Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Laser-Induced Plasma from a Slag Sample

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy （LIBS） has been demonstrated to be an effective method for slag analysis. In order to better clarify the nature of the plasma generated from a slag sample, an Nd：YAG pulse laser at 1064 nm wavelength was used to ablate the slag sample in air. The temporal and spatial evolutions of plasma parameters, including emission intensity, electronic density and plasma temperature, have been studied. It is shown that the electron density and plasma temperature drop off rapidly with the delay time as a result of plasma expansion and cooling. It has been found that the electron density of the whole plasma is close to that of the center regions in the plasma. The results of the spatial distributions on the two-dimensional plane have shown that there is a big region with lower electron density values caused by the recombination process in the center of the plasma. The maximum of the plasma temperature takes place at the regions close to the target, and the border of the plasma front-head has higher plasma temperatures than that of the center part.

Calibration curve and support vector regression methods applied for quantification of cement raw meal using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) is a qualitative and quantitative analytical technique with great potential in the cement industrial analysis. Calibration curve(CC) and support vector regression(SVR) methods coupled with LIBS technology were applied for the quantification of three types of cement raw meal samples to compare their analytical concentration range and the ability to reduce matrix effects, respectively. To reduce the effects of fluctuations of the pulse-to-pulse, the unstable ablation and improve the reproducibility, all of the analysis line intensities were normalized on a per-detector basis. The prediction results of the elements of interest in the three types of samples, Ca, Si, Fe, Al, Mg, Na, K and Ti, were compared with the results of the wet chemical analysis. The average relative error(ARE),relative standard deviation(RSD) and root mean squared error of prediction(RMSEP) were employed to investigate and evaluate the prediction accuracy and stability of the two prediction methods. The maximum average ARE of the CC and SVR methods is 34.62% instead of 6.13%,RSD is 40.89% instead of 7.60% and RMSEP is 1.34% instead of 0.43%. The results show that SVR method can accurately analyze samples within a wider concentration range and reduce the matrix effects, and LIBS coupled with it for a rapid, stable and accurate quantification of different types of cement raw meal samples is promising.

Calculating Hamiltonian parameters for Yb^(3+) in a low-symmetry lattice site,and fitting the structure and levels of Yb^(3+) :TaO_4 (= Gd,Y,and Sc)

An iterative method is used to find the values of the Hamiltonian parameters for Yb^3＋ in a given low-symmetry crys- talline site. Samples of Yb^3＋ ：RETaO4 （RE = Gd, Y, and Sc） were prepared and their structures were determined. Based on the obtained structural data, their orbital-spin parameters and crystal field parameters were fitted by the superposition model （SM）. Using the crystal field parameters obtained by the SM fitting as the initial parameters, the Hamiltonian parameters were fitted iteratively. The calculated and experimental energy levels for Yb^3＋：RETaO4 are consistent, and the maximal mean-root-square deviation is only 2.84 cm^- 1, indicating that the method is effective to determine the Hamiltonian parameters of Yb^3＋ in low-symmetry crystalline sites.

Improvement of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption System with a Novel Multipass Cell and Wavelet Transform

Combination of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy(TDLAS)technique and multipass cell is an attractive approach for ultrahigh sensitive detection of trace gases.Theoretically,based on Beer-Lambert law,the longer optical path length and the larger gas absorption,the lower concentration gas could be detected.However,lower radiation intensity and inevitable etalon fringe resulted from multiple reflections would greatly weaken the Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR)and thus an expected ultrahigh sensitive detection system is difficult to achieve.In order to fully make use of the advantages of TDLAS and multipass cell,the base length and the total optical path length of the multipass cell are needed to be carefully balanced.Furthermore,the harmonic signals contaminated by various noises are processed with wavelet transform method.As a demonstration of this method,few low concentrations of gas CO in N2 are measured employing TDLAS technique and a novel sealed multipass cell with total optical length of 114 m.The detection limit is about 5×10-6(volume ratio),which is one order of magnitude better than earlier noise reduction.

