Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Argon Metastable And Resonant Level Densities In Ar And Ar/Cl² Discharges Used For The Processing Of Bulk Niobium, Jeremy Peshl, Roderick Mcneill, Charles I. Sukenik, Milka Nikolić, Svetozar Popović, Leposava Vŭsković

Physics Faculty Publications

A comparative analysis of two popular spectroscopy techniques is conducted in a coaxial cylindrical capacitively coupled discharge designed for the plasma processing of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. The density of the metastable and resonant levels in Ar is measured in both Ar and Ar/Cl₂ discharges to properly characterize the unique discharge system and aid in the development of a cavity etching routine. The first method, deemed the “branching fraction method,” utilizes the sensitivity of photon reabsorption of radiative decay to measure the lower state (metastable and resonant) densities by taking ratios of spectral lines with a common upper …

Improving Performance Of Inverse Compton Sources Through Laser Chirping, Balsa Terzić, A. Brown, I. Drebot, T. Hagerman, E. Johnson, Geoffrey A. Krafft, C. Maroli, V. Petrillo, M. Ruijter

Physics Faculty Publications

We present a new method for computation of radiation spectra in the non-linear regime of operation of inverse Compton sources characterized by high laser intensities. The resulting simulations agree well with the experiments. Increasing the laser intensity changes the longitudinal velocity of the electrons during their collision, leading to considerable non-linear broadening in the scattered radiation spectra. The effects of such ponderomotive broadening are so deleterious that most inverse Compton sources either remain at low laser intensities or pay a steep price to operate at a small fraction of the physically possible peak spectral output. This ponderomotive broadening can be …

Spectroscopy Of Neon For The Advanced Undergraduate Laboratory, H. C. Busch, M. B. Cooper, C. I. Sukenik

Physics Faculty Publications

We describe a spectroscopy experiment, suitable for upper-division laboratory courses, that investigates saturated absorption spectroscopy and polarization spectroscopy in a neon discharge. Both experiments use nearly identical components, allowing students to explore both techniques in a single apparatus. Furthermore, because the wavelength of the laser is in the visible part of the spectrum (640 nm), the experiment is well-suited for students with limited experience in optical alignment. The labs nicely complement a course in atomic or plasma physics, provide students with the opportunity to gain important technical skills in the area of optics and lasers, and can provide an introduction …

Carbon Multicharged Ion Generation From Laser-Spark Ion Source, Md. Mahmudur Rahman, Oguzhan Balki, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Multicharged carbon ions are generated by using a laser-assisted spark-discharge ion source. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulse (1064 nm, 7 ns, ≤ 4.5 × 10⁹ W/cm²) focused onto the surface of a glassy carbon target results in its ablation. The spark-discharge (∼1.2 J energy, ∼1 µs duration) is initiated along the direction of the plume propagation between the target surface and a grounded mesh that is parallel to the target surface. Ions emitted from the laser-spark plasma are detected by their time-of-flight using a Faraday cup. The ion energy-to-charge ratio is analyzed by a three-mesh retarding field …

Narrow-Band Emission In Thomson Sources Operating In The High-Field Regime, Balša Terzić, Kirsten Deitrick, Alicia S. Hofler, Geoffrey A. Krafft

Physics Faculty Publications

We present a novel and quite general analysis of the interaction of a high-field chirped laser pulse and a relativistic electron, in which exquisite control of the spectral brilliance of the up-shifted Thomson-scattered photon is shown to be possible. Normally, when Thomson scattering occurs at high field strengths, there is ponderomotive line broadening in the scattered radiation. This effect makes the bandwidth too large for some applications and reduces the spectral brilliance. We show that such broadening can be corrected and eliminated by suitable frequency modulation of the incident laser pulse. Furthermore, we suggest a practical realization of this compensation …

Coupled Photonic Crystal Micro-Cavities With Ultra-Low Threshold Power For Stiumulated Raman Scattering, Qiang Liu, Zhengbiao Ouyang, Sacharia Albin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We propose coupled cavities to realize a strong enhancement of the Raman scattering. Five sub cavities are embedded in the photonic crystals. Simulations through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method demonstrate that one cavity, which is used to propagate the pump beam at the optical-communication wavelength, has a Q factor as high as 1.254 × 10⁸ and modal volume as small as 0.03μm³ (0.3192(λ/n)³). These parameters result in ultra-small threshold lasing power ~17.7nW and 2.58nW for Stokes and anti-Stokes respectively. The cavities are designed to support the required Stokes and anti-Stokes modal spacing in silicon. The proposed structure …

