Pyroelectric PVDF sensor modeling of the temporal voltage response to arbitrarily modulated radiation

Our design of transducer arrays for custom pyroelectric sensors is mainly devoted to IR laser beam characterization and control. It benefits from some of the properties of PVDF film such as low cost, low weight, mechanical flexibility, chemical stability (inert), and compatibility of thick film interconnection technologies on metallized films. By using the temporal characteristics of the source intensity and starting from a standard equivalent one-dimensional model of a multilayer thick-film transducer in the frequency domain, we developed a computer model of the PVDF sensor that determines the temporal response to arbitrarily modulated radiation. The validation of the model accuracy has been carried out with a simulation procedure performed on a PVDF sensor designed for accurate beam alignment of low power laser beams. In this case, an iterative algorithm also was developed to estimate some thermal and physical properties of the front absorbing and the metallization layers that are generally barely known. We present a fitting procedure to determine these properties by using the temporal pyroelectric response to a square wave modulated laser diode that provides a reliable reference signal.     

A wireless, passive carbon nanotube-based gas sensor

A gas sensor, comprised of a gas-responsive multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT)-silicon dioxide (SiO₂) composite layer deposited on a planar inductor-capacitor resonant circuit is presented here for the monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxygen (O ₂), and ammonia (NH₃). The absorption of different gases in the MWNT-SiO₂ layer changes the permittivity and conductivity of the material and consequently alters the resonant frequency of the sensor. By tracking the frequency spectrum of the sensor with a loop antenna, humidity, temperature, as well as CO₂ , O₂ and NH₃ concentrations can be determined, enabling applications such as remotely monitoring conditions inside opaque, sealed containers. Experimental results show the sensor response to CO₂ and O₂ is both linear and reversible. Both irreversible and reversible responses are observed in response to NH₃, indicating both physisorption and chemisorption of NH₃ by the carbon nanotubes. A sensor array, comprised of an uncoated, SiO₂ coated, and MWNT-SiO₂ coated sensor, enables CO₂ measurement to be automatically calibrated for operation in a variable humidity and temperature environment     

Two-dimensional ultrasound receive array using an angle-tuned Fabry-Perot polymer film sensor for transducer field characterization and transmission ultrasound imaging

A 2-D optical ultrasound receive array has been investigated. The transduction mechanism is based upon the detection of acoustically induced changes in the optical thickness of a thin polymer film acting as a Fabry-Perot sensing interferometer (FPI). By illuminating the sensor with a large-area laser beam and mechanically scanning a photodiode across the reflected output beam, while using a novel angle-tuned phase bias control system to optimally set the FPI working point, a notional 2-D ultrasound array was synthesized. To demonstrate the concept, 1-D and 2-D ultrasound field distributions produced by planar 3.5-MHz and focused 5-MHz PZT ultrasound transducers were mapped. The system was also evaluated by performing transmission ultrasound imaging of a spatially calibrated target. The "array" aperture, defined by the dimensions of the incident optical field, was elliptical, of dimensions 16 x 12 mm and spatially sampled in steps of 0.1 mm or 0.2 mm. Element sizes, defined by the photodiode aperture, of 0.8, 0.4, and 0.2 mm were variously used for these experiments. Two types of sensor were evaluated. One was a discrete 75-microm-thick polyethylene terephthalate FPI bonded to a polymer backing stub which had a wideband peak noise-equivalent pressure of 6.5 kPa and an acoustic bandwidth 12 MHz. The other was a 40-microm Parylene film FPI which was directly vacuum-deposited onto a glass backing stub and had an NEP of 8 kPa and an acoustic bandwidth of 17.5 MHz. It is considered that this approach offers an alternative to piezoelectric ultrasound arrays for transducer field characterization, transmission medical and industrial ultrasound imaging, biomedical photoacoustic imaging, and ultrasonic nondestructive testing.     