Optical and defect properties of S-doped and Al-doped GaSe crystals

S-doped and Al-doped GaSe crystals are promising materials for their applications in nonlinear frequency conversion devices. The optical and defect properties of pure, S-doped, and Al-doped GaSe crystals were studied by using photoluminescence（PL） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）. The micro-topography of（0001） face of these samples was observed by using scanning electron microscope（SEM） to investigate the influence of the doped defects on the intralayer and interlayer chemical bondings. The doped S or Al atoms form the SSe^0 or AlGa^＋1） substitutional defects in the layer GaSe structure, and the positive center of AlGa-^＋1 could induce defect complexes. The incorporations of S and Al atoms can change the optical and mechanical properties of the GaSe crystal by influencing the chemical bonding of the layer structure. The study results may provide guidance for the crystal growth and further applications of S-doped and Al-doped GaSe crystals.

Spectroscopic and radiation-resistant properties of Er,Pr:GYSGG laser crystal operated at 2.79 μm

We demonstrate the spectroscopic and laser performance before and after 100 Mrad gamma-ray irradiation on an Er,Pr：GYSGG crystal grown by the Czochralski method. The additional absorption of Er,Pr：GYSGG crystal is close to zero in the 968 nm pumping and 2.7-3 μm laser wavelength regions. The lifetimes of the upper and lower levels show faint decreases after gamma-ray irradiation. The maximum output powers of 542 and 526 mW with the slope efficiencies of 17.7% and 17.0% are obtained, respectively, on the GYSGG/Er,Pr：GYSGG composite crystal before and after the gammaray irradiation. These results suggest that Er,Pr：GYSGG crystal as a laser gain medium possesses a distinguished antiradiation ability for application in space and radiant environments.

Structural analysis and crystal-field calculations of Nd^(3+) in Gd_x Lu_(1-x) TaO_4(x = 0.85) polycrytalline

The crystal structural parameters of Nd ^3＋-doped rare earth orthotantalate Gd x Lu 1 x TaO 4（x = 0.85） are determined by applying the Rietveld refinement to its X-ray diffraction,and its emission and excitation spectra at 77 K are analysed.The relativistic model of ab initio self-consistent DV-Xα method,which is applied to the cluster NdO 8 in Gd x Lu 1 x TaO 4,and the effective Hamiltonian model are used to investigate its spin-orbit and crystal-field parameters.The free-ions and crystal-field parameters are fitted to the experimental energy levels at 77 K with a root-mean-square deviation of 14.92 cm 1.According to the crystal-field calculations,96 levels of Nd ^3＋ are assigned.Finally,the fitting results of free-ions and crystal-field parameters are compared with those already reported for Nd ^3＋：YAlO 3.The results indicate that the free-ion parameters are similar to those of the Nd3＋ in Gdx Lu1-x TaO4 and YAlO 3 hosts,and the crystal-field interaction of Nd^3＋ in Gdx Lu1-x TaO4 is stronger than that in YAlO 3.

First-principles calculation of the structural, electronic, elastic, and optical properties of sulfur-doping ε-GaSe crystal

The structural,electronic,mechanical properties,and frequency-dependent refractive indexes of GaSe1-xSx（x=0,0.25,and 1） are studied by using the first-principles pseudopotential method within density functional theory.The calculated results demonstrate the relationships between intralayer structure and elastic modulus in GaSe1-xSx（x=0,0.25,and 1）.Doping of ε-GaSe with S strengthens the Ga-X bonds and increases its elastic moduli of C（11） and C（66）.Born effective charge analysis provides an explanation for the modification of cleavage properties about the doping of e-GaSe with S.The calculated results of band gaps suggest that the distance between intralayer atom and substitution of S（Se）,rather than interlayer force,is a key factor influencing the electronic exciton energy of the layer semiconductor.The calculated refractive indexes indicate that the doping of ε-GaSe with S reduces its refractive index and increases its birefringence.

