared by selective laser melting

The corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of Ti−3Cu alloy prepared by selective laser melting were evaluated using electrochemical experiments and a variety of antibacterial characterization.It is found that the charge transfer resistance of Ti−3Cu alloy was 4.89×10^(5)Ω∙cm^(2),which was doubled the data obtained by CP-Ti alloy.The antibacterial rates of Ti−3Cu alloy against S.mutans and P.gingivalis were 45.0%and 54.5%.And the antibacterial rates increased with the prolongation of cultivation time,reaching up to 62.8%and 68.6%,respectively.The in-situ nano Ti_(2)Cu precipitates were homogeneously distributed in the matrix of the Ti−3Cu alloy,which was the key reason of increasing the corrosion resistance.Additionally,the microscale electric fields between theα-Ti matrix and the Ti_(2)Cu was responsible for the enhancement of the antibacterial properties.

Two-plasmon-decay instability stimulated by dual laser beams in inertial confinement fusion

Two-plasmon-decay instability(TPD)poses a critical target preheating risk in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion.In this paper,TPD collectively driven by dual laser beams consisting of a normal-incidence laser beam(Beam-N)and a large-angle-incidence laser beam(Beam-L)is investigated via particle-in-cell simulations.It is found that significant TPD growth can develop in this regime at previously unexpected low laser intensities if the intensity of Beam-L exceeds the large-angle-incidence threshold.Both beams contribute to the growth of TPD in a“seed-amplification”manner in which the absolute instability driven by Beam-L provides the seeds that are convectively amplified by Beam-N,making TPD energetically important and causing significant pump depletion and hot-electron generation.

High peak power mini-array quantum cascade lasers operating in pulsed mode

Broad area quantum cascade lasers(BA QCLs)have significant applications in many areas,but suffer from demanding pulse operating conditions and poor beam quality due to heat accumulation and generation of high order modes.A structure of mini-array is adopted to improve the heat dissipation capacity and beam quality of BA QCLs.The active region is etched to form a multi-emitter and the channels are filled with In P:Fe,which acts as a lateral heat dissipation channel to improve the lateral heat dissipation efficiency.A device withλ~4.8μm,a peak output power of 122 W at 1.2%duty cycle with a pulse of 1.5μs is obtained in room temperature,with far-field single-lobed distribution.This result allows BA QCLs to obtain high peak power at wider pump pulse widths and higher duty cycle conditions,promotes the application of the mid-infrared laser operating in pulsed mode in th e field of standoff photoacoustic chemical detection,space optical communication,and so on.

Can laser irradiation improve the strength of weak rock mass?

Controllable rock cracking technology is crucial for the exploration and exploitation of deep underground resources.Many existing studies have been dedicated to the laser-assisted rock-weakening technology.It has been proved that laser irradiation can improve drilling and blasting efficiency when combined with mechanical rock fracturing methods,which are irrelevant for borehole stabilization.To improve the latter,this study used laser ablation for borehole reinforcement.The high-power laser was applied to typical rock samples(sandstone,mudstone and coal)in both dry and saturated conditions.Multi-technique observations and measurements were used to fully understand the peculiar modifications of the specimens under laser treatment,i.e.mechanical loading,acoustic emission(AE)monitoring,digital image correlation(DIC)strain field evaluation,infrared thermography(IRT)monitoring and X-ray computed tomography(CT)scanning.The results showed that,in addition to the effects already demonstrated,laser irradiation can improve the strength of the soft rock,especially in the saturated state.The process involved a complicated phase change including melting and evaporation of the matrix under high-temperature and high-pressure to form a glassy high strength silicate material.This process is similar to the reaction between molten lava and water,or the impact of an asteroid on the earth.Inspired by the results,a conceptual path for a new borehole stabilization technology using laser ablation was outlined.

