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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Construction And Optimization Of A Tapered Amplifier System For Applications In Ultra-Cold Plasma Research, Ryan Cole
Honors Theses
The number density of cold atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) is critically dependent on the intensity of the lasers used to cool the sample. To generate large optical powers while retaining the practicality of homemade external cavity diode lasers (ECDLs), a tapered amplifier (TA) system was designed and constructed to amplify the output of an existing 780 nm, continuous-wave ECDL. The amplifier’s performance is discussed in terms of its gain and power output. Under standard operating conditions, optical amplification of 12 dB is achieved, with a maximum power output of 0.75 W. The completed amplifier is installed into …
The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura
The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura
Honors Theses
The goal of this project is to experimentally investigate the optical Talbot effect and the electron Talbot effect. The Talbot effect is a near-field diffraction effect which occurs when plane waves are incident upon a grating. The Talbot effect creates full grating revivals at integral Talbot lengths and revivals with greater spatial periodicity at fractional Talbot lengths. We use a green helium neon laser and Ronchi rulings to take CCD camera images of the fractional Talbot revivals directly. Additionally, a photodiode records light intensity as a function of time as a second identical grating is moved to verify the presence …
Design And Construction Of An Optical Tweezers, Pavel Aprelev
Design And Construction Of An Optical Tweezers, Pavel Aprelev
Honors Theses
We constructed an optical tweezers apparatus, used it to trap transparent micron-sized particles, and moved those particles within a sample by moving the sample relative to the focal point of the trapping beam. The optical trap was based on the fact that focused coherent light creates forces on dielectric objects that point towards the focal point. The magnitude and the span of the force are dependent on the size of the focal point of the beam - generally around 1µm - and the intensity of light. We used an 808 nm 200 mW laser and a piezoelectric stage to trap …
Interactions Of Electrons And Rydberg Atoms In Ultra-Cold Plasmas, Cristian Vesa
Interactions Of Electrons And Rydberg Atoms In Ultra-Cold Plasmas, Cristian Vesa
Honors Theses
This thesis discusses an experimental technique for investigating electron temperature control by Rydberg atoms in ultra-cold plasmas. The objective we set ourselves was twofold. Firstly, we sought to gain an insight into the processes whereby the creation of Rydberg atoms within the plasma lengthens the lifetime of the plasma. To this end, we created the plasma using a Littman dye laser and subsequently, at a variable time delay, we excited neutral atoms in the plasma to specific Rydberg states using a narrow bandwidth pulsed dye laser. Secondly, we employed radio-frequency (rf) electric fields to excite electron oscillations within the plasma …