Geometrical factors affecting the CO2 laser chemical vapour deposition of silicon oxide films in parallel configuration

Laser-induced chemical vapour deposition of SiO₂ films in a parallel configuration is a powerful technique for the growth of coatings in some special applications where other conventional low-temperature techniques cannot be applied. A CO₂ laser is more attractive than other lasers for industrial applications since it is less expensive and already widely used in the industry. Growing SiO₂ films is carried out by irradiating a gas mixture composed by SiH₄, N₂O and Ar with a continuous wave CO₂ laser. Energy absorption by the mixture causes a temperature increase in the gas phase which leads to the deposition process. Here we present a study of two important geometrical factors in our experimental set-up: the total flow rate of the reactant gases, and the distance between the laser beam and the substrate surface. Variations in gas flow cause changes in the absorption coefficient of the gas mixture and thus in the gas temperature, which mainly affects the growth rate. The beam-substrate distance influences the gas temperature owing to heat exchange between the gas and the substrate and to the collision rate of the chemical species in their diffusion path towards the substrate surface. Therefore, both the growth rate and the film properties change with this parameter.     

EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES TO CUT AND WELD COPPER BY LASER - A REVIEW

This paper reports on the cutting and welding of copper sheets using a CO₂ laser. For the cutting process, the experimental data from tests on 0.2 to 4.0 mm thick copper sheets with a 2 kW CO₂ laser are described. The behavior of the critical cutting speed V, cutting widths a, the product V × b and the melted volume versus the thickness (b) for a 2 kW CO₂ laser using different focusing lenses has been investigated, The cutting speeds have been found to be significant and micrographic examinations have shown that the laser cutting quality is good. The laser welding of copper sheets is possible by overlapping layers of cupric oxide, CuO, with a small quantity of cuprous oxide, Cu₂O grown under laser beam irradiation. This experimental approach, similar to the one used for the cutting process, allows one to increase the copper surface absorption of the laser radiation. The weld tests done in this way have shown a bad quality of the butt joint; in fact, a number of inclusions in the melted zone and growth of the copper grains surrounding the weld have always been observed. Another experimental technique has also been tested using a better coating to increase surface absorptive power without producing weld defects. The first results are interesting, though the research is still in progress. Finally, by using e pulsed Nd-YAG laser and the same coated samples - cited above - some good welds have been obtained.     

Hardfacing characteristics of S42000 stainless steel powder with added silicon nitride using a CO2 laser

This study examined hardfaced cladding of S42000 stainless steel powder with added silicon nitride Si₃N₄ on a medium carbon steel using a 1200-W CO₂ laser. Experimental results indicated that a well-proportioned cladding layer was obtained with an overlap of 50% at a traverse speed of 5 mm/s and a powder feed rate of 2 g/min. The degree of dilution, depth/width (D/W) ratio and microhardness of the cladding layer was increased by adding up to 5 wt.% silicon nitride. Retained austenite and wear decreased with increasing amounts of silicon nitride addition. The silicon nitride decomposed in the cladding layer during the laser treatment.     

CO2 Laser Cutting of Calcareous Stones

Portugal is one of the major European producers of natural stones. In the last decade, transformation of stones has been privileged in most of the companies and the quantity of finished product for exportation increased with a major added value. New technologies and processes have been investigated. For example, CO₂ laser has been used for cutting, marking, and drilling. The major advantage of this tool is its flexibility, and thus, it improved the working environment significantly. This article presents a report on the use of CO₂ lasers in the cutting process of marbles and limestones. The cut quality was evaluated by adjusting the laser output power and assist gas type and pressure. The CO₂ laser can be used as a feasible tool for cutting ornamental stones. Due to the economic reasons, it is specially adequate for cutting nonlinear shapes where conventional cutting tools, such as the diamond wires and saws, have limitations on both the shape and the dimensions to be cut.     

