An LED-Side-Pumped Intracavity Frequency-Doubled Nd,Ce:YAG Laser Producing a 2W Q-Switched Red Beam

We report a high-average-power acousto-optic(AO)Q-switched intracavity frequency-doubled red laser based on a high-efficiency light-emitting-diode(LED)pumped two-rod Nd,Ce:YAG laser module.Under quasi-continuous wave operation conditions,a maximum output power of 1319.08 nm wavelength was achieved at 11.26 W at a repetition rate of 100 Hz.

Effects of laser energy on the surface quality and properties of electrodeposited zinc-nickel-molybdenum coatings

As a substitute for toxic cadmium coatings in the aerospace industry,zinc-nickel coatings have excellent application prospects,and their properties can be improved by adding molybdenum.In this study,laser-assisted electrodeposition is used to improve the surface quality and properties of Zn–Ni–Mo coatings,with investigation of how laser energy in the range of 0–21.1μJ affects their element content,surface morphology,crystal phase,microhardness,residual internal stress,and corrosion resistance.The laser irradiation accelerates the electrodeposition,refines the grain size,improves the hydrogen adsorption,and reduces the residual tensile stress,and a laser energy of 15.4μJ gives the highest Ni and Mo contents and the lowest Zn content,as well as the optimum surface morphology,microhardness,residual internal stress,and corrosion resistance of the coating.

Effect of scanning speeds on electrochemical corrosion resistance of laser cladding TC4 alloy

In order to study the effect of scanning speed on the electrochemical corrosion resistance of laser cladding TC4 alloy in artificial seawater, the x-ray diffraction analysis, microstructure of cross-section, microhardness variation, and impedance spectrum have been studied in comparison with the TC4 titanium alloy. The results show that the main phase of cladding coating is α-Ti, and the change of scanning speed has no obvious effect on it; therefore, the supersaturated α-Ti solid solution is formed, and the acicular α martensite is obtained. As the scanning speed increases, the microstructure of cladding coating is orthogonal basket-weave, the crystal surface spacing decreases, and the average microhardness of laser cladding TC4 alloy slightly increases. When the scanning speed increases to 10 mm/s, the microhardness is about 14.71%higher than that of the substrate, and the electrochemical corrosion resistance of laser cladding TC4 alloy is also improved,which is about 2.48 times more than the substrate. Grain refinement has a great effect on enhancing the anti-electrochemical corrosion.

A Linearly-Polarized Rubidium Vapor Laser Pumped by a Tunable Laser Diode Array with an External Cavity of a Temperature-Controlled Volume Bragg Grating

A diode pumped alkali vapor laser has advantages in high quantum efficiency,excellent beam quality,and low thermal effect.We obtain a laser diode array(LDA)with linewidth of 0.20 nm and an external cavity of volume Bragg grating(VBG).Its central wavelength can be tuned from 779.30 nm to 780.10 nm by changing the VBG's temperature.Pumped by this LDA,a 2.1 W rubidium vapor laser is achieved with optical efficiency of 10.5%and slope efficiency of 22.7%.

Effects of WC-Co reinforced Ni-based alloy by laser melting deposition: Wear resistance and corrosion resistance

WC-Co reinforced C276 alloy composite coatings are fabricated on Q235 steel by laser melting deposition.The microstructure,hardness,wear performance,and electrochemical corrosion behavior of composite coating are studied.The results show that WC-Co particles are mostly uniformly distributed in the coating and provide favorable conditions for heterogeneous nucleation.The microstructure of C276/WC-Co composite coatings is composed of γ-Ni solid solution dendrites and MoNi solid solution eutectics.The WC-Co particles can effectively improve the hardness and wear resistance of C276 alloy.The average hardness of the composite coating containing 10-wt% WC-Co(447 HV_(0.2)) are 1.26 times higher than that of the C276 alloy(356 HV_(0.2)).The wear rate of composite coating containing 10-wt% WC-Co(6.95 ×10^(-3) mg/m) is just 3.5% of that of C276 coating(196.23 × 10^(-3) mg/m).However,comparing with Hastelloy C276,the corrosion resistance of C276/WC-Co composite coating decreases.

