Jingxing Dong

High power coherent beam combination from two fiber lasers

Phase locking of two fiber lasers is demonstrated experimentally by the use of a self-imaging resonator with a spatial filter. The high-contrast interference strips of the coherent beam profile are observed. The coherent output power of the fiber array exceeds 12W and the efficiency of coherent power combination is 88% with pump power of 60W. The whole system operates quite stably and, for the spatial filter, no thermal effects have been observed, which means that we can increase the coherent output power further by this method.

Thermal effects in kilowatt all-fiber MOPA

Thermal effects and output power characteristics of kilowatt all-fiber master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) are investigated. Proper designs for cooling apparatus are proposed and demonstrated experimentally, for the purpose of minimizing splice heating which is critical for the reliability of high power operation. By using these optimized methods, a thermal damage-free, highly efficient ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber MOPA operating at 1080 nm with 1.17 kW output was obtained. The maximum surface temperature at the pump light launching end splice of the booster amplifier was 345 K, and the temperature rise for this key splice was 0.052 K/W.

Nd:YAG ceramic laser obtained high slope-efficiency of 62% in high power applications

By using quite uniformly nine-stacks side-around arranged compact pumping system, a high power Nd:YAG ceramic quasi-CW laser with high slope efficiency of 62% has been demonstrated. With 450 W quasi-CW stacked laser diode bars pumping at 808 nm, performance of the Nd:YAG ceramic laser with different output coupling mirrors has been investigated. Optimum output power of 236 W at 1064 nm was obtained and corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was as high as 52.5%. The laser system operated quite stably and no saturation phenomena have been observed, which means higher output laser power could be obtained if injecting higher pumping power. The still-evolving Nd:YAG ceramics are potential super excellent media for high power practical laser applications.

Vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor Flk-1 are expressed in the hippocampus following entorhinal deafferentation

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been thought of as a mitogen that promotes proliferation of endothelial cells and as a neurotrophic factor that stimulates neurogenesis and axonal growth in both peripheral and central nervous systems. To investigate the potential involvement of VEGF in the lesion-induced reorganization in the brain, the expression changes of VEGF and its receptor Flk-1 were analyzed in the mouse hippocampus after transections of the entorhinal afferents. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed the time-dependent expression upregulation of VEGF mRNA and protein in the entorhinally denervated hippocampal stratum lacunosum-moleculare and dentate outer molecular layer, which initiated by 3 days postlesion, reached its maximum at 7-15 days postlesion, still persisted by 30 days postlesion for protein, and recovered to the normal levels at 30 days postlesion for mRNA and at 60 days postlesion for protein. Double labeling of VEGF and glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed that VEGF-expressing cells in the denervated areas were reactive astrocytes. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that VEGF receptor Flk-1 mRNA was also time-dependently upregulated in the deafferented hippocampus with its maximal elevation at 7-15 days postlesion while the Flt-1 mRNA levels remained unchanged at any time point we examined. Immunohistochemistry analysis also displayed the upregulation of Flk-1 protein in the denervated stratum lacunosum-moleculare and outer molecular layer with a time course similar to that of VEGF mRNA upregulation. Flk-1 receptors were found to be expressed not only by reactive astrocytes but also by neurites, which most likely belong to sprouting axons by 7 days postlesion and regrowing dendrites by 15-30 days postlesion. From these data we suggest that the spatiotemporal upregulation of VEGF and Flk-1 in the hippocampus is induced by entorhinal deafferentation and that VEGF may be involved in the structural reorganization in the deafferented hippocampus via directly or indirectly promoting neurite growth.

Experimental demonstration of phase locking of a two-dimensional fiber laser array using a self-imaging resonator

Phase locking of a two-dimensional fiber laser array is experimentally demonstrated by using a self-imaging resonator and a spatial filter. The stable beam profiles of in-phase mode and out-of-phase mode are observed by controlling the position of spatial filter. The phase locking fiber array with in-phase mode has produced 26 W coherent output. An antisymmetric eigenmode is also observed in our experiments. The phase locking is not sensitive to power variations among the pump beams and the configuration has the ability to repair a missing element

Coherent beam combination of two nanosecond fiber amplifiers by an all-optical feedback loop

A passive coherent beam combination of two nanosecond amplifiers is realized by using an all-optical feedback loop. The width of the combined pulses is 9.7 ns, and the pulse repetition frequency is 2.023 MHz. With the least mismatch between pulse period and time of the cavity round trip in our loop, the visibility of far-field coherent patterns is more than 71%. The dynamics of passive phase locking is studied, and the established time of phase locking of two pulsed amplifiers is at least 10 cavity round trips in the all-optical feedback loop.

Compact continuous-wave blue lasers by direct frequency doubling of laser diodes with periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide crystals

A compact continuous-wave blue laser has been demonstrated by direct frequency doubling of a laser diode with a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide crystal. The optimum PPLN temperature is near 28 degrees C, and the dependence of waveguide crystals on crystal temperature is less sensitive than that of bulk crystals. A total of 14.8 mW of 488-nm laser power has been achieved.

Selective removal of cobalt binder in surface ablation of tungsten carbide hardmetal with pulsed UV laser

Abstract A novel method using pulsed laser ablation to selectively remove cobalt binder from the surface layer of cemented tungsten carbide hardmetal is proposed in this paper. A 308-nm, 20-ns XeCl excimer laser was used as the light source in this process. The dependence of surface morphology and XRD spectra on laser conditions have been investigated, respectively. The experimental results showed that the microstructure and crystalline structure of the irradiated surface layer varied greatly with laser conditions. After 300 shots of laser irradiation at fluence of 2.5 J/cm2, the surface morphology is characterized by a uniform framework pattern of ‘hills–valleys’. With the increment of laser shots at a laser fluence of 2.5 J/cm2, the microstructure of cemented tungsten carbide was transformed after 300 shots of laser irradiation from the original polygon grains with a size of 3 μm to interlaced large and long grains, and finally, after 700 shots, to gross grains with a size of 10 μm and clear grain boundaries . The crystalline structure of the irradiated area has partly transformed from: the original WC to β-WC1−x; then to α-W2C and CW3; and finally to W crystal. It was demonstrated that, at proper laser fluence and pulse numbers, cobalt binder could be selectively removed from the surface layer of hardmetal.

Ablation of cobalt with pulsed UV laser radiation

The ablation of cobalt with 20 ns pulses of 308 nm XeCl excimer laser radiation is investigated. The dependence of the ablation rate on laser fluence, spot area, and pulse number is determined. The experimental results are compared with a numerical calculation based on an improved thermal model. The model, which considers proper vapor attenuation, is shown to be in good agreement with experiment.

High-energy LDA side-pumped electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser

By employing a uniformly compact side-pumping system, a high-energy electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser has been demonstrated. With 420 W quasi-cw laser-diode-array pumping at 808 nm and a 100 Hz modulating repetition rate, 50 mJ output energy at 1064 nm was obtained with 10 ns pulse width, 5 W average output power, and 5 MW peak power. Its corresponding slope efficiency was 29.8%. The laser system operated quite stably and no saturation phenomena have been observed, which means higher output energy could be expected. Laser parameters between ceramic and single-crystal Nd:YAG lasers have been compared, and pulse characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic with different repetition rate have been investigated in detail. The still-evolving Nd:YAG ceramics are potential super excellent media for high-energy laser applications.