Dot Matrix Hardening of Steels Using a Fiber Optic Coupled Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

This paper describes a novel process called “Dot Matrix Hardening” as applied to Ol, D2 and AISI 4340 steels. This process uses a pulsed laser (particularly an Nd:YAG laser) to create a uniform distribution of transformation-hardened spots to cover only a certain percentage of the desired surface. Due to significantly reduced energy input, wear resistance can be imparted to thin and intricate parts without distortion. In addition, with the use of a coupled fiber optic beam delivery system, this process provides greater flexibility compared to conventional CO₂ laser hardening for a number of applications. The use of an Nd:YAG laser also eliminates the need of absorptive coating required for hardening with a CO₂ laser. With optimized processing parameters, a relatively uniform hardened layer is obtained within the hardened spot, with a thickness of about 60 um and hardness values around 800 HV₁₀₀. The sliding wear test results show that the wear resistance of Ol samples with only 20-40% area coverage of laser-hardened spots is similar to the 100% covered laser dot hardened sample as well as the furnace hardened (Re 60) sample.     

Prospects for laser wakefield accelerators and colliders using CO2 laser drivers

Energy directly acquired by an electron from the laser electromagnetic field is quadratically proportional to the laser wavelength. Exploiting this feature, the emerging terawatt picosecond (TWps) CO₂ lasers, having an order of magnitude longer wavelength than the well-known table-top terawatt (T³) picosecond solid state lasers, offer new opportunities for strong-field physics research. Laser accelerators serve as an example where application of the new class of lasers will result in enhancement in gas ionization, plasma wave excitation, and relativistic self-focusing. Ponderomotively strong CO₂ laser permits a 100 times reduction in the plasma density without impeding the acceleration. The improved performance of the low-pressure laser wakefield accelerators (LWFA) is potentially due to higher electric charge per accelerated bunch and better monochromaticity. The multi-kilowatt average power, high repetition rate capability of the TWps-CO₂ laser technology opens new opportunities in development of compact, 1 m long, GeV accelerators and < 1 km long high-luminosity multi-stage LWFA colliders of the TeV scale. The first TWps-CO₂ laser is under construction at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility (ATF).     

Effect of surface laser treatment on the microstructure and wear behaviour of grey iron

The effect of the laser surface treatment on the microstructure and wear behaviour of grey iron was studied. Experiments were performed using a continuous CO₂ laser with a square 10 × 10 mm beam and uniform power density for 2.5 and 5 kW power output and different scan rates. The achieved microstructure and hardness of the different zones of the treated material and its wear behaviour were analyzed. By choosing the adequate working conditions, a wide range of microstructures can be obtained on the material surface layer. The wear test results showed that surface laser hardening treatment causes an improvement of the material wear behaviour.     

Surface-micromachined pyroelectric infrared imaging array withvertically integrated signal processing circuitry

Surface-micromachining techniques have been used in the fabrication of a 64×64 element PbTiO₃ pyroelectric infrared imager. Polysilicon microbridges of 1.2 μm-thickness have been formed 0.8 μm above the surface of a silicon wafer. Each of the 4096 polysilicon microbridges measures 50×50 μm² and forms a low thermal mass support for a 30×30 μm² PbTiO₃ pyroelectric capacitor with a thickness of 0.36 μm. The air-bridge formed reduces the thermal conduction path between the detector element and substrate. An NMOS preamplifier cell is located directly beneath each microbridge element. The measured blackbody voltage responsivity at 30 Hz is 1.2×10⁴ V/W. The corresponding measured normalized detectivity (unamplified) D* is 2×10⁸ cm-Hz^1/2W at 30 Hz. The test chip fabricated measures 1×1 cm² and contains more than ten thousand transistors and 4096 micromechanical structures with integrated ferroelectric microsensors. The technique of stacking of microsensors and integrated circuits represents a new approach for achieving high-density and high-performance integrated pyroelectric microsensors through minimization of circuit to sensor interconnection with extremely small thermal crosstalk     