Mode-locked fiber laser with MoSe_2 saturable absorber based on evanescent field

An all-fiber mode-locked fiber laser was achieved with a saturable absorber based on a tapered fiber deposited with layered molybdenum selenide(MoSe_2). The laser was operated at a central wavelength of 1558.35 nm with an output spectral width of 2.9 nm, and a pulse repetition rate of 16.33 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on mode-locked fiber lasers using MoSe_2 saturable absorbers based on tapered fibers.

Solid Dye Lasers Based on 2-Hydroxypropyl Methacrylate and Methyl Methacrylate Copolymers

Polymers are a kind of attractive hosts for laser dyes because of their superior optical homogeneity, and high transparency in pumping and lasing range. Copolymers usually have higher damage threshold and better photostability than mono-polymers. Solid dye samples based on copolymer of methyl methacrylate （MMA） with 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate （HPMA） doped with 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 8-pentamethyl-2, 6-diethylpyrromethene-BF2 （PM567） are prepared. Spectra and lasing properties of the samples are studied. Compared to the samples based on monopolymer polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA）, enhanced slope efficiency and photostability are obtained in the copolymers. The highest slope efficiency is 45.1%, and nearly one-fold increase of photostability is obtained. The longest useful lifetime of 4390 pumping pulses is presented with the pump energy as high as 183 mJ per pulse at repetition rate of 10 Hz. The results indicate that the laser performances of solid dye mediums can be greatly increased using copolymer of MMA with HPMA as host.

Accuracy design of ultra-low residual reflection coatings for laser optics

Refractive index inhomogeneity is one of the important characteristics of optical coating material, which is one of the key factors to produce loss to the ultra-low residual reflection coatings except using the refractive index inhomogeneity to obtain gradient-index coating. In the normal structure of antireflection coatings for center wavelength at 532 nm, the physical thicknesses of layer H and layer L are 22.18 nm and 118.86 nm, respectively. The residual reflectance caused by refractive index inhomogeneity（the degree of inhomogeneous is between -0.2 and 0.2） is about 200 ppm, and the minimum reflectivity wavelength is between 528.2 nm and 535.2 nm. A new numerical method adding the refractive index inhomogeneity to the spectra calculation was proposed to design the laser antireflection coatings, which can achieve the design of antireflection coatings with ppm residual reflection by adjusting physical thickness of the couple layers. When the degree of refractive index inhomogeneity of the layer H and layer L is-0.08 and 0.05 respectively, the residual reflectance increase from zero to 0.0769% at 532 nm. According to the above accuracy numerical method, if layer H physical thickness increases by 1.30 nm and layer L decrease by 4.50 nm, residual reflectance of thin film will achieve to 2.06 ppm. When the degree of refractive index inhomogeneity of the layer H and layer L is 0.08 and -0.05 respectively, the residual reflectance increase from zero to 0.0784% at 532 nm. The residual reflectance of designed thin film can be reduced to 0.8 ppm by decreasing the layer H of 1.55 nm while increasing the layer L of 4.94 nm.

PM567-Doped solid dye lasers based on PMMA

Polymers are a kind of attractive hosts for laser dyes due to their high transparency in both pumping and lasing ranges and superior optical homogeneity. In this paper solid dye samples based on polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） doped with different concentrations of 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 -pentamethyl-2, 6-diethylpyrromethene-BF2 （PM567） are prepared. The absorption, fluorescence and lasing spectra of the samples are obtained. Wide absorption and fluorescence bands are obtained and a red shift of the maxima of the lasing emission spectra is observed. With the second-harmonic generation of Q-switched Nd：YAC laser （532 nm, -20 ns） pumping the samples longitudinally, the slope efficiencies of the samples are obtained. There is an optimal dye concentration for the highest slope efficiency when the pumping energy is lower than some typical value （-250 mJ）, and the highest slope efficiency 35.6% is obtained in the sample with a dye concentration of 2 × 10^-4 mol/L. Pumping the samples at a rate of 10Hz with a pulse energy as high as 200 mJ （the fluence is 0.2 J/cm^2）, the output energy drops to one-half of its initial value after approximate 15500 pulses and the normalized photostability is 5.17CJ/mol. A kind of solid dye laser which could have some applications is built.

