MAE592 Principles and Applications of Lasers

Final examination, fall semester, 2008

1. Which types of lasers are especially dangerous for the eye retina, and why?

As you can see in this figure, only light in the wavelength range 0.4 to 1.4 μm
such as Ar ion, HeNe, Ruby and Nd:YAG lasers can penetrate through the anterior
structures of the eye and reach the retina.

2. Explain the working principle of following items on optical alignment.

A. Quadrant photodiodes
The quadrant photodiode uses four silicon
photodiodes. If the beam accurately strikes the
center of the detector, each quadrant receives the
same amount of light. One then observes a null
signal between the pairs of photodiodes. If the beam
is displaced from the center of the detector, there
will be a different amount of light incident on each
detector, and the balance in the signals between
pairs of detectors will no longer hold. For proper operation of the quadrant
detector, the laser beam should be Gaussian.

B. Beam divergence
The accuracy of laser alignment is limited by the angular divergence of the
beam and the divergence can be reduced by expanding the beam.
θ 2 D1
= ( D ↑⇒ θ 2 ↓)
θ1 D2 2
+ Required: 1 mm accuracy in 10 m
10−3 m
θ req (θ 2 ) = = 10 − 4 rad
10m
He-Ne laser: D = 1 mm, λ = 633 nm Æ θ1 = 4x10-4 rad
4 × 10 −4 D2
= =4
1 × 10− 4 D1 Æ Beam expansion by a factor of 4

C. Pentaprism
The pentaprism is a five-sided prism that has the
property of deflecting the beam accurately by 90º
from its original direction. The beam makes two
reflections off aluminized surfaces and emerges in a
direction perpendicular to its original direction. This
establishes a right angle. The pentaprism also does
not reverse or invert an image.

3. Describe the lower limit of velocity which can be detected by Doppler

effect.

The magnitude of the Doppler shift is

Δf 2v
=
f c
where c is the velocity of light and v is the velocity of moving surface.
The coherence time must be long compared with the period of the beat. This
leads to the requirement
1 1 1
Δt = > =
Δf *
f1 − f 2 Δf
where Δf is the beat frequency. For shifts that occur by virtue of the Doppler
effect, the requirement is
1 1 2vf
> or Δf * <
Δf *
2vf / c c
 λΔf * cΔf *
∴v > = : lower limit of allowable velocity
2 2f

4. Why do we need the beam modulation telemetry instead of interferometer?

For measurements of large distances in the field, interferometric method with

microinch sensitivity is no longer applicable. Duo to atmospheric inhomogeneity
of temperature, pressure, humidity, turbulence, etc, fluctuations of the density of
the atmosphere occur and make interferometry impractical over paths exceeding
a hundred meter.

5. A measurement of distance requires a HeNe laser beam (632.8 nm

wavelength) with a coherence length of 3 m. Estimate the maximum
linewidth of the laser transition. Hence, assuming that frequency fluctuations
are dominated by changes in laser cavity length, calculated the maximum
fluctuations in temperature of the laser, assuming that the temperature
coefficient of expansion of the cavity is 1x10-6℃-1.

From t L /c and t 1/Δv,

Δv 1 10 Hz
L

Frequency fluctuations:
∆f ∆L
α∆T
f L

1 ∆f 1λ 632.8 10 1 10 1
∆T Δf 0.21℃
f c 3 10 1 10

6. Explain three measurement techniques based on the laser scattering.

Dual-beam technique: Two beams of equal irradiance are focused by a lens into
the fluid flow whose velocity is to be measured; the region where the beams
cross becomes the measurement region. When particle passes through the
measurement region it scatters light from each beam. The light has its frequency
shifted so that when the two scattered beams are mixed a suitable detector will
see only the different frequency.

Measurement of surface finish: Various surface defects, such as scratches, pits,

and small raised areas, reflect light differently than perfect surface areas.
Scattered light from the defects can be detected simply by a photodetector. In
practice, it is difficult to distinguish between light scattered from defects and light
scattered in all directions by the general roughness of the surface. One technique
for resolving this problem has used illumination of the surface at a grazing angle
coupled with spatial filtering to eliminate the specular component of reflected
light. The spatial filter contains a central stop that passes only scattered light and
eliminates the central diffraction peak due to specularly scattered light.

Particle diameter measurement: Under conditions where the particle sizes are
larger than the laser wavelength, the scattering is relatively simple. The angle of
scattering increases as the size of the particles decreases. The beam from a laser
is expanded and transmitted through the sample containing the particles. The
scattered light is collected by a lens and focused onto an array of detectors. Light
that was not scattered is focused on the central axis of the system. Light
scatterred at sm
mall angless is focused off-axis, with th
he distancce from th
he axis
increassing as the
e scattering
g angle increases.

Rama
an spectro
oscopy: Prob. 13
Opticcal radar: Prob. 13

7. Explain and compare

c t
the absorp
ptivity and
d absorptiion coefficcient.

Absorption coe
efficient describes
d t
the extent to which the intensity of an energy
beam is reduced
d as it passses throug al. The measured intensity I
gh a speciffic materia
nsmitted through
of tran t a layer of material with thickness x is related to the
nt intensityy I0 accord
inciden ding to the
e inverse exponentia
e aw that is usually
al power la
referred to as Be
eer-Lambert law:

where x denotess the path length. Th

he absorpttion coefficcient is α.