基于RBF神经网络的生物质电站高温气体CO2浓度测量方法

电站气体浓度测量对实现燃烧优化、提高燃烧效率和火焰品质、减少污染物排放具有重要意义。以CO₂气体为例进行研究,基于近红外波段可调谐激光吸收层析成像技术,提出了基于径向基(radial basis function, RBF)神经网络的高温气体CO₂浓度测量方法。通过实验获取不同浓度下的CO₂吸收可调谐激光光谱信号,计算CO₂吸收谱线和原始信号的差值,提取出描述该差异性的统计特征参数作为RBF神经网络的输入,CO₂浓度作为RBF神经网络的输出,建立了基于RBF神经网络的高温气体CO₂浓度测量仿真模型,通过仿真实例验证了该方法的有效性和正确性。与GRNN神经网络对比分析表明:RBF神经网络法可以有效提高CO₂浓度测量精度,为生物质发电高温气体计量提供理论依据。     

Nonlinear pyroelectric energy harvesting from relaxor single crystals

Energy harvesting from temperature variations in a Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.955Ti_0.045O₃ single crystal was studied and evaluated using the Ericsson thermodynamic cycle. The efficiency of this cycle related to Carnot cycle is 100 times higher than direct pyroelectric energy harvesting, and it can be as high as 5.5% for a 10degC temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field. The amount of harvested energy for a 60degC temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field is 242.7 mJmiddotcm^-3. The influence of ferroelectric phase transitions on the energy harvesting performance is discussed and illustrated with experimental results.     

National Ignition Facility system alignment

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world's largest optical instrument, comprising 192 37?cm square beams, each generating up to 9.6?kJ of 351?nm laser light in a 20?ns beam precisely tailored in time and spectrum. The Facility houses a massive (10?m diameter) target chamber within which the beams converge onto an ～1?cm size target for the purpose of creating the conditions needed for deuterium/tritium nuclear fusion in a laboratory setting. A formidable challenge was building NIF to the precise requirements for beam propagation, commissioning the beam lines, and engineering systems to reliably and safely align 192 beams within the confines of a multihour shot cycle. Designing the facility to minimize drift and vibration, placing the optical components in their design locations, commissioning beam alignment, and performing precise system alignment are the key alignment accomplishments over the decade of work described herein. The design and positioning phases placed more than 3000 large (2.5?m×2?m×1?m) line-replaceable optics assemblies to within ±1?mm of design requirement. The commissioning and alignment phases validated clear apertures (no clipping) for all beam lines, and demonstrated automated laser alignment within 10?min and alignment to target chamber center within 44?min. Pointing validation system shots to flat gold-plated x-ray emitting targets showed NIF met its design requirement of ±50?μm rms beam pointing to target chamber. Finally, this paper describes the major alignment challenges faced by the NIF Project from inception to present, and how these challenges were met and solved by the NIF design and commissioning teams.     

Evaluation of the radiation pattern of a split aperture linear phased array for high frequency imaging

Developing transducer arrays for high frequency medical imaging is complicated because of the extremely small size and spacing of the array elements. For example, a 50 MHz linear phased array requires a center-to-center spacing of only 15 mum (one-half wavelength in water) to avoid the formation of grating lobes in the radiation pattern of the array. Fabricating an array with these dimensions is difficult using conventional technology. A split aperture design that permits much larger element spacing (3 to 4 times) while avoiding the formation of grating lobes is described. The 3-D radiation pattern of a 1.9x1.4 mm, 50-MHz split aperture linear phased array with 33 transmit elements and 33 receive elements has been evaluated theoretically. The azimuthal beam width is 90 mum at a distance of 4.0 mm. Grating lobes are suppressed by at least 60 dB at distances >4.0 mm (~f/2). The elevation beam width is 220 mum at 4.0 mm, and a useful depth of field over the axial range from 4 to 10 mm is obtained.     

