Investigation of the laser ultrasound propagation in K9 glass using optical interferometry

The propagating of laser-generated ultrasonic waves in K9 glass was investigated. Many methods have been developed to detect the laser ultrasound since laser ultrasonic waves can be used to measure material parameters or characterize materials properties. In order to reduce the measuring time, a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, a full field measuring tool,was preferred in this paper. The ultrasonic wave was produced on the K9 glass surface by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser absorbed in a liquid layer. The interferograms were then taken at various delay times by a CCD camera after single pulse induced laser ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic waves in the K9 glass can be observed from interferogram images. The results provide an understanding of laser ultrasound propagation in K9 glass in the lifetime.

Study on the Two-Dimensional Density Distribution for Gas Plasmas Driven by Laser Pulse

We perform an experimental study of two-dimensional（2D） electron density profiles of the laser-induced plasma plumes in air by ordinarily laboratorial interferometry. The electron density distributions measured show a feature of hollow core. To illustrate the feature, we present a theoretical investigation by using dynamics analysis. In the simulation, the propagation of laser pulse with the evolution of electron density is utilized to evaluate ionization of air target for the plasma-formation stage. In the plasma-expansion stage, a simple adiabatic fluid dynamics is used to calculate the evolution of plasma outward expansion. The simulations show good agreements with experimental results, and demonstrate an effective way of determining 2D density profiles of the laser-induced plasma plume in gas.

Absolute small-angle measurement based on optical feedback interferometry

We present a simple but effective method for small-angle measurement based on optical feedback interferometry （or laser self-mixing interferometry）. The absolute zero angle can be defined at the biggest fringe amplitude point, so this method can also achieve absolute angle measurement. In order to verify the method, we construct an angle measurement system. The Fourier-transform method is used to analysis the interference signal. Rotation angles are experimentally measured with a resolution of 10^-6 rad and a measurement range of approximately from -0.0007 to ＋0.0007 rad.

Attosecond Optical and Ramsey-Type Interferometry by Postgeneration Splitting of Harmonic Pulse

Attosecondattosecond science;extreme ultraviolet;high-order harmonic generation;Ramsey-type spectroscopy Optical and Ramsey-Type Interferometry by Postgeneration Splitting of Harmonic PulseTime domain Ramsey-type interferometry is useful for investigating spectroscopic information of quantum states in atoms and molecules.The energy range of the quantum states to be observed with this scheme has now reached more than 20 eV by resolving the interference fringes with a period of a few hundred attoseconds.This attosecond Ramsey-type interferometry requires the irradiation of a coherent pair of extreme ultraviolet(XUV)light pulses,while all the methods used to deliver the coherent XUV pulse pair until now have relied on the division of the source of an XUV pulse in two before the generation.In this paper,we report on a novel technique to perform attosecond Ramsey-type interferometry by splitting an XUV high-order harmonic(HH)pulse of a sub-20 fs laser pulse after its generation.By virtue of the postgeneration splitting of the HH pulse,we demonstrated that the optical interference emerging at the complete temporal overlap of the HH pulse pair seamlessly continued to the Ramsey-type electronic interference in a helium atom.This technique is applicable for studying the femtosecond dephasing dynamics of electronic wavepackets and exploring the ultrafast evolution of a cationic system entangled with an ionized electron with sub-20 fs resolution.

Development of surface reconstruction algorithms for optical interferometric measurement

Optical interferometry is a powerful tool for measuring and characterizing areal surface topography in precision manufacturing.A variety of instruments based on optical interferometry have been developed to meet the measurement needs in various applications,but the existing techniques are simply not enough to meet the ever-increasing requirements in terms of accuracy,speed,robustness,and dynamic range,especially in on-line or on-machine conditions.This paper provides an in-depth perspective of surface topography reconstruction for optical interferometric measurements.Principles,configurations,and applications of typical optical interferometers with different capabilities and limitations are presented.Theoretical background and recent advances of fringe analysis algorithms,including coherence peak sensing and phase-shifting algorithm,are summarized.The new developments in measurement accuracy and repeatability,noise resistance,self-calibration ability,and computational efficiency are discussed.This paper also presents the new challenges that optical interferometry techniques are facing in surface topography measurement.To address these challenges,advanced techniques in image stitching,on-machine measurement,intelligent sampling,parallel computing,and deep learning are explored to improve the functional performance of optical interferometry in future manufacturing metrology.

Quantum-enhanced interferometry with asymmetric beam splitters

In this paper,we investigate the phase sensitivities in two-path optical interferometry with asymmetric beam splitters.Here,we present the optimal conditions for the transmission ratio and the phase of the beam splitter to gain the highest sensitivities for a general class of non-classical states with parity symmetry.Additionally,we address the controversial question of whether the scheme with a combination of coherent state and photon-added or photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum state is better or worse than the most celebrated one using a combination of coherent state and squeezed vacuum state.

Interference-Based Optical Measurement of Fluidic Flow in a Hollow-Core Fiber

In this study, we present speed and displacement measurements of micro-fluid in a hollow-core optical fiber, where an optical interference signal is created by two guided beams reflected at a fixed facet and a moving fluid end. By counting the number of intensity oscillations of the signal, the movement of the fluid end is successfully traced with high accuracy. Furthermore, we could detect the change in curvature diameters of the fluid end depending on the flow direction by monitoring the visibility of the interference signal.

The implementation and data analysis of an interferometer for intense short pulse laser experiments

We present an interferometry setup and the detailed fringe analysis method for intense short pulse(SP) laser experiments.The interferometry scheme was refined through multiple campaigns to investigate the effects of pre-plasmas on energetic electrons at the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The interferometer used a frequency doubled(λ=0.527 μm) 0.5 ps long optical probe beam to measure the pre-plasma density, an invaluable parameter to better understand how varying pre-plasma conditions affect the characteristics of the energetic electrons. The hardware of the diagnostic, data analysis and example data are presented. The diagnostic setup and the analysis procedure can be employed for any other SP laser experiments and interferograms, respectively.