KEYWORDS: Cameras, Wavefronts, High power lasers, Semiconductor lasers, Near field, Kinematics, Laser radiation, Wavefront sensors, Near field optics, Mirrors
This paper presents the automated system for minimizing the deviation of the path of passage and the divergence of a secondary radiation source with similar parameters of the main beam of a high-power Ti:Sa laser using mirrors in kinematic mounts on the motorized stages. As an alignment laser, the diode laser with a fiber output was used with radiation characteristics coinciding with the parameters of the main beam (wavelength, beam diameter). The successive approximation algorithm was used to minimize the beam deflection. The deviations of the main alignment parameters from ‘live’ to ‘pilot’ beam are following positioning accuracy (X axis – 0.96 μm, Y axis – 0.96 μm), pointing accuracy (X axis – 8.78 μm, Y axis – 6.14 μm), beam size matching (X axis – 0.96 μm, Y axis – 0.96 μm), wavefront curvature (P-V = - 0.072 μm).
The semi-automatic system for laser beam alignment was developed and researched. The alignment system was used to make the laser beam follow the predetermined path through the optical scheme (basically a series of reflective surfaces such as mirrors or lenses). The algorithm and the software to control the system was developed and tested. The system contained of diode laser source, two gimbal mirror mounts with stepper motors, multi-axis motion controller, near field sensor, far field sensor, wavefront sensor, and control software. It allowed to control the positioning of the beam, tip-tilt and overall curvature of the wavefront.
KEYWORDS: Field programmable gate arrays, Mirrors, Photodiodes, Data communications, Zernike polynomials, Wavefronts, Laser systems engineering, Turbulence, Data conversion, Wavefront sensors
We present an adaptive optical system to stabilize the position of a laser beam passed through the turbulent atmosphere. The system uses two tip-tilt mirrors and is controlled by an FPGA to increase the bandwidth. An internal FPGA structure is presented. FPGA reads the error signal from the sensors formed by quadrant photodiodes and calculates the voltages to be applied to the piezo-driven tip-tilt mirrors by the control units.
A bimorph deformable mirror with a diameter of 320 mm, including 127 control electrodes, has been developed and investigated. The flatness of the initial surface of the mirror RMS = 0.16 μm was achieved due to mechanical adjustment in the system of fixing the mirror substrate in the frame. An adaptive system with deformable mirrors and a ShackHartmann-type wavefront sensor was installed in a 4.2 PW Ti: Sa laser. Correction of the wavefront made it possible to obtain a record radiation intensity in the focusing plane of 1.1x1023 W/cm2, while the Strehl ratio was 0.84.
Deformable mirrors in adaptive system for high power lasers should have high damage threshold and thermally stabilized surface. The cooling is required for average beam power above 100W. In this paper, the problem of the thermo-stabilizing of the deformable mirrors is studied. Bimorph deformable mirrors (BDM) and stack actuator deformable mirrors (SADM) are considered. For BDMs the active and passive cooling designs have been implemented. In active design, the waffletype cooling system for circulation of the cooling liquid was made inside of the thin substrate. In passive design, the periphery surface is thermally contacted with the condenser which temperature is constant. Such BDMs not damaged at CW power density 20kW/cm2 when the beam fills full surface of the mirror and can be used in powerful solid state ceramic YAG lasers. SADM is most suitable to correct for small-scale and high-speed aberrations. We developed SADM where reflecting substrate is cooled through the actuator bodies. Individual actuators are housed in metal holders and can be replaced if they fail due to electrical breakdown. SADM has the diameter 120 mm and included 121 actuators. The deformation stroke of the actuator was 7μ. The first resonant frequency was 18.5 kHz, which allowed operating in adaptive system in kHz range.
Adaptive system for wavefront correction based on 240-mm bimorph deformable mirror and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is presented. The dynamic characteristics of the deformable mirror and the performance of the wavefront correction in various operating modes of the PEARL facility as well as the features of phase distortion compensation in a single-shot generation regime are studied. An improvement in the quality of focusing that led to an increase in the Strehl ratio to 0.6 is demonstrated.
Key elements of the fast adaptive optical system (AOS), having correction frequency of 1400 Hz, for atmospheric
turbulence compensation, are described in this paper. A water-cooled bimorph deformable mirror with 46 electrodes, as
well as stacked actuator deformable mirror with 81 piezoactuators and 2000 Hz Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor were
considered to be used to control the light beam. The parameters of the turbulence at the 1.2 km path of the light
propagation were measured and analyzed. The key parameters for such an adaptive system were worked out.