3-D Modeling of Pyroelectric Sensor Arrays Part II: Modulation Transfer Function

The modulation transfer function (MTF) for a pyroelectric infrared sensor array is determined from a finite-element simulation. Consideration of the full thermoelectromechanical coupling and use of a 3-D sensor model result in a good agreement between calculated and measured data.      

固相法制备钇掺杂的钛酸钡锶钙陶瓷的介电和热释电性能

采用固相反应法制备了Y掺杂 (Ba_0.6Sr_0.3Ca_0.1)_1-xY_xTi_0.999Mn_0.001O₃ (0≤x≤0.007)陶瓷, 重点研究了Y含量对BSCT基陶瓷的显微结构、介电性能和热释电性能的影响。结果表明: 随着Y含量的增加, BSCY_xTM陶瓷的平均晶粒尺寸逐渐减小, 介电常数、介电损耗、居里温度和热释电系数均呈现先增加后减小的趋势。当Y掺杂量为0.7mol%时, BSCY_xTM陶瓷的平均晶粒尺寸最小为3.1 μm, 且探测优值F_d较大, 最大值可达8.22×10^-5 Pa^-1/2(700 V/mm, 30℃), 高于采用溶胶-凝胶法制备的同组分陶瓷的探测优值5.91×10^-5 Pa^-1/2。     

Study on small diameter drilling in GFRP

In small diameter drilling with the drilling machine, the drilled hole quality of the printed wiring board (PWB), made of GFRP, is evaluated by investigating the surface roughness and the internal damage to the hole. An investigation of the damage is conducted by changing the number of drilled holes. Additionally, in laser drilling using a CO₂ source and a YAG source, the laser drilling process is clarified by observing the damage to the hole, and moreover the relation between the drilling conditions and the damage of the hole is obtained. In conclusion, it is shown that, in the case of the present drilling machine, the anisotropy of the hole surface roughness is able to be developed by the tool tip profile, and as the new process is of no contact drilling, the application of a laser beam machine using a CO₂ laser source is effective in the smaller diameter drilling in PWB's.     

Simultaneous nonlinear absorption and index effects in the propagation of intense TEA CO2 laser pulses through CDF3

Changes in the beam profile of the CO2 laser 10R(26) line, caused by transmission through, and absorption by, CDF3 were studied using an array of pyroelectric detectors. During the propagation of the laser beam through CDF3, nonlinear absorption and self-defocusing of the beam have both been determined from measurements of the effect on the exit beam of fluence, radiant energy, CDF3 pressure, transmission cell length, and distance from the exit of the cell to the detector array.     

LASER AND ELECTRON BEAM PROCESSING OF AMORPHOUS SURFACE ALLOYS ON CONVENTIONAL CRYSTALLINE METALS

During last fifteen years various superior surface characteristics including extremely high corrosion resistance and unique electrocatalytic activity have been found for novel melt-spun ribbon-shaped amorphous alloys. Preparation of those amorphous alloys as surface alloys covering bulk conventional crystalline metals has been eagerly awaited for the purpose of utilizing their superior surface characteristics. This is a review of efforts devoted to developing methods for processing amorphous surface alloys by instantaneous melting of a very restricted volume of the surface by irradiation with a CO₂ laser or electron beam and subsequent self quenching by the cold bulk substrates. Processing of a wide area by these high energy density beams requires heating the previously amorphized phase, which is easily crystallized by heating. Consequently, high energy density beam processing is most difficult among various methods for preparation of thermodynamically metastable amorphous alloys. Nevertheless, various amorphous surface alloys have been successfully prepared. The materials consisting of the amorphous surface alloys and bulk crystalline metals are quite suitable for corrosion resistant materials and electrodes for electrolysis of aqueous solutions. A comparison of CO₂ laser and electron beam processing showed the superiority of the latter to the former because of a significantly shorter processing time.