Elliptical Micro-Ring Organic Lasers, P. R. Korade, John Ballato, R, V. Gregory

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Multimode laser action was observed from optically excited 2,5-dioctyloxy poly(para-phenylene-vinylene), DOO-PPV, micro-rings coaxially deposited around glass optical fibres of elliptical cross-section. The laser emission was found to be dependent upon the incident angle of the excitation and exhibited linewidths of approximately 1.2 Å, quality factors (Q) exceeding 5000, and thresholds below 0.3 μJ pulse. Such elliptical organic micro-ring lasers offer increased tailorability in emission properties over more conventional analogues of circular cross-section. Also discussed is the potential for such low-threshold lasers to serve as integrated sources for fibre lasers and amplifiers.

Collisional And Radiative Processes In High-Pressure Discharge Plasmas, Kurt H. Becker, Peter F. Kurunczi, Karl H. Schoenbach

Bioelectrics Publications

Discharge plasmas at high pressures (up to and exceeding atmospheric pressure), where single collision conditions no longer prevail, provide a fertile environment for the experimental study of collisions and radiative processes dominated by (i) step-wise processes, i.e., the excitation of an already excited atomic/molecular state and by (ii) three-body collisions leading, for instance, to the formation of excimers. The dominance of collisional and radiative processes beyond binary collisions involving ground-state atoms and molecules in such environments allows for many interesting applications of high-pressure plasmas such as high power lasers, opening switches, novel plasma processing applications and sputtering, absorbers and reflectors …

Gamma-Ray Optical Studies Of ⁷³Ge And ⁵⁷Fe, Walter Carlton Mcdermott Iii

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The research described herein is among the first attempts to test one of the more popular theories for development of a gamma-ray laser. This work is a "marriage" between the Borrmann effect, which is a consequence of the dynamical theory of x-ray diffraction, and time-filtering which comes from time-domain Mossbauer spectroscopy.

Our experiments involved the search for a nuclear Borrmann effect and the subsequent time-filtering effect using ⁵⁷Fe and ⁷³Ge. In both cases, no nuclear Borrmann effect was observed; however, the methodology and criteria necessary for such an observation with any isotope were documented. The procedures necessary for …

Electric Field Mapping System With Nanosecond Temporal Rosolution, F. E. Peterkin, R. Block, K. H. Schoenbach

Bioelectrics Publications

The electric field dependence of the absorption coefficient in semi‐insulating GaAs at the absorption edge was measured in a high‐voltage pulsed experiment. Pulse duration was kept below 50 ns in order to avoid thermal effects. A GaAs laser diode was used as a probe light source with wavelength varied from 902 to 911 nm. For fields up to 40 kV/cm the absorption coefficient increased from 3 to 17 cm⁻¹ at 902 nm, with smaller absolute increases evident at the longer wavelengths. Calculation from theory was consistent with this behavior. The spatial variation of the electric field was also recorded …

Picosecond Laser Pulse Irradiation Of Crystalline Silicon, K. L. Merkle, H. Baumgart, R.H. Uebbing, F. Phillipp

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Morphology changes introduced by picosecond laser pulses at λ = 532 nm and 355 nm in (111) and (100) silicon samples are studied by means of optical and high-voltage electron microscopy. Depending on energy fluence, orientation and wavelength, amorphous or highly defective regions may be created. From an analysis of damage thresholds and damage depth distributions it is concluded that melting and energy confinement precedes the formation of the structural changes.

Spectroscopic Measurement Of The Electron Temperature In The Tenuous Argon Ion Laser Plasma, Dane Danijel Bicanic

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The validity of the line intensity ratio technique for measuring the electron temperature was examined for an argon plasma with a "population inversion" i.e., the number of ions with electrons in the upper 4p levels was greater than in the lower 4s levels. The line intensities from these levels, the argon ion lasing transitions, were measured in a pulsed tenuous plasma at 110μ Hg produced by discharging a capacitor through a tube 2m long and 7mm inside diameter. The electron impact cross sections for simultaneous excitation and ionization as measured by Latimer and St. John were used and averaged over …