Two types of the large bimorph deformable mirrors with the size of 410x468 mm and 320 mm were developed and tested. The results of the measurements of the response functions of all the actuators and of the surface shape of the deformable mirror are presented in this paper. The study of the mirror with a Fizeau interferometer and a Shack- Hartmann wavefront sensor has shown that it was possible to improve the flatness of the surface down to a residual roughness of 0.033 μm (RMS). The possibility of correction of the aberrations in high power lasers was numerically demonstrated.
For some applications it is necessary to transform an intensity distribution from Gaussian to a flattop, doughnut, etc. It could be performed with the use of adaptive optics that distorts the phase of the beam and changes the shape of the focal spot in the far-field. In this paper, we present the flattop and doughnut beam formation result with the use of a bimorph and stacked-actuator deformable mirrors. The experimental results are also given.
Wide aperture bimorph mirrors for laser beam correction and formation were developed and investigated. Different types of substrates and active piezoceramics materials were considered to fabricate temperature independent shape of the mirror surface and to maximize the sensitivity of the mirror. High reflectivity coatings for different wavelengths were studied.
This paper presents the design of the closed loop adaptive system to measure and correct for the aberrations of CO2 laser radiation. We considered two wavefront sensors - one sensor is based on commercially available IR camera while the second one – on the so-called thing film sensors. Also we present the design of two bimorph deformable mirrors to be used under high power laser radiation. We discuss both positive and negative attributes of these devices and the possibility to use them in the real laser high-power systems.
This paper presents the two types of Hartmann wavefront sensors to measure the aberrations of CO2 laser radiation. One
sensor is baser on commercially available IR camera while the second one - on so-called thing film sensors. We discuss
both positive and negative attributes of these sensors and the possibility to use them in the real laser systems.
Shack-Hartman wavefront sensors are widely used in scientific investigations of wavefronts and also, as a
component of the closed-loop adaptive optical system, intended to correct for laser beam aberrations. This paper
presents successful application of such type sensors in the laser systems investigations to obtain high quality laser
radiation. Results of investigations of wavefronts of modern high power solid-state lasers are given in this paper.
Here we investigate closed-loop adaptive optical system to compensate for laser beam aberrations. A bimorph mirror is
used as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an element for feedback control. Comparison of
phase conjugation and multi-dither technique is shown.
Here we investigate closed-loop adaptive optical system to compensate for laser beam aberrations. A bimorph mirror is
used as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an element for feedback control. Comparison of
phase conjugation and multi-dither technique is shown.
Some peculiarities of the use of adaptive optical elements and the whole system to correct for the aberrations of high power
single pulse lasers are discussed in this paper. The examples of the use of adaptive system to correct for the aberrations of
some lasers are presented. As a corrector we used bimorph multi electrode deformable mirror while as a sensor - Shack-
Hartmann wavefront sensor.
Water-cooled bimorph mirrors for beam correction and formation in high power CW lasers were developed and investigated. Different type of substrate has been considered to thermally stabilize of the mirror surface shape. Silicon bimorph mirror was tested in ceramic Nd:YAG CW laser.
Some peculiarities of the use of adaptive optical elements and the whole system to correct for the aberrations of high power single pulse lasers are discussed in this paper. The examples of the use of adaptive system to correct for the aberrations of some lasers are presented. As a corrector we used bimorph multi electrode deformable mirror while as a sensor - Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.
We discuss the new type of the closed loop adaptive optical system with bimorph corrector and M2 meter. The study of some multi-dither algorithms to be used in the system is presented. Multi-dither approach is applied to 40-TW TiS fs laser in JAERI, Japan, to improve the focusability of laser beam. We demonstrate that it is possible to obtain 75% of input power in first diffraction maximum with use both phase conjugate and multi-dither adaptive optical systems.
This paper presents adaptive optical closed loop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to compensate for the aberrations of the high power lasers. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations in the real-time -- the frequency of corrected aberrations is less than 25 (30) Hz. The amplitude of such aberrations -- about 7 microns. These parameters are mostly determined by utilized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Number of corrected aberrations -- up to 30th Zernike polynomial (excluding tip-tilt). We are presenting the results of the use of our adaptive system in several high-power laser systems such as ATLAS, LULI, JAERI and Beijing Institute of Physics.
This paper presents the novel optical closed-loop adaptive system (CLAS) for compensation of the laser beam aberrations and results of its application in high power lasers. A closed-loop adaptive algorithm is developed to control for a continuous-surface deformable bimorph mirror. The control voltages applied to the electrodes reduce the wavefront distortions measured by a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS). Adaptive system can correct the low-order aberrations with the frequency is about 25 Hz. The amplitude of corrected aberrations is about 10 microns and sensitivity is about 0.08 microns. The examples of the use of such systems to control for radiation of TW Ti:Sa lasers are presented.
