Laser Beam Imaging from the Speckle Pattern of the Off-Axis Scattered Intensity

AbstractLaser produced planar mini flyer generation has widely gained importance owing to its wide ranging applications in the field of condensed matter, astrophysics, material research, shock phenomenon, etc. Flattop smooth laser beam profile as driver is the primary requirement for planar flyer generation besides special multilayered target geometry. We present here laser produced thin metallic planar mini-flyer generation using a fiber optic plate (FOP) of 8 mm thickness and about 6 µm fiber dimension. This technique is unique in the sense that it doesn't require large length as compared to optical fiber. A Gaussian shape laser beam from a laser oscillator was allowed to fall on the FOP generating a speckle pattern. This pattern was relayed and amplified using lenses and laser amplifiers to achieve energy of about 400 mJ. The beam was focused on a substrate (fused silica) based multilayered target on which flyer disks of different materials such as Al. Cu, Br, and Ta were attached. Velocities as high as 400 m/s was measured for Al flyer of 1.5 mm diameter and thickness 50 µm. Flyer disks were completely recovered after the laser shot. We also present a theoretical analysis along with experimental results of the laser beam smoothing technique using a He-Ne laser and FOP. Each channel of the FOP acts as a small single mode optical fiber. The basic idea was to divide the incoming coherent beam into many beam-lets introducing random distribution in length or/and diameter of optical fibers of FOP. The individual FOP channel acts as a diverging source because of single mode fiber with natural divergence λ/d. However, due to the small randomness in length or diameter, the individual diffraction sources are not in phase. This results in the generation of speckles in both near (Fresnel) and far field (Fraunhoffer) destroys the spatial coherence of the beam.

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On the speckle pattern of a light field in a dispersion medium illuminated by a laser beam

Quantum Electronics ◽

10.1070/qe2005v035n07abeh002835 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (7) ◽

pp. 670-674 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A P Ivanov ◽

I L Katsev

Keyword(s):

Laser Beam ◽

Dispersion Medium ◽

Light Field ◽

Speckle Pattern

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Two-photon excitation microscopy in cellular biophysics

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100136684 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 62-63

Author(s):

David W. Piston ◽

Brian D. Bennett ◽

Robert G. Summers

Keyword(s):

Confocal Microscopy ◽

Laser Beam ◽

Duty Cycle ◽

Excited Electronic State ◽

Input Power ◽

Two Photon ◽

Simultaneous Absorption ◽

Photon Excitation ◽

Very High ◽

Two Photon Excitation

Two-photon excitation microscopy (TPEM) provides attractive advantages over confocal microscopy for three-dimensionally resolved fluorescence imaging and photochemistry. Two-photon excitation arises from the simultaneous absorption of two photons in a single quantitized event whose probability is proportional to the square of the instantaneous intensity. For example, two red photons can cause the transition to an excited electronic state normally reached by absorption in the ultraviolet. In practice, two-photon excitation is made possible by the very high local instantaneous intensity provided by a combination of diffraction-limited focusing of a single laser beam in the microscope and the temporal concentration of 100 femtosecond pulses generated by a mode-locked laser. Resultant peak excitation intensities are 106 times greater than the CW intensities used in confocal microscopy, but the pulse duty cycle of 10-5 maintains the average input power on the order of 10 mW, only slightly greater than the power normally used in confocal microscopy.

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Electron diffraction studies of amorphous and polycrystalline thin films

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100173728 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 118-119

Author(s):

D J H Cockayne ◽

D R McKenzie

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Electron Diffraction ◽

Polycrystalline Materials ◽

Good Resolution ◽

Scattered Intensity ◽

Radial Density ◽

X Ray ◽

Polycrystalline Thin Films ◽

Nitrogen Ion ◽

Diffraction Patterns

The study of amorphous and polycrystalline materials by obtaining radial density functions G(r) from X-ray or neutron diffraction patterns is a well-developed technique. We have developed a method for carrying out the same technique using electron diffraction in a standard TEM. It has the advantage that studies can be made of thin films, and on regions of specimen too small for X-ray and neutron studies. As well, it can be used to obtain nearest neighbour distances and coordination numbers from the same region of specimen from which HREM, EDS and EELS data is obtained.The reduction of the scattered intensity I(s) (s = 2sinθ/λ ) to the radial density function, G(r), assumes single and elastic scattering. For good resolution in r, data must be collected to high s. Previous work in this field includes pioneering experiments by Grigson and by Graczyk and Moss. In our work, the electron diffraction pattern from an amorphous or polycrystalline thin film is scanned across the entrance aperture to a PEELS fitted to a conventional TEM, using a ramp applied to the post specimen scan coils. The elastically scattered intensity I(s) is obtained by selecting the elastically scattered electrons with the PEELS, and collecting directly into the MCA. Figure 1 shows examples of I(s) collected from two thin ZrN films, one polycrystalline and one amorphous, prepared by evaporation while under nitrogen ion bombardment.

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The atomic-force microscope and its future in biology

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100149350 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 704-705

Author(s):

Jean-Paul Revel

Keyword(s):

Silicon Nitride ◽

Laser Beam ◽

Atomic Force Microscope ◽

Scanning Tunneling Microscope ◽

Point Of View ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Close Relative ◽

Tunneling Microscope ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Sharp Point

The last few years have been marked by a series of remarkable developments in microscopy. Perhaps the most amazing of these is the growth of microscopies which use devices where the place of the lens has been taken by probes, which record information about the sample and display it in a spatial from the point of view of the context. From the point of view of the biologist one of the most promising of these microscopies without lenses is the scanned force microscope, aka atomic force microscope.This instrument was invented by Binnig, Quate and Gerber and is a close relative of the scanning tunneling microscope. Today's AFMs consist of a cantilever which bears a sharp point at its end. Often this is a silicon nitride pyramid, but there are many variations, the object of which is to make the tip sharper. A laser beam is directed at the back of the cantilever and is reflected into a split, or quadrant photodiode.

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