Damage threshold influenced by polishing imperfection distribution under 355-nm laser irradiation

A systematic interpretation of laser-induced damage in the nanosecond regime is realized with a defect distribution buried inside the redeposited layer arising from a polishing process. Under the 355-nm laser irradiation, the size dependence of the defect embedded in the fused silica can be illustrated through the thermal conduction model. Considering CeO2 as the major initiator, the size distribution with the power law model is determined from the damage probability statistics. To verify the accuracy of the size distribution, the ion output scaling with depth for the inclusion element is obtained with the secondary ion mass spectrometer. For CeO2 particulates in size of the depth interval with ion output satisfied in the negative exponential form, the corresponding density is consistent with that of the identical size in the calculated size distribution. This coincidence implies an alternative method for the density analysis of photoactive imperfections within optical components at the semi-quantitative level based on the laser damage tests.

Enhanced laser characteristics of pyrromethene 650 using modified PMMA as solid hosts

Solid-state samples based on modified polymethyl methacrylate （MPMMA） with methanol doped with the dye pyrromethene 650 （PM650） axe prepared. The effects of a volume percentage of methanol on the laser characteristics of the sample, including spectra properties, slope efficiency, photostability and tunable properties, are investigated. The broadband dye laser output wavelength is around 655 nm and a highest slope efficiency of 32.23% is achieved. Pumping the samples at a repetition rate of 5 Hz with a pulse energy of as high as 100 mJ （the fluence is 0.26 J/cm2）, the longest lifetime （168000 shots） is obtained in the sample （MMA：methanol=18：2）, and the corresponding normalized photostability reaches 109.19 GJ/mol. When the sample （MMA：methanol=18：2） is placed in a Shoshan-type oscilla- tor, the naxrow-linewidth operation is a continuous tuning range （up to 64 nm）. The results indicate that the laser characteristics of solid-state dyes can be greatly enhanced by using modified PMMA with methanol serving as the solid host.

A Linearly-Polarized Cesium Vapor Laser with Fundamental Mode Output and Low Threshold

We report a cesium vapor laser with fundamental mode output and a wavelength of 894 nm. The laser is pumped by a laser diode array with an external cavity of a holographic grating by using Littrow＇s structure. A slope efbciency of 22.4% is obtained by using a pumping source with a linewidth of 0.26 nm and 80 kPa methane as the buffer gas. The threshold pumping power is 1.56 W.

Tunable and Linewidth-Reduced Laser Diode Stack for Rubidium Laser Pumping

Linewidth of a laser diode stack with 5 bar is reduced to 0.2 nm from 1.8 nm through the use of an external volume Bragg grating(VBG)cavity.The temperature of the VBG is controlled efficiently to make the central wavelength tunable.The linewidth changes little in the wavelength-tuning experiments.Since the tunable range covers the rubidium D2 absorption line,the stack can be used to pump the rubidium laser efficiently.

Diode Pumped High Peak Power Quasi Q-Switched and Passively Q-Switched Nd:YVO₄Lasers at 1064 nm and 532 nm using Cr:YAG and KTP crystals

