Effects of beam shaping on dynamics of the laser energy deposition
Abstract
Precision shape controlled and well localized high level energy addition into air is limited by thestochastic behavior of laser indu,ced avalanche breakdown and by interactions of the evolvingplasma with the laser radiation during the breakdown process. The propose,d research seeks toadvance dual pulse and pulse shaping concepts to overcome these limitations and provide versatileapproaches to cr,eating well controlled and shaped energy addition into air. The dual pulse pulseshaping approach takes advantage of a low energy f,emtosecond laser pre-pulse to create a predeterminedpattern which is subsequently energized and further shaped by a high power laser,pulse. This ensures a well-defined starting point for the high power energy addition and wellcontrolled selection of the desired fin,al state. Issues to be addressed include the effects of the prepulselocation, shaping and timing relative to the high power laser. A,dditionally, the project willexplore the effects of spatial laser beam shaping, pulse separation timing and correspondingplasma dyna,mics on the control of gas, electron and vibrational temperatures, generation ofvorticity, density and pressure gradients. The propo,sed research will include synergistic high fidelity modelingand experimental efforts directed toward a fundamental understanding of,physical mechanismsthat enable new control opportunities of laser energy deposition. The development of highlyefficient, compact hig,h power lasers is making this technology realizable for ground based andflight applications in the near future. The challenge is to,localize the laser energy addition foroptimal desired effect and optimal energy utilization. This proposed effort seeks to developme,thodologies to achieve those goals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212235
Entities
People
- Albina Tropina
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Texas Engineering Experiment Station
- United States Navy