Structures and luminescence properties of Yb^(3+) in the double perovskites Ba_2 YB'O_6 (B'=Ta^(5+),Nb^(5+) phosphors

The Yb3＋ doped Ba2YB＇O6 （B＇= Ta5＋, Nb5＋） were prepared by high temperature solid-state reaction method, their structures were determined by x-ray diffraction and refined by Rietveld method. The diffuse reflection absorption, excitation and emission spectra of yb3＋：Ba2YB＇O6 （B＇= Ta5＋, Nb5＋） were measured at room temperature. Under the excitation of ultraviolet light, these phosphors exhibit broad charge transfer band emissions of TaO6 or NbO6 centre with large Stokes shift. The Yb3＋ doped into these hosts are situated at y3＋ sites of cubic symmetry （Oh）. The experimental energy levels of Yb3＋ in Ba2YTaO6 and Ba2YNbO6 were determined by photoluminescence and diffuse reflection absorption spectra. Their wavefunctions and theoretical energy levels were obtained by diagonalising the Hamiltonian matrix. The experimental energy levels were fitted by Levenberg-Marquardt iteration algorithm to determine crystal field parameters. Then, the magnetic-pole transition line strengths of yb3＋：Ba2YB＇O6 （B＇=Ta5＋, Nb5＋） from （2F5/2）Г8-to the low-energy states were calculated.

Effect of lens-to-sample distance on spatial uniformity and emission spectrum of flat-top laser-induced plasma

The optimal spectral excitation and acquisition scheme is explored by studying the effect of the lensto-sample distance(LTSD)on the spatial homogeneity and emission spectra of flat-top laser converging spot induced plasma.The energy distribution characteristics before and after the convergence of the laser beam with quasi flat-top intensity profile used in this study are theoretically simulated and experimentally measured.For an aspheric converging mirror with a focal length of100 mm,the LTSD(106 mm≥LTSD≥96 mm)was changed by raising the stainless-steel sample height.The plasma images acquired by ICCD show that there is air breakdown when the sample is below the focal point,and a ring-like plasma is produced when the sample is above the focal point.When the sample is located near the focal point,the plasma shape resembles a hemisphere.Since the spectral acquisition region is confined to the plasma core and the image contains all the optical information of the plasma,it has a lower relative standard deviation(RSD)than the spectral lines.When the sample surface is slightly higher than the focal plane of the lens,the converging spot has a quasi flat-top distribution,the spatial distribution of the plasma is more uniform,and the spectral signal is more stable.Simultaneously,there is little difference between the RSD of the plasma image and the laser energy.In order to further improve the stability of the spectral signal,it is necessary to expand the spectral acquisition area.

High-power xenon lamp-pumped Er:YAP pulse laser operated in free-running and acousto-optical Q-switching modes

We demonstrate a high-energy and high-power pulse laser on a xenon lamp-pumped Er:YAP crystal. The laser performance and thermal focal lengths under different working frequencies are discussed. The results show that the thermal lens effect is gradually aggravated with the increase of working frequencies, and even working at 100 Hz, a single pulse energy of 234 m J can be achieved. A maximum average power of 41.5 W is achieved with a working frequency of 20 Hz and slope efficiency of 2.82%. This output power is much higher than other xenon lamp-pumped erbium laser devices.A Q-switched laser is demonstrated by using the TeO2crystal, the maximum output energies of 11.5 m J and 3.5 m J are obtained at 50 and 100 Hz, the corresponding peak powers are 93.4 k W and 17.2 kW, respectively.The laser wavelengths and beam quality factors are also characterized in the free-running and Q-switched modes. A higher pulse energy and peak power laser could be achieved further by improving the damage threshold of TeO2acousto-optical Q-switching. All the experimental results illustrate that the xenon lamp-pumped Er:YAP laser is a promising candidate for high-power and high-frequency mid-infrared laser devices.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy applied to the characterization of rock by support vector machine combined with principal component analysis

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy（LIBS） is a versatile tool for both qualitative and quantitative analysis.In this paper,LIBS combined with principal component analysis（PCA） and support vector machine（SVM） is applied to rock analysis.Fourteen emission lines including Fe,Mg,Ca,Al,Si,and Ti are selected as analysis lines.A good accuracy（91.38% for the real rock） is achieved by using SVM to analyze the spectroscopic peak area data which are processed by PCA.It can not only reduce the noise and dimensionality which contributes to improving the efficiency of the program,but also solve the problem of linear inseparability by combining PCA and SVM.By this method,the ability of LIBS to classify rock is validated.