Diode end-pumped solid-state lasers have the potential to yield high quality laser beams with high efficiency for laser range finding and warning receiver applications as well as day and night military laser designation systems. In this paper we presents theoretical calculations using Advanced Dynamics Professional LASCAD software and experimental studies for a high power pigtailed fiber diode laser module of 8 W operating at 808 nm with a specially designed high efficiency cooling system, end pumped high-efficiency Nd:YVO4 laser of 3 × 3 × 10 mm rod and overall cavity length of 44 mm. To the best of our knowledge a self Q-switching effects was generated in Nd:YVO4 laser by changing the cavity dimensions and the position of the intracavity KTP crystal at certain regime of operation for the first time, in which the cavity length is reduced to be 30 mm and the distance between Nd:YVO4 rod and KTP crystal is only 1mm. Self Q-switched laser pulse at 532 nm with high peak power of 96 W, pulse width of 88 ns at FWHM and repetition rate of 400 kHz was achieved. Experimental studies of a passive Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser using Cr:YAG crystal with three different transmissions of 30%, 40% and 70% were investigated. Passive Q-switched laser pulse at 1064 nm and narrow line width of less than 1.5 nm with highest peak power of nearly 18 kW, short pulse width of less than 4 ns at FWHM and higher repetition rate of 45 kHz using Cr:YAG with transmission of 30% was achieved for the first time.

Effect of Diode Laser 810nm in Hardness of Dental Ceramic

This research study the effect of diode laser (810 nm), with various power (30, 200, 500) mW in hardness of the material used in the combinations of teeth (ceramics). Hardness was measured for dental ceramic samples divided into four groups, each group containing ten test sample, before and after it irradiated with the diode laser with wavelength 810 nm and different power (30, 200, 500) mW, with irradiation power of 200 mW for duration two minutes and ten minutes to the third and fourth groups, and irradiation power of 30 and 500 mW for duration one minute for the last two groups. The results showed that the increase in the irradiated time of the samples from two minutes to ten minutes, as well as increased power from 30 to 500 mW does not have a significant effect in increasing the hardness of the ceramic material. This study found that the hardness ratio of the samples was increased up to (18.28%), by irradiation of invisible diode laser 810 nm, 30 mW.

Possibility of using the beet dyes as a laser gain medium

Nowadays the dye lasers play as an important tool and are used in many applications including spectroscopy, medicine and dermatology. This research was carried out to study the possibility of using the beet dyes as a laser gain medium. The fluorescence quantum yield was determined by the comparative method with rodamine b as an organic dye standard. The value of the fluorescence quantum yield was found about (0.14) and the fluorescence quantum yield was developed until reaching about (0.323). The increasing of fluorescence quantum yield of dye solution as a result of increasing the viscosity of solvent was observed clearly. The study concluded that the beet dyes are so sensitive to fluorescence and it is very suitable to be used as a laser gain medium.

Solid State Dye Lasers Based on Coumarin 440 and Pyrromethene 567 Codoped Polymethyl Methacrylate

Laser dye coumarin 440（C440） is codoped with pyrromethene 567 （PM567） into polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） The effects of C440 concentration on the performance of the solid state dye medium, including spectra property, slope efficiency and photostability, are studied. When C440 is codoped with PM567 at the same concentration 1 × 10^-4 mol/L, the highest efficiency and photostability can be obtained. Compared with the medium based on pure PM567 doped PMMA, about 50% increase in slope efficiency and at least five-fold enhancement in the photostability are observed.

Comparison of the emission wavelengths by a single fluorescent dye on in vivo 3-photon imaging of mouse brains

Multiphoton microscopy(MPM)is a powerful imaging technology for brain research.The imaging depth in MPM is partly determined by emission wavelength of fluorescent labels.It has been demonstrated that a longer emission wavelength is favorable for signal detection as imaging depth increases.However,there has been no comparison with near-infrared(NIR)emission.In order to quantitatively analyze the effect of emission wavelength on 3-photon imaging of mouse brains in vivo,we utilize the same excitation wavelength to excite a single fluorescent dye and simultaneously collect NIR and orange-red emission fluorescence at 828 nm and 620 nm,respectively.Both experimental and simulation results show that as the imaging depth increases,NIR emission decays less than orange-red fluorescent emission.These results show that it is preferable to shift the emission wavelength to NIR to enable more e±cient signal collection deep in the brain.