Manyalibo J. Matthews

Comparing the use of mid-infrared versus far-infrared lasers for mitigating damage growth on fused silica

Laser-induced growth of optical damage can limit component lifetime and, therefore, increase operating costs of large-aperture fusion-class laser systems. While far-infrared (IR) lasers have been used previously to treat laser damage on fused silica optics and render it benign, little is known about the effectiveness of less-absorbing mid-IR lasers for this purpose. In this study, we quantitatively compare the effectiveness and efficiency of mid-IR (4.6 μm) versus far-IR (10.6 μm) lasers in mitigating damage growth on fused silica surfaces. The nonlinear volumetric heating due to mid-IR laser absorption is analyzed by solving the heat equation numerically, taking into account the temperature-dependent absorption coefficient α(T) at λ=4.6 μm, while far-IR laser heating is well described by a linear analytic approximation to the laser-driven temperature rise. In both cases, the predicted results agree well with surface temperature measurements based on IR radiometry, as well as subsurface fictive temperature measurements based on confocal Raman microscopy. Damage mitigation efficiency is assessed using a figure of merit (FOM) relating the crack healing depth to laser power required, under minimally ablative conditions. Based on our FOM, we show that, for cracks up to at least 500 μm in depth, mitigation with a 4.6 μm mid-IR laser is more efficient than mitigation with a 10.6 μm far-IR laser. This conclusion is corroborated by direct application of each laser system to the mitigation of pulsed laser-induced damage possessing fractures up to 225 μm in depth.

Additively manufactured hierarchical stainless steels with high strength and ductility

Many traditional approaches for strengthening steels typically come at the expense of useful ductility, a dilemma known as strength-ductility trade-off. New metallurgical processing might offer the possibility of overcoming this. Here we report that austenitic 316L stainless steels additively manufactured via a laser powder-bed-fusion technique exhibit a combination of yield strength and tensile ductility that surpasses that of conventional 316L steels. High strength is attributed to solidification-enabled cellular structures, low-angle grain boundaries, and dislocations formed during manufacturing, while high uniform elongation correlates to a steady and progressive work-hardening mechanism regulated by a hierarchically heterogeneous microstructure, with length scales spanning nearly six orders of magnitude. In addition, solute segregation along cellular walls and low-angle grain boundaries can enhance dislocation pinning and promote twinning. This work demonstrates the potential of additive manufacturing to create alloys with unique microstructures and high performance for structural applications.

Thermal transport in CO2 laser irradiated fused silica: In situ measurements and analysis

In situ spatial and temporal temperature measurements of pristine fused silica surfaces heated with a 10.6 μm CO2 laser were obtained using an infrared radiation thermometer based on a mercury cadmium telluride camera. Laser spot sizes ranged from 250 to 1000 μm diameter with peak axial irradiance levels of 0.13–16 kW/cm2. For temperatures below 2800 K, the measured steady-state surface temperature is observed to rise linearly with both increasing beam size and incident laser irradiance. The effective thermal conductivity estimated over this range was approximately 2 W/m-K, in good agreement with classical calculations based on phonon heat capacities. Similarly, time-dependent temperature measurements up to 2000 K yielded thermal diffusivity values which were close to reported values of 7×10−7 m2/s. Above ∼2800 K, the fused silica surface temperature asymptotically approaches 3100 K as laser power is further increased, consistent with the onset of evaporative heat losses near the silica boiling point. The...

Metal vapor micro-jet controls material redistribution in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing

The results of detailed experiments and finite element modeling of metal micro-droplet motion associated with metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes are presented. Ultra high speed imaging of melt pool dynamics reveals that the dominant mechanism leading to micro-droplet ejection in a laser powder bed fusion AM is not from laser induced recoil pressure as is widely believed and found in laser welding processes, but rather from vapor driven entrainment of micro-particles by an ambient gas flow. The physics of droplet ejection under strong evaporative flow is described using simulations of the laser powder bed interactions to elucidate the experimental results. Hydrodynamic drag analysis is used to augment the single phase flow model and explain the entrainment phenomenon for 316 L stainless steel and Ti-6Al-4V powder layers. The relevance of vapor driven entrainment of metal micro-particles to similar fluid dynamic studies in other fields of science will be discussed.

