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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Thermal Inactivation Of Bacillus Anthracis Using Laser Irradiation Of Micro-Etched Platforms, Jeffrey B. Bacon
Thermal Inactivation Of Bacillus Anthracis Using Laser Irradiation Of Micro-Etched Platforms, Jeffrey B. Bacon
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to determine the probability of kill for a thermal inactivation strategy for use against biological agents; specifically the resilient endospore of Bacillus anthracis (Ba). The effort focused on short durations (milliseconds to several seconds) and temperatures (300 to 1300 K) simulating the periphery effects after an explosion generated by conventional munitions. For an improved statistical counting, applied microlithography techniques were used to produce micro-etched glass platforms consisting of 532 circular sample wells, evenly spaced. Small carbon black radiators, which provide fast heating/cooling rate and confined temperature distribution, were produced by populating the etched wells …
Production And Characterization Of High Repetition Rate Terahertz Radiation In Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, Michael L. Dexter
Production And Characterization Of High Repetition Rate Terahertz Radiation In Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, Michael L. Dexter
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to produce and characterize high repetition rate terahertz radiation in ionized air plasma. An 800 nanometer, 50 femtosecond, 0.35 Watt, 40 KHz, pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser system was used as the source infrared beam. This beam was focused onto a second harmonic generation crystal to produce a collinear, perpendicularly polarized secondary beam at 400 nm. After realigning the polarization of the fundamental to the second harmonic and compensating for group velocity dispersion introduced by the optics, both beams were recombined and focused by a 3.75 cm focal length mirror to form an air plasma. An …
Assessment Of Weather Sensitivities And Air Force Weather (Afw) Support To Tactical Lasers In The Lower Troposphere, Francesco J. Echeverria
Assessment Of Weather Sensitivities And Air Force Weather (Afw) Support To Tactical Lasers In The Lower Troposphere, Francesco J. Echeverria
Theses and Dissertations
ATL scientists need to develop a full understanding of the interaction effects between a high-energy laser beam and the atmosphere through which it propagates. Achieving this understanding is important for many reasons. In particular, the high cost of DE weapons systems makes each propagation event expensive. Having an understanding of the atmosphere in which a high-energy laser propagates will increase efficiency and effectiveness of the ATL weapon system, which in turn will decrease cost of operation. A tool that allows for the ATL war-fighter to determine the atmospheric effects on laser propagation currently does not exist. This study creates a …
Theoretical Model Analysis Of Absorption Of A Three Level Diode Pumped Alkali Laser, Charlton D. Lewis Ii
Theoretical Model Analysis Of Absorption Of A Three Level Diode Pumped Alkali Laser, Charlton D. Lewis Ii
Theses and Dissertations
This paper models the absorption phenomena of light in a three level diode pumped alkali laser system. Specifically this model calculates for a user defined set of system parameters the attenuation of the input pump beam and characteristics of the bleached wave. Using Wolfram's Mathematical 6.0 software all necessary physics for an accurate description of absorption was modeled from first principles: energy levels, cross sections, spin-orbit kinetic processes, saturation frequencies, pump attenuation, and differential transmittance, which is a representation of the bleached wave. A specific DPAL scenario was simulated, 455K system temperature, alkali concentration of 6.1 - 1013, …
Q-Switched And Mode Locked Short Pulses From A Diode Pumped, Yb-Doped Fiber Laser, Seth M. Swift
Q-Switched And Mode Locked Short Pulses From A Diode Pumped, Yb-Doped Fiber Laser, Seth M. Swift
Theses and Dissertations
A diode-pumped, ytterbium (Yb)-doped fiber laser system was designed and demonstrated to operate in continuous wave (cw), passively Q-switched and possibly passively mode locked operation. To our knowledge, this was the first fiber laser oscillator built at the Air Force Institute of Technology. A Cr4+:YAG (Chromium: Ytterbium Aluminum Garnett) crystal was used as a saturable absorber to generate Q-switched pulses. Attempts to mode lock the laser were performed using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) and through nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR). The best output power result was 5 Watts (W) while pumping at 8.3 W, yielding 60% efficiency …