Sensitive absorption measurements of hydrogen sulfide at 1.578 μm using wavelength modulation spectroscopy

Sensitive detection of hydrogen sulfide（H2S） has been performed by means of wavelength modulation spectroscopy（WMS） near 1.578 μm. With the scan amplitude and the stability of the background baseline taken into account, the response time is 4 s for a 0.8 L multi-pass cell with a 56.7 m effective optical path length. Moreover, the linearity has been tested in the 0–50 ppmv range. The detection limit achievable by the Allan variance is 224 ppb within 24 s under room temperature and ambient pressure conditions. This tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy（TDLAS） system for H2 S detection has the feasibility of real-time online monitoring in many applications.

Theoretical analysis of stack gas emission velocity measurement by optical scintillation

Theoretical analysis for an online measurement of the stack gas flow velocity based on the optical scintillation method with a structure of two parallel optical paths is performed. The causes of optical scintillation in a stack are first introduced. Then, the principle of flow velocity measurement and its mathematical expression based on cross correlation of the optical scintillation are presented. The field test results show that the flow velocity measured by the proposed technique in this article is consistent with the value tested by the Pitot tube. It verifies the effectiveness of this method. Finally, by use of the structure function of logarithmic light intensity fluctuations, the theoretical explanation of optical scintillation spec- tral characteristic in low frequency is given. The analysis of the optical scintillation spectrum provides the basis for the measurement of the stack gas flow velocity and particle concentration simultaneously.

Transition intensity calculation of Yb:YAG

The Yb：YAG is an excellent high-average power and ultra-short pulse laser crystal. Transition intensity parameters A（tp）~k and Huang–Rhys factors are fitted to its emission spectrum by the full-profile fitting method. Calculated results indicate that the emission spectrum of Yb：YAG at cryogenic temperature consists of three pure electron state transitions and two phononassisted transitions, one vibronic transition releases one-phonon of 3 cm^（-1）, and the other vibronic transition absorbs onephonon of 22 cm^（-1）. At 300 K, the phonon assisted transition of 3 cm^（-1） turns into two-or more-phonon assisted transitions.The procedure absorbing phonon can reduce the thermal load of Yb：YAG and improve the laser efficiency, which may be one of the reasons why Yb：YAG has excellent performance. The emission bands of Yb：YAG are broadened thermally, and the peak values decrease by several times. The emission cross sections of Yb：YAG determined by Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg（F–L） formula are remarkably different from those calculated with A（tp）~k, which indicates that it is necessary for a laser material to determine its transition intensity parameters A（tp）~kin order to reasonably evaluate the laser performance.

Full-profile fitting of emission spectrum to determine transition intensity parameters of Yb3＋ ：GdTaO4