Absorptivity is a dimenssionless va
alue and measured
m action of incident
as the fra
on that is absorbed by the bo
radiatio ody.
I
Intensity of absorbed beam
Absorrptivity
Intensity of
o incident beam
b

8. Explain the absorptivitty change of TEA CO

C 2 laser, when
w it iss irradiate
ed on a
stainle
ess steel.
IA IL IR
A 1 R (stro
ong absorption )
IL IL

This figure sh
hows the
e reflectivvity dropp
ped rapid
dly for a few hundred
econds. Th
nanose hese data show how
w the refle
ectivity can
n decrease
e during th
he time
that surface is irradiated so as to increase the absorptivity of the surface.

Due to this reason, material processing such as welding is possible.

9. Explain the effect of three main process parameters in laser welding.

Laser power: If laser power is increased, penetration depth is also increased.

Welding speed: There is the trade-off relationship between penetration depth
and welding speed.
Focal point: The effect of changing focus is apparent, with maximum penetration
occurring when the beam is focused at a point slightly below the surface.

10. Which types of lasers are widely used for materials processing, which new
types of lasers are now spotlighted as the heat source for laser materials
processing, and why?

The CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers, in their various modes of operation, have
dominated laser material processing. Most established material processing
applications use one of these two types.
The availability of the shorter wavelengths of the excimer lasers offers
advantages when fine focusing is needed. The fiber and disk lasers are also
spotlighted because of lower beam parameter product than conventional lasers.

11. Explain and compare the laser surface hardening and laser glazing.
Laser surface hardening: The laser beam irradiates the metal surface and causes
very rapid heating of a thin layer of material near the surface. When the beam
moves to a different area on the surface, the heat deposited in the thin layer will
quickly be conducted away, and the heated area cools rapidly. The motion of the
beam is too fast to allow melting to begin. The surface layers are heated above
723℃, and austenite forms. When the beam moves on, the surface will cool
extremely rapidly because of thermal conduction of the heat energy form the thin
heated layer into the interior of the metal. This leads to transformation hardening
of the areas that the laser beam has traversed. It is used to provide a hard
surface in areas subject to wear.

Laser glazing: it involves some surface melting. As the beam is scanned over a
surface, a thin melt layer is produced under proper conditions of irradiance and
traverse speed. The interior of the workpiece remains cold. After the beam moves
on, resolidification occurs very rapidly. The surface layer is quickly quenched. As a
result of this process, one may produce surface microstructures with unusual and
possibly useful characteristics. The grain size near the surface is very small,
because of the high quench rate. The surface structure can appear glassy and
such surface can have increased resistance to corrosion.

12. It is required to focus the output of a Nd:YAG laser (1.06μm wavelength)

down to a spot of 50 μm radius. Given that the beam has an initial diameter
of 1mm, calculate the focal length of the lens required. What will be the
resulting depth of focus.
From r ,
L
1 10
πwL r π 50 10
f 2 0.0741m 74.1mm
λ 1.06 10
Depth of focus: 10% variation in w(z)

z 1 1.1 1 0.0034m 3.4mm

.

13. Explain and compare the working principle of Raman spectroscopy and
optical radar.
Raman spectroscopy: The Raman effect involves scattering of light by molecules
of gases, liquids, or solids. The Raman effect consists of the appearance of extra
spectral lines near the wavelength of the incident light. The Raman lines in the
scattered light are weaker than the light at the original wavelength. The Raman
spectrum is characteristic of the scattering molecule. If the scattered frequency is
lower than the original frequency (longer wavelength), the incident light has
excited a molecular vibration or rotation and the optical photon has decreased
energy. This situation is called Stokes scattering. If the frequency of the scattered
light is higher than the incident light (shorter wavelength), the light has gained
energy from the vibrational or rotational quanta. This is called anti-Stokes
scattering.

Optical radar, also called lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging,
operates similarly to microwave radar. In its basic form, it employs a pulsed laser,
the beam of which is directed to the atmospheric sample that is to be probed.
Energy backscattered by the atmosphere is sensed by a photodetector. Generally,
lidar systems have relied on Mie scattering, due to particulate material and
aerosols, to provide the backscattered light. Thus, lidar is most useful for
determining concentrations of particulate material, and it gives no information
about gas concentrations. Lidar has most often been used for measurements in
which concentrations of particulates or aerosols are desired.

14. What kinds of information are reproduced, if the holographic film is

irradiated with the reference laser beam.

If this film is illuminated with the reference beam only, as illustrated in following
figure, the light transmitted will be given by the reference beam multiplied by the
film amplitude transmittance. Therefore, we have
Er(y,z) t(y,z) = K Er [IEobI2 + IErI2 + Er Eob* + EobEr*]
= K Er [Uo2 + Ur2] + K Er2 Eob* + K Ur2 Eob
① K Er [Uo2 + Ur2]: Er multiplied by K(Uo2 + Ur2) Æ Transmitted beam of Er
② K Ur2 Eob (x=0) = K Ur2 Uo(y,z) eiΦ(y,z) Æ Light distribution at x=0 from the
object multiplied by constant factor K Ur2 ⇒ All of 3-D information on the phase
and amplitude function of the light from the object: original 3-D feature
ÅÆ Virtual image: diverging due to (+) sign of Φ(y,z)

③ K Er2 Eob*│x = 0 = K Ur2 Uo ei(2ψy-Φ(y,z)): phase and amplitude of Eob

Æ Converging beam [Å (-) sign of Φ(y,z)]: real image
ÅÆ e-iΦ(y,z): complex conjugate term of the object wave Æ The real image
can be best seen by illuminating the hologram by the complex conjugate
of the reference beam (Er*)

distance between object and film (original)

hologram