We have implemented on one beam of the LULI six-beam high-energy (6×100 J, 1 ns) Nd:glass laser facility a closed-loop Adaptive Optics (AO) system to compensate for thermal distortions onto the wave front. Using the AO system composed of a dielectric coated deformable mirror and of a wave front sensor, we are able to improve the wave front quality in order to obtain a focal spot close to the diffraction limit. This allows not only to improve the reproducibility of the experiments but also to increase by at least two orders of magnitude the peak intensity as compared with what usual laser smoothing techniques can achieve.
This paper discusses the novel adaptive optical closed loop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to compensate for the aberrations of the laser beam occurred during the distribution of the beam from laser to processed material. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations in the real-time, the frequency of corrected aberrations is less then 25 (30) Hz. The amplitude of such aberrations, about 7 microns. These parameters are mostly determined by utilized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Number of corrected aberrations - up to 15th Zernike
polynomial (excluding tip-tilt).
We describe an adaptive optical closed loop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and CCD camera at the focal plane of the lens as a sensor to obtain a good focal spot. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations with the frequency of corrected aberrations about 5 Hz. These parameters are mostly determined by the deformable mirror properties and multi-dither algorithm.
Semipassive bimorph mirrors for wavefront correction in imaging systems and high power lasers were developed and investigated. Different types of substrates and active piezoceramics materials were considered to fabricate temperature independent shape of the mirror surface and to maximize the sensitivity of the mirror. High reflectivity coatings for different wavelengths were studied. Bimorph mirrors were used for wavefront correction in living human eye and high-power solid state lasers.
This paper discusses the novel adaptive optical closed loop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to compensate for the aberrations of the laser beam occurred during the distribution of the beam from laser to processed material. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations in the real-time - the frequency of corrected aberrations is less then 25 (30) Hz. The amplitude of such aberrations - about 7 microns. These parameters are mostly determined by utilized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Number of corrected aberrations - up to 15th Zernike polynomial (excluding tip-tilt).
Bimorph mirrors for laser beam correction and formation were developed and investigated. Different types of substrates and active piezoceramics materials were considered to fabricate temperature independent shape of the mirror surface and to maximize the sensitivity of the mirror. High reflectivity coatings for different wavelengths were studied.
This paper discusses the novel adaptive optical closed loop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to compensate for the aberrations of the laser beam occurred during the distribution of the beam from laser to processed material. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations in the real-time - the frequency of corrected aberrations is less than 25 (30) Hz. The amplitude of such aberrations - about 7 microns. These parameters are mostly determined by utilized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Number of corrected aberrations - up to 15th Zernike polynomial (excluding tip-tilt).
Bimorph mirrors for laser beam correction and formation were developed and investigated. Different types of substrates and active piezoceramics materials were considered to fabricate temperature independent shape of the mirror surface and to maximize the sensitivity of the mirror. High reflectivity coatings for different wavelengths were studied.
This paper discusses the novel adaptive optical closed ioop system with bimorph mirror as a wavefront corrector and Shack- Hartmann wavefront sensor to compensate for the aberrations of the laser beam occurred during the distribution of the beam from laser to processed material. Adaptive system can correct for the low-order aberrations in the real-time —the frequency of corrected aberrations is less then 25 (30) Hz. The amplitude of such aberrations — about 7 microns. These parameters are mostly determined by utilized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Number of corrected aberrations —up to 15th Zernike polynomial (excluding tip-tilt).
Theoretical problems are discussed and experimental results are presented with regard to the recording of large holograms of moving objects by the aperture synthesis method at optical wavelengths. It is shown, that for the recording of a hologram by a linear array of unphased coherent receivers, the phase distortions of the signal field can be compensated by a post- detector signal processing, based on the construction of joint statistical estimates of the phase distortions and the image of the object. As a result of the processing of the recorded holograms, an image of various distant extended objects is obtained with very high angular resolution.
Experimental results of a new approach to the problem of sharpness function maximization in adaptive optics are presented. The main difference from the ordinary method is in the forming of signals, proportional to the components of the sharpness function gradient, in an optical processor. This solution is very effective in the case of low light intensity, when the quantum effects of registration are essential. It is shown that, in this particular case, the scheme of the adaptive system is similar to curvature sensing system. The experimental system provides a 32-zonal correction of the wavefront in real atmospheric conditions for objects of various forms.
Experimental results or new approach to the problem oI sharpness runct ion maximization in adaptive optics are presented. The main dirre.. rence rrom ordinary method is in rorming of signals, proportional to the components or sharpness runction gradient, in optical proces sor. This solution is very errective in case or low light intensity, when the quantum errects of registration are essential. It is shown that in particular case the scheme or adaptive system is similar to curvature sensing system. Experimen tal system provides 32—zonal correction or wave front in real atmospheric conditions for objects of various forms. Subject terms: adczpttve opttcs; deformabLe mtr rors; shc1rpness funct ton; phase dtstort tons.
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