Monitoring annealing via CO 2 laser heating of defect populations on fused silica surfaces using photoluminescence microscopy

Photoluminescence (PL) microscopy and spectroscopy under 266 nm and 355 nm laser excitation are explored as a means of monitoring defect populations in laser-modified sites on the surface of fused silica and their subsequent response to heating to different temperatures via exposure to a CO(2) laser beam. Laser-induced temperature changes were estimated using an analytic solution to the heat flow equation and compared to changes in the PL emission intensity. The results indicate that the defect concentrations decrease significantly with increasing CO(2) laser exposure and are nearly eliminated when the peak surface temperature exceeds the softening point of fused silica (approximately 1900K), suggesting that this method might be suitable for in situ monitoring of repair of defective sites in fused silica optical components.

Growth of laser damage in fused silica: diameter to depth ratio

Growth of laser initiated damage plays a major role in determining optics lifetime in high power laser systems. Previous measurements have established that the lateral diameter grows exponentially. Knowledge of the growth of the site in the propagation direction is also important, especially so when considering techniques designed to mitigate damage growth, where it is required to reach all the subsurface damage. In this work, we present data on both the diameter and the depth of a growing exit surface damage sites in fused silica. Measured growth rates with both 351 nm illumination and with combined 351 nm and 1054 nm illumination are discussed.

The effect of laser pulse duration on laser-induced damage in KDP and SiO2

We examine the effect of pulse duration on both density and morphology of laser-induced damage in KDP and SiO2. In both materials the density of damage sites scales with pulse duration to the ~ 0.4 power for 351-nm pulses between 1 and 10 ns. In SiO2 three types of damage sites are observed. The sizes of the largest of these sites as well as the size of KDP damage sites scale approximately linearly with pulse duration. Similarities of damage in very different materials points to properties of laser-induced damage which are material independent and give insight to the underlying physics of laser-induced damage.

Damage on fused silica optics caused by laser ablation of surface-bound microparticles

High peak power laser systems are vulnerable to performance degradation due to particulate contamination on optical surfaces. In this work, we show using model contaminant particles that their optical properties decisively determine the nature of the optical damage. Borosilicate particles with low intrinsic optical absorption undergo ablation initiating in their sub-surface, leading to brittle fragmentation, distributed plasma formation, material dispersal and ultimately can lead to micro-fractures in the substrate optical surface. In contrast, energy coupling into metallic particles is highly localized near the particle-substrate interface leading to the formation of a confined plasma and subsequent etching of the substrate surface, accompanied by particle ejection driven by the recoil momentum of the ablation plume. While the tendency to create fractured surface pitting from borosilicate is stochastic, the smooth ablation pits created by metal particles is deterministic, with pit depths scaling linearly with laser fluence. A simple model is employed which predicts ~3x electric field intensity enhancement from surface-bound fragments. In addition, our results suggest that the amount of energy deposited in metal particles is at least twice that in transparent particles.

Determination of the intrinsic temperature dependent thermal conductivity from analysis of surface temperature of laser irradiated materials

An experimental and analytical approach is described to determine the temperature dependent intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity, k(T), for a broad range of materials. k(T) of silica, sapphire, spinel, and lithium fluoride were derived from surface temperature measurements. Surfaces were heated from room temperature up to 3000 K using a CO2-laser irradiance ≤5 kW/cm2. The solution of the nonlinear heat flow equation was used to extract parameters of k(T)=A×Te, where −1.13≤e≤0 depending on the material. Results generally show good agreement with reported k(T). Below evaporation, the phonon-only k remains the dominant heat transport mechanism during laser heating.

The effect of lattice temperature on surface damage in fused silica optics

We examine the effect of lattice temperature on the probability of surface damage initiation for 355nm, 7ns laser pulses for surface temperatures below the melting point to temperatures well above the melting point of fused silica. At sufficiently high surface temperatures, damage thresholds are dramatically reduced. Our results indicate a temperature activated absorption and support the idea of a lattice temperature threshold of surface damage. From these measurements, we estimate the temperature dependent absorption coefficient for intrinsic silica.