| Title: |
Ultrashort Pulse Filament Location Detection System |
| Category: |
Industry |
| Intellectual Property: |
Student team assigns intellectual property control to company |
| Year: |
2009 |
| Semester: |
Fall |
| Sponsor Name: |
Applied Energetics, Inc |
| Sponsoring advisors: |
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| Sponsor URL: |
http://www.appliedenergetics.com |
| Sponsor Information: |
Applied Energetics, Inc., based in Tucson, Arizona, specializes in development and manufacture of advanced high performance lasers, high voltage electronics, advanced optical systems, and integrated guided energy systems for defense, aerospace, industrial, and scientific customers worldwide. Applied Energetics pioneered the development of Laser Guided Energy™ (LGE™) technology, and related solutions for defense and security applications. |
| ITAR Restriction: |
Yes |
| Scope of work: |
Ultrashort laser pulses with peak powers in the terawatt range self-focus to form extremely intense beamlets that leave ionized air in their wake. These ionized trails are known as Laser Induced Plasma Channels (LIPC) or filaments. This process can also be used to form extremely intense broadband radiation at long ranges. Nitrogen fluorescence from the ionized air is used as a marker for plasma filaments. The limits of this detection technology depend on the ability of a high speed detector to separate the fluorescence spectrum from background light. Feedback from the system can be used to create extremely high intensity radiation on a remote target.
An interdisciplinary team will design, build and test a nitrogen fluorescence detection system for sensing ionized air created by a Terawatt class ultrashort laser pulses. The system should include the following major components:
(2) Optical collection system or telescope
(3) Tracking and alignment and system for optimizing the telescope field of view for varying laser beam path.
(4) Spectral filtering system for efficiently collecting spectral lines from nitrogen fluorescence and suppressing other background radiation
(5) High speed triggered photomultiplier tube for collecting filtered emissions
(6) High speed data acquisitions system
(7) PC based data analysis system for processing signal data
The system will be tested using filament generating ultrashort pulse laser systems at the Applied Energetics research facility. |
| Project summary: |
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| Disciplines: |
Mechanical Engineering (1)
Computer Engineering (1)
Electrical Engineering (1)
Optical Sciences and Engineering (2) |
| Skills: |
Optical Design / Optical Physics
Signal Processing
Motion Control
Software development
FPGA programming |
| Additional resources: |
Testing will be conducted at AE facility. Existing systems will be shown as a starting point for this design project. |
| Key Contact Name: |
Paul Lundquist |
| Key Contact Email: |
plundquist@appliedenergetics.com |
| Key Contact Phone: |
917-3083 |
| Project URL: |
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| Mentor Name: |
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| Mentor Email: |
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| Mentor Phone: |
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