The Judd-Ofelt theoretic transition intensity parameters A（tp）k of luminescence of rare-earth ions in solids are important for the quantitative analysis of luminescence.It is very difficult to determine them with emission or absorption spectra for a long time.A ＂full profile fitting＂ method to obtain A（tp）k in solids with its emission spectrum is proposed,in which the contribution of a radiative transition to the emission spectrum is expressed as the product of transition probability,line profile function,instrument measurement constant and transition center frequency or wavelength,and the whole experimental emission spectrum is the sum of all transitions.In this way,the emission spectrum is expressed as a function with the independent variables intensity parameters A（tp）k,full width at half maximum（FWHM） of profile functions,instrument measurement constant,wavelength,and the Huang-Rhys factor S if the lattice vibronic peaks in the emission spectrum should be considered.The ratios of the experimental to the calculated energy lifetimes are incorporated into the fitting function to remove the arbitrariness during fitting A（tp）k and other parameters.Employing this method obviates measurement of the absolute emission spectrum intensity.It also eliminates dependence upon the number of emission transition peaks.Every experiment point in emission spectra,which usually have at least hundreds of data points,is the function with variables A（tp）k and other parameters,so it is usually viable to determine A（tp）k and other parameters using a large number of experimental values.We applied this method to determine twenty-five A（tp）k of Yb（3＋） in GdTaO4.The calculated and experiment energy lifetimes,experimental and calculated emission spectrum are very consistent,indicating that it is viable to obtain the transition intensity parameters of rare-earth ions in solids by a full profile fitting to the ions＇ emission spectrum.The calculated emission cross sections of Yb（3＋）：GdTaO4 also indicate that the F-L formula gives larger values in the wavelength range with reabsorption.

Improvement of 2.79-μm laser performance on laser diode side-pumped GYSGG/Er,Pr:GYSGG bonding rod with concave end-faces

A comparative study on the laser performance between bonding and non-bonding Er,Pr:GYSGG rods side-pumped by 970-nm laser diodes(LDs) is conducted for the thermal lensing compensation. The analyses of the thermal distribution and thermal focal length show that the bonding rod possesses a high cooling efficiency and weak thermal lensing effect compared with the conventional Er,Pr:GYSGG rod. Moreover, the laser characteristics of maximum output power, slope efficiency, and laser beam quality of the bonding rod with concave end-faces operated at 2.79 μm are improved under the high-repetition-rate operation. A maximum output power of 13.96 W is achieved at 150-Hz and 200-μs pulse width,corresponding to a slope efficiency of 17.7% and an electrical-to-optical efficiency of 12.9%. All results suggest that the combination of thermal bonding and concave end-face is a suitable structure for thermal lensing compensation.

Raman scattering study of phase transition in Lu_2O_3–Ta_2O_5

The lutetium tantalate compounds obtained from Lu2O3–Ta2O5 with a molar ratio of 0.515 ： 0.485 were studied by Raman scattering and x-ray diffraction. The results of the room temperature Raman scattering indicate that the sample has a phase transition between 1830℃ and 1872℃, the polycrystalline is a mixture of M-LuTaO4 and Lu3TaO7（F m3m）when it is prepared at 1830℃, and a mixture of M-LuTaO4（B112/b） and Lu3 Ta O7（Fm3^-m） when it is prepared at above 1872℃. The sample melts at a temperature of 2050℃. The phase transition of the sample prepared at 2050℃ was also investigated by the high-temperature Raman spectra, and the result indicates that no phase transition occurs between room temperature and 1400℃, which is consistent with the results from the x-ray diffraction.

Pressure-and temperature-dependent luminescence from Tm^(3+) ions doped in GdYTaO_(4)

Luminescent properties of Tm^(3+)-doped GdYTaO_(4) are studied for exploring their potential applications in temperature and pressure sensing.Two main emission peaks from ^(3)H_(4)→^(3)H_(6) transition of Tm^(3+)are investigated.Intensity ratio between the two peaks evolves exponentially with temperature and has a highest sensitivity of 0.014 K^(−1) at 32 K.The energy difference between the two peaks increases linearly with pressure increasing at a rate of 0.38 meV/GPa.Intensity ratio between the two peaks and their emission lifetimes are also analyzed for discussing the pressure-induced variation of the sample structure.Moreover,Raman spectra recorded under high pressures indicate an isostructural phase transition of GdYTaO_(4) occurring at 4.46 GPa.

Profile function properties & optical transition formulae

Profile function properties with different variables are discussed, the formulae of stimulated absorption, spontaneous and stimulated emission, absorption and emission coefficients, and cross sections are deduced, and some confusing issues are clarified.