Review of rare earth oxide doping-modified laser cladding of Fe-based alloy coatings

Conventional Fe-C alloy parts used in mechanical transmission and braking systems exposed to the external environment often suffer from wear and corrosion failures.Surface coating strengthening technologies have been explored to improve the surface performance and prolong service life of these parts.Among these technologies,laser cladding has shown promise in producing Fe-based alloy coatings with superior interfacial bonding properties to the Fe-C alloy substrate.Additionally,the microstructure of the Fe-based alloy coating is more uniform and the grain size is finer than that of surfacing welding,thermal spraying,and plasma cladding,and the oxide film of alloying elements on the coating surface can improve the coating performance.However,Fe-based alloy coatings produced by laser cladding typically exhibit lower hardness,lower wear resistance,corrosion resistance,and oxidation resistance compared to coatings based on Co and Ni alloys.Moreover,these coatings are susceptible to defects such as pores and cracks.To address these limitations,the incorporation of rare-earth oxides through doping in the laser cladding process has garnered significant attention.This approach has demonstrated substantial improvements in the microstructure and properties of Fe-based alloy coatings.This paper reviewed recent research on the structure and properties of laser-cladded Fe-based alloy coatings doped with various rare earth oxides,including La_(2)O_(3),CeO_(2),and Y_(2)O_(3).Specifically,it discussed the effects of rare earth oxides and their concentrations on the structure,hardness,friction,wear,corrosion,and oxidation characteristics of these coatings.Furthermore,the mechanisms by which rare earth oxides influence the coating’s structure and properties were summarized.This review aimed to serve as a valuable reference for the application and advancement of laser cladding technology for rare earth modified Fe-based alloy coatings.

Effect of Bi/Si Ratio of BiBSi Glass on Its Structure, Properties and Laser Sealing Shear Strength for Vacuum Glazing

The low-melting glass of Bi2O_(3)-B2O_(3)-SiO_(2)(BiBSi)system was used for the first time for laser sealing of vacuum glazing.Under the condition of constant boron content,how the structure and properties vary with Bi/Si ratio in low-melting glass was investigated.In addition,the relationships between laser power,low-melting glass solder with different Bi/Si ratios and laser sealing shear strength were revealed.The results show that a decrease in the Bi/Si ratio can cause a contraction of the glass network of the low-melting glass,leading to an increase of its characteristic temperature and a decrease of its coefficient of thermal expansion.During laser sealing,the copper ions in the low-melting glass play an endothermic role.A change in the Bi/Si ratio will affect the valence state transition of the copper ions in the low-melting glass.The absorbance of the low-melting glass does not follow the expected correlation with the Bi/Si ratio,but shows a linear correlation with the content of divalent copper ions.The greater the concentration of divalent copper ions,the greater the absorbance of the low-melting glass,and the lower the laser power required for laser sealing.The shear strength of the low melting glass solder after laser sealing was tested,and it was found that the maximum shear strength of Z1 glass sample was the highest up to 2.67 MPa.

Influence of quasi-electrostatic support on amplification of space charge waves in amplification section of a superheterodyne free electron laser

A theoretical study of the influence of a quasi-electrostatic support on the amplification level of the slow space charge wave(SCW) in the amplification section of a superheterodyne free electron laser(FEL) was carried out. One of the ways to significantly increase the saturation level of the slow SCW is maintaining the conditions of a three-wave parametric resonance between the slow, fast SCWs and the resulting pump electric field. This can be done by introducing the quasielectrostatic support in the superheterodyne FEL amplification section. Also, it was found that the generated pump electric field significantly influences the maintenance of parametric resonance conditions. As a result, this increases the saturation level of the slow SCW by 70%. Finally, the quasi-electrostatic support significantly reduces the maximum value of the electrostatic undulator pump field strength, which is necessary to achieve the maximum saturation level of the slow SCW.

Alloy design for laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing:a critical review

Metal additive manufacturing(AM)has been extensively studied in recent decades.Despite the significant progress achieved in manufacturing complex shapes and structures,challenges such as severe cracking when using existing alloys for laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)AM have persisted.These challenges arise because commercial alloys are primarily designed for conventional casting or forging processes,overlooking the fast cooling rates,steep temperature gradients and multiple thermal cycles of L-PBF.To address this,there is an urgent need to develop novel alloys specifically tailored for L-PBF technologies.This review provides a comprehensive summary of the strategies employed in alloy design for L-PBF.It aims to guide future research on designing novel alloys dedicated to L-PBF instead of adapting existing alloys.The review begins by discussing the features of the L-PBF processes,focusing on rapid solidification and intrinsic heat treatment.Next,the printability of the four main existing alloys(Fe-,Ni-,Al-and Ti-based alloys)is critically assessed,with a comparison of their conventional weldability.It was found that the weldability criteria are not always applicable in estimating printability.Furthermore,the review presents recent advances in alloy development and associated strategies,categorizing them into crack mitigation-oriented,microstructure manipulation-oriented and machine learning-assisted approaches.Lastly,an outlook and suggestions are given to highlight the issues that need to be addressed in future work.

Underwater four-quadrant dual-beam circumferential scanning laser fuze using nonlinear adaptive backscatter filter based on pauseable SAF-LMS algorithm

The phenomenon of a target echo peak overlapping with the backscattered echo peak significantly undermines the detection range and precision of underwater laser fuzes.To overcome this issue,we propose a four-quadrant dual-beam circumferential scanning laser fuze to distinguish various interference signals and provide more real-time data for the backscatter filtering algorithm.This enhances the algorithm loading capability of the fuze.In order to address the problem of insufficient filtering capacity in existing linear backscatter filtering algorithms,we develop a nonlinear backscattering adaptive filter based on the spline adaptive filter least mean square(SAF-LMS)algorithm.We also designed an algorithm pause module to retain the original trend of the target echo peak,improving the time discrimination accuracy and anti-interference capability of the fuze.Finally,experiments are conducted with varying signal-to-noise ratios of the original underwater target echo signals.The experimental results show that the average signal-to-noise ratio before and after filtering can be improved by more than31 d B,with an increase of up to 76%in extreme detection distance.

Laser‑Induced and MOF‑Derived Metal Oxide/Carbon Composite for Synergistically Improved Ethanol Sensing at Room temperature

Advancements in sensor technology have significantly enhanced atmospheric monitoring.Notably,metal oxide and carbon(MO_(x)/C)hybrids have gained attention for their exceptional sensitivity and room-temperature sensing performance.However,previous methods of synthesizing MO_(x)/C composites suffer from problems,including inhomogeneity,aggregation,and challenges in micropatterning.Herein,we introduce a refined method that employs a metal–organic framework(MOF)as a precursor combined with direct laser writing.The inherent structure of MOFs ensures a uniform distribution of metal ions and organic linkers,yielding homogeneous MO_(x)/C structures.The laser processing facilitates precise micropatterning(<2μm,comparable to typical photolithography)of the MO_(x)/C crystals.The optimized MOF-derived MO_(x)/C sensor rapidly detected ethanol gas even at room temperature(105 and 18 s for response and recovery,respectively),with a broad range of sensing performance from 170 to 3,400 ppm and a high response value of up to 3,500%.Additionally,this sensor exhibited enhanced stability and thermal resilience compared to previous MOF-based counterparts.This research opens up promising avenues for practical applications in MOF-derived sensing devices.

Backward scattering of laser plasma interactions from hundreds-of-joules broadband laser on thick target

The use of broadband laser technology is a novel approach for inhibiting processes related to laser plasma interactions(LPIs).In this study,several preliminary experiments into broadband-laser-driven LPIs are carried out using a newly established hundreds-of-joules broadband second-harmonic-generation laser facility.Through direct comparison with LPI results for a traditional narrowband laser,the actual LPI-suppression effect of the broadband laser is shown.The broadband laser had a clear suppressive effect on both back-stimulated Raman scattering and back-stimulated Brillouin scattering at laser intensities below 1×10^(15) W cm^(−2).An abnormal hot-electron phenomenon is also investigated,